Ditch the fancy; fork out for flavour. From sensational sweet treats to rolling out the red (and green and yellow) carpet for veggie treats, London's street markets and food halls are where culinary dreams meet budget-friendly bites – no silver spoons needed, just wooden forks and big appetites. So, grab those wet wipes and hit the streets; this guide to London's best street food dishes will have you trend-savvy in no time. Bon appétit.
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Best Street Food In London
Fish Finger Sandwich: Cafe Mondo
Mondo Sando have been a popular lunch choice for a while, but since the opening of their Camberwell venue Cafe Mondo, they've seen queues out the door. Their fish finger sandwich is a particular favourite, served on fluffy white bread with a dreamy tartare sauce.
If fish isn't your thing, other fillings include chickpea caesar, slow-cooked pork and peri peri chicken, with all sorts of mouthwatering sides up for grabs too. Just make sure to arrive early, as they sell out fast.
Get your fish finger sandwiches before they're gone.
Apple Crumble and Hot Custard: Humble Crumble
A cult destination that's the talk of London Town, Humble Crumble dishes out supremely sweet crumbly delights like the apple crumble and hot custard right in the heart of Old Spitalfields, Covent Garden, Borough or Camden Market.
Concoct your dream dessert using tablet order and pick your fruit-to-crumble ratio with piled on toppings like torched meringues, custard galore (of course), and a luxe drizzle of dark chocolate. Fear not; custard comes in hot, cold, or frozen, whatever the mood or the weather. Plus, they sell pots of just the topping for anyone who's not a fan of fruit - with prices starting from £4.95.
Life's a little more a-crumble with every spoonful at Humble Crumble.
Potato Mozzarella Corn Dog: Bunsik
Conquering the viral realm time and time again with their insane cheese pulls, Bunsik's legendary potato mozzarella corn dog is sweet, savoury, chewy, and crispy, all rolled into one magical bite. These cheesy delights trace their origins back to the 80s with their simple yet genius skewered sausage, oozy cheese, or a blend of both, dunked in cornmeal batter, coated in breadcrumbs, jazzed up with crispy toppings, and then fried to golden perfection.
Located in Leicester Square, Camden, Embankment, Westfield Stratford and beyond, these guys have a cheese pull so epic it'll have you queueing for more. But if that's not your thing, they also offer other authentic Korean fare like kimbap, bimimbap and honey garlic chicken.
One of the most famous street food dishes in London, stick around for the cheesiest delight at Bunsik.
Fettuccine Alfredo: Cheese Wheel
Saucy, cheesy and downright delicious, Cheese Wheel in Camden, arguably London's best street food market, plates up a mean fettuccine alfredo. There's plenty more on the menu though, as you can choose between a white wine, cream of tomato or mushroom cream sauce and several toppings.
Their pasta wizards swirl up ribbons of tender hand-rolled dough inside a hollowed-out beast of a grana padano cheese wheel before serving to you, promising dinner and s show all in one. It really couldn't get any cheesier or creamier or gooey or, well, you get our point. Not in the area? They've got a venue in Hawley Wharf too.
Street food in London doesn't get better (or cheesier) than at Cheese Wheel.
Bacon Butter Burger: Burger and Beyond
Burger & Beyond's journey from street-food stardom to three bustling joints in Soho, Shoreditch, and Borough Yards is the real deal. Their secret to success and the best flipping burger in town, you ask? Top-quality meat sourced from a Swaledale farm, aged with love right in the middle of Essex.
Crafting irresistible burgers like the meaty bacon butter or a hot honey oozing with flavour, meat-lovers can get their fix here (though they also offer a vegan option). It's not just their burgers that are fab though - think bone-marrow gravy fries, killer fried chicken, and dark-rum milkshakes. Yum, yum.
Time to meat your match at Burger and Beyond.
40-Day Aged Beef: BAO Borough
Next on our food hit list is a dish that'll make you scream OMG in real life. Picture this: a hefty helping of 40-day-aged beef, blushing, tender and sliced to perfection, accompanied by a glistening soy-cured egg yolk nestled atop a bed of buttery Taipei rice.
This meaty dish (that costs only £14.50) has been an online sensation ever since BAO kicked off its market-side journey. With each mouthful of juicy beef, it truly lives up to its digital hype. Of course, you'll find plenty of fluffy buns here too, filled with everything from fried chicken to curried cheese.
BAO promises a flavour explosion that'll have you hitting the like button bite after bite.
Japanese Soufflé Pancakes: Hefaure
Hefaure's hit the sweet spot in Chinatown, becoming a cult dessert darling thanks to their Japanese soufflé pancakes. These plump, pillow-like wonders start with a batter fluffed with whipped egg whites, then piped tall on the griddle for that signature jiggle. Forget your usual pancake texture—these are like biting into a cloud of dreams.
The toppings? From matcha red bean to fresh strawberries and cream and gooey brown sugar boba syrup, these aren't your regular old American pancakes; these are jiggly, fluffy, cloud-like soufflés ready to dance on your taste buds.
Soak in syrup and dig into these fluffy wonders at Hefaure.
Birria Ramen: Birria Taco
At Birria Taco in Kensal Rise, it's all about their adobo-marinated stew. From tacos to loaded fries and ramen, they've got it all and then some. Their dishes start from as little as £3.50 each, and you can even nab a dessert of churros and chocolate sauce for under a fiver - ideal if you're after cheap street food in London.
Our flavour favourite? Their spicy birria taco in a bowl (£9.50), is a beautiful concoction of soft ramen noodles and shredded lamb birria, topped with crisp onions and cilantro swirled around in a meaty broth. Pro tip: let the noodles soak up the broth for a bit before digging in for maximum flavour. It's like a big, warm hug on a plate.
Let's taco 'bout the best eats in town.
Maritozzi: Dolce VyTA
Ever seen people queueing round the block for a kiosk in Covent Garden and wondered what all the hype was about? Dolce VyTA is a collaboration between popular restaurant VyTA Covent Garden and Matteo Manzotti - an Italian pastry chef who's passionate about delicious desserts.
Their Roman-style maritozzi are sweet balls of fluffy pastry, filled with classic vanilla Chantilly, pistachio or dark chocolate cream. Be sure to pair this with a homemade hot chocolate, idyllic in the winter months.
These fluffy delights are worth the queue.
Cheesy Fried Chicken Flatbread: Piadina Mia
Authentically Italian, halal and one of the cheesiest things you'll ever witness? Sign us up. Piadina Mia at Camden Market is filled to the brim with massive made-to-order artisan flatbreads packed with goodies like fresh pesto, prosciutto, grilled vegetables, marinated chicken and heaps of pecorino parmesan cheese.
They're open seven days a week, serving up lunches from £10 each. Whether you order a meat or veggie option, there's one thing you can count on: the cheese pull will be drool-worthy.
Cheesy bliss in every bite at Piadina Mia.
Rib Meat Rolls - The Rib Man
London's barbeque scene is on fire thanks to The Rib Man, who grills his epic baby-back pork rib meat rolls topped with a lava-like dollop of his fiery custom hot sauce made from Scotch bonnet peppers and naga chillies in Brick Lane Market.
You can secure these fully loaded treats for £8 per rib roll, or £10 for a large version. For a bite of BBQ goodness from ''the godfather of street food'' himself, we'd say it's more than worth it.
A truly rib-tacular treat.
Sriracha Mayo Hash Stick: Hash Hut
Jazzing up the crispy, shredded potato in all shapes, sizes, sauces and garnishes, Hash Hut elevates the best bit of brekkie - the humble hashbrown to gourmet level at Seven Dials Market. Born from the genius of MasterChef Professional 2023's James Sharp, this spud-tastic stall lets you be the boss of your own dish.
Choose a hashbrown shape, cover it in your favourite sauce, and top it off with any two toppings. Crispy onions, parmesan, truffle mayo, nori flakes - you name it, they got it. We'd recommend the gooey sriracha mayo hash stick. Yum.
Hash Hut is serving up some serious potato goodness at Seven Dials Market.
Prawn Wontons in Chilli Oil: Dumpling Shack
Dare we say the best dumplings in the capital? Dumpling Shack serves up killer plates of their infamous piping hot shengjianbao, boasting bold Sichuan flavours in the open-air atmosphere at one of the best street food markets in the city, Old Spitalfields.
As one of the longest serving tenants at the market, it's true what they say about the best things coming in small packages or something like that. Don't forget to try a portion of their prawn wontons for a slap of spicy goodness.
A dumpling delight with a kick of spice.
Smashed Patty Cheeseburger: Bill Or Beak
A beefy revelation and one of the finest smashed patty cheeseburgers gracing London's food-filled streets, Bill or Beak Camden's patties are juicy, bursting with flavour and oh-so-delicious.
Just imagine: double-smashed beef patties hugged by layers of oozing cheese, a hint of caramelized onions, and a sprinkle of pickles; we cannot contain ourselves. Plus, these tasty treats come in at just £8.50 a pop - bargain.
This burger is bun-believable.
Salted Caramel Doughnuts: Bread Ahead
Are you all about quality British baking? Located south of the river, Bread Ahead's extra special sweet treat in Borough Market, the sea salted caramel and honeycomb doughnut, is a puffy globe filled with a salty, indulgent sauce and a golden, sugared outer crust.
These notoriously delicious balls of fried dough have Londoners in a chokehold, and we can't lie; we've taken the sugar hit, too. They also offer velvet chocolate, vanilla custard, praline and more as fillings, so there's something for everyone.
Brûlée-d to perfection, these donuts at Bread Ahead are the hole package.
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