No Diets Here: An Epic East End Food Tour

Tours that “discover the ‘real’ London” make a tired claim, but on this occasion, it feels pretty much on the money. This food tour covers London’s East End – a cultural melting pot, home to cool neighbourhoods, ethnic food joints and more pubs and bars than you can shake your fist at. On this four-hour jaunt, you’ll taste the foods that make the East side what it is today – everything from proper nostalgic British dishes like bacon butties, fish and chips and bread and butter pudding, to bites from across the way, made popular by communities that have set up shop here over the years. Part culture and history lesson, this tour is a real celebration of diversity; something which good old London has plenty of.

About your guide 

Eating Europe is one of the few tour companies of its kind that pays heed to the bigger picture. Yes, the focus is wholeheartedly on food, but between bites, guides enlighten guests on the city’s history and culture; their routes including spots that even the most seasoned of locals wouldn’t find on their tod.

Here’s the plan…  

Meet your guide in London’s East End (about five minutes’ walk away from Liverpool Street station) with an empty stomach – this food tour is not for the faint-hearted.

From here on in, you’ll be in the good hands of your expert guide, a Londoner who knows the area like we know city breaks (read: very well). They’ll take you to their favourite local haunts – markets, shops, bakeries, pubs and restaurants that have been dishing up the tastiest and most diverse bites for years (hundreds of them in The English Restaurant’s case). Along the way, you’ll get a handle on local culture and the things that have changed through the decades. You’ll see historical sites (hidden synagogues, ancient Roman burial grounds and famed Georgian mansions, anyone?) and gain insider knowledge on one of London’s most exciting, ever-changing areas. 

On the food front, you’ll try a legendary bacon butty sandwich (made great by lashings of fresh butter and homemade ketchup); fish and chips from Poppies (listed in Time Out’s Top 100 foods in London); a salty bagel to cure all hangovers; melt-in-your-mouth English cheeses; spicy curries; warm bread and butter pudding; and a salted caramel tart. Yep, it’s actual perfection. Don’t make any wild plans for afterwards, you’ll need at least a quick kip.