London Travel Guide: Get Stuffed - Eat Your Way Around London

From Gordon to Jamie, Harrods to local Markets, you can stuff your face in style - and take in some of the less touristy parts of London - when you eat your way around London. Check out Our Food Guide to Eating and Travelling around London.

London now boasts some of the best restaurants and eateries in Europe, catering for all tastes. From the curry houses of Brick Lane to the Michelin stars of Gordon Ramsay in Claridge’s, whatever you fancy, London does not disappoint. And, for seasoned visitors, there is no better way to experience the capital than on a culinary tour around some the city’s most popular food haunts.

On arrival in London I began my day with an early morning visit to London’s favourite department store, Harrods. Many of us have been here before, but no matter how many times I visit, my stomach is always eager to return to the spectacular Harrod’s Food Court.

If it’s pure indulgence you are after then Harrods is the right place to be: confectionary, biscuits and cakes are the store’s forte and although they may be a little on the expensive side, you’ll be hard pushed to find nicer pastries in London. After a mouth-watering wander around the food court and several delightful pastries, I could not help but start to think about lunch! I’m not usually such a glutton, but in the interests of journalism, I was determined to sample as much as I could of London’s superb culinary reputation. Thankfully, I did not have to go far to fulfil my luncheon ideas.

Just a short walk from Harrods is the world famous Berkeley Hotel, where none other than Gordon Ramsey has set-up shop with the Boxwood Café. The Boxwood, according to the Berkeley Hotel website is Mr. Ramsey’s take on the ‘upscale New York café scene.’ I’m not quite sure what that means to be exact, but on arrival at the Boxwood I found it to be a delightfully stylish restaurant, with stairs from the top reception area leading down to the main restaurant floor.

The light was low and the atmosphere very relaxed and laidback – perfect for those lazy lunches, where you don’t like to feel rushed. The menu is best described as modern British and is dependant on seasonal ingredients that could typically be found in a British market. To start I had a superb pickled arctic herring with new potatoes and crème fraiche, followed by braised English new season lamb, minted peas and broad beans. I lay off the dessert after my pastry extravaganza earlier in the morning, but did sit back and take in the ambience with a glass of superb 1997 Rioja. Starters were £8-£10; mains £10-£20, which for such a nice restaurant in central London is not too bad a price, but I did feel that the wine list was a little on the steep side, starting at £26 for a bottle of red wine!

After lunch, to aid digestion, I embarked on a relaxing walk through Hyde Park in the direction of Marble Arch. After hopping on the tube I made my way to London Bridge tube station and one of London’s best kept food secrets – Borough Market.

There has been a market on the site of Borough Market since before Roman times and although many things have changed, it is still a great place for food fans. Now in its 22nd Century, Borough Market is a thriving marketplace, popular with many of today’s well known celebrity chefs: if you visit the market very early in the morning you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Jamie Oliver selecting produce for his restaurant.

While historically a wholesale market for fruit and vegetables, the market has recently established a very successful weekend retail market with up to 70 stands selling a range of fresh produce, among them fresh fish, meats, cheeses, olives, breads, pastries and pies from all over the country. There is also a comprehensive beer and wine section, catering to all tastes.
Borough Market is at its busiest in the early hours of the morning, when restaurateurs and wholesalers from across London descend on the market to purchase fresh produce. By late afternoon the market is more laid back, but the atmosphere of a bustling market, with traders making good business, adds to the atmosphere and the market's appeal. As you wander around the market, sampling the many tasters on offer, it is easy to feel like you are a part of history, doing what Londoners have done on this site for over two millennia.

Later that day, as early evening approached and after sampling the brews in a nearby London pub, I made way over to Old Street in the hope of grabbing a bite to eat at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant, Fifteen.

Fifteen serves modern European food, and is split between an upstairs Trattoria and the main restaurant downstairs. As viewers of the Channel 4 documentary will be aware, the purpose of Fifteen is to inspire disadvantaged young people to build careers in the restaurant business. So far they have had 37 young people graduate and many of them now work full time in some of the world's best restaurants.

I didn’t have a reservation for the restaurant, which is usually booked three months in advance, but careful studying of the website beforehand informed me that if you are lucky you can find a spot at the Trattoria on a first come first served basis each day. To avoid disappointment I would recommend arriving early.

After three delicious courses – fried duck salad, followed by Pan-fried monkfish tail with a panzanella salad, followed by an orange and amaretto cheese cake – I was completely stuffed. At £10 a starter and £15 for a main course Fifteen is slightly cheaper than the Boxwood Café, and if I had to choose between the two I would probably opt for Fifteen.

Fully satiated and ready for home I made way back to Waterloo Station and slumped on a train homeward bound. If the thought of doing all the typical tourist sights when visiting the capital fills you with dread, you could do worse than be led around London by your stomach!
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