UK Travel Planning

Visiting London - What to eat, where to find it and recommended food tours

• Tracy Collins • Episode 186

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This week Tracy Collins sits down with Becki from Devour Tours to explore the vibrant food scene of London. The episode tackles the myth of "beige and boring" British cuisine, offering a mouthwatering guide to the best dishes, afternoon teas, food tours, markets, and hidden gems across the city.

Tracy Collins and Becki delve into the expectations and surprises first-time visitors encounter with London food, covering everything from fresh market fare to classic Sunday roasts and opulent afternoon teas. They highlight how market culture, traditional pub snacks, and diverse international flavours can all be squeezed into a London itinerary - without overwhelming your schedule or missing out on memorable experiences. 

The episode also spotlights the value of food tours for discovering local history, culture, and forging new friendships over delicious bites.

⭐️ Guest - Becki Newell from Walks and Devour Tours
📝 Show Notes - Episode 186

  • Episode #147 – Explore London + Edinburgh with Walks + Devour Tours [2025 Update with Charley Sullivan]
  • Episode #91 – A Taste of London: A Conversation with Charley Bennett from Devour Food Tours
  • Episode #167 - Must-Do Experiences, Secret Spots + Foodie Favourites

🎟️ Sponsored by Walks Tours & Devour Tours. Explore London with expert guides, from sightseeing to food tours.

👉 Book London sightseeing tours with Walks
👉 Book London food tours with Devour

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SPEAKER_02:

Think London food is beige or boring? Think again. From PUB Classics and Markets to afternoon tea and food tours, Becky from Devour Tours shares exactly what to eat in London, where to go, and how to fit great food into your itinerary.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracy Collins. Each week, Tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, from a picturesque countryside to seaside towns.

SPEAKER_02:

Before we get started, we'd like to thank our sponsor, Walks and Devour Tours. If you're planning a trip to London, you'll already know the challenge. There's a lot you want to do and only a limited amount of time to fit it all in. That's where the right tour makes all the difference because you want experiences that are the best use of your time with more access, less waiting, and a deeper sense of the city. That's why we recommend Walks and Devour Tours. They offer walk-in tours and food tours designed to make your time count, often with early or after hours entry. You'll also be with exceptional local guides who add the stories and context so you leave with a richer understanding of what you're seeing and a trip that feels genuinely memorable. If you're visiting London as a couple with family or you simply prefer a more intimate experience, walks and devour tours also offer private tour options. To learn more, you'll find the link in the show notes. Now let's get into this week's episode. Hi everybody, and welcome to this week's episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast with me, Tracy Collins. This week I'm chatting about one of my favourite topics, food. It's a good job Doug's not here because he would be he'd be agreeing. Um but one of the questions we are asked more, oh I think almost more than anything else when people when people are planning a trip to London is about food. What should I eat? Where should I go? Do I need to book restaurants in advance? Where's the best afternoon tea? And where can you actually find a great Sunday roast? So those are some of the questions that we get asked all the time. Now, London's food scene is huge, it's incredibly varied, it can feel overwhelming, especially if you're visiting for the first time or trying to fit food in around sightseeing. So in this episode, we're talking about how to eat well in London without overplanning or missing out. We're going to cover some classic British dishes, markets, pub food, afternoon tea, and how food tours can help you experience London in a more relaxed local way while also giving you confidence for the rest of your trip. Now, I'm joined by Becky from Tavour Tours. Becky is a Londoner and a tour guide, which means she sees exactly what visitors expect from London food, what surprises them the most, and which experiences consistency deliver. Now, I began the chat by asking Becky to introduce herself.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, uh, my name is Becky. I work at Walks in Tavour um mainly as a tour guide, actually, so I can give you the inside scoop on guiding and the world of it. Um, but also filling in for Charlie, who you guys may know um while she's away uh on maternity leave. Uh congrats, Charlie. Um, just making sure guides are looked after, uh looking at all of our beautiful devour products and making sure they all run okay. Brilliant. And also, you are a Londoner. I am indeed. Yes. I was born in St. Thomas' Hospital. Perfect. So right across the river from Parliament. Excellent.

SPEAKER_02:

So who better to talk to about food and about where to eat and what to eat than you? Because I get so many questions all the time in consults, in our Facebook group, by email saying, what should I eat? Where should I eat it? What's a and I'm I'm like, how much as I would like to eat my way around London, I also would like to fit into my clothes, and it's not possible to eat in everywhere in London. I'm already picking out places for when I'm there in April and May, and I'm already sort of trying to choose because there's so many fantastic options. But the first question I want to ask you, because I know we don't have the best reputation for food.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

And I remember actually doing the um Ultimate London Food Church at Borough Market, and actually the guide was that was the first question that she asked the group. But from your experience, what do people tend to expect or notice when they start trying their different uh foods in London?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's a great question. I think uh a lot of people, it's it's a split camp, really. I think either people have come with some pre preconceived ideas um about British food. Um so uh you hear a lot commonly that you know it's bland, it's unseasoned, um, it might look a little bit strange on the plate. Um uh uh and other people who might have heard of the traditional, you know, British foods like, you know, fish and chips, pie and mash, those kind of things, um, and may have tried it in a in a British style pub or uh an English pub in the States or or elsewhere around the world. Um, and may have come with maybe, you know, not the authentic experience or maybe a slightly different experience to what you actually get in the city, um, for sure. So uh there's a lot of that, but I think do people do recognise that London as an international city isn't just going to be about British food either. So a lot come with questions of you know what kind of styles of food to try, uh you know, which markets might provide the best different mix of different cultures and flavours. Um, and so it's a very mixed bag in in terms of what people come to us with when um when we're guiding tours with them.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, no, absolutely. I remember on my tour actually, the the predominant word that was was shared around was beige. And I was like, Yes. Which made me smile, but actually, what was really interesting was like as we went through that food tour, how everybody was surprised on that tour about what they tried and uh the different foods, but not only the foods, like the history they were also learning about about the different foods, about the different vendors. It was it was really, really good, but it was really funny because I was like, I you know, I don't think of beige, but that was the that was the colour that was that was described as what they imagined British food to be. Now, I have to say the things that I get asked about the most are afternoon teas um and sundae roast, and then probably closely followed by fish and chips. Now, so I'm gonna ask you what would be your main dishes that you or main foods and food experiences that you would recommend anybody have when they go to London?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I think those are all great experiences, um, especially when you look at things like um when you look at things like fish and chips, something that people um assume to be quintessentially British, right? But actually has deeper roots coming from Europe, coming from Belgium with the frites, and then uh from the Jewish communities across Europe with fried fish. Um, and so I do think it's uh I think people mention fish and chips a lot, and I do think it's actually quite important that you try it. And especially in London as well. You know, I've lived in both London and on the coastline in Cornwall, so I know what fresh fish tastes like. Um, and I will say truly, and I think this is what surprises people, is that uh the seafood that you get on London is fresh in off the boats every day. People are buying it at Billingsgate Market in, you know, in the in the Docklands area at four or five in the morning each morning, which blows people's minds, you know. The fact that people are up at the crack of dawn, you know, trading in fish. And it's like it that that alone really transports people back in time. It feels like we're getting hold of a tradition that's been going on for a long, long time, and it has, it's been going on for the last few centuries. Um, so I do think that's an important one to try. But if you want to broaden your horizons a little bit and try some different things, then uh following or getting involved in London's market culture is a really great thing to do. And depending on where you are in London, you're not going to be too far away from market, and that you've got the choice of your bigger markets like Borough Market and Spittlefields Market and Camden. But then you've got during the week sometimes things that tend to be in other areas that are more commuter-focused, maybe, that actually have some really good options as well. So right outside Monument Station uh during the week in on a Thursday, you'll see a little market set up right near the monument to the to the fire of London, um, selling the local workers some food, but it's also got, you know, you've got Afro-Caribbean flavours going on, you've got Far Eastern flavours going on, and it's a really good way that you can eat like a local, I guess. So that would those would be my main tips.

SPEAKER_02:

Excellent. And uh, what about I have to ask you because Sunday roast comes up all the time for me. So and I uh it's my I grew up always going to my grandmother's house on a Sunday, and she would make the Sunday roast, and she made the best Yorkshire puddings in the world. And so is there uh because I have to ask you where you where you particularly go to for the best food. So for a Sunday roast, have you got somewhere that you can give us a bit of insider insider tip or somewhere that you recommend that people should try?

SPEAKER_01:

I think so. Actually, in Borough Market, there uh and the the beauty of this place is that it will serve you a roast every single day of the week, so you don't have to wait for a Sunday pub to become available, or if you're only traveling during the week, you don't have to miss out. So it's in Borough Market, it's um right above uh Ginger Pig, um, which we will definitely cover, uh, world famous for their sausage rolls. Um, and you go into the market and it's up a little lift, you'll see a sign. It's just called Roast, uh, and you can get a roast every single day of the week. So I would recommend there for an for an everyday roast because sometimes you you you're not able to go on a Sunday, um, and it's nice to have that convenience. Um the other place, um, and there are a few different versions of this particular restaurant around London. If you are in the market for a really good quality roast on a Sunday and you want to get a decently good deal on some really high quality meats, then uh go for Hawksmoor. Um, there's the the Hawksmoor, I can probably talk for about half an hour, 45 minutes about Hawksmoor alone. I could write an ode to their sticky toffee pudding. Um, so you not only get a really good quality roast with their finest cuts of meats and your choice of meats, um, great Yorkshire puddings and a good dessert as well, which I think is also just as important as the main.

SPEAKER_02:

That is that is really important. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And how many times I hear a sticky toffee pudding is absolutely the favourite for so many people. Absolutely. And and Hawkesma is on my on my to eat at list when I'm back. Highly recommend. Yes, I have I have eaten there before, and uh yes, I will be going back because it is it is really, really good. Now, what about afternoon tea? That's another one that I have to get in these kind of the the favourites that get asked about. So, afternoon tea, there are so many to choose from. So, so many. And I kind of say to people, do you want traditional or do you want themed? Because you've kind of got that thing going on. But I know, and I'm gonna ask you this. I'm gonna I'm gonna put I'm putting my hand up. Can I go on the the Kensington Palace tour with the the afternoon tea, please?

SPEAKER_01:

Because I've just seen that you guys I was just about to mention that. So uh yes, you absolutely can come on that tour. We will chat. Um, it's a wonderful tour because you get a lovely walk and then the afternoon tea, and then you go into the orangery afterwards. And uh Kensington Palace is a really good option if you're looking for something um, you know, a little bit more off the beaten track. It's in Kensington, so there's lots of other things that you can do and tie in around your afternoon tea. Um, but it is a wonderful afternoon tea. Um, it's reasonably priced, they cater to all kinds of different dietary requirements as well, um, which is a really big draw for our guests. Um, I had one of our guests comment that it's had some of the best gluten-free options that she she'd ever seen. Um, and a lot of the um uh a lot of uh a lot of places that offer a high end of afternoon tea um will offer some good dietary requirements as well. Um, but I think being in the orangery, it's such a beautiful, serene space. It's you know, it's it's warm in the winter and it's cooler in the summer, it's light, it's airy, you've got these beautiful large windows streaming in and a fabulous view right across of Kensington Palace right there. So you really feel like you're getting a royal afternoon tea experience. So I would say absolutely if you want to do your Ritzes, if you want to do um, you know, your Savoys, those kind of afternoon teas, I absolutely recommend it. Um but you know, there's there's certain I I guess there's certain etiquette and decorum there where in other places it's a little bit more casual. So if you want to get dressed up to the nines, absolutely go down to the Ritz and enjoy your afternoon there. You will have a splendid time. The service is amazing. Um, but if you want something a little bit more casual, um, and you know, you you want to feel a little bit free and easier with your day, um, then something like Kensington Palace is great. Hotel Cafe Royal, um also fabulous, um, really nice afternoon tea in a really opulent um mirrored room, which the likes of David Bowie and Mick Jagger have partied in during their time. So you've got something with a little music, cultural history, something maybe a little bit edgier. Um and when I went to do their Van Gogh themed afternoon tea, they proved they could do a themed afternoon tea really well as well. So um you've got you've got those kind of options there, definitely. But um yeah, I'd say those were my those would be my main recommendations. But um have a have a scout around because there's all kinds of different price ranges available. There's something to suit absolutely everyone's budgets and needs. So um yeah, get out there, do a little bit of research is for sure.

SPEAKER_02:

I think the hardest thing when it comes to afternoon cheese is actually choosing choosing which one or which ones to do. I try to do a few each time, and and I'm already researching and trying to decide do I want to do the theme, do I want to do the traditional? Now I've never ever been to the writs, and I really wanted to take my mum for her 80th birthday, but she she wasn't too keen on go down London. But I'm I'm gonna try and talk her into it because it really is, and I kind of I say this to when I talk to to people, as I say in the Facebook group on consults, and they ask me about afternoon tea, and I say, as a as a Brit, for me, the kind of peak of afternoon tea is to go to the writs.

SPEAKER_01:

That is that is our poshist, so it really is, and you can make a day of it, you know. You you you that's the kind of thing where you make the afternoon tea the occasion. So you get dressed up to the nines, you know, you might go somewhere for a nice little drink afterwards, you might go to the theatre later on, you know, you can really make it uh a really special day, and it just makes you feel fabulous to get, you know, to get dressed up, get your best makeup on, get your best accessories on the go, and just you know, be seen in posh in a very posh. Yes, exactly, darling, exactly.

SPEAKER_02:

So I'm gonna kind of swing down to the opposite side of for we've gone from the rich. We're now gonna talk about some of the London pub food because I I am a bit of a fan of some of the pub food, and particularly um a good Scotch egg. For me, a good Scotch egg is absolutely the pinnacle of success of a pub if they can do a good Scotch egg. Now, the best Scotch egg, apart from I'm gonna say that I had a fantastic one at Fortnum and Mason, and obviously that's where they invented the Scotch egg. So um, but was on the Taste Tales and Traditional Alex tour that I did with you guys, which is still my favourite food tour anyway, and I've taken so many. Well, I absolutely loved it. So, shall we talk about some of the foods that people can expect if they're in a British pub like snack food? I think this is kind of and I suppose we will be using the word kind of I guess brown of a lot of this food is is beige.

SPEAKER_01:

Funnily enough, I would like I would like to colour it as golden. I would say it's less beige and and more to the golden end, especially with the Scotch egg, it's nice and crispy.

SPEAKER_02:

True, true. So so what should we expect if we uh if we want some pub snack food?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh pub snack food. Uh I think pub snack food has kind of expanded itself um quite a lot over the last few years. Um and so you do get your your traditional items or what's seen as more traditional items like your sausage rolls, like your scotch eggs. Um, but the the trend in London that sort of blew up in the 2020s and has kind of expanded into pubs now, I'd say, is this idea of getting small plates. So, you know, in in some places you might, you know, anywhere that has a fryer can do you really good halloumi fries, right? So um, you know, you can get a small plate with a platter of halloumi fries, you know, uh a mesée of maybe some more traditional things alongside, you know, things with a more kind of European or continental flavour or edge. Um, and so you can really mix and match to your tastes, as it were. But um, I I am I am very, very partial to halloumi fry myself.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, I have to say I I I do like a halloumi fry as well. And of course, when you're in a pub, you can have yourself a pint. You can have a pint of bitter, pint of ear, whatever you want. I I don't I'm a gin drinker, not a beer drinker, but I know that is um tried lots of different types of of drinks when we did the the tape that that Taste Hills and Traditional Alzheur, which as I say I absolutely love. People know from our podcast that if I like something, I'm all in. I'm all in. Okay. I love it. And I absolutely love it. So I'm really looking forward to to doing that that tour uh this year. Now, and and what's really good about that is you find you go to some of these pubs that you would not know about, these historic pubs that you would not know about if you didn't go on these tours and find this, you find out where they are, and you you find out the history of it, not only just trying the food and trying the drink, but you actually learn the history, which is it just makes it even more special.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, absolutely. I think uh pubs are always tied in with a kind of old uh their own kind of folklore uh uh and stories, um, and those stories get passed down over the generations and through publicans. And I think what people really love, yeah, is finding those little hidden places which have such a deep history to go along with them, and you can almost feel the atmosphere kind of coming out of the walls of some of these places, you know. Dark wood panelling, if you're coming in the sort of autumn winter time, sometimes you get a fire roaring, you know, which is a rarity in London these days, because you know, most of us aren't allowed. So it's um yeah, it's a really special experience, and I really enjoy those kind of that that feeling you get when you're leading a guest towards a place that they would never have found on their own. And then just watching their George drop and going, wow, and that's that just that just makes my heart full. That's that's every box ticked as a tour guide for sure.

SPEAKER_02:

And what's what's really nice as well is that when you're in these these pubs is that there will be British people, there'll be Londoners in the pubs having a drink as well. And I know in a few of the pubs there was a lot of discussions going on and a lot of questions where you're from, what's the expectations, how you enjoy in London, uh, which was really, really nice as well. So a very welcoming atmosphere to go into some of the pubs as well. Um, now when you have friends come over or visit you in London, where where the places and things that you you sort of steer them towards? Maybe some of the lesser known or kind of not the big TikTok, because we all know about the chocolate drips dipped strawberries at Borough Market, right? So we all know that one. Um we've seen the cues. Oh my god, we've seen the cues. It's nuts. So so if if somebody uh because I because I'm gonna have people that you know listen to this podcast that have probably been in London a few times and they're thinking, okay, I've tried afternoon tea, I've tried this, I've tried that. You know, give me something that might be a little bit a little bit different.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. Be a bit brave, head south, head further south of the river, head away from the south bank and head into South London. Now I'm biased because I I live in South London, um, uh, but there are so many great food experiences to be had. Not too far away, public transport-wise. You've just got to be a little bit brave to get on a tube or a bus or maybe even an overground. So I'd say my top one for the best concentration of hidden gems in a small amount of area, uh small area that people might not have heard of is Camberwell. Um I've lived it, it's in Southeast London. Uh, you're not too far away from Peckham either, which is a very, very trendy area these days of London. Uh, lots of great cocktail bars. But if you're if you're talking specifically food, um, Camberwell has a mix of um uh Mediterranean and Middle Eastern, Chinese, Japanese, uh, Italian. Um, there's a a great little Japanese place along the high street where you can get dumplings. My personal favorite, um, and something that even a food writer, Jay Rayner, backs me up on. Oh, yeah, Jay Rayner. Yeah, yeah, he's great. He loves FM Mangal in uh in Camberwell. Um, and this is a place where you can get some proper uh Lebanese kebabs. Um they are absolutely delightful. They've got it all on a grill. It's basically barbecued in front of you. Go there in the wintertime, it's lovely, toasty, warm. Um, and get for takeaway and go and enjoy on Camberwell Green in the summer when it's too hot to sit in there. But absolutely amazing. Um, and the the Silk Road, which is a really great Cantonese cantina, um, which is really reasonably priced as well. And then from somewhere like Campbellwell, you can go and explore other places. You can go to, as I said, Peckham, trendy wine bars, great nightlife, great music scene. Or you can go to somewhere like Brixton as well, uh, catch a gig at Brixton Academy, um, really, really famous music venue, uh, go check out the markets there. Um, so I'm I'm flying my flag for South London. I think north, north places in North London, you know, Camden Passage and Angel are all showing on TikTok and Instagram now, and they are fantastic. But for eating your way around so many different cultures and flavours and just getting a vibe for what people live like in London's, I think South has it.

SPEAKER_02:

You see, I think I think you're kind of getting ahead of the crowd. So you don't know next year, or it it'll be it'll be Campbell on TikTok. You just don't know. Um I'm also exactly also champion South London because that's where my daughter was born. So fantastic. Uh yeah, lived in Putney and Southfield for a long time. So yeah, so love that part of London. Now um, I'm thinking also we get sort of questions that I get asked by people, and and one of the most common ones is like, if do I need to plan where and what I eat into my itinerary? Can I just kind of wander around a road and pop into a restaurant? What would you say if you're thinking about people kind of staying in central London?

SPEAKER_01:

That's a great question. I think it really ultimately depends on the kind of a dining experience that you're going for, really. So if you're looking at going um, you know, for the the high-end dining experience, if you're looking for going to going to places that you know in advance are quite popular, your clarages, you know, that those kind of venues, um then definitely looking uh at booking in advance is is going to be your is going to be your best bet. If you're looking for more of a casual dining experience, um where you're dropping into places maybe just in and around where you're wherever you're exploring, then most of your pubs that you come across are going to be walk-in. Uh markets, of course, are great for casual dining. Um, there's a really great trend right now for market hall experiences as well, or food court experiences, which are very similar to markets, but you get more of a space to sit down. So you're eating less street food style. Um, so Mikato Metropolitano, which um they've got a beautiful space in Mayfair in an old church. You know, if you've got a group of people who all have different tastes food-wise, you can go somewhere like there. Everyone can order what they would like from a vast array of international foods, and then you can all sit down and eat it together. Um, and there's some also quite conveniently uh different food courts placed um quite close to where you might be traveling as well. So there's a great Market Halls um food court uh near Victoria Station, um, and there's a few others dotted around as well. So um if you're looking for more of that kind of experience, you can kind of browse and take it and and and play it by ear. But for um yeah, for your for your more high-end, your more special dining experiences to celebrate a special occasion, to go to a really special restaurant that you've been reading about and that you've heard about for a long time, book as soon as you can. Um, because otherwise you may end up being disappointed with some of the more uh popular, popular restaurants for sure.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, definitely. I definitely agree with that. And I've already got uh I've already got my list of where I'm gonna book. And the Makato that you've mentioned is actually my husband was back in uh in September and he he popped in there and got some photos, and I'm like, I have to go there. We should meet for lunch, Becky.

SPEAKER_01:

Let's do that. That is it's an amazing place to just go and just go and take it all in. It kind of just beautiful.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I like to eat somewhere that's also got a bit of history to it. So I love the cafe in the crypt, say uh Martins in the Fields on Trafalgar Square. I love it. That's and that I recommend that all the time. The food's good, it's not expensive, and like what an amazing place to eat your food. I'm also a big fan of um pick and cheese at the Seven Dials. I that's always on my list.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I was going to mention Cucumber Alley as well, because yeah, uh in and around there. So, you know, if you're in and around Covent Garden, you're you're so liable to get taken in by a few sort of honey trap kind of places. And so ducking into that place, the cheese is so good.

SPEAKER_02:

It is my favorite, favourite, absolute favourite. I that's on my list. I will give it, I'll go there. I don't care, I'll sit there on my own and have my cheese and just enjoy. I'll take some more video. Everybody keeps saying absolutely take some videos, share some reels. I'm like, I promise I will do that this time. I promise. Now let's let's talk a little bit about why, because I highly recommend wherever I go in the world to do a food tour. So I did some food tours in Madrid last year, Seville, um, I was in Paris, I was in Rome, did some fantastic, fantastic food tours with with DeVour, and I always thoroughly enjoy them. And uh so I want to kind of talk to you about you know what why I mean I recommend them, but let's talk about why it's so good to do a food tour and when it's good to do a food tour as well, because I think that's a key, key, key, key point I want to make as well. Um, but you know, how do food tours kind of enhance your experience of visiting London?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, there's so many different ways in which people end a food tour just, I mean, that the you you end feeling full and you end feeling full of really good food. And that's that's probably the priority number one main aim. But I think the other thing as well about food tours is the is the social element of it that goes on. Um, you know, it's small groups, um, getting to know each other. Uh sometimes, especially when we're sitting down in pubs, and pubs just have this great way of bringing people together and opening up stories, and people get curious about, you know, who who they're on the tour with and where they've come from. So the fact that so many people end tours um friends at the end of it, I think is is quite a lovely element of it too, and it's worth shouting out. And I think that's especially important for solo travelers too. I think more and more people are getting bolder about going out and exploring on their own and solo traveling, but don't want to be completely on their own the whole time. And so a food tour is a lovely way of getting that social element in uh with food. And there's something magic that happens when you bring people and food and stories together. And I think that's the that's the really special thing about a food tour is that you're you're weaving all of these different things together as a tour guide. So you're weaving in the history of the food and the places you're going, you're getting to know about people and and who they are and where they're coming from and what brings them to London. Um, and then you're also talking about deep history and culture and stories and things that might be centuries old in terms of their heritage, or even up to the current day of what we as locals and Londoners go and do about their day. And so you get all of this wonderful stuff and some great recommendations for where to go and eat and where to go and explore neatly packaged together and just given to you. And it's it's it's a wonderful thing. We get the we get the best responses out of our guests, and it just makes me feel so good to know that they've been, you know, well fed, well entertained, um, but also with some great stories to take back home as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. And you've kind of nailed it all that you get the good food, you know, you enjoy the chat, you meet people from all over the world that you wouldn't have met before, and you know, you you're you're learning as you go along, you get you're kind of immersed in it, you know, you're learning about it, you're immersed in it, you're enjoying the food, you've got great company. What else could you ask for? And then on top of that, you get to find out where else to go and eat, what what what else to eat quite often what to eat. I've I was some of the the that was really good for for us when we were in Spain. It was kind of like pointing out what to eat, where to eat it, um, which is why I would say do a tour early on when you're in London. Because of that, because you you'll find out what you like, and no doubt your tour guide will give you lots of great recommendations as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah. All of the tour guides come armed with their own personal lists of recommendations of what they like, where they go to, and people really like that kind of personalised experience. Like you're getting some insider Londoner knowledge here about you know where to go. So I absolutely agree with you. The sooner that you can do a food tour, because it helps you orient yourself to a particular area, and also there's nothing wrong with going back and having more of what you like, right? You don't you don't have to spend your entire trip going and trying something different every single time. If you found something you really like and you want to go back and have it again, have it again. It's your holiday. Go enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I I don't I don't want to have to tell you how many times I'm gonna whisper how many times I've been to Kabakasin to have their racolette. That's in borrow market if anybody's there. I absolutely love it, absolutely love it. It's just great. So give us a kind of brief overview of the tours that you have got from Devour at the moment in London. Um, because I'll be going on both of them, and I'm also gonna go to the Kensington Palace for that that afternoon tea. But um, fill us in on what people can book, what can they experience?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, absolutely. So um for Devour tours, we've got um our Ultimate London food tour, um, which is uh you don't just get borough market, you actually get two markets for one, which is uh a really special offering. So um for the Ultimate London food tour, for the first part of it, you will be in and around Borough Market and Southwark, uh learning about the history of the area. You know, it's one of the oldest places in London. The market itself is a thousand years old, which blows my mind, even you know, talking about that now. Um, and you get to hop around uh four four different stops in and around the market, tasting some real British classics, starting with a breakfast, having uh a nice little sweet treat along the way um at a very, very special place within the market. Um, the the apple crumble is to die for it. Yes, absolutely. It's uh it it really is something special. I was with a I was with a group the other day of uh very sweet toothed teenagers and they highly appreciated uh Humble Crumble, I think, even compared to the chocolate strawberries.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I I think so. I'd be going to Humboldt Crumble every time uh rather than having a chocolate strawberry, I have to tell you.

SPEAKER_01:

Hands down, hands down. Um, you also get to try some great fish and chips from within the market where the fish is sourced directly from the market, and we get to talk about that heritage of fish and chips and of seafood in London. Um uh sausage roll is covered as well, which is a British classic. But if you've seen all of the social media in and around Greg's, there's a time and a place for Greg's, but we go to Ginger Pig, which I've mentioned before, an absolute stalwart of uh of the sausage roll, the pie, and the scotch egg, but we try one of their really chunky ones. Um, it's it's a delight, it really is. Um, and then we head across the river. So you get uh uh the tale of Southwark and Borough Market and the stories of the food surrounding that, and then we go across the river into the city of London, so the oldest part of London, the Roman bit that then grew into this powerhouse financial centre. Um, and we head to a beautiful smaller market that Harry Potter fans may have heard of, um, called Leadenhall Market. It is absolutely beautiful. Um, uh just gloriously decorated old meat market that's been repurposed into the just this beautiful place to go and either have a drink at some of the beautiful pubs, we go to a lovely French pâtisserie, so we we we go continental when we head into the city, um, which is very nice, and have uh a beautiful light uh dessert uh from uh from a little uh cafe pâtisserie there. And they make everything on site so you can sit sit and watch them do it. Um, and then to kit to finish off, which I think is the pièce de resistance, is that we go around some of the hidden corners, the little alleyways opposite Leadenhall Market to find a lovely, discreetly tucked away little wine bar um for a wine and cheese tasting with some expert someliers who will uh pick their cheeses fresh from Borough Market and then expertly find you a wine that goes well with it. Um shout out to Babybackers, they are absolutely incredible, incredible people. Um, and it's just a fabulous little intimate experience to finish off your tour.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, that sounds good. I shall look forward to that, I have to tell you. I've been a cheese fan, as you can probably guess, from racolette picking cheese, and there, and this sounds absolutely amazing. Um, and then if you if you want to do on top of that or instead, there's your taste tales and traditional ales pub tour, which I absolutely know I absolutely love it. I love both of them, but uh I don't know, just that the pub food does it for me. But but tell me a little bit about that one.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so this one you are in the city of London. So we talk about the we talk about the history and the stories around the city of London through the pubs and the and the snacks that we try. Um so you start off on the on the western end of the city of London, um, near Hoban Viaduct, and uh you go to a very tucked-away little pub, um uh the Mitre for your first stop, which has deep history. It's hundreds of years old, but also has a royal connection um and uh a little bit of royal scandal as well with Queen Elizabeth I. So join the tour to find out more. Um, but you will have some tradition, half pints of traditional um ales um of a various different selection at each of the pubs you go to. Um, we head uh for the next uh pubs down Fleet Street, um, which used to be called the Street of Inc. It was the place where uh printing and the press really came alive. Um with print journalism came the need for um uh a series of uh lovely boozers for you to go and enjoy your your liquid lunch or your afternoon pint in. Um so uh we have uh three different pubs along Fleet Street. You also get to explore in and around Fleet Street some of the little alleyways and the hidden corners as well. Um so you get to really experience uh places that maybe people might be a little bit nervous about, you know, uh about going and exploring further off the main drag. Um so the uh the the legal history of London is covered there as well, the literary history of London with Charles Dickens, Dr. Samuel Johnson. Um uh but the the the snacks are really do open up your your world to the history as well, too. So uh the Cheshire Cheese, which is uh a fabulous old pub alongs uh along Fleet Street, um, you all have a very, very traditional snack that goes back hundreds of years called white bait. Um it's a little bit divisive, this one. It's a little bit marmite, yeah. But there's a deep history that goes along with it that goes all the way back to one of our youngest prime ministers, William Pitt the Younger. So you get those stories, you get to sit down and admire these beautiful old wood-panelled pubs, uh, and you get to find out about how much the City of London has to offer because Westminster is all about royalty and glitz and glam. Um, and and the city is all about hard graft and work and then enjoying your your half pint or your pint at the end of it. Um, and as Tracy has mentioned, a famous Scotch egg will uh will finish your tour as well. And it truly is one of the best. Absolutely is.

SPEAKER_02:

I can certainly attest to that. And also you don't just get it, you also get piccoly, you just still get piccoly with it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep, you still get piccoly with it.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and I'm not gonna say what piccolilly is because you have to come on the chart and then you'll find out what piccolilly is, but it's really tasty. Absolutely. So it's really, really good. Well, and I will link to book uh uh either of those tours in the show notes, uh so that won't be a problem. And I will look forward to to seeing you on some of these tours. And actually, some of our listeners, because some of our listeners are joining me on a on a uh Taste Tales and Traditional Ale's Tour May, which I'm very excited about. So that's gonna be a lot of fun. Now I always end with one question, all my podcasts. Uh so Becky, yes, if you could give one piece of advice to someone planning their food experiences in London for the first time, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that's such a good question. Um stay away from Leicester Square is my main, is my main big one. Please, please, please, whatever you do, stay away from Leicester Square. Covent Garden is just around the corner. Seven dials is your friend. Um, yeah, just just whatever you do, just go see Leicester Square, go enjoy it, but don't eat there. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah, I no, I agree with that one. And Bookafoota, that's my one. Thanks so much, Becky. Absolutely, Bookafuta. Yeah, thanks so much, Becky, for joining me this week on the podcast. Hopefully, you're gonna be back in a few weeks' time talking about um some about building an itinerary around London and also some of the walks tours that will slot into that really nicely. Uh, but but thanks so much for joining me this week.

SPEAKER_01:

It's been great to chat. Oh, thanks so much, Tracy. It's been an absolute pleasure. And uh, welcome to London, everyone, when you uh when you make your travels here. We're uh friendly, lovely people and we'll make you feel very welcome too.

SPEAKER_02:

Thanks again to Becky from Devour Tours for joining me on the podcast. Now, don't forget to tune in to hear Becky's upcoming episode all about building a London itinerary. You're gonna find links uh for this episode, everything we talked about and mentioned in the show notes, including uh links to book those tours. Please use our links. That would be really helps us um to support the business. Um, and you can find those at the show notes at uktravelplanet.com forward slash episode one eight six. Uh, we also have a couple of articles I'd actually recommend as well, checking out over on our London travel planning website. So that's london travelplanning.com. That website is dedicated entirely to visiting London. So it's got everything in it you need to know if you're planning a visit to London. So one of those articles covers what to eat in London and it has photos of all the different dishes, and the other focuses on where to eat with even more great suggestions to help you plan your time in the city. So go and check those out, please. Um, as always, I'd love to hear from you. If you have a question, a comment, or a tip to share, head over to Speakpipe and leave me a voice message. You might even feature in a future episode. But as always, thanks for listening, and until next week, happy UK travel planning. Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. As always, show notes can be found at uktravelplanning.com. If you've enjoyed the show, why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favourite podcast app? We love to hear from you, and you never know, you may receive a shout out in a future episode. But as always, that just leaves me to say until next week, happy UK travel planning.