Food festivals in London worth planning a trip around, by month.
Food festivals in London worth planning a trip around, by month.
Taste of London in Regent's Park, the annual outdoor food festival in London since 2004, runs five days of tasting plates from top restaurants in central London. Booking ahead is required.
Focus: Multi-cuisine restaurant tasting festival
Tip: Weekend tickets sell out a fortnight ahead; weekday lunch slots are easier. The chef demonstration arena is the marquee programming.
Notting Hill Carnival in west London, trading since 1966 over the August bank holiday weekend, fills 50 blocks with Caribbean street food, sound systems and steel bands.
Focus: Caribbean street food (jerk chicken, rotis, rum punch)
Tip: Sunday is family day, Monday is the main parade. Jerk chicken counters line every block; expect £10-15 per plate.
London Coffee Festival at the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane in east London, trading since 2011, runs four days of specialty coffee tasting, barista competitions and roaster stalls.
Focus: Specialty coffee and barista demonstration
Tip: The Sunday tickets are cheapest and the smallest crowds. The Lab Stage runs demonstration and tasting workshops throughout the festival.
Meatopia at Tobacco Dock in east London, trading since 2013 as an annual three-day live-fire meat festival, hosts 50 chefs cooking over open fires for ticketed sessions.
Focus: Wood-fired meat festival
Tip: Three sessions per day (lunch, afternoon, evening). Friday evening session is the curated chef session; Sunday lunch is family-friendly.
London Cocktail Week, the city-wide cocktail festival since 2010, runs nine days of bar-discount cards, masterclasses, festival-pop-up bars and bartender competitions across London.
Focus: Cocktails, bartender events and bar discounts
Tip: Buy the £15 cocktail card; 250 bars run £6 signature cocktails throughout the week. Tickets to masterclasses sell separately.
BBC Good Food Show at Olympia in west London, trading since 1990, runs four days of celebrity chef demonstrations and food retail stalls. The November London show is the autumn edition.
Focus: Celebrity chef demonstrations and food retail
Tip: Buy general admission tickets plus a Super Theatre ticket separately for the headline chef demonstrations.
Peak food season in London is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. London rewards trust.