The fastest, cheapest, frequently best food on London's streets.
Vendors, food trucks and stalls: the cheapest, fastest, frequently best food in London.
The Brick Lane Beigel Bake bakery in east London, trading since 1974, runs hand-rolled bagels and salt beef sandwiches from a 24-hour counter, the city's defining late-night cheap eat.
Try: Salt beef bagel
Tip: Order at the counter, pay at the till. Salt beef bagel with mustard is the orthodox order. £6 cash-or-card, queue runs 15 minutes after midnight.
Karim Salama's Egyptian street-food counter on St Martin's Lane in Covent Garden London, opened 2014, runs koshari (the Cairo bus-station dish) from a takeaway window with picnic seats.
Try: Egyptian koshari (rice, lentils, pasta, tomato sauce)
Tip: Box of koshari is £8 with all toppings. Counter takeaway or eat in the small upstairs space. Closed Sundays.
Mangal 2 Turkish ocakbasi on Stoke Newington Road in north London, trading since 1994, runs charcoal-grilled lamb adana, doner, lahmacun and pide in the Dalston Turkish grill cluster.
Try: Turkish ocakbasi grill (lamb adana, doner)
Tip: BYOB; £3 corkage. Open until midnight Mon-Sun. The artist Gilbert and George are regulars; their original Mangal is across the street.
Honest Burgers' first counter in Brixton Village in London, opened 2011 by Tom Barton, Phil Eeles and Dorian Waite, runs dry-aged Ginger Pig beef and rosemary-salt chips.
Try: British burger with rosemary chips
Tip: The Brixton Village original is walk-up only. Beer list from Beavertown and The Kernel. Plant-based burger is the vegan option.
Erchen Chang and Shing Tat Chung's Taiwanese bao counter on Lexington Street in Soho London, opened 2015, runs the classic pork bao that defined the British bao moment.
Try: Taiwanese steamed bao
Tip: Walk-up only at the counter; queue 30-60 minutes on weekend nights. £6 per bao; pair with peanut-milk shaved ice for dessert.
Padella's hand-rolled pasta counter at Borough Market in London, opened 2016 by Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda, the budget-priced (£8-15) fresh pasta destination for the city.
Try: Hand-rolled fresh pasta
Tip: Use the Padella app for the virtual queue at 12:00 sharp; otherwise 60 minutes on Saturday. The Shoreditch sibling has same kitchen.
Kappacasein's grilled cheese counter inside Borough Market in London, trading since 2002, runs the city's most-photographed cheese toastie made from Montgomery cheddar and Ogleshield.
Try: Aged cheddar grilled cheese
Tip: Counter only. The 09:00 Saturday queue runs 45 minutes. Order the raclette plate if the cheese toastie line is too long.
Giuseppe Mascoli's first sourdough-pizza counter inside Brixton Village in London, opened 2008, runs slow-fermented Neapolitan pies at counter prices (£6-9 per pie).
Try: Sourdough Neapolitan pizza
Tip: Walk-up only at the Brixton original. The wood-fired oven runs 6 to 8 minutes per pie; queues move fast.
Dishoom's bacon naan roll counter on Boundary Street in Shoreditch London, served from breakfast service since 2012, the morning Bombay-cafe sandwich that built the chain.
Try: Bacon naan roll
Tip: Walk-in only for the breakfast rolls before 10:00. £6.50 a roll; chai £3. Faster than the dinner queue all week.
Mathew Carver's all-cheese counter inside Camden Stables Market in London, opened 2017, runs British cheese-led plates from a small kitchen including the trolley raclette night.
Try: Grilled cheese
Tip: Walk-up at the counter for grilled cheese; the £30 tasting menu at the back runs full evenings only with a booking.
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.