Street food£boroughWed-Fri 11:00-17:00, Sat 09:00-17:00
Kappacasein's grilled cheese counter inside Borough Market in London, trading since 2002, runs the city's most-photographed cheese toastie made.
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.
Street food£brixton-tootingTue-Wed 18:00-22:00, Thu-Fri 12:00-15:30 and 18:00-23:00, Sat 11:00-23:00, Sun 11:00-21:00
The Nguyen family's Vietnamese counter on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton London, opened 2016, runs bánh mì, pho and small-plates from a Saigon street-food.
Try: Bánh mì sandwich and pho
Tip: Bánh mì at £8 is the marquee handheld; pair with a Vietnamese iced coffee. Closed Mondays; weekend lunches walk in without waiting.
Street food£shoreditchMon-Fri 08:00-23:00, Sat-Sun 09:00-23:00
Dishoom's bacon naan roll counter on Boundary Street in Shoreditch London, served from breakfast service since 2012, the morning Bombay-cafe sandwich.
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.
Street food£camden-primrose-hillDaily 12:00-22:30
Mathew Carver's all-cheese counter inside Camden Stables Market in London, opened 2017, runs British cheese-led plates from a small kitchen including.
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.
Street food£shoreditch-spitalfields24 hours, 7 days a week
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.
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.
Street food£covent-gardenMon-Fri 11:00-21:00, Sat 12:00-20:00
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).
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.