Monday
- Tarka dal with jeera ricegolden lentils · sizzling garlic tarka · cumin rice
- Bangladeshi rice payesh with cardamomslow-cooked milk rice · green cardamom · pistachio
Home · Across the UK · London
A region of England
London: its food, and a week to cook at home.
London eats from every cuisine in the world, and its old East End dishes are still there beside them.
The photograph is AI-generated.
What people eat here
Dishes from London
No. 1
Pie and mash
A minced beef pie with mashed potato and a green parsley sauce called liquor. It has been an East End lunch since the 1800s, often with jellied eels.
No. 2
Brick Lane curries
Brick Lane in the East End is lined with curry houses, many run by families from Bangladesh, mostly from the Sylhet region.
No. 3
Caribbean food at Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival, every August bank holiday weekend, fills the streets with jerk chicken, rice and peas and fried plantain.
No. 4
Chinatown
Gerrard Street in Soho has been the heart of London's Chinatown since the 1970s.
What grows here, and when
In autumn, look for apples, pears and squash from the farms around London. In spring, asparagus and early rhubarb.
Little is grown in the city itself, but Kent, Essex and the Lea Valley around it have long grown fruit and vegetables for London's tables.
Seven days, seven menus
A sample week from our recipes
A week to cook at home that suits London and its seasons, using only recipes on this site. Each day reads in the order you eat.
Tuesday
- Jerk chicken with rice and peasscotch bonnet and allspice · charred chicken · coconut rice and peas
- Steamed callaloo with tomato and thymesteamed callaloo · sweet tomato · thyme and garlic
Wednesday
- Hot and sour soup with tofupeppery broth · tofu and bamboo · rice vinegar
- Korean beef bulgogi bowlspear and garlic marinade · seared beef · crunchy quick pickle
Thursday
- Nigerian party jollof ricesmoked tomato rice · sweet fried plantain · the party crust
- Dodo, golden fried ripe plantainripe plantain · caramelised edges · sea salt
Friday
- Crisp hake with minty crushed peascrisp-skin hake · minty crushed peas · lemon new potatoes
Saturday
- Smooth hummus with warm flatbread and cruditéswhipped hummus · warm flatbread · crisp crudités
- Lamb kofta flatbreads with garlic yoghurtspiced lamb kofta · garlic yoghurt · sumac onions
Sunday
- Roast chicken thighs with leeks and potatoesgolden chicken thighs · sweet roast leeks · crisp potatoes
- Crisp roast potatoes with rosemary and garliccrackled roast potatoes · rosemary · soft roasted garlic
- Strawberry Eton messsummer strawberries · vanilla cream · crushed meringue
We have no recipe yet for pie and mash or jellied eels.
Meal plans that suit London
Facts checked on 27 October 2026.