Food52 is Going to London—See How We Travel

I’m going to _______ . Where should I eat? What should I see??

It’s an all-too common question in our company-wide chatroom, on our hotline, and in our social feeds. And so we leave comments and we send each other long emails. I tend to think of it like karma: Put in the work to write down all of your top-tens for your friends now, and someone will do the same for you the next time you announce where you’re going. (Are any of you heading to Kauai soon? If so, you know where to find me.)

We know there’s no shortage of websites telling you where to go and what to eat these days, but from the first time we posted about travel nearly two years ago, we heard a lot of excitement from you. You had a lot to share about Knoxville, Tennessee. You had even more to say about Japan. We wanted to keep this going—and to hear more from you.

But we also wanted to expand our travel coverage beyond just points on a map. We wanted to tell stories about the people, the places, and the dishes that have imprinted on the culture of a destination. We wanted to go beyond food itself, because while we’re quick to plan the restaurants and markets we’ll visit, we also want to know about the best café corners to sit in, or the design elements we might see everywhere, or the best shops—the ones full of quirk and real heirlooms that will forever remind us of a place. Most importantly, we wanted to share narratives and deep dives for all of us armchair travelers—guides that will help you get lost in a city, even if you’re just sitting at your desk.

Today’s guide is our first of this kind: Food52 Goes to London. 

Join us as we follow Aleksandra Crapanzano, the award-winning author who literally wrote the book on London, through the city’s streets to 33 must-visit restaurants, bookshops, cheesemongers, and more. Or consult our rundown on the city’s best outdoor markets and commit their tips to memory. (Let’s be serious: Don’t schedule Borough Market for a Saturday after 11 AM—crowds will be thick and hungry. There are plenty more nuggets just like this—see for yourself.) And because every good trip has another trip folded within it, we show you two beach towns worth exploring, both only a skip from the city center.

Even if you’re not going any time soon, cook through the city on your own: We asked leaders of the city’s food scene to share recipes that say “London” to them. Or hop over to the beautiful piece on Sri Owen, one of the city’s leading cookbook authors who’s vastly under-recognized.  

There’s something for almost everyone—and if you don’t see your favorite spot included, add it to our community map. We want to hear about the corner of the city you love, which park bench, which hall in which museum.

To read these stories and much more—head right this way. 

Here’s to much more traveling together, 

Kenzi Wilbur

Managing Editor