I feel like I mention taking food tours in pretty much every blog post, but they’re so much fun and such a great way to experience a city! When Rick and I were in London we of course did a food tour in the city and we booked ours with Eating Europe! We decided to visit some old pubs and booked the London Old Docks – Historic Pub Tour on the Thames.
We had a great time on our food tour and if you’re looking at doing a food tour with Eating London, here’s our review of our experience with them!
Booking process
The booking process was super easy and the confirmation email came right away. I like that their site listed out all the important info, so there were really no questions left after reading the tour overview.
When booking a tour, make sure to read all what’s included and what’s excluded! For example, this tour we needed to have an Oyster card or tickets for the tube as we had to take public transport between two stops, but they definitely tell you that on the site.
Tour guide
Our guide, Leigh, was fantastic. It was almost like we were just meeting up with a friend in London who happened to take us out to his favorite pubs and buy us food and beer. He was on time for the check-in, friendly, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to. He was more than happy to provide recommendations on where to go after the tour or answer any questions we had on the tour.
Tour info
Leigh lives in the area and his love for his neighborhood showed through the tour. He expertly led us around Wapping, pointing out historic buildings, new developments, and sharing insider information.
At the end of our food tour, we got a little London guide that talked about where we went on our tour, ideas for other places to eat listed by neighborhood, and some tips on things to do in London.
Group size
Our group was small, making it a more intimate food tour of London. We had about two other couples and a solo traveler with us in our group, meaning it was easy for us to all sit together for our meals and listen to Leigh as he talked about the pub, its history, the tales of pirates at the docs, or just about London in general.
Timing
The tour is four hours and starts at noon, making it perfect for a large lunch. It still leaves plenty of time in the morning to explore London and enough time in the evening to walk off all that food and beer!
Pace & route
We kept a good pace, enough time to eat and drink our samples – Leigh and the rest of the group were patient as I’m one of the slowest eaters on the planet. Leigh would spread out his stories and share info as we ate and as we walked toward our next destination. The route wasn’t too big, though at the end we do end up back in the touristy part of London but you do get an amazing view on the way back into the city. The tour ended right near the Tower of London, which was perfect for an afternoon stroll by the historic landmarks of the city and along the waterfront.
London pubs
All the pubs on the tour were old (one dated to 1520) and had plenty of character. Some of the pubs are touted as the oldest taverns in the area and others are renovated warehouses. Each had a story and each was different, it wasn’t like we visited identical pubs over and over. One had amazing views of the Thames, one was super cozy, and one felt like a local’s-only spot.
One of our favorite London pubs was The Mayflower for the history and unique artifacts from the ship as well as the stories of the pilgrims. It was so neat just exploring the pub while our food was prepared and even step back outside to see the American flag waving over the river. Another favorite was The Dickens Inn. It was such a neat building, had a great big open floor plan, and just had a really fun ambiance to it.
Food & drink samples
My biggest piece of advice (besides doing this London food tour) is to not eat any breakfast the day of!! The food and drink portions are big (no complaints here) but we ate that morning and I couldn’t even finish my sample of cheese or my cider at the last stop – fortunately Rick could.
Each stop included some sort of meal or snack and a pint of beer. It was a very filling and extremely delicious afternoon.
On our food tour in London we sampled:
- Bangers and mash paired with scurvy ale
- Fish and chips – complete with mushy peas – paired with a craft ale
- Steak pie paired with London Pride
- A surprise pub treat (to say would ruin the fun while on tour) paired with a porter
- A cheese and fruit plate paired with a cider
This London pub tour is an amazing value for all the tastings that are included.
I’d definitely book another tour with them next time we’re in London, perhaps the Twilight Soho Food Tour. They also operate food tours in Rome, Florence, Paris, Prague, and Amsterdam. I was eyeing their Rome Evening Wine & Food Stroll for our visit to Rome but we just didn’t have enough time to fit it in. But, we did toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain so we’ll add it to our Rome itinerary when we return.
If you’re looking at their tasty tours, use the discount code LEIGH for 10% off your food tour!
