London’s Greatest Food Stalls

London has many great street food markets, from Dinerama to Pop Brixton, all of which are filled with delicious individual stalls. So much so that it can be difficult to choose what to go for. To save you the trouble, we’ve rounded up London’s best food stalls of all time, featuring everything from crispy fried chicken to vibrant salads to deliciously gooey brownies…Bon appetit!

Biff’s Jack Shack

Disappointed at the sad-looking bean burgers on offer in most restaurants, Biff Burrows and Christa Bloom set out to change the conversation around plant-based food – and they’ve succeeded. Biff’s pride themselves on serving up the ‘filthiest’ vegan junk food in the UK. The menu is based around Biff’s unique Crispy Fried Jackfruit, which is braised in secret spice mix and triple-dipped in golden panko to create a selection of tasty burgers and wings. If you really want to indulge, go for the ‘Jack Bauer Tower of Power,’ a double jackfruit patty with deep fried vegan cheese, potato rosti and vegan aioli, served in a toasted brioche bun. Disclaimer – not all vegan food is healthy! biffsjackshack.com 

Where: Boxpark (Shoreditch), Kerb Camden, Walthamstow

Mother Clucker

For the tastiest chicken in town, head to Mother Clucker, where meat is tea brined, soaked in buttermilk, twice battered and fried to create the crispiest, juiciest chicken on the market. They began selling their mouth-watering creations from a converted US Army ambulance at the Truman Brewery back in 2013, but have since expanded, and now operate in a number of London markets including Flat Iron Square and Hawker House as well as from their very own, recently opened shop in Farringdon. motherclucker.co.uk

Where: Flat Iron Square, Hawker House, Farringdon, The Old Truman Brewery

Breadwinners

Not only do Breadwinners dish out some of the best artisan bread in town, it’s for a good cause. A social enterprise operating across markets all over London, Breadwinners offers both work experience and employment to asylum seekers and refugees, helping them gain vital employability skills for life in the UK. You can donate to the cause here. breadwinners.org.uk

Where: Victoria Park Market, Primrose Hill Market, Chelsea Partridges Market, Lloyd Park Market, Maltby Street Market

Savage Salads

Street food, meet salad. Davide and Kristina were inspired to start Savage Salads due market food’s lack of salads that are ‘more than just the usual basic leaf and vegetable concoction’. They’ve seemed to solve this problem with the likes of their roasted beetroot, couscous and pumpkin seed salad, as well as a red cabbage, kale, orange zest and sultana one. Paired proteins like grilled halloumi or rosemary, thyme and lemon marinated chicken, these salads are a bang for your buck (and come with hummus and pitta).  Berwick St Market, Soho, London W1F 8HT savagesalads.co.uk

Where: Soho, Flat Iron Square, Strutton Ground , Berwick Street Market, White City

Club Mexicana

A pioneer on London’s vegan street food scene, Club Mexicana was born in East London, inspired by founder Meriel Armitage’s deep admiration of the American food scene. As a plant-based alternative to pulled pork, jackfruit is roasted, shredded and seasoned with garlic and spices to create a juicy taco filling, with a surprising likeness to the texture of meat. Tuck into a BBQ-pulled jackfruit burrito, stuffed with black beans, guacamole, salsa verde, salted chillies and sour ‘cream’, or go for the ‘tofish,’ breadcrumbed and beer battered tofu styled like a fish finger, served on a blue corn tortilla and topped with Mexican delights. They recently opened a permanent outpost in Hackney’s Spread Eagle pub, which is London’s first fully vegan pub. clubmexicana.com

Where: Dinerama in Shoreditch, permanent home at Hackney’s Spread Eagle pub

Pittabun

Carnaby Street spot Pittabun dishes up – you guessed it – pitta bread, but not your average pitta bread: homemade pitta, filled to the brim with a selection of hearty Greek fillings. There’s lamb shoulder topped with feta and roasted peppers, slow-cooked chicken thigh, and panko-crusted cod fillet with beetroot ketchup, alongside Pittabun-spiced chips, salads and dipping sauces. Or if you’re feeling something sweet, there are dessert-style options including an apple crumble pitta filled with roasted apples, vanilla ice cream and caramel fudge sauce. pittabun.com

Where: Newburgh Street, Soho

Bad Brownie

After making their debut in a South London market, founders Paz and Morag pitched their brand Bad Brownie to the Dragon’s Den panel, winning the support of judge Touker Suleyman.  With his support they expanded the business, and can now be found across five London food hubs. If you spot Bad Brownie while meandering round a food market, it’ll be hard to resist. Perfectly gooey, flavours include salted caramel, peanut butter, bacon & maple syrup and Ferrero Rocher, with vegan and gluten-free options also available. Can’t choose one? Treat yourself to a chef’s selection box, featuring mini versions of seasonal specials, from raspberry and pistachio to fan favourite Jaffa cake. badbrownie.co.uk

Where: One New Change, Maltby Street, Greenwich, Broadway Market and Venn Street, Clapham

Mama’s Jerk

At Caribbean hotspot Mama’s Jerk it’s all about the jerk chicken wings, which are marinated for 24 hours in a secret sauce created by the original Mama, Charlotte, in her Jamaican farmhouse. It made its way from Street Feast to summer festivals, before setting up camp in Pop Brixton. On top of jerk wings, they also offer up flame-grilled chicken wraps, a jerk-spiced biriyardi and saltfish cakes, as well as veggie burgers made with sweet potato, plantain, kidney beans and black-eyed peas. Turn up the heat with some hot pepper pickle, or jerk it up even more with some of Mama’s secret homemade BBQ jerk sauce. mamasjerk.com

Where: Pop Brixton

Dhan Waffle

Dhan Waffle serves up a decadent take on the traditional Taiwanese food egg shaped waffles. These beauties are created by pouring the batter into a rotating mould over a heater, then topped with all sorts of wonderful things, from Nutella to peanut butter to caramel sauce to homemade custard and served in batches of six. dhanwaffle.com

Where: Maltby Street Market

Yum Bun

For some irresistibly fluffy steamed buns, head to Yum Bun, with multiple outposts across the city. Think spongy white bread cushions filled with slow-roasted pork belly and sweet hoisin sauce, or tofu with black bean and garlic mayo. Headed up by founder Lisa Meyer, Yum Bun began as a Saturday stall in Hackney’s Broadway Market back in 2010, before making its way around some of London’s best food markets and setting up a year long pop-up shop in Old Street. yumbun.com

READ MORE: London’s Best Food Markets / The Best Food Festivals for 2019