London travel guide

London on a Tight Schedule: Pieminister, Nigerian Jollof, and a Stonehenge Day Trip

London reminded us a lot of Hong Kong, which makes sense given the shared history, right down to the street signs. We packed in fish and chips, a proper English breakfast, a market's worth of global food stalls, and a day trip out to Stonehenge before heading on to Paris.

~$95/person Stonehenge day trip

~4 hrs Round-trip drive time

£1 each Half-price oysters

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Where we ate.

 A London chip shop London 

Fish and chips

Get: Fish and chips with tartar sauce, plus a battered sausage

Our first proper meal in the city: fried, but surprisingly not greasy, with an airy batter and thick-cut chips that held up. The battered sausage was a new one for us, meatier than expected, closer to a burger patty in flavor than a standard hot dog.

 Jenki Matcha London 

Specialty matcha

Get: Lavender matcha with oat milk

A small shop with genuinely good matcha and better music taste than we expected. The lavender latte's blue-ish tint comes from the lavender, not the oat milk, floral without drowning out the matcha underneath.

 Jollof Mama Seven Dials Market 

Nigerian food stall

Get: Beef suya and jollof rice

Well-seasoned and more flavorful than we expected walking in, a long-grain jollof rice loaded with tomatoes, chilies, onions, and spices, well coated and packed with flavor. The beef suya came with a nice caramelized char on the outside.

 Pieminister Seven Dials Market 

British savory pies

Get: The chicken and mushroom pie

Genuinely craveable: a flaky, crispy crust wrapped around a filling that tastes like a chicken pot pie in the best way, mushroom and gravy soaked into every bite. This is the kind of thing we wish we could find in LA.

 Kimchi Mama London 

Korean, after two days without Asian food

Get: Katsu curry and kimchi jjigae

After going two full days without Asian food, a personal record for us, we passed a Korean spot with a name too good to skip. The katsu curry looked beautiful and the kimchi jjigae hit exactly the way you'd want after a long day of walking.

Good to know before you go

We booked a Stonehenge bus tour plus entrance tickets through Get Your Guide for about $95 per person; it's roughly a 2-hour drive each way from London, so plan for a half-day trip minimum.
We also tried Nando's for the first time (a UK chain famous for peri-peri chicken) and happy-hour oysters for £1 each near Seven Dials Market.

Questions people ask us about London.

What should I eat at Seven Dials Market in London?

Jollof Mama for Nigerian beef suya and jollof rice, and Pieminister for a proper British savory pie, were both standouts. The market also has a German sourdough bakery stall worth a look.

Is a Stonehenge day trip from London worth it?

Yes, if you have a spare day. We booked a bus tour and entrance tickets together through Get Your Guide for about $95 per person; it's about a 2-hour drive each way, so budget a half day at minimum.

Where can I get Nigerian food in London?

Jollof Mama, a stall inside Seven Dials Market, serves well-seasoned jollof rice and beef suya with a nice char.

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