We absolutely love food tours when we travel, as it gives us a really great way to check out some local fare, learn some history, and perhaps even explore a neighborhood we might not have otherwise check out. In London, I was keen to check out Borough Market, though felt overwhelmed with the place and decided to book a food tour through the company Eating Europe. Our tour guide was funny and knowledgable, and the tour was jammed with food and history, just the way I like it!

This tour was a small group, and there were seven people total, including the four of us. The tour cost 106 pounds for adults, and 73 pounds for children, although the kids ate just as much as we did, and there wasn’t really a ton of booze to make up the additional 33 pounds of cost, so keep that in mind when you’re booking. We started at 10am and this was a three hour tour.

We started just outside the market itself, where we got some history about the place, while eating incredible sausage rolls from The Ginger Pig. These were easily the best sausage rolls I’ve ever eaten. The sausage itself was perfectly seasoned, and the pastry dough was incredibly flaky and buttery. Amazing! Since we started at 10am, there was no line there, but when we walked by about an hour later, there was a huge queue of folks here. What a great way to start the morning!

We then walked around the Bankside area, learning a bit more history, when we walked by the area where the original globe theater was, and where the new one was built. There were also brand new buildings and walkways and areas that were totally rehabbed during COVID. I thought it was splendid, and would probably consider staying in this neighborhood on a return trip to London! While in the renovated areas, we stopped at Longboys for a “longboy” doughnut, which was melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

Next up was fish and chips from the incredible Fish! Kitchen. They only use fresh caught fish here, and you can really tell. Clara, our official fish and chips taste tester for the trip, thought they were the best we had on the whole trip. We got a solid amount for the tasting. Yum! Afterwards, we ventured into the Market itself and grabbed alcoholic ciders from The Cider House. They had a ton to choose from, and even NA Cider for the kids.

Following the Cider we stopped at a cheese shop just outside the market that specializes in British and Irish cheeses called Neal’s Yard Dairy. This was easily my favorite stop on the whole tour, and I definitely ate most of the extra after everyone else tried a few bites. The stilton blue cheese was insanely good, and I wished I had room in my bag to smuggle entire wheels of the stuff back to the states! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

For our final stop, we had the best and only legitimate sticky toffee pudding of our entire trip at the Boot and Flogger, an off-the-beaten-path pub specializing in wine, and amazing sticky toffee pudding. This was the only place that not only steamed the stuff (like you’re supposed to!) but also topped it with traditional clotted cream, rather than ice cream. Don’t get me wrong, I love the stuff with ice cream too, but the clotted cream was something extra special, and a really great way to end the tour. Here, were were offered tea, coffee or beer, though I would’ve preferred some type of cordial like port to go with the dessert, rather than beer, especially at a wine centric place. This was probably the only oversight for the tour planners that I would suggest be changed.

I absolutely loved our food and history tour through Borough Market and Bankside with Eating Europe. If you’re looking for the insta-famous places at Borough Market, definitely skip this tour. But, if you’re looking for some really great, authentic British food, and some of the best cheese you’ll eat in your life, don’t hesitate to sign up!