United Kingdom
London
London is built for this. Every neighbourhood has a market or a row of lunch counters, and almost all of them are a short walk from a park, a canal towpath or a stretch of riverbank where nobody minds you sitting down with a paper bag.
Green markers are the picnic spots. Amber ones are where to buy the food. Every place below also links straight to Google Maps for walking directions.
Before you go
- Most London parks close at dusk. Check the gate times on the sign at the entrance.
- Market stalls are weekday lunch businesses. Many shut by 3pm and don't open at all on Sundays.
- Contactless cards work everywhere, including market stalls. You won't need cash.
Bernie Spain Gardens
South Bank, SE1
A narrow strip of lawn and rose beds tucked behind the Oxo Tower, one street back from the river path. The South Bank crowds stream past twenty metres away and almost none of them turn in.
- Where to sit
- Grass, plus circular benches under the roses. Shade in the afternoon.
- Open
- Roughly 11am–6pm; gates are locked overnight.
Walking directions to Bernie Spain Gardens
Pick up food first
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Voodoo Chicken
£Grilled chicken box with hand-cut chips and a fruit-and-chilli sauce
A stall, not a shop. Get there before 1.30pm or the queue eats your lunch hour.
Lower Marsh, SE1 7AB · Directions
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Falafel & Halloumi
£Falafel wrap, with halloumi if you want it
The cheapest properly good lunch on the street. Travels well in a bag.
95 Lower Marsh, SE1 7AB · Directions
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Greek Food Kitchen
£Gyros and chicken-and-rice boxes
Generous portions. Ask for the salad on the side so it doesn't go soggy on the walk.
98 Lower Marsh, SE1 7AB · Directions
Granary Square and the Regent's Canal steps
King's Cross, N1C
Wide stone steps run straight down into the canal, so you can sit with your feet over the water and watch narrowboats work the lock. Behind you, a thousand dancing fountains and a lot of people pretending not to enjoy them.
- Where to sit
- Stone steps down to the water, plus lawns in the adjacent Lewis Cubitt Park.
- Open
- Open all hours. Fountains run daytime only.
Walking directions to Granary Square and the Regent's Canal steps
Pick up food first
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Roti King
££Roti canai with curry, nasi lemak, char kway teow
Famous, and the queue shows it. Order to take away and skip the basement dining room entirely.
40 Doric Way, NW1 1LH · Directions
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The Real Food Market
££Rotating street food stalls right outside the station
Only three days a week. Check it's on before you plan around it.
King's Cross Square, N1C 9AL · Directions
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Ruby Violet
££Ice cream made on site, plus sundaes
Dessert, not lunch. Thirty seconds from the canal steps.
Midland Goods Shed, 3 Wharf Rd, N1C 4BZ · Directions
Greenwich Park
Greenwich, SE10
Climb the hill below the Royal Observatory and the whole city lines up in front of you: the Queen's House, the masts of the Cutty Sark, then Canary Wharf behind it all. The best free view in London, and there's grass to sit on.
- Where to sit
- Open grass on the slope. Benches along the top path, usually taken.
- Open
- 6am–9pm in summer, earlier close in winter.
Walking directions to Greenwich Park
Pick up food first
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Pizza Shack
££Pizza by the slice or whole, cooked to order
Weekends only at the market stall. Five minutes' wait while they cook it.
Greenwich Market, SE10 9HY · Directions
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Udlè Burgers
££Burgers and chips, one man, one griddle
Weekdays only, which is the opposite of most of the market. Handy if you're visiting midweek.
5B Greenwich Market, SE10 9HZ · Directions
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Cutty Sark Street Food Market
££A dozen stalls: tacos, Caribbean, katsu, pastries
More choice than Greenwich Market proper and slightly cheaper.
Welland St, SE10 9DW · Directions
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill, NW1
A single green hill north of Regent's Park with a protected view south over the whole skyline. Locals come at sunset with wine and stay until the gates close. It is worth the climb and the walk from the food.
- Where to sit
- Grass, all of it. A few benches at the summit.
- Open
- 6am–10pm.
Walking directions to Primrose Hill
Pick up food first
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Camden Bakery
£Sandwiches, pastries, sausage rolls, coffee
The most reliable takeaway on this side of Camden. Get the ciabatta and something with pistachio in it.
94 Camden High St, NW1 0LT · Directions
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Morley's Chicken
£Fried chicken and chips
A south London institution with a northern outpost. Cheap, fast, and closer to the hill than Camden Town.
59 Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8AN · Directions
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Chalk Farm Grill
£Grilled half chicken, chips, kebabs
No frills whatsoever. Order the grilled chicken and chips, not the biryani.
4 Malden Rd, NW5 3HR · Directions
St James's Park
Westminster, SW1A
The lake is the point. Sit on the north bank near the Blue Bridge and you get Buckingham Palace at one end and the towers of Whitehall at the other, plus pelicans that have lived here since the 1660s.
- Where to sit
- Grass and deckchairs, though the deckchairs cost money. Plenty of free benches.
- Open
- 5am–midnight.
Walking directions to St James's Park
Pick up food first
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Le Signore Snack Bar
£Italian caff: panini, filled rolls, proper coffee
A genuine old-school Italian café in an area otherwise given over to chains.
4 Palace St, SW1E 5HY · Directions
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Farmer J
££Build-your-own hot boxes with rice, grains and roasted vegetables
Closed Sundays. The box travels better than most hot food.
8–9 Orchard Pl, SW1H 0BG · Directions
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Crush Tomato
£Big Italian sandwiches and pizza slices
Sandwiches get cut into three, so one is easily shared.
112 Horseferry Rd, SW1P 2EF · Directions