Guide by Vana

Where to eat in Bermondsey

6 places to eat in Bermondsey, each one on the Guide on merit.

1. 

   Hakata Ramen + Bar

   Ramen restaurant

   Hakata cooks Tonkotsu ramen from a 12-hour pork broth in a 50-seat ground floor room. Noodles come hard as standard, and you can ask for soft or very hard. Downstairs is an izakaya bar pouring Japanese craft beer and sake.

   No reservations, but they usually seat you within 15 minutes. If there is a wait, the basement bar opens from 5pm Wednesday to Saturday.

2. 

   Kappacasein

   Cheese counter

   Raw-milk cheese made in a Bermondsey railway arch, and the cult toastie and raclette that come with it: Montgomery's cheddar on Poilâne, or melted Ogleshield scraped over new potatoes. Worth the queue.

   The Spa Terminus arch trades Saturdays only; Borough Market is the everyday spot, and the toastie queue builds fast at lunch.

3. 

   Little Bread Pedlar

   Bakery

   A Spa Terminus bakery doing excellent bread, pastries and proper sandwiches.

   The Spa Terminus arch only opens to the public on Saturday mornings, so time your visit for then.

4. 

   M. Manze

   Pie, mash and eels · European

   The oldest eel and pie shop still in business, by its own account, and in the Manze family since 1902.

   Go before 2pm and ask for liquor on the side if you are nervous about the parsley sauce.

5. 

   Pique-Nique

   French bistro · European

   The Casse-Croûte team's park pavilion, wrapped in a fairy-lit conservatory, doing French roasts built for two to share.

   Order the roast chicken or the chateaubriand to share, and ask for a conservatory table.

6. 

   Pizarro

   Spanish · European

   José Pizarro's big-hearted Spanish flagship on Bermondsey Street.

   It overlooks the church of St Mary Magdalen, so ask for a window seat and order across the tapas and larger plates.