Trying all the restaurants around London Bridge and Borough Market- here are my recommendations for where to eat around London Bridge (and which places I'd avoid) when waiting for your train! (I focus on (semi)independent restaurants and not chains like Rosa's Thai or Honest Burgers.)

If you have some time before (or after) your train from London Bridge, here are some of the restaurants in the Borough/ London Bridge area worth checking out! (I've also included the ones I wasn't a fan of.)

I'm not familiar with West African x Brazilian food so I can't say how authentic this is but I can definitely say it is VERY tasty, and extremely well-executed. Everyone I've brought here has fallen in love with Akara, and said they'd go back!

The service is also top-notch. Once, my friend and I ordered a dessert to share, which came with ice cream, and when we asked for a bowl to halve it, they even gave us an extra scoop of ice-cream! How sweet!

It's on my list of restaurants I want to eat at whenever I'm back in London. (Just writing about it makes me feel like going back!)

Tip: I always go for the set lunch (£30)- unlike some of the other set lunches in the area, it's scrumptious AND filling! (You need to ask for the set lunch menu as they don't give it to you automatically and it's not on every day.) You may be able to walk in for lunch but I recommend making a reservation in the evenings.

Delicious Southern Thai food with a bit of a Western twist but enough spice for a Southeast Asian girl like me. Asian food is usually family style (i.e. the diners share all the dishes), and that is the case here (but some of the plates are quite small.)

One of my favorite dishes is the Snickers ice cream (and I'm not usually a fan of coconut ice cream.)

Highly recommend and would return.

I've been several times and have always enjoyed my meal- the cooking is very flavourful and well-executed. (Also just met a Sri Lankan lady at a London cooking class who gave it her stamp of approval despite being a tad Westernized.)

In fact, I like the chicken and rice (top right) so much, I've ordered it every time I've been! It's also quite a good size- if you're watching your budget, you may want to check on the portion sizes of the dishes before ordering, as some are on the smaller side. (So you'll need to order quite a bit for a full meal.)

Tip: This is a popular restaurant so you'll need to make a reservation, especially in the evenings.

Located inside Tower Bridge Collective, I was surprised (in a good way) by how spicy the chicken at Clapping Seoul was- definitely an authentic level of spice and very flavourful.

The service was also very friendly- the guy even gave me free dumplings! Would go back!

Note: I've been to Korea many times (I do have a Korean travel blog, after all), but personally never seen the dumplings in curry that Clapping Seoul sells in Korea. (Also showed it to a Korean friend who looked as baffled as I was.)

Located at Maltby Spa Terminus, this grilled toastie comprises 5 types of cheese. It's not a set percentage- it depends on what they have (though Comte is always the dominant cheese) so the taste will differ depending on when you visit!

It's a delicious cheese toast- they use a TON of butter- but it really needs some acidity to cut through the fat! Would have loved some pickles or kimchi to go with it.

The lady at the stall is very nice and friendly too!

Note: it only has outdoor seating.

This is probably my favorite Western restaurant in London Bridge.

It's not the most inventive of menus but the food is always well-executed and the service BEYOND EXCELLENT.

Note: the original outlet is in Brighton. I am so impressed by the Coal Shed in London that I almost ate at the one in Brighton too, before I decided to try something new 😛

The pasta at this small restaurant was quite good and the service friendly. It's located in the picturesque Shad Thames, just next to Tower Bridge.

I'd go back if craving Italian food.

I've been to both Murano and Cafe Murano- unfortunately, both times I was not impressed...

This is a place I'd personally skip: service was OK but the food just didn't feel that flavourful or well-executed enough. (I enjoyed Legare more.)

At £8.50, this is an affordable Sri Lankan lunch which is very tasty! (Probably one of the cheapest places to eat at in London Bridge...?)

On my list of places to return to. (Note the menu is limited- you can have a rice or wrap- with very little seating.)

I had heard a ton about this Burmese restaurant so was excited to try.

Personally I wasn't super impressed as I felt the food needed more spice and acidity- I had the curry noodles. (Portions were also on the smaller side.)

If you are looking for South East Asian food around Borough Market, definitely try Kolae instead. (There's also Sentosa (Singaporean/ Malaysian) which I review below.)

This is a gorgeous restaurant, with a beautiful setting BUT ....

I don't find the food good AT ALL! (I've tried it more than once.)

Service is well-trained but disinterested- which sounds like a contradiction. Basically, they're well-trained in that they'll ask you if you need something else when they bring your order but, unlike the Coal Shed, they won't take the initiative to top up your tapwater when you're out. (Or come back later in the meal to see if you need something else.)

Basically, a place to see and be seen and take photos for Instagram, in my opinion.

I really liked their Doenjang Jjigae! (The Soft Tofu Stew, on the other hand, is not particularly memorable.)

Unlike Korean restaurants in New Malden (or South Korea), you don't get a single banchan (or even kimchi) with your food. (There aren't many Korean restaurants in London Bridge, so you don't really have a choice 😛 There's also Seoul Tokyo which has good reviews but the name put me off so I've not been. (Didn't feel very authentic.))

In addition, this is NOT the place to go to if you're looking for service (especially if you're dining alone.) For example, I once went solo and the restaurant had 1 small table available. They didn't turn me away but they didn't give me the table either- instead they just left me waiting and kept asking me how many people (as if the number would change...) They only allowed me to take a seat when another solo diner turned up and we agreed to share the table!

Also note that the floor can be very slippery!

The pasta was yummy enough but it didn't merit the queue in my opinion so I went once when it first opened (at the request of a friend), and have not been back since.

I was excited to see another Singaporean restaurant in London!

I like how the restaurant has decent interiors (a step up from the sometimes grubby Asian restaurants in Chinatown- I once ate at a Korean restaurant where the loo was SO small they had to cut the door so that it could close!) but isn't a fancy place. (Having said that, a friend did say that she finds £15(ish) too expensive for noodles, which I strongly disagree with: well-cooked Asian food should have the right to charge as much as Western food/ pasta!

Do note that the space is quite compact so it could be pretty crowded/ noisy during peak hours.

Something I found weird is that Sentosa is a Singaporean island but the laksa seems to be Malaysian style? (The menu says curry laksa and the waitress confirmed it's Malaysian style.)

I ended up trying the Mee Goreng instead- it was not bad but I wouldn't order it again. (A tad on the sweet side and needed more chili! Also it had French fries in it... I could see a hawker in Singapore adding French fries to be lazy but I think it detracted from the fish. Could have skipped the potatoes instead.)

The waitress kindly gave me some sambal but it wasn't really sambal, more like a prawn paste (which tasted good enough that I would try the prawn noodles if I return.)

Service was disinterested but efficient.

I liked the idea of this place but more than I liked the food!

The food was good enough that I've been twice but, overall, the food just doesn't stand out given all the amazing restaurants in the Borough and London Bridge area.

Food here comes in very pretty small plates. Tasty but I didn't find it particularly memorable. (It didn't leave me with a burning desire to return.)

Service was OK but could have been better.

This cafe started from a tiny outlet on Bermondsey street and now has so many outlets in London and beyond. (I kind of liked it more when it was a hidden gem!) In fact, there are 2 in the London Bridge area now- 1 on Bermondsey Street and 1 at the Shad Thames.

The good news is that there's more seating now- as the Bermondsey Street (original) outlet is TINY.

The breakfast and caramel tart (at the Shad Thames outlet) are both great. It does, however, get quite crowded later in the day! (Also, the matcha feels crazily expensive: £9!)

I really enjoyed the food at Arabica but the restaurant was just MUCH TOO NOISY! (And this was before Borough Market got crazy crowded...)

Tip: It does a £28 set lunch.

The food is SOOOOOOO beautifully presented (one of the prettiest out of all the Michelin lunch sets I've tried) but... alas the lunch set was not filling at all. (Both my friend and I had to go and eat at MacDonalds after lunch to fill out stomachs up!)

I know it's a value deal/ cheaper since it was a lunch set, but they could at least give us more bread? (We were only given 1 piece each and not offered more.)

I enjoyed the food here- better than Brindisa, to my mind - and keep meaning to return but just haven't found the time (or stomach) to!

I also enjoyed it more than Jose but it could be because Jose was just SOOO packed and noisy (worse than Arabica- I think it was my noisiest experience on this list), I couldn't enjoy the food.

I'm on the fence about this one- the food is well executed but not always that tasty (to me, at least.) Service is also a bit hit-or-miss- the waiters are usually very good but one of the Maitre D's in the past was a bit.... iffy?

The menu is also on the smaller side so you may not always be able to find a dish you want. (It changes quite often. For example, I went back after having the delicious grilled meat platter above, but they had removed it! And when I returned, they didn't have a spicy curry on the menu either, so I couldn't really find a dish I liked. The one I ended up trying didn't impress me.)

It can also be pretty pricey, as some of the portions are quite small. (The first time I went over 10 years ago, it was over £40 for 1 person for lunch!)

Note: they have a set lunch but it's not available for solo diners.

This restaurant is a little further down (towards the end of Bermondsey Street, and close to Sentosa.)

I brought my Mom here for Mother's Day and we both enjoyed the food.

The Mala Dry Hotpot here used to be SOOOO good (if pricey)- I've brought several Chinese friends and they all agreed!

However, I've read a few recent reviews that said the food isn't as good as before so.... you'll need to try it yourself to find out!

I've only had breakfast here.

The cooking technique isn't top notch but the food is well thought through and flavourful enough that I'd be happy to return.

The food was OK but lacked the flavor of fresh herbs and spices that I associate with Vietnamese cuisine. (Taste lacked oomph.)

Great views and lovely ambience. However, I found the food quite bland.

A friend asked me to go with her but I didn't find the food great. (Never returned.)

I went once with friends and also wasn't impressed enough to return!

I've been twice- the food was OK but I wasn't blown away. (First time was better than the second.) I think you can get better food in the area for the price you pay!

Any questions about the best places to eat at in London Bridge? Let me know in the comments!