American Expats in London | Where to Find Your Favourite Foods
Are you an American expat craving your favorite food? Well this article is for you
As a property agent and having lived in this city for over eight years I specialize in working with clients moving to London, especially international clients, helping them navigate all the things they need to know as they buy property, rent property, and settle into the city.
Part of moving to London as an American is giving up some of your favourite things but in this article I’m going to make sure you know where to find some of your favourite American foods!
Let me first start off by saying that in London the shopping experience can be very different, especially when it comes to department stores, in America I don’t think we’re used to seeing food halls, but that is something that’s definitely a staple in many of the department stores such as Selfridges and Harrods. Call it a “multi-sensory experience” where you get to do everything in a department store not just find your favourite designers but find your favourite appliances, gadgets, and yes actual grocery shopping and food.
So, with that let’s start with Selfridges – they have an incredible food hall and they’ve got a special section dedicated to American food where you can find things like pop-tarts and even Aunt Jemima pancakes!
Next up you’ll be glad to know that Whole Foods is here and while it’s not strictly for American food it is going to have some things and brands that you’re used to from America but what you’ll also appreciate is the shopping experience which is also there in terms of being able to try little nibbles of things, you’re going to get great fresh produce and you’re going to get a wide variety of selections including American food. They’ve got eight locations in London with the most popular being the High Street Kensington location, & Piccadilly Circus so make sure to check out Whole Foods to find some of the things you might be missing.
Next up is Partridges in Sloane Square – it’s at a fabulous location right across the plaza from the Saatchi gallery, you’ll find so much of what you need there including brands like Skippy peanut butter, Kraft macaroni and cheese, Betty Crocker cake mix, which I remember making when I was a kid, so you’ll definitely find a lot of the brands that you might be missing from America that you want to make sure you still are able to get here in London.
In Northwest London you’ve got also Panzer’s in St. John’s Wood – it’s a deli and a grocery store that, again, you won’t have just American foods, but you’ll have fresh deli produce and you’ll have a wide range of things, but because the American school is located in St. John’s Wood, Panzer’s definitely will have American goods, given that it’s got a fairly high American population in the area.
Then there’s the American food store in Ladbroke Grove, with a name like that you know they’re definitely going to have lots of American items for you. You’ll find things like Cap’n Crunch cereal, Lipton iced tea, Campbell’s soup, and even Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing and believe you me, that salad dressing is hard to find! It’s got a fabulous online website as well so you can check it out and see some of the variety of things that you’ll be able to find there as well.
What food items are you missing from America? Make sure to comment in this article and let me know because I’ll definitely try to help to track down what you’re missing!
Next up, we can talk about fast food options – you’ll be really happy to know that a lot of the major American brands are here such as McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut. For pizza you’ve actually also got Domino’s and actually a Papa John’s Pizza location in West Hampstead on West End Lane as well. On a healthier note I quite like Chipotle and you might not realize it, they’re there, I’ve only been able to find three locations – one is on Baker Street, the other one is in Covent Garden and the third one is in Soho, so if you want that fresher “cafeteria style” preparation Chipotle is for you, & you can definitely check it out.
A few brands you might not realize that are here that’ll help you take that edge off and be really familiar are Dunkin’ Donuts, Krispy Kreme, and Baskin Robbins – the only Dunkin’ Donuts location I’ve been able to find is the one on Baker Street but we do know that they’re here in London. So if you like your coffee with the donut, you can definitely check that out.
And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that there’s Starbucks here – but you probably have already discovered that for yourself because there’s practically one, if not dozens, within three blocks of a certain area. What’s nice is if you want to go beyond the Starbucks brand, London’s got some other fabulous chain brands called Costa Coffee and Cafe Nero that you might want to also check out.
We’ll end on a sweet note by mentioning and giving a shout out to Hummingbird Bakery – you might not have realized it’s an American brand, if you didn’t live in a city with Hummingbird Bakery, but once you get in there you’ll definitely appreciate that it is American. Why? Because they’ve got some fabulous flavours of cakes and cupcakes such as red velvet, cookies and cream, and rocky road. They also do a great selection for different seasons such as Halloween, Easter, Christmas, and fourth of July, so great way to celebrate our Independence Day. They’re in fabulous locations such as Notting Hill, South Kensington, and Richmond, so make sure you get your sweet tooth covered by going and checking out Hummingbird Bakery.
Hopefully I’ve assured you that you can definitely find a lot of your favourite foods in London, so if that’s been the last reason to stop you from coming over, then make sure you come over to London. If you have any questions about moving to London, I’ve got a fabulous relocation guide that you can check out here for your free downloadable copy. It’s a great guide that gives you all the essential tips about housing, neighbourhoods, employment, and what to think about if you’re looking to relocate to London.
