In photos: The street food vendors keeping London nourished

On any given weekday afternoon in London, you can follow your nose to a dozen different parts of the world. The lunch-time sizzle from a hotplate on Chapel Market, crispy falafels waving out of hatches at Whitecross Street, neon-coloured jewels of fried chicken skewered from cocktail sticks at Spitalfields. Pitched in front of high street banks, parked up under the strip lights of glossy office blocks, street food in any of the dozens of markets across the city is where London’s multicultural heartbeat feels closest to the surface.

In Huck’s local patch of East London, street food has held its own across decades of change. Brick Lane’s food stalls grew out of long-established Bangladeshi businesses; many of those traders first arrived through the textile factories and dockside jobs that sustained the area for generations. Around Shoreditch High Street and Commercial Street, newer vendors have set up in the gaps between redevelopment projects, drawn by steady footfall and a customer base that mirrors East London itself: students, recent migrants, office workers, families and long-time residents filling the lunch queues.

This is the daily architecture of East London. At Clifton Road Market, food tents begin assembling themselves in the late morning and are gone by 2pm – the street clear again save for a stray wooden fork or a patch of turmeric-stained tarmac where someone spilled their dahl. 

As this winter’s first cold snap takes hold, we visited four of the traders who keep these markets simmering when the temperatures drop. With the help of our friends O’Neill, we kitted each of them out with a winter hat or fleece from their new autumn/​winter ​‘PLAY’ range – small armour against the cold – as they continue feeding the city’s bottomless appetite.

Junior, Puff Puff Man

Puff Puff originates from West Africa, but pretty much every country in Africa has their own version. We put our own little twist on it, with toppings that range from Biscoff to Oreo – you name it, we’ve probably got it.

It’s nice to see people try new things everyday. In London there’s always something to do. No matter what time of day, I can go to a different part of the city and be busy.

Junior wears O’Neill Play Hyperfleece in Black/​White Legacy.

Manish, Mr Bombay

We sell North Indian food. Lentils, chicken masala, vegetables, and sides like samosas and onion bhaji. I love London, I’ve been living here for 25 years. The atmosphere, chilling – it’s the best.

Manish wears O’Neill Play Beanie in Ocean Melody.

Patricia, Luardos

We sell Mexican food. There’s nothing better than being able to feed someone and fill their bellies – it’s food for the soul. I love the diversity of London, there’s nothing you can’t find here. Everywhere you go, you can find something different.

Patricia wears Play Softshell Hoodie in Skater Pink.

Ian, Toasties @ The Photobook Café

We use good bread, good butter and good cheese, so it’s nice to see the smiles on people’s faces. What do I love about London? My friends.

Ian wears Play Beanie in Black Out.

Check out more from O’Neill’s winter range here.

Ella Glossop is Huck’s social editor. Follow her on Bluesky.

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