Street food is one of the few routes into the London food scene that doesn't start with a six-figure fit-out. A sturdy gazebo, a griddle and a decent queue can have you trading within a few weeks. The gap between the idea and the first paying customer, though, is filled with paperwork, waiting lists and costs that surprise people who only budgeted for a van.
What follows is the practical order of operations: what to decide, what to register, where pitches come from, and how to work out whether the whole thing can actually pay you.
Start with a concept a queue can understand
London is crowded with good food. The vendors who survive tend to sell a small number of things exceptionally well and fast. One signature dish, one side, one drink is a strong starting point: it shortens service times, cuts waste and makes training a weekend helper realistic.
Before you spend anything, walk the pitches you're considering. Note what's already there. If three stalls sell burgers, be the one selling something else, or be so much better at burgers that people cross the market for you. Watch the rhythm of the day too. A City pitch might be dead by 2.30pm on a Friday; a Saturday market in a residential borough may peak at lunch and again at 5pm. Footfall at the wrong hour is expensive.
The licences and registrations you'll need
Requirements vary by borough and by site, so always confirm the specifics with the relevant council before you trade. As a general rule, a London street food business needs most of the following:
- Food business registration with the local council where your base kitchen or vehicle is registered. It's free, and you must register at least 28 days before you start trading. Environmental health will inspect you at some point, and domestic kitchens are harder to pass than commercial ones.
- A street trading licence or consent from the borough whose streets you want to use. Boroughs designate streets as licensed, consent or prohibited; prohibited means no street trading at all, however good your pitch idea.
- A pitch agreement from the market operator, which may be the council or a private company.
- Food safety training and a written food safety management system. Level 2 food hygiene courses are widely expected, and the free Safer Food Better Business pack from the Food Standards Agency is a sensible template.
- Public liability insurance, usually at a level the market specifies. Ask before you buy a policy.
- Gas and electrical safety paperwork for LPG equipment, plus PAT testing for anything you plug in.
- Extra licences if you sell alcohol, play music, or trade on land controlled by Transport for London, Network Rail or a private landlord.
If you're unsure what applies to your site, ring the council's licensing and environmental health teams directly. They are used to new vendors and are far cheaper than a fixed-penalty notice. For anything involving tax, VAT or company structure, speak to an accountant.
Finding a pitch in London
Council markets and street pitches
Most boroughs run markets with a markets or licensing team you can apply to. Demand outstrips supply, so expect waiting lists of months rather than weeks for the best spots. You may be offered a temporary or relief pitch first, often on a quieter day. Take it. Trading on a Tuesday teaches you more than waiting a year for a Saturday.
Private markets and operators
Independent food markets and private operators often have rolling applications and a quicker onboarding process. Fees vary widely: some charge a flat daily rent, others take a percentage of turnover, and many do both. A percentage deal protects you on wet days and costs more on sunny ones, which is usually the right trade for a beginner.
Events, courtyards and offices
Festivals, business improvement districts, station forecourts and office courtyards can be excellent earners, especially for private hires where you're paid per head. They're also unpredictable and often require you to be self-sufficient for power and water. Build a small portfolio: one regular pitch for baseline income, plus occasional events for the upside.
When you visit a pitch, ask about power supply, water access, waste disposal, storage overnight, and who cleans up. A cheap pitch with no storage can cost more than a pricier one next to a lock-up.
Working out whether it makes money
Do the maths before you buy equipment. Start from your gross margin per customer, then work out how many customers a day you need to cover the fixed costs of being there.
Those fixed costs typically include the pitch fee, staff, gas, insurance amortised across the month, packaging, card processing, transport and storage. If a pitch costs a fixed day rate and you sell a dish with a healthy margin, the break-even point is simply your daily costs divided by that margin per dish. If the answer is more customers than you can physically serve in five hours, the pitch doesn't work at that price, however nice the location.
Keep records from day one: covers, average spend, waste, and the weather. After six weeks you'll know which days and dishes carry the business. Most new vendors are over-optimistic about volume and under-prepared for a washout Saturday.
Equipment, and where you'll prep
A gazebo stall is the cheapest way to test a concept, but it leaves you exposed to wind and rain. A trailer is more weatherproof but needs towing and parking. A van offers the most flexibility and the biggest bill, plus commercial insurance and possibly a parking permit.
Whatever you choose, you'll need commercial-grade equipment, a handwash basin with hot water, separate surfaces for raw and ready-to-eat food, cold storage with a working thermometer, fire extinguishers, first aid supplies and bins. Buy second-hand where it's safe to do so, but insist on current gas safety certification for any LPG appliance.
Prep space is the detail that sinks many first-timers. Cooking everything on the stall is slow and limits your menu. Hiring a commissary kitchen by the hour, or sharing one, will usually pay for itself in service speed.
Rules to respect on the day
Allergen information is a legal requirement, and for food you pack and sell on site you need it in writing, not just in your head. Train anyone working with you to answer questions honestly and to say "I'll check" rather than guess.
Take your waste away with you. Pouring oil or grease down a drain is a quick route to a fine and a lost pitch. Keep noise and generators reasonable, don't block pavements or fire exits, and be a good neighbour to the shops you trade outside: they can complain, and councils listen.
Keep your temperature logs, cleaning schedule and pest control records up to date. If an environmental health officer visits, good paperwork turns a stressful hour into a short conversation.
A sensible first six months
Cook for paying strangers before you commit. Sell at a one-day market, a festival or a friend's event. Register with the council, complete your food hygiene training, buy insurance, and confirm in writing what each pitch expects of you.
Then trade consistently for a few months, track your numbers weekly, and reinvest only in the equipment that is genuinely slowing you down. The vendors who last in London are rarely the ones with the flashiest van; they're the ones who know exactly what their pitch costs, what their margin is, and how many customers they need on a wet Wednesday.
Photo: Aditya Oberai / Pexels
