Kosher Guide to London

Most visitors to the UK need either a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), depending on nationality. Visitors from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada and certain other countries usually need an ETA rather than a visa. An ETA costs £20 and is applied for online through the UK government before you travel; it does not guarantee entry. Bring a valid passport.

From Heathrow, the Heathrow Express reaches Paddington in 15 minutes (trains every 15 minutes, tickets from £10, under-16s free), and the Elizabeth line and Piccadilly line also run into central London. From central London, the Northern line runs north to Golders Green, Hendon Central and Edgware. Gatwick Express trains reach central London in as little as 31 minutes. A taxi or app-booked private-hire car from Heathrow to Golders Green or Hendon avoids changes but is much slower at busy times.

No. The Underground, buses and trains reach every Orthodox area and central London, and contactless bank cards and phones work as tickets. Driving is slow, parking is scarce, and the Ultra Low Emission Zone covers all of London 24 hours a day, with a £12.50 daily charge for cars that do not meet its standards. The Northern line links Golders Green, Hendon and Edgware with the West End, and the Jubilee line serves St John's Wood and Stanmore.

Stay within walking distance of the shul you plan to use. Golders Green and Hendon have the most shuls, kosher shops and restaurants within a short walk, and both have small hotels and guest houses close to the kosher streets, including hotels on and near Golders Green Road and The Pillar Hotel on Brent Street in Hendon. Edgware and Stamford Hill also have shuls and kosher food. Central London hotels are a long way from these areas on foot, so on Shabbos you would need a central shul, such as those near Marble Arch or in St John's Wood.

Kosher restaurants, bakeries and shops close for Shabbos, and in winter many close by early afternoon on Friday because Shabbos begins in mid-afternoon. Buy food on Thursday or early Friday, or arrange Shabbos meals in advance with a Chabad house or a shul's hospitality programme. Most shuls hold Friday night and Shabbos morning services; in central London, plan your walking route to a shul before Shabbos, because distances are long.

Yes. North-west London has several separate eruvin, including the NW London Eruv (around Golders Green, Hendon, Hampstead Garden Suburb and Finchley), the separate Golders Green Eruv, the Edgware Eruv, the Stanmore & Canons Park Eruv, the Belmont Eruv, the Mill Hill Eruv, the Pinner Eruv, the Woodside Park Eruv, the Barnet Eruv, the Brondesbury Park Eruv, the South Hampstead Eruv and the St Johns Wood Eruv. Each eruv is inspected weekly and its status is posted before every Shabbos, so look up the status of the eruv you are in each week.

Most kosher restaurants, bakeries, butchers and grocers are in north London: Golders Green Road and Temple Fortune in Golders Green, Brent Street in Hendon, the shops around Edgware, and Stamford Hill in north-east London. Central London has only a few kosher restaurants, mainly in Marylebone. The main supervising authorities are the London Beth Din (KLBD), the Federation of Synagogues (KF), the Kedassia, Kehillas Mehadrin and the Sephardi Kashrut Authority.

Restaurants supervised by the London Beth Din (KLBD) use only Chalav Yisrael milk products in their dairy restaurants, and all of its meat restaurants are Glatt. Other authorities, such as the Federation of Synagogues (KF), the Kedassia and Kehillas Mehadrin, supervise many restaurants, bakeries and butchers in Golders Green, Hendon, Edgware and Stamford Hill.

Golders Green has several small hotels and guest houses within a short walk of Golders Green Road's kosher shops and shuls. In Hendon, The Pillar Hotel is on Brent Street and Premier Inn London Hendon (The Hyde) and Holiday Inn London - Brent Cross are nearby in Hendon and Brent Cross. In central London, The Cumberland and The Landmark London are in Marylebone, near the shuls around Marble Arch. Choose by the shul you will walk to on Shabbos.

London has several mikvaos, including the NW London Communal Mikva and Maalos Kedoshim Mikva in Golders Green, the Central Hendon Mikva and Shirehall Lane Mikva in Hendon, the Edgware & District Mikva, several mikvaos in Stamford Hill, and the Central London Mikva in Maida Vale. Appointments are made by phone in advance.

Kosher restaurants, bakeries and shops close for Shabbos. London's parks and open spaces, such as Hampstead Heath and Regent's Park, are open every day, and many museums are open on Saturdays, although tickets for timed or paid exhibitions have to be booked before Shabbos. Underground and bus services run as normal.

Yes. Golders Green, Hendon, Edgware and Stamford Hill have many shuls with daily Shacharis, Mincha and Maariv, and central London has weekday minyanim at shuls near Marble Arch and in the City. Many London shuls publish their times week by week, so look up the current week's timetable of the shul you plan to attend.

Yes, but the choice is small. A few kosher restaurants are in Marylebone, near Marble Arch and Oxford Street, and the Chabad houses in central London help visitors. For groceries and a wider choice of restaurants, the Northern line runs north to Golders Green and Hendon.

The UK uses Type G three-pin plugs at 230V, so bring an adapter for chargers from other countries. The currency is the pound sterling (GBP), and contactless card payments are accepted almost everywhere, including on buses and the Underground.