Where to eat in London: local dishes, markets and neighborhoods

London is a town of about 10,000 people, so the honest answer is that there is no food district to plan a trip around. What exists is a compact set of everyday places: a couple of diners for breakfast, pizza and burger spots, a few Mexican kitchens, and the usual national chains on the highway strip.

Use the table to pick by meal and budget. Prices are 2026 estimates for one person, before tax and tip.

There is no dish that belongs to London alone. The food here is the standard central-Ohio set, which means a mix of farm-country cooking and the immigrant-built American menu described in the country guide.

Order a breaded pork tenderloin if you see one — it is an Indiana-and-Ohio road-food staple, pounded thin and fried, usually wider than the bun. Breakfast is the strongest meal of the day in town: eggs, hash browns, sausage gravy and biscuits, and coffee refilled without asking. Burgers and fried chicken are reliable everywhere. For anything more specific, the regional dishes worth planning around are in Columbus, not here.

The eating is concentrated in two places: the older Main Street area near the center of town, and the US-42 commercial strip with its parking lots and chains. Locals tend to pick by habit and by time of day rather than by reputation — the breakfast place that opens at 06:00, the pizza shop that stays open after a Friday game.

If you want to eat where the town eats, go at breakfast on a weekend and follow the full parking lot. At dinner, the busiest rooms are usually the Mexican restaurants and the pizza places, especially on Friday and Saturday. Sunday evening is the quietest slot; several kitchens shut early or close altogether.

For a wider and better-documented choice, Columbus is about 30 minutes east and has everything from Somali and Vietnamese kitchens to high-end dining. Dublin, Ohio, northwest of Columbus, is another nearby option if you are already on that side of the metro.

Prices in London sit below big-city US levels. A sit-down dinner for one, with a soft drink, lands around USD 15–25 after tax and tip. A counter lunch or fast-food meal is USD 8–12. Breakfast at a diner is usually the cheapest full meal of the day.

Sales tax is added at the register, so the menu price is not the final price. Tip 15–20% at sit-down restaurants; at a counter where you order standing, tipping is optional. Portions are large, and asking for a box to take leftovers is normal.

Check hours before you drive out. Small-town kitchens keep short schedules, and a place that is open at lunch may be closed by 20:00 or shut entirely on Sunday and Monday. A phone call or a look at the door sign saves a wasted trip.

You will need a car. London has no walkable restaurant district, and the strip along US-42 is spread out; see the transport page for how the town is laid out. If you are staying overnight, ask the hotel which kitchens are open late, because the answer changes by season.

Dietary needs are manageable but not well labelled. Vegetarian options exist at pizza and Mexican places; gluten-free and allergy questions are best asked directly, and staff at independent restaurants are usually willing to check with the kitchen. Halal and kosher food is not a given in town — plan that stop for Columbus.