Your Community in London
The Compass team has put together this guide to everything North American in London with the help of some of our students from the USA.
Shopping, Restaurants, Worship & Wellbeing, Sports, Useful links
According to Think London, Americans have been settling in London since before the early eighteenth century and by the time of the last Census in 2001 there were nearly 45,000 in the capital, accounting for around one in three in the UK.
Americans integrate well into London society, showing a preference for Inner London living. By far the most popular borough is Kensington & Chelsea with over 8,000 Americans, followed by Westminster with 5,900 and Camden with 4,300. Richmond-Upon-Thames, in south London, is the most popular outer London borough with over 2,000.
For more information about the American community in London please see the Useful links pages.
Shopping
London has a wide variety of specialist shops selling American food & drink:
Whole Foods Market (63-97 Kensington High Street, Kensington, W8 5SE)
Tel: 020 7368 4500
Tube: High Street Kensington
Partridges Gloucester Road (17-23 Gloucester Road, Kensington, SW7 4PL)
Tel: 020 7581 0535
Tube: Gloucester Road
Partridges Sloane Square (2-5 Duke of York Square, Chelsea, SW3 4LY)
Tel: 020 7730 0651
Tube: Sloane Square
Newsagents
American newspapers and magazines are easily available across London, including popular titles such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Forbes, Fortune, Newsweek and USA Today.
American Restaurants in London
London has a wide variety of restaurants serving cuisine from across the world. Many restaurants also offer set menus and theatre packages. For special deals or to search for a particular style of food, you can use a restaurant finder website such as Top Table or Square Meal.
Below is a small selection of restaurants serving American cuisine.
Bodeans - London’s Original BBQ Smoke House with several branches across London. Special Thanksgiving and 4th of July celebrations. NFL and NCAA live broadcast every weekend.
Bodeans Soho (10 Poland Street / 16 D'Arblay Street, W1F 8PZ)
Tube: Oxford Circus
Bodeans Tower Hill, (16 Byward Street, Tower Hill, EC3R 5BA)
Tube: Tower Hill
Chicago Rib Shack (145 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7PA) Tube: Knightsbridge. American food and especially ribs at reasonable prices. Situated in the posh Knightsbridge neighbourhood, close to Harrods.
Texas Embassy (1 Cockspur Street, Trafalgar Square, SW1Y 5DL) Tube: Embankment. A piece of Texas in the heart of London, offering great Tex-Mex food.
Old Orleans (26-42 Bond Street, Ealing, W5 5AA) Tube: Ealing Broadway. Serving traditional Louisiana dishes, blending the cuisines of the South American, Creole and Cajun cultures.
Ed’s Easy Diner (12 Moor Street, London, W1D 5NG) Tube: Leicester Square. Classic retro American diner in Soho
Eagle Bar Diner Covent Garden (3-5 Rathbone Place, W1T 1HJ) Tube: Covent Garden. One of London’s original American eateries, renowned for its delicious gourmet burgers.
Krispy Kreme Donuts - several locations across London.
Harrods Food Halls (next to bakery, Knightsbridge SW1X 7XL) Tube: Knightsbridge. Luxury food at luxury prices.
Online Grocery - SkyCo. Currently selling over 500 popular American food items. Web: www.skyco.uk.com
**Please note that these restaurants are just suggestions and have no relationship to King's College London. King’s College London cannot take responsibility for any actions taken by these companies or their representatives.
Worship & Wellbeing
Places of worship
Many different faiths are practised across London and you will find churches, mosques, synagogues and temples in every neighbourhood.
The Chaplaincy team at King's can help you to locate places of worship for all major religions in London.
The American Church in London (79a Tottenham Court Road. Tube: Goodge Street) offers inter-denominational services specifically for the American community. Web: www.amchurch.co.uk
Medical & Health
You are eligible for NHS healthcare if you are enrolled on a full time course lasting six months or longer. Please ensure you register with the college GP located at the Strand campus. Your GP will be your first point of contact for any medical advice or referrals to specialist doctors that you may need.
If you require urgent medical attention, you should attend the nearest hospital A&E department. (Please note: Guy’s Hospital does not have an A&E.)
Sports, events & activities
There are a variety of American sports on offer in London:
American Football Clubs
London Blitz (Finsbury Park Stadium, Seven Sisters Road, N4. Nearest tube station: Manor House) Web: www.londonblitz.com
London Olympians (Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, Westow Hill, SE 19. Nearest train station: Crystal Palace) Web: www.olympiansfootball.org
Basketball Clubs
London Leopards. Web: http://www.leopardsbasketball.co.uk/
London Towers (Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, Ledrington Road, SE19. Nearest train station: Crystal Palace). Web: www.london-towers.co.uk
Sports Bars
Sports Café (80 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4TE. Nearest tube station: Piccadilly Circus). Big Screen Sports Pub - watch live Sport in a Bar including American football, hockey, tennis, soccer, basketball etc.
Bodeans Soho (10 Poland Street / 16 D'Arblay Street, W1F 8PZ. Nearest tube station: Oxford Circus). NFL and NCAA live broadcast every weekend.
For other useful links, please click here.