London was once seen as a vast kitchen and ‘the place of plenty and good fare’. The evidence of this is recorded on its street signs.

From Albacore Crescent (a type of tuna) to Yarrow Crescent, there are tasty staples such as Apple Road and Bacon Street along with meals like Curry Rise and Stew Lane; alcoholic drinks featured include Rum Close, Guinness Square and Sherry Mews. There are 29 different fruits, 30 herbs & spices and a bevy of game birds, but surprisingly few vegetables.

This photographic project details over 150 items of food or drink which appear on street signs in the City of London and other 32 London boroughs.

Street sign for Almond Avenue, W5, with tree in background.
Street sign reading 'Bream Street E.3' on a textured blue wall with some graffiti and a small logo on the right.
A street sign on a brick wall showing addresses 2 to 24 Curry Rise, with some green leaves partially covering it.
Green street sign that reads "Blackberry Field" in white letters, located in front of a wooden fence and some shrubbery on the lawn.
A street name sign reading 'Strawberry Vale' attached to a fence in front of leafy greenery.
A sign reading 'WALNUT CLOSE' with a red 'S3' on a white background, mounted on a black metal fence with green leafy bushes behind it, and a suburban neighborhood with houses and trees in the background.

The project was started in 2005 and all street signs were photographed in person, following extensive reading of the index in the London A–Z Street Atlas and a lot of cycling. Some streets I’ve detailed here no longer exist owing to redevelopment, while others have only come into being in the last few years.

They’re catalogued by category and as an A–Z list, but only one instance of each food or drink item was photographed so, for example, Walnut Close in Deptford is featured as an example of the nut, but not the other 15 Walnut Closes, Mews’ or Roads.

A–Z of Streats

  • Street sign reading 'Apple Road' with the designation 'E11' in red, mounted on a brick wall.

    A is for Apple

  • Street sign on a brick wall reading "Bacon St. E. I." with a smaller sign below in a language that appears to be Bengali.

    B is for Bacon

  • Street sign reading 'Crab Hill' in front of dense green shrubbery.

    C is for Crab

  • Sign with the words "DUCK LANE" spelled out in black and white tiles on a brick wall.

    D is for Duck

  • Street sign indicating Elderberry Road, W5, with trees and cloudy sky in the background.

    E is for Elderberry

  • Street sign reading 'FENNEL CLOSE' mounted on a gray pole against a red brick wall.

    F is for Fennel

  • Street sign reading 'Garlick Hill EC4' with the City of London crest on the left.

    G is for Garlick

  • Street sign indicating 'HAM YARD W1' in Westminster, surrounded by a chain-link fence, with brick buildings in the background.

    H is for Ham

  • Street sign for Juniper Crescent with NW1 postal code in London, United Kingdom.

    J is for Juniper

  • Street sign for Kale Road in the Bexley Council area, featuring a logo with a dog and the words 'Clean It Up' on a white background; background includes part of a modern building with gray concrete walls, windows, and a tree, with fallen leaves on grassy ground.

    K is for Kale

  • Street sign reading 'Lemon Grove' in London Borough of Hounslow, Feltham, attached to a black pole next to a house with a red-tiled roof and white windows.

    L is for Lemon

  • Street sign for Milk Street in the City of London, with the postal code EC2, on a striped metal background.

    M is for Milk

  • Street sign that reads 'Nutmeg Close', with a suburban house and bushes in the background.

    N is for Nutmeg

  • A street sign reading 'Oyster Row' mounted on a brick wall in front of a residential building with brick exterior, windows with curtains, and some greenery.

    O is for Oyster

  • Street sign that reads 'PEA LANE' mounted on a pole with trees and a cloudy sky in the background.

    P is for Pea

  • Street sign reading 'Quince Road' with small red text 'SE13' on the bottom right, mounted on a fence in front of a residential building with bay windows and a garden.

    Q is for Quince

  • Street sign for Rosemary Street in the London Borough of Islington with a T-junction symbol.

    R is for Rosemary

  • Street sign for Sandwich Street in the Borough of St. Pancras, with the postal code WC1

    S is for Sandwich

  • Street sign reading 'Tarragon Close, SE14' in front of green bushes, with a brick house and a wooden fence in the background.

    T is for Tarragon

  • Street sign on a brick wall reading 'Vinegar St E.1' with black border.

    V is for Vinegar

  • Street sign reading 'Crime's Watercress Place' with small handwritten text above it and 'London Borough of Hackney N1' in red below.

    W is for Watercress

  • Street sign for Yarrow Crescent with a coat of arms on the left and the grade E.6 on the right, against a blue sky with clouds and rooftops in the background.

    Y is for Yarrow

See the full A–Z list