SE London's Diasporic Food Spots With Selassie TBC

We've mapped out an audio guide through SE London, taking you through its iconic diasporic food spots and the communities behind the flavours, set to a run mix by Selassie TBC.

A 15km route (complete with 10km and 5km options) mapped out with Run the Boroughs, Selassie TBC will talk you through the food history of Lewisham and Greenwich in this 90 minute audio guide. With a handpicked selection of tracks designed to keep the pace up that packs in afrobeats and deep house, this is a running experience that’s as cultural as it is physical.

London hosts nearly 100 diasporas from different countries, and its food scene reflects that. Since the arrival of the Windrush generation in the 1940s, Caribbean immigrants brought bold flavours like jerk chicken and curry goat, adapting to local ingredients like oxtail and saltfish. At the same time, South Asian immigrants opened the first wave of Indian restaurants, leading to the creation of the “Curry Capital” on Brick Lane.

For 90 minutes, Selassie blends music from across the globe with the spatial histories and diasporic food cultures of these slept-on areas of SE London.

This route is as scenic as it is delicious. You’ll pass an abundance of Cantonese noodle spots, before making a dash for Hilly Fields, and curving into Lewisham, where Sri Lankan restaurants sit alongside Polish delis. From there, the route opens out into Blackheath - the starting point of the London Marathon, before cutting across the expanse of Greenwich Park.

Skip the usual suspects, swerve the chains, and come and run London differently

Whether you’re from North, South, East or West London - you’re in good hands. Skip the usual suspects, swerve the chains, and come and see London in a different light. The high street ain’t dead - you’re just not looking hard enough.

Strava ready, let's do it.