Bagels Before Breakfast, Pastrami by Noon: Walking Britain's New York Food Crawl, City by City

There's a particular kind of hunger that only a walking food crawl can satisfy. Not a sitting-down, three-courses-and-a-bottle hunger, but the graze-as-you-go kind — a bagel here, a pickle there, a slice of cheesecake you swear you'll split but won't. New York invented the format. Britain, it turns out, has quietly built the infrastructure for it.

We walked four of them so you don't have to learn the hard way. Comfortable shoes are non-negotiable. Pace yourself. And remember: a crawl is a marathon of small plates, not a sprint to the nearest burger.

London: The East End Deli Circuit

Start early — genuinely early, because the best bagels are gone by ten. Brick Lane's round-the-clock bagel shops are the natural opening act, and at £2 or so for a salt beef beigel with mustard, it's the best value bite in the capital. Eat it standing up, ideally in light rain, for the full experience.

From there, drift east through Spitalfields towards the modern delis that have colonised Shoreditch. This is where the pastrami gets serious: hand-cut, steamed until it collapses, stacked between rye so dense it could double as a doorstop. Budget £12–£15 for a proper sandwich and don't be embarrassed to ask for it 'lean' — they've heard it all before.

Finish at a bakery or dessert counter near Spitalfields Market for a New York-style cheesecake or a black-and-white cookie. Total damage: roughly £25 a head, not counting the inevitable second coffee.

Manchester: Pastrami With a Northern Accent

Manchester's crawl is compact enough to do in an afternoon, which is handy given the weather. Begin in the Northern Quarter, where the coffee shops double as bagel and lox purveyors, then work your way towards the city's Jewish food heritage around Cheetham Hill — home to some of the oldest deli traditions in the country.

The mid-crawl stop should be a proper diner or grill: eggs any style, hash browns crisped to within an inch of their lives, bottomless filter coffee. If you're crawling on a weekend, book ahead — the good ones fill up by noon.

Rain contingency: Manchester delivers sideways drizzle with impressive commitment. Duck into any diner, order a bowl of matzo ball soup, and wait it out. Chicken broth, a dumpling the size of a cricket ball, and no judgment for lingering. Around £8 and worth every penny.

Glasgow: The Bagel Mile

Glasgow's crawl has the friendliest people and the biggest portions — plan accordingly. Start in Finnieston with a smoked salmon bagel and a flat white, then wander towards the West End's delis and bakeries, where the pastrami is generous and the rye is proper.

The wildcard stop is a Scottish-Jewish crossover moment: several Glasgow delis will happily put their salt beef on a morning roll, and the result is exactly as heartening as it sounds. Finish with a slice or a cookie from one of the West End's American-style bakeries. £20–£25 covers the whole route comfortably.

Leeds: Kirkgate to the Calls

Leeds keeps it tight. Begin near Kirkgate Market — pick up pickles, rye bread and anything cured that catches your eye — then head towards the Calls and the riverside, where the city's steakhouses and American-style grills cluster. A mid-afternoon stop for wings or a smash burger keeps the engine running, and a final stop at a dessert spot for banana pudding or pie finishes things off.

The Rules of the Crawl

Whatever city you're in, a few ground rules apply. Go with two or three people maximum — any more and you'll spend the day waiting for tables. Order the smallest thing on the menu at each stop; you can always go back. Carry cash, because the best bagel shops often don't take anything else. And start at nine, not noon — the crawl lives and dies by the bagel.

The airfare to JFK is roughly £400. These four routes will cost you less than £30 each. The pastrami, frankly, doesn't care where you eat it.