Comparable July borough rents rose a steady 4.0–5.9%, while London shawarma listings swing from £2.75 to £19.99

Two web-sourced comparisons collected 28 August 2026: eight London rent observations (six directly comparable average monthly borough rents, July 2025 → July 2026, in GBP per month) and eight shawarma menu-price observations across five stated areas, each measured against the eight-item sample average of £9.52.

Rent change by area, and every shawarma listing against the sample average

Top: year-over-year change in average monthly rent, GBP/month. Bottom: listed item price in GBP; the dashed line is the eight-item sample average. Hover any mark for detail.

comparable annual borough measure (Jul 2025 → Jul 2026) different period or measure — not directly comparable chicken shawarma lamb shawarma other shawarma

Islington posted the largest comparable annual rent increase — up £160 to £2,854 a month (+5.9%) — ahead of Greenwich (+5.6%) and Enfield (+5.1%). aol.co.uk

The six comparable July borough observations sit in a tight 4.0–5.9% band; the shawarma sample spans −71.1% to +109.9% around its £9.52 average, because items, sizes and concepts differ. eateasy.co.uk

The £2.75 chicken shawarma wrap at Shawama Hut in Elephant and Castle — 71.1% below the sample average — comes from a cheap-eats video review and may reflect a special-value or promotional context. youtu.be

Croydon (£1,579, +3.5%, June 2026, ONS all-homes index) and Inner London (£979 average room rent, Q2, +0.3%) use different periods or measures and are shown separately. bellsoph.co.uk · lettingagenttoday.co.uk

Read this as exploratory, not causal This report places two unlike datasets side by side. Rent rows are mostly matched year-over-year averages; shawarma rows are a small, heterogeneous cross-section of listed menu prices on one collection date. Item sizes and formats differ, several Kings Shawarma rows resolve only to “London”, the Ganoush price dates from 2022, and some menu pages are undated. Matched old/new prices for the same item at the same restaurant were not available, so the shawarma spread is not price inflation — and nothing here proves restaurant prices track rents.

Rent observations

Area	Period	Measure	Previous £/mo	Current £/mo	Change £/mo	Change %	Source
Islington	Jul 2025 → Jul 2026	Average monthly rent	2,694	2,854	+160	+5.9	aol.co.uk
Greenwich	Jul 2025 → Jul 2026	Average monthly rent	1,876	1,980	+104	+5.6	aol.co.uk
Enfield	Jul 2025 → Jul 2026	Average monthly rent	1,732	1,821	+89	+5.1	aol.co.uk
Merton	Jul 2025 → Jul 2026	Average monthly rent	2,059	2,153	+94	+4.6	aol.co.uk
Lambeth	Jul 2025 → Jul 2026	Average monthly rent	2,417	2,519	+102	+4.2	aol.co.uk
Richmond	Jul 2025 → Jul 2026	Average monthly rent	2,230	2,318	+88	+4.0	aol.co.uk
Croydon	to Jun 2026	All homes ONS Price Index of Private Rents series, latest rent	1,525	1,579	+54	+3.5	bellsoph.co.uk
London (Inner)	2025 → 2026	Average monthly room rent, Q2	977	979	+2	+0.3	lettingagenttoday.co.uk

Shawarma listings

Restaurant	Stated area	Item	Price £	vs sample £	vs sample %	Published	Source
Shawama Hut	Elephant and Castle	Chicken shawarma wrap	2.75	−6.77	−71.1	14 Jun 2026	youtu.be
Kings Shawarma	London	Kings Saj Wrap Shawarma	2.99	−6.53	−68.6	undated	eateasy.co.uk
Ganoush Lebanese Grill	Brockley	Lamb Shawarma	7.50	−2.02	−21.2	11 Aug 2022	southeast15.com
Kings Shawarma	London	Lamb Shawarma — S	7.99	−1.53	−16.1	undated	eateasy.co.uk
Kings Shawarma	London	Chicken Shawarma — L	9.99	+0.47	+4.9	undated	eateasy.co.uk
Kings Shawarma	London	Lamb Shawarma — L	10.99	+1.47	+15.4	undated	eateasy.co.uk
Kings Shawarma	London	Arabic Single Chicken	13.99	+4.47	+46.9	undated	eateasy.co.uk
Kings Shawarma	London	Aleppo Shawarma With Mozzarella	19.99	+10.47	+109.9	undated	eateasy.co.uk

Method: web data collected 28 August 2026. Rent — 8 areas with previous and current average monthly rent in GBP; the comparable core is six boroughs measured July 2025 to July 2026; Croydon (June 2026, ONS all-homes index) and Inner London (Q2 average room rent) use different periods or measures and are flagged. Shawarma — 8 menu observations with listed GBP price and a precomputed difference from the eight-item sample average of £9.52; the sample mixes item types, sizes, dates (one from 2022, several undated) and one possible promotional price, so it is a cross-sectional snapshot, not a measure of price change over time. All 16 rows are shown; nothing was cut.