5 of the best food shops in London
If there’s one thing Londoners have learned from the countless TV shows, cookbooks and restaurants, it’s that the quality of ingredients matters. The journalists and other London foodies behind food guide Eat Like a Local London know which food shops you should visit.
Shop 1: Lina Stores
“For the most authentic and obscure pasta, meat and other Italian products” – Joanne Gould
This family-run Italian delicatessen in the heart of Soho is more than 70 years old. Originally intended as a supplier for the many Italian restaurants of the time, it is now a friendly place where people who work nearby and visitors buy the best Italian ham, pasta, antipasti and sweet treats. Fresh sandwiches, hot meals and coffee to go are also available.
18 Brewer Street, Soho W1F 0SH
linastores.co.uk
Open seven days a week • ££££
Shop 2: The Quality Chop Shop
“The restaurant next door, Shaun Searley’s, has been praised for years as one of the city’s best modern British restaurants. In his shop, excellent ingredients are beautifully displayed. There’s a real butcher working there, and you can buy tins of Navarrico pulses and Ortiz anchovies. There’s also a fridge filled with Searley’s bestsellers: comforting Hereford mince and ridiculously delicious confit potatoes. Buy a sourdough loaf to go with it and you have an excellent ready-made dinner for your guests (or, in my case, an excessively luxurious weekday meal)” – George Reynolds
88–94 Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell EC1R 3EA
shop.thequalitychophouse.com
Open seven days a week • ££££
Shop 3: Neal’s Yard Dairy
“They have several shops, including the original one in Covent Garden, but for an almost spiritual cheese experience you have to go to the cathedral-like Neal’s Yard Dairy near Borough Market. The curators and champions of the best selection of British cheeses give you a first-class shopping experience – your personal assistant will let you taste cheese after cheese until you find what you’re looking for. A great place to buy cheese all year round, but absolutely essential around Christmas” – Ed Smith
6 Park Street, Borough Market SE1 9AB
nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Closed on Sundays • ££££
https://www.instagram.com/p/BruVqRUgnbu/
Shop 4: Fortnum & Mason
“Fortnum & Mason is an old favourite, but definitely still a goodie. When I’m looking for edible gifts, I always find the perfect one here” – Kar-Shing Tong
Spread across five floors, this is a true abundance of delicacies – from the finest teas and toffees to the famous filled wicker hampers. The lifts are clad in wood panelling, there’s a grand staircase and the top-hatted doormen make this a truly British experience.
181 Piccadilly, St James’s W1A 1ER
fortnumandmason.com
Open seven days a week • ££££
Shop 5: East London Liquor Company
“I love giving gifts that have a story behind them or are drinkable, which is why East London Liquor Company is one of my favourite places to buy a bottle for someone. They distil excellent gin and rum near Victoria Park in East London and are working on their first whisky. You can buy the drinks at their shop at the distillery itself and at their stall in Borough Market” – Ed Smith
Unit GF1, 221 Grove Road, Hackney E3 5SN
eastlondonliquorcompany.com
Open seven days a week • ££££
Title: Eat Like a Local London
Publisher: Kosmos
Price: €12,50
Available from 26 February 2019
