Che buono! London’s top Italian delicatessens

This article is part of a guide to London from FT Globetrotter

Every day for years, with religious punctuality, I used to visit the local alimentari (food store) on the way to school to buy a fresh merendina (snack) for mid-morning. Merendina options vary from a focaccina vuota (an unfilled focaccia), focaccina al prosciutto or mortadella, brioche, sfoglia (pastry), focaccina with Nutella, occhio di bue (an Italian cookie), crostatine alla marmellata (jam tart) — the list goes on.

All the alimentari across Italy, from Turin to Palermo, are wonderfully familiar — small and unpretentious, with walls covered in Mulino Bianco biscuit bags and endless compartments of different types of bread, sfilatino (a mini baguette), cake and focaccia. At predictable times of day, they are packed with screaming kids and flustered parents. Homemade pasta is normally on display next to heaps of different cheeses, cured meat and fresh pastries. Depending on the season, panettoni or Easter eggs in shiny packaging hang from the ceiling.

Oranges at Luigi’s Delicatessen in Fulham

A selection of cheeses at I Camisa & Son © Marco Kesseler (2)

For Italian expatriates, there are fewer places more evocative of home than these grocery stores. Luckily, generations of Italian expats have been setting up shop all over London, from Fulham to Bethnal Green, establishing stores whose offerings and traditions go back, in some cases, to the 1920s and grocers fleeing the fascist regime.

I have lived in London for more than 10 years, and while Italian essentials have never been lacking, you do need to know where to look. To this day, when I set foot in any of London’s alimentari, I immediately evaluate their authenticity. Some preserve the colourful chaos and smells of the small-town grocery stores of my childhood; others remind me of the more upscale delis, with clean awnings and small tasting trays, that my mother would take us to when she shopped for particularly special guests.

What’s certain is, whether you’re after a laid-back lunch, a merendina or bottarga and truffle to cook on a special occasion, London offers a wealth of choices when it comes to authentic Italian delicacies. Here are some of the best.

Delizie D’Italia (Pimlico)

70 Lupus Street, London SW1V 3EJ

• Price of fresh pasta: £6.50 per portion

• FYI: The homemade tiramisu is unforgettable (and they’ll share the recipe), and all the Sicilian dishes should be tried. Lovely family atmosphere

• Website; Directions

A customer in Pimlico’s Delize D’Italia © Marco Kesseler

It’s almost impossible to pop inside Delizie D’Italia just to buy a few things without ending up having lunch alfresco, sitting under the canopy, year round. Central yet off the tourist grid, the deli is housed in a curved Victorian corner building, on a wonderfully quiet residential street in Pimlico. The owner Mariausilia and her partner Gaetano — originally from Sicily’s Agrigento region — took over the shop in 2016. Gaetano runs the alimentari with his sister-in-law Cristina, helped by Nicoletta and Barbara, and their store has an unmistakable Sicilian family feel, evident in their choice of freshly prepared dishes and the warmth with which they discuss family recipes.

Freshly made cannoli at Delizie D’Italia — try the tiramisu too © Marco Kesseler

Gaetano Lo Presti has run the popular alimentari since 2016 © Marco Kesseler

Delizie D’Italia isn’t large but it’s very well stocked, and behind the shelves of De Cecco and Barilla pasta, Mulino Bianco biscuits, tins of Rio Mare tuna, Manicardi balsamic vinegar and grissini, the lunch bar serves aubergine Parmigiana, chicken alla milanese, rigatoni al ragù, polpette al sugo (meatballs in tomato sauce), pasta al forno (baked pasta), Sicilian arancini and spaghetti with prawns — straight from the kitchen. (They deliver locally, covering Wandsworth, Chelsea, Hammersmith, Wimbledon — no further than three miles from the store.) “I always buy their homemade tiramisu — it’s simply indescribable,” says Lavinia, a west London local originally from Tuscany. “It’s because we use Sardinian savoiardi biscuits, come da tradizione, and we dip them in our own coffee, roasted in Bari,” Gaetano explains. Provare per credere — seeing is believing.

I Camisa & Son (Soho)

61 Old Compton Street, London W1D 6HS

• Price of fresh pasta: From £10 per kilo

• FYI: London’s first Italian deli is famed for its homemade sauces (amatriciana is not easy to find homemade) and olives stuffed with anchovies

• Website; Directions

Vlad and Mattei of Soho institution I Camisa & Son

The deli has been a presence on Old Compton Street since 1929 © Marco Kesseler (2)

The self-proclaimed first Italian deli in London, I Camisa & Son is a Soho institution. It’s housed just next door from its original address, where it was opened by the Camisa brothers in 1929, and its authentic vintage feel truly stands out in this hyper-gentrified tourist hotspot, where new gourmet fusion eateries and bubble tea shops seem to be sprouting like fungi.

“We’re one of the few Italian grocery stores left in London without seating space,” says Carlo, the assistant I talk to, who has worked here for 20 years. For decades, the clientele were largely Italian immigrants (some, like the Camisa brothers, fled Mussolini’s Italy), but most of them have died, he adds, or been priced out of Soho. Until recently, staff took groceries to the homes of their oldest local customers, if they were bedridden or too frail to shop for themselves.

I Camisa & Son is renowned for its homemade sauces . . . 

. . . as well as its pasta made on site © Marco Kesseler (2)

Don’t leave without purchasing some of the fresh “long” pasta — tagliatelle, tagliolini, pappardelle — made on site and sold alongside homemade sauces: bolognese, pesto, tomato basilico, amatriciana. The fresh panini are also hugely popular, prepared with fillings ranging from di Parma and San Daniele prosciutto and finocchiona (fennel salami), to provolone, Gorgonzola and pecorino sardo. Its most popular product since 1929? Olives stuffed with anchovies.

The Green Truffle (Bethnal Green)

21 Roman Road, London E2 0HU

• Price of fresh pasta: From £2.49 per 500g

• FYI: Don’t miss its gourmet delicacies by small producers — especially the black truffles, bottarga and colatura

• Website; Directions

Nicola, the brother of Green Truffle owner Stefano Dell’Utri

The deli is one of east London’s go-to destination for upscale Italian produce © Marco Kesseler (2)

Bethnal Green’s Green Truffle is only five years old but it has already made a name for itself among east Londoners for its upscale groceries and delicious sarnies. The family-run shop focuses on niche goods from small Italian producers, in particular those from Avellino in Campania — where owner Stefano Dell’Utri and his brother Nicola (who moved to London last year) were born — and it is to this area that the Green Truffle owes its name: green as in “Green Irpinia” (another name for Avellino) and truffle for the region’s typical product, also the deli’s pièce de résistance. You’ll find Trevalli cheese with black truffle, black truffle cream, truffle and ricotta pesto and black truffle risotto.

The Green Truffle focuses on delicacies from Avellino in Campania © Marco Kesseler

“I’ve opened this shop to make Londoners try our truffles and our region’s specialities,” Stefano says. “They didn’t know what they were missing.” And they didn’t: “I don’t think I’ve ever had a focaccia this good, including in Italy,” says Valeria, 28, an Amazon employee based in Whitechapel. “The crunchiness is perfect outside, but very soft inside — spaziale.”

The Green Truffle is now a go-to for east London foodies, but it also delivers nationwide. Its stripped-back decor doesn’t do justice to the delicacies for sale, many of which can’t be found anywhere else in London — Bagnoli Irpino black truffles (only available in certain months), colatura of Cetara anchovies (a strong sauce produced by fermenting anchovies in water and salt), the bottarga di muggine (Sardinian mullet roe), pesto di pistachio di Bronte and capriccio Nero, a cheese aged for 12 months and imbued in Modena balsamic vinegar. Bestsellers? The pecorino romano and the ​​Aglianico di Avellino wine.

Da Mario (Highbury)

34 Highbury Park, London N5 2AA

• Price of fresh pasta: From £25.50 per kilo

• FYI: Store manager Carlo in on hand to offer expert advice on meat and cheese, fresh tortelloni and the wine selection

• Website; Directions

Sardinia-born Carlo is your man for expert advice on the fare on offer at Da Mario © Marco Kesseler

Mario Reale moved to London in the 1960s from Emilia-Romagna, an Italian region famed for its rich culinary culture (it’s the birthplace of Parmigiano and prosciutto di Parma) and he opened the Da Mario deli in Highbury. The decor and storefront still look the same, with Da Mario in a vintage font on a green canopy. For 40 years, British entrepreneur and Italophile Steve Benham has been at its helm, but in store, Carlo, originally from Cagliari in Sardinia, and descended from a family of salumieri, is on hand to help you pick which prosciutto should go with your aperitivo.

Persimmons from Puglia at Da Mario

The deli’s tortellini comes in a wide variety of fillings © Marco Kesseler (2)

While Da Mario doesn’t have a kitchen, there is a mouthwatering display of fresh tortelloni, made by Wembley-based La Tua Pasta and sold by the kilo, with a rich variety of fillings — classic ricotta and spinach, pecorino and honey, crab and mascarpone, and black truffle, as well as gnocchi filled with cheese and spinach. Carlo’s Sardinian background and experience are reflected in the offerings: all cured meat is top of the game, he says, from the bresaola and mortadella to the artisanal sausages. The prosciutto, he explains, is never bought under 10 kilos deboned (meaning it’s higher quality), and all meat is Italian without polyphosphates. Fruit and vegetables are imported from Sardinia (depending on the season), and for those with a sweet tooth there are fresh pastries, cantuccini and Baci Perugina.

“I always buy their guanciale — it’s the best I have found in London,” says Tommaso, a local osteopath and keen maker of carbonara. The only catch is Da Mario doesn’t have an online shop, so if you want to make a carbonara with their guanciale, you should pay them a visit.

Luigi’s (Fulham)

349 Fulham Road, London SW10 9TW

• Price of fresh pasta: From £5.95 for 350g

• FYI: Great for baby artichokes, gnocchi alla sorrentina, breadsticks and Willy Wonka vibes

• Website; Directions

Luigi’s has been a fixture of Fulham’s food scene for almost 50 years © Marco Kesseler

Luigi’s Delicatessen in Fulham, with its scarlet wooden interiors, is the Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory of Italian delis. Established in 1973, the alimentari has since become a Fulham foodie attraction on a par with the nearby Spanish restaurant El Metro, frequented by west London celebrities and politicians alike.

It’s not inexpensive here but the atmosphere is welcoming, with shop assistants amiably shouting at each other in Italian dialects while they show you the delicacies prepared daily by the three chefs in the kitchen — Antonio, Daniele and Giacinto. The changing menu includes all the classics, from lasagne and spezzatino (stew) to gnocchi alla sorrentina and polpette al sugo, but I was particularly surprised by the variety of artichokes, which they serve alla romana (braised and stuffed with aromatic herbs), grilled and Sicilian (stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic and Parmesan). The sandwiches are made with a huge range of meat (including coppa, lardo and spianata calabrese) and Italian cheeses (Auricchio, caciocavallo, taleggio and pecorino romano). Vito, the manager, appears horrified when asked if there’s seating space. Luigi’s won’t even serve coffee or offer delivery, he says, like a real old-school alimentari.

Behind this small shopfront is “the Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory” of Italian delis

Luigi’s exceptional wine selection is well worth exploring © Marco Kesseler (2)

And frankly, who cares. They have basically every type of Mulino Bianco biscuit you can imagine, Amaretti di Saronno in gorgeous Art Deco packaging in all shapes and sizes, and a truly exceptional selection of wines, including some important labels such as Sassicaia and Tignanello. Pre-Covid, they used to host wine tastings with oenologists, which may well resume (although nothing is confirmed).

Salvino (Kentish Town)

47 Brecknock Road, London N7 0BT

• Price of fresh pasta: From £2.49 per 250g

• FYI: A celebration of all things Sicilian

• Website; Directions

Fresh ravioli on the counter at Salvino in north-west London

Antonio and his brother Stefano took over Salvino from their uncle © Marco Kesseler (2)

If you were going about your day in Kentish Town last July and stumbled upon impromptu opera singing (Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma”), paired with Italian aperitivos and prosecco, chances are you came across the celebrations for the 40th birthday of Salvino, the Italian deli established in in 1981.

Antonio took the business over from his uncle Salvo when he was still a teenager, and his brother Stefano joined him shortly after. Originally a wholesaler supplying restaurants and cafés, Salvino certainly adapted to the times: aperitivos and breakfasts (the fresh cornetti are to die for) can be enjoyed on small tables and benches just outside the shop (in the warmer months), and if you want to know what flavour of fresh pasta ripiena (stuffed pasta) they’re preparing each two weeks (available for collection on Saturday), check their Instagram profile @salvino_deli (at the time of writing it was pea, mint and mascarpone ravioli). Fillings include beetroot and mascarpone; crab, lemon and saffron; wild mushroom, walnut and ricotta; and roast butternut squash. Homemade offerings also include other Sicilian delicacies such as arancini filled with ragu or spinach and mozzarella, and fresh Italian bread.

The deli celebrated its 40th birthday last year © Marco Kesseler

I was especially pleased to see that they sell Strazzanti Sicilian pasta sauces (including the typically Sicilian pesto alla trapanese and sugo alla Norma, which are hard to come across in jars). Strazzanti also supplies Salvino with traditional cakes made with pistachio, lemon, almond and hazelnut, the typical ingredients of the regional confectionery (which betray its Middle Eastern influences). Something of a community champion, Salvino also featured on Mary Berry’s Simple Comforts BBC TV show in 2020 — she left with some of its fresh burrata from Puglia.

What’s your favourite Italian delicatessen in London, and what do you buy there? Tell us in the comments

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