My favourite Italian delis in London
Pasta Pilgrimages #1
As a child growing up in Foggia, in the southern Italian region of Puglia, I loved nothing more than popping my head into the alimentari that marked my route to and from school.
Whether you’re in Foggia or Florence, alimentari – independent food shops – are everywhere in Italy. Selling everything from dried goods like pasta and tinned tomatoes to freshly-baked breads, hand-rolled pasta and cured meats (salumi), each alimentari is different, yet also reassuringly alike.
Amongst all the different items on offer, I would always head straight for the slabs of focaccia Pugliese – my region’s take on the classic focaccia – which comes topped with paper-thin slices of potato. Eaten while still faintly warm, it was a wonderful way to finish (or start) a school day.
Now that I live in London, I occasionally make my own focaccia Pugliese as a weekend treat, but when I want a true taste of home (whether in the form of imported ingredients or just a friendly Italian face) I head to one of London’s Italian delis.
Generations of Italian immigrants have made London their home, and as the Italian expat community grew, so did the numbers of food shops set up by Italians to give their fellow countrymen and women a taste of home. London is constantly changing and plenty of these alimentari have now sadly disappeared, but there are some still standing tall, as well as a few more recent openings. From palaces of fresh pasta to salumi specialists, here are some of my favourite Italian delis in London.
Delizie D'Italia (Pimlico)
With its pretty red awning and beautifully curved, Victorian exterior, Delizie D'Italia looks every inch the Italian deli of dreams. Except you’re not in Italy, but a sleepy street in Pimlico. Thankfully, the inside of the deli is similarly dreamy; pretty packages of panettone and pandoro hang from the ceiling like Christmas decorations, and the shelves are packed to the rafters with eye-catching packets of quality dried pasta, tins of proper pomodoro and wines from all over Italy’s 20 regions.
Delizie D'Italia also does a roaring trade in freshly prepared food, all centred around classic Sicilian home-cooking (the owners hail from Sicily). From parmigiana melanzane to hand-rolled balls of arancini, the menu is packed with some of Sicily’s favourite dishes. Oh, and don’t forget to pick up a tub of homemade tiramisù before you leave – a decadent arrangement of proper Sardinian savoiardi biscuits soaked in freshly brewed coffee and layered with rich, creamy mascarpone, it’s the real deal.
To top it all off, an extensive sandwich menu and a selection of covered tables under the awning make this deli the perfect spot for an al fresco lunch, all year round. Alas, when I visit I’m short on time, so I settle for a salumi sandwich and a couple of just-filled cannoli to go. The intention is to deliver one cannolo to my other half, but neither last the journey home.
Salvino (Kentish Town)
47 Brecknock Road, London N7 OBT
Serving the good people of Kentish Town for more than 40 years, Salvino has morphed from its original standing as a wholesaler to the area’s Italian restaurants, into a beautifully appointed, destination-worthy deli.
The first thing you notice is the eye-catching red signage and green and white awning; a modern take on the classic alimentari formula that actually works, rather than feeling forced. Inside, the clean lines continue, with the shelves holding neat rows of hard-to-find liqueurs, boxed baked goods, Italian anchovies and much, much more. The pricing is keen too, making Salvino an ideal spot if you’re looking to stock your larder.
At the counter, the Sicilian brothers who run the deli expertly cut cured meats from all across Italy into impossibly thin slices, ready to be piled into a panino or taken away for an at-home antipasti experience. If that wasn’t enough, the team at Salvino also makes their own ravioli in-house (tip: check their Instagram to see what filling is on offer each week, then order ahead to pick your pasta up in time for Saturday dinner!).
Antonio Delicatessen (Lewisham)
23 Lewis Grove, London SE13 6BG
While it’s a little less pretty from the outside than some of the other delis on this list, Antonio Delicatessen more than makes up for it with a bountiful selection of carefully sourced produce, and a genuinely warm welcome.
Huge hunks of ham hang from the ceiling, and the salumi counter is stacked with tempting slabs of proper Italian guanciale, an ingredient I often struggle to find in London (a major issue considering guanciale is the key ingredient in a true Roman carbonara, one of my favourite pasta dishes).
There’s also freshly-baked breads, including some rather impressive-looking focaccia and ciabatta, which Antonio’s will happily fill with a selection of meats and cheese for you to take away or eat on the cluster of tables outside the front door.
This inside might be relatively small, but this bastion of Italian hospitality has a big community feel. Owner Antonio (who, like me, is from Puglia) is a reliably friendly face, always chatting away to a regular stream of locals, all of whom he seems to know by name.
Gallo Nero (Stoke Newington)
75 Stoke Newington High St, London N16 8EL
Tucked away on Stoke Newington’s main high street, Gallo Nero (technically Gallo Nero #2, the original – but much smaller – incarnation can be found a stone’s throw away in Newington Green) is a treasure trove of authentic Italian goodies.
There isn’t much room to manoeuvre between the almost-overflowing shelves, but you soon come to realise that this is no bad thing. A highlight are the seemingly never ending wooden cabinets on the walls, which are lined with dried pasta of every shape and size, alongside homemade sauces and case-upon-case of Italian regional wines.
Gallo Nero also has an extensive selection of Italian liqueurs and aperitivo drinks, including many that are almost impossible to source outside of Italy. On my last visit, I was immediately tempted by a bright yellow bottle of Liquore Strega – a saffron-infused liqueur that’s perfect for an after-dinner digestivo but which is yet to have its Aperol moment in the UK.
I Camisa & Son (Soho)
61 Old Compton St, London W1D 6HS
One of the oldest Italian delis in London, I Camisa & Son has lived through plenty of history. The original I Camisa & Son opened its doors in 1929, in a shopfront just next door to its current premises. The original deli was a central meeting point for the large Italian community that spread across Clerkenwell Road, Farringdon Road, and Rosebery Avenue – an area that came to be known as ‘Little Italy’.
The deli actually closed down at the onset of the Second World War; following Italy’s declaration of war on Britain, many Italian immigrants living in the UK were interned in camps, including the deli’s owners, the Camisa brothers. Thankfully, the brothers weren’t deterred by their treatment, and returned to Soho after the war ended to open new premises, first on Berwick Street, before one of the brothers went his own way and set up shop next door to the original I Camisa, on Old Compton St.
Although the Camisa family no longer owns the deli, the sense of history is reflected in the appearance of I Camisa & Son – which is faithful to the salumerie you’ll find across Italy. The staff all wear the classic white jackets worn by Italian salumieri (butchers and deli owners), and the fuss-free shop almost feels like a time warp – surrounded as it is by the hustle and bustle of ultramodern, heavily gentrified Soho.
Inside, you’ll find a reliable selection of carefully curated Italian larder goods, including a dazzling array of different dried pasta shapes and I Camisa’s own fresh pasta, which they make in-house. This deli is also the place for truly authentic pasta sauces, all of which are homemade (the amatriciana is very, very good).
In line with its salumeria appearance, I Camisa is renowned for its salumi sandwiches and panini, which you can customise to your heart’s content. In line with the authentic feel, there’s no seating, but Soho Square Gardens is just around the corner, the ideal spot to watch the world go by as you tuck into a prosciutto panino.
Da Mario (Highbury)
34 Highbury Park, London N5 2AA
With its dark green facade and retro lettering, Da Mario has all the hallmarks of the authentic Italian alimentari I grew up with. Peer inside, and you’ll soon find that it delivers on its promise, revealing an Aladdin’s cave stuffed to the brim with lots of quality Italian produce.
Multicoloured boxes of Christmas panettone line the shelves, while the counter that dominates the deli is piled high with imported Italian cured meats and cheeses, plus a selection of fresh pasta from London-based pasta company La Tua.
Behind the counter stands Carlo, the store’s Sardinian manager and resident salumi specialist. He expertly slices me some wafer thin mortadella al pistacchio, before a craggy slab of pecorino sardo catches my eye. Much less common in the UK than standard pecorino, this cheese hails from the island of Sardinia, where it’s produced from the milk of the native sheep breed: the sarda. I can’t resist, and I’m soon loaded with a substantial portion of each.
As I leave, I spot a sign on the wall, alongside a picture of Pope Francis. In Italian, it proclaims:
“Se mangi male la medicina non ti aiuta.
Se mangi bene la medicina non ti serve.
Mangiate bene!”
It’s a motto of sorts that translates as follows:
“If you eat badly, medicine won't help you
If you eat well, you don't need medicine.
Eat well!”
If you want to eat well, you could do a lot worse than poking your head into Da Mario.
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