Shop, eat and drink all under one roof
Back in 2023, we dived into London’s grocerant wave, the grocery-restaurant hybrid that had been gaining popularity over in America and started taking root in the capital post-pandemic. Pivoting was the order of the day back then, with operators turning to delivery or retail (or both) to keep their businesses alive, and some proved so popular that the side hustle stuck around. Covid has been replaced by the cost-of-living crisis and having a retail arm on a hopso business helps keep the P&L in line, especially when there’s no VAT on cold takeaway food.
Now a few years on, it appears that the concept has flipped from restaurants adding on the retail to retail adding on the restaurants. It’s something that the US, particularly New York, has done well with deli culture being so much more established across the pond, but even the Big Apple is going through something of a grocery-restaurant boom, with both the New York Times and Grub Street rounding up the best NYC delis and grocery stores to eat in. It’s a trend that’s taking off in Paris too.
As well as offering flexibility and casualness, grocery dining also is a timesaver for busy city folk – eat your dinner tonight and pick up the ingredients for tomorrow without having to change location – so no wonder Londoners are also lapping it up. Corner Shop, the shiny new deli-grocery-ice cream counter-salad bar-bakery-wine bar behemoth from Nick Jones (if you’ve not been yet, you’ll have seen it on your social feeds), has been the headline opening in a steady stream of London grocery shops that you can eat in. Here’s our pick of the bunch…
Corner Shop
Opened by Nick Jones, and billed as a grocer, baker, cafe and wine bar, it’s actually a lot more than that. The shelves are stocked with products from the likes of Panzers, Neal’s Yard Dairy, Mateo Zielonka and Wimbledon Smokehouse, as well as juices, condiments and jams made in-house. You can get bread and baked goods from e5 Bakehouse and Populations Bakery; there’s an ice cream counter from Gelupo; a huge salad bar with rotisserie chicken; sandwiches under a tenner made from produce in the shop; and in the evenings it flips into a wine bar. Talk about a one-stop-shop.
Honey & Spice
Part of the Honey & Co. family, Honey & Spice on Warren Street is stocked with everything you could need to whip up a Middle Eastern feast at home – fresh produce, spice mixes, condiments and more, plus homeware and kitchen essentials. If you get a bit peckish, you can grab pastries and cakes to eat with a hot drink or stop for a salad, sandwich or tagine for lunch.
Oeno Maris
At Oeno Maris in Newington Green, neighbour to Stella’s, you can pick up high-quality seafood to cook at home, or you can have master fishmonger Dan Murphy prep it for you to eat right there. As well as doing killer sashimi and natural wine, Oeno Maris also hosts guest chefs for one-off seafood dinners.
Farm Shop
Farm Shop is a food shop in Mayfair run by Artfarm, the hospitality arm of Hauser & Wirth. The shop is stocked full of their own produce, from rhubarb curd and chutneys to chocolates, cheese, and fresh veg. There’s a cute wine bar across the ground floor and downstairs, a nice casual space with wooden bistro chairs, marble tables, and shelves lined with gleaming bottles. The wine list offers a solid line-up of champagnes and wines, with seasonal small plates, charcuterie and cheese boards to snack on.
Stella’s
Stella’s in Newington Green, an offshoot of Broadway Market’s Hill & Szrok, will supply you with top quality meat during the day and then flip into a listening bar by night. That means you can pick up sausages, chicken, and steaks to whack on the grill, or swing by for wine, snacks (meaty ones, obvs) and tunes from Rezidentura DJs.
SABA
As well as being a Korean convenience store, SABA is also the UK’s first-ever Korean ramen bar and it’s only place in London where you can use Korea’s popular instant ramen machines. There are 25 different types of ramen, plus a variety of toppings on offer, so you can customise your bowl just how you like it. If you’re not sold yet, they’ve also 15 soju flavours on offer, robots making fried chicken, pressed sugar croissants and corn dogs on the menu too.
Supermarket of Dreams
A name like Supermarket of Dreams promises a lot but happily this Notting Hill spot delivers on them. Run by the same team behind Dorian, Notting Hill Fish + Meat and Eel Sushi Bar, Supermarket of Dreams is packed to the rafters with veg, meat, pastries, flowers, condiments and more, plus a rotating selection of sandwiches on the counter during the day. By night, Japanese restaurant Urchin takes over the space, with the infamous Tuna Fight Club pitching up every week too.
Harley’s
If you’re a fan of the food at Ibai – those Galician Blond steaks! – then Harley’s is where you’ll want to be doing your meat shopping. Opened by the team behind the restaurant, Hampstead butchers is stocked with meats that are usually reserved for restaurants like Brat, Mountain, Ibai and The Devonshire, including Belted Galloway, Black Angus and Galician Blond beef. There’s ready-to-eat to food too in the shape of rotisserie chicken, with proper in-house dining (with a menu from chef Richard Foster) on the way.
Leila’s Shop
Leila’s Shop is a Shoreditch institution, having sold incredible produce, from cheeses to coffee to chocolate, to locals for over two decades. Owner Leila carefully sources her goods from specialist producers around the world so you’re sure of finding real gems in here, but if you needed any more convincing, stay for lunch at the cafe next door, where the simple dishes are made using ingredients from the store.
Italo
Overlooking Bonnington Square in Vauxhall is charming deli Italo and the tables and chairs laid on said square is where you’ll wanna perch. The shop sells all manner of products, including quality Italian goods, plus deep-filled Italian-inspired sarnies and rotating selection of simple lunch dishes. Italo also hosts regular supper clubs – held on long tables al fresco if the weather allows – so it’s worth keeping an eye out for those too.
Arthur’s Market
Opening on the King’s Road at the end of September, Arthur’s Market, sister to The Prince Arthur in Belgravia, is shaping up to be one of the most luxe grocery stores in town. As well as selling high-end produce (yes even caviar), there’ll be two food counters – one grill and one handroll bar – inside. Come evening, the grocery section will flip into a restaurant running menus from the both concepts.
