Popping down the shops isn’t quite as simple a pleasure as it used to be – and heading to your favourite local restaurant certainly isn’t.
Still, some London restaurateurs have come up with a solution, turning themselves into temporary greengrocers amid the lockdown, which allows them to employ staff, support their quality produce suppliers, make a bit of money, and provide customers with homely shopping experience to boot.
Almost all of the shops listed below are selling fruit and veg, all are stocked up with cooking ingredients, some are selling toiletries (and loo roll), and some have even cooked ready meals to pop in the oven. Most of the shops below also crucially do local delivery, so look them up if you’re in an at-risk group and trying to stay inside.
If your local restaurant has had a retail-driven makeover, please let us know at ailis.brennan@standard.co.uk. You may have noticed that we haven’t included Michelin-starred Brat’s Deli and Grill Shop – that’s currently closed, but we’re hoping it’ll be back up and running soon.
From Italian delis making fresh pasta to go, to a pub selling daily baked bread and pastries, these are the restaurants-turned-grocers that you can shop at (and support) during the lockdown.
Bistro Union
The sibling restaurant to Michelin-starred Trinity in Clapham is putting the neighbour in neighbourhood restaurants. Adam Byatt has turned his casual dining hotspot into a community shop, selling fruit and veg, fresh pasta, dairy products and dried goods ranging from basmati rice to passata and olive tapenade. They are also selling cooked meals ranging from pork belly with cabbage and apple sauce to fish pie. Bistro Union also offers contactless, local delivery for the elderly and the vulnerable
40 Abbeville Road, SW4 9NG, bistrounion.co.uk
The Oystermen
The oyster-centric Covent Garden restaurant is making sure its passion for seafood rides the waves of the lockdown, and is looking to help us all bob along above water. The Oystermen has turned its restaurant into a grocers that also sells meat straight from its butcher, fresh fish delivered from the British coast and fruit and veg sourced from New Covent Garden market. They are offering free next day delivery (within two miles) to the elderly, the vulnerable and key workers (endeavouring to arrange deliveries around shift hours if possible).
32 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8NA, oystermen.co.uk
Leon
The fast food group has already started the #FeedNHS campaign, aiming to raise a £1 million to help deliver free meals to hospital workers – but it’s looking out for the rest of us too. It has converted 11 of its stores (most of which are in London) into miniature supermarkets, selling pre-packed boxes containing selections of fruit and veg, dairy products or ready meals including green Thai curry and Brazilian black beans with rice. All profits go towards the #FeedNHS fund.
Various locations, leon.co
The Quality Chop House
Yes, The Quality Chop House has always had a shop, but after a brief closure (the restaurant is still closed), we thought we’d let you know that it is back up and running. Highlights in its bevy of goodies include fresh bread, fruit and vegetables, a butcher cutting shops daily, wine from Quality Wines and a myriad of store cupboard stars. You can now order for delivery too from its online shop, where the selection includes ready meals and sausage rolls.
88-94 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3EA, thequalitychophouse.com
Top Cuvee
The restaurant formerly known as Top Cuvee is currently taking on the moniker Shop Cuvee, having had a post-lockdown makeover. The Highbury favourite will now be selling and delivering produce from top London restaurant suppliers: meat is from HG Walter, fish is courtesy of Henderson’s Seafood and fruit and vegetables come from Natoora. Alongside various other food stuffs, it’s also selling eco-friendly toiletries. Shop Cuvee is offering evening delivery too, extending into the afternoon on weekends.
177B Blackstock Road, N5 2LL, topcuvee.com
Ombra
Hackney Italian Ombra has remodelled itself as a pastificio and delicatessen, catering to all your (and Nonna’s) culinary needs. Fresh pasta is the big draw here, which comes accompanied by an array of takeaway sauces, and is sold alongside coffee, wine and even tiramisu. Ombra is also selling simpler provisions, as well as acting as a collection point for veg boxes from Flourish Farms. The restaurant will also be making deliveries across most of Hackney for a small fee.
1 Vyner Street, E2 9DG, ombrabar.restaurant
The Good Life Eatery
This mini-group of health-focused lunch favourites is broadening its remit from salads, juices and baked treats to start selling the basics too. The Good Life Market has launched to allow customers to pick up the likes of fruit and veg, brown rice, honey, flour and more either in store (call ahead and pick up your order) at their Chelsea, St John’s Wood or Notting Hill sites, or for delivery via Deliveroo from those same locations. They are also offering 20 per cent off collection for all NHS staff.
SW3, W11, NW8, goodlifeeatery.com
Petersham Nurseries
The original Richmond location of Petersham Nurseries is maintaining its reputation for top ingredients by offering them to buy as groceries. The restaurant is offering fruit and veg and more to order for either collection or local delivery. Fill out an order form (minimum spend is £30), and you can pick up the likes of seasonal rhubarb, Italian cured meats and cheeses, olive oil, wine and, crucially, some proper tea bags.
Church Lane, Petersham Road, TW10 7AQ, petershamnurseries.com
The Camberwell Arms
A pub will rarely let you down, and the Camberwell Arms is certainly putting in the work for south Londoners. The much-loved foodie pub has become a well-stocked general store, selling Natoora fruit and veg, seasonal pastries, focaccia bread, fresh pasta and more. It is also cooking up ready meals available for either delivery or collection, with including beef, bone marrow and ale pie. It will also soon stock Essentials Hampers, with a “buy one, donate one” scheme allowing customers to buy a hamper for a staff member at Kings College Hospital.
65 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR, thecamberwellarms.co.uk
Made In Italy
Italians do delis very well, so expect to see a couple of them on this list. The restaurant group Made In Italy has opened delis at two of its London locations – Luna Rossa in Notting Hill and Made In Italy 3.0 in Battersea – selling the likes of pane canfone, De Cecco dried pasta, fresh pasta, Monte Cristi tuna, as well as toilet paper and other little essentials. You can also pick up a “Stay At Home” pizza making kit, complete with a bottle of wine to toast your efforts.
W11, SW11, madeinitalygroup.co.uk
Brunswick East
While its Dalston restaurant remains closed, Brunswick East has transformed its Hackney Downs Bakehouse into a shop selling its daily bread and much more. Pick up boxes of biodynamic veggies sourced from Sussex farms, top quality dairy products and homemade sauces by the jar including vegan mayonnaise, salsa verde and and apple, daikon and ginger chutney – all ripe for slathering on its freshly baked organic sourdough. Brunswick East is also taking deliveries on Slerp from its Hackney Downs location.
17 Amhurst Terrace, E8 2BT, brunswickeast.london
Parlour
The Kensal Green favourite has launched Parlour’s Market Place amid the lockdown, a spot for north Londoners to stock up on both essentials and treats. Customers can fill a Pick Your Own box with fruit and veg for £25, as well as find a range of cheeses, freshly baked breads, raw cookie dough, fresh meat and frozen ready meals, including chicken kiev and a “Desperate Dan” style cow pie. And yes, there’s also toilet paper.
5 Regent Street, NW10 5LG, parlourkensal.com
Il Pagliaccio
Italian restaurant Il Pagliaccio has stood on Wandsworth Bridge Road for 27 years – to help it stay there for another quarter of a century, it has transformed itself into a deli during the lockdown. It’s selling a selection of cured meats, cheeses, pastas and wine, as well as store cupboard ingredients sourced from Italy, including tins of cherry or plum tomatoes. Seasonal treats currently include Italian Easter eggs and traditional Colomba cake.
184 Wandsworth Bridge Road, SW6 2UF, paggs.co.uk
