The Best Delis and Food Shops in Hampstead

Hampstead's food shops are, like most things in the neighbourhood, the result of a long and ongoing argument between the desire for genuine quality and the economics of one of London's more expensive postcodes. The best of them have won that argument by being so consistently good that people pay what they charge without resentment.

La Fromagerie

The cheese room at La Fromagerie on Heath Street is the best place to buy cheese in North London and one of the best in the city. Patricia Michelson's shop stocks an exceptional selection of European and British cheeses, all properly aged and handled. The walk-in maturing room, which customers may inspect, makes the point about provenance that most cheese shops only gesture toward.

Rosslyn Deli

The deli on Rosslyn Hill has been feeding the neighbourhood for decades, and the range has expanded without losing focus. Good Italian charcuterie, an excellent olive selection, proper bread, and a cheese counter that would not embarrass La Fromagerie. The prepared foods for taking home — lasagne, slow-cooked lamb, seasonal soups — are of reliable quality.

Gail's

Gail's is technically a small chain, but the Hampstead outpost on Hampstead High Street has managed to retain enough of the character of its surroundings to be worth including. The sourdough is properly fermented and properly baked. The pastries are made on the premises. The coffee is better than it needs to be.

The Greengrocer

There is a greengrocer on Flask Walk — small, crowded, improbably well-stocked with seasonal British produce — that represents exactly the kind of shop that every neighbourhood should have and most no longer do. The asparagus in May and the tomatoes in August are the reasons to go.

## Melrose and Morgan (South End Road) The archetype of the Hampstead deli. Opened in 2006 in an old wine merchant's shop, now with a small branch in Primrose Hill. The counter offers about twenty hot and cold prepared dishes — the chicken pie (around £8) and the salmon and new potato tart (around £11) are the regulars. The fridge runs to very good British and French cheeses, small-producer charcuterie, and a rotating selection of homemade dips. The bread is delivered daily. Open daily 8am to 7pm. Takeaway-first; there is a tiny counter-facing bench for two if you are desperate. ## Nicely Lebanese Grocer (Flask Walk) A small family-run shop that does not look like much from the street. Go in. Olives (about fifteen varieties, £3 to £8 per tub), tahini from three different producers, sumac, Aleppo pepper, proper pomegranate molasses, and a freezer of homemade kibbeh and falafel mix. The olive oil is excellent and around £12 for 500ml. Open 9am to 7pm, closed Sunday. ## Panzer's (St John's Wood, but worth the detour) Strictly speaking Panzer's is in St John's Wood, not Hampstead, but it is ten minutes by 113 bus and stocks the best smoked salmon in north-west London. Worth the journey if you are cooking something celebratory. ## The Bakery (Flask Walk) Sourdough from three different bakers delivered fresh daily, baguettes from Bread by Bike, pastries from Fabrique. Also a small, sharp selection of jams, honeys, and spreads. The coffee machine makes a decent flat white for around £3.50. Get there before 10am for the weekend baguettes; they go. ## Gourmet Kitchen (Hampstead High Street) Italian-leaning deli with a proper Parma ham leg on the counter (sliced to order), fresh tortellini and ravioli from a Piedmont supplier, a wall of olive oils, and the best selection of anchovies I know in Zone 2 (Ortiz, Nardin, Callol Serrats). Prepared meals from the fridge — osso buco around £18, lasagne around £14 — are proper homemade quality. ## La Fromagerie's outpost Not strictly a Hampstead shop but regularly pop-up at the Farmers' Market Saturdays. Sells some of the best small-production British and French cheeses in London — Kirkham's Lancashire, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, Appleby's Cheshire, proper Brie from Meaux. Talk to whoever is behind the counter; they will guide you. ## Hampstead Butcher and Providore (Heath Street) The go-to for proper meat. Grass-fed beef from a farm in the West Country, game in season, whole chickens that taste of something. Dry-aged ribeye is around £50 per kilo. The charcuterie counter — mostly Italian and French — is a bonus. The staff know their stock and will advise on cooking. Saturday morning queues are real; arrive by 10am or after 1pm. ## A note on where NOT to go The new Waitrose on the High Street is fine for staples — but buying cheese or charcuterie there when Melrose & Morgan is 200 metres away is a mistake. Same for olive oil, bread, and prepared salads. The deli-quality premium over Waitrose is about 30% and, for the things listed above, worth it.