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.