Christmas Delicatessens

Whether they're sweetly British or exotically foreign London's delis are a great place to pick up gifts for difficult relatives, sort out some impressive extras for your parties, or find little short-cuts to the perfect Christmas dinner. We won't tell anyone if you don't.

A Gold

42 Brushfield Street, London, E1 6AG
The painted, panelled exterior could come straight from a BBC Dickens adaptation, making A Gold a perfect spot at Christmas. It's London's only delicatessen to specialise entirely in British produce - from Cornwall in the south (try the saffron cakes) to Scotland in the north (clootie dumplings are a speciality). If you're a fan of the New British style championed by chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Fergus Henderson this place has all the ingredients you need. There are excellent meats and British cheeses and at this time of year their hampers, handmade puddings and sugar mice are especially popular. They also score points with the drinks - try a fermented honey mead or sloe gin - and with biscuits and preserves of bygone eras, which make excellent, nostalgic gifts. Pop into the equally beautiful Verde and Co next door (owned by the writer Jeanette Winterson) if you need to complement your shopping with something more continental.

A Gold - Information

Lina Stores

18 Brewer Street, W1F 0SH
Stock up on your panettone, panforte and pandoro at Lina Stores, a delightful old delicatessen in the heart of Soho. The family-run establishment is hugely popular with Soho's Italian population and stocks all the essentials, such as homemade pesto, pasta, ravioli, sauces, and a range of hams, cold meats, salamis, breads, olives and cheeses. Italian branded dried pasta, sauces and every day basics are also on offer, while there's a range of Christmas delicacies such as traditional cakes, biscotti and chocolates. Lina Stores was refurbished last year but the little place has lost nothing of its charm. The centre-piece remains the superb marble and green-tile deli counter, around which legs of ham hang from the rafters and shelves are jam-packed with great, tasty produce. If you're a first-time visitor you're sure to be charmed and will vow to return - and not just at Christmas.

More info: Lina Stores Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

The Mount Street Deli

100 Mount Street, Mayfair, W1K 2TG
A welcome addition to fashionable Mayfair is this quite delightful delicatessen opposite Scott's Bar. The Mount Street Deli is a real lesson in how to do things right. Firstly, it looks amazing: quirky "kitchenalia" adorns every corner of the small yet seemingly spacious room, the walls are lined with shelves stocking the very best in Italian produce, the marble work tops are slick, the seating comfortable and there's even a smart terrace out the front. The place has the right sounds and smells too, with coffee machines and meat slicers in constant use as tempting aromas float up from the kitchen below. The delicatessen stocks specialist foods, sourced principally from Italy and the British Isles. The daily-changing menu is as seasonal as it is fresh and yummy, offering classics such as pistachio meringues, soft and hard cheeses, artisanal hams, homemade chutneys and jams, fine wines, mountain rhododendron honey, culatello prosciutto, fig lonzino (a type of cake from Ancona, served with cheese). Aside from the bespoke hamper service, the cleverest component to the Mount Street concept is the presence of favourite dishes from many of London's well-heeled private members' clubs on the menu, such as Annabel's decadent chocolate cakes, Mark's Club astonishing Scotch eggs, and grissini, polpetta and pizza from Harry's Bar. Open all week except Sunday, The Mount Street Deli serves breakfast (freshly-baked pastries, homemade granola and warm pancakes), lunch and dinner (homemade sandwiches and soups, smoked fish, cured meats, salads and indulgent cakes and puddings). All in all, it's a real find - and well worth a visit if only for the excellent coffee, the 1p white chocolate mice or the extraordinary tiny syrup-filled sweets sold by the jar.

More info: The Mount Street Deli Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Melrose and Morgan

42 Gloucester Avenue, London, NW1 8JD
If you want Christmas to be a holiday, rather than a move from your normal work to full-time catering, then check out Melrose and Morgan. The groceries are excellent, but the real joy is in their pre-prepared meals, with everything from freshly carved roasts to a 'Cheats Christmas in a Box' - a comprehensive selection of Christmas dinner essentials, including pudding, stuffing and even pre-chopped vegetables.

More info: Melrose and Morgan Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Mortimer and Bennett

33 Turnham Green Terrace, London, W4 1RG
This small delicatessen set up by Dan Mortimer and Di Bennett becomes almost unbearably crowded in the build-up to Christmas, and not only because the knowledgeable staff and customers always have a thorough gossip. Alongside a world-class selection of cheeses, salamis, and pates in the chiller cabinet, the back of the shop is full of thrilling, unusual foodie gifts, sourced from micro-producers throughout Europe. This year exotic Christmas specials include Christmas hampers, gingerbread decorations, German Kreutzkamm Christstollen (cake), Hansl and Gretl gingerbread, Spekulatius (biscuits), a range of cheeses and Italian panettone and French pain d'epices. Online orders will be taken up to December 15 - after that you'll have to front up and join the in-store scrum.

Mortimer and Bennett - Information

Panzer's

13-19 Circus Road, London, NW8 6PB
Panzer's have become experts in everything-under-one-roof Christmas shopping for London’s homesick Americans, including 'Skippy' peanut butter and 'Oscar Meyer' bacon (which, incidentally, is far superior to any British brand for making stuffing or pigs-in-blankets). Londoners also travel here from all over the capital for their famous smoked salmon, while north London's Jewish community can celebrate Hanukkah or a secular Christmas with kosher hampers. Christmas Hampers, costing between £85 and £330, can be delivered to UK and European destinations within 24 hours. As they claim on their website, this is American food "to die for".

Panzer's - Information

The Grocer on Elgin

6 Elgin Crescent, London, W11 2HX
On the December days when you don't have to cook roast beef for 11 hours, or get up in the middle of the night to put a 23lb turkey in the oven, it's always tempting to just put your feet up in front of the telly and munch on a ready meal. This is, of course, the worst thing to do if you're wanting to lower the calorie-count in this the most heavily indulgent season of them all. The Grocer on Elgin's fresh easy-to-prepare meals are a healthier solution when you're too tired to cook. Dishes like lemon and thyme risotto or chicken with Alsace bacon and mushrooms are made on the day with organic, free-range ingredients, and can be microwaved up in minutes. They also make absolutely fantastic fresh breads and patisserie. The information below refers to the original Notting Hill store - there is a second branch on the Kings Road.

The Grocer on Elgin - Information