For more than 75 years Lina Stores delicatessen has been a beloved Soho institution, the nonna of Italian food shops, London’s favourite place for all things edible and Italian. Lina’s is renowned for its white and pistachio green frontage and interior filled from floor to ceiling with Parmigiano, panettone, prosciutto and, of course, pasta.
We pop into the legendary deli for a pack of tubetti and to get in the mood for dinner at Lina’s recently opened restaurant round the corner. The visit takes my companion back to precious childhood memories growing up in Herne Bay where her parents were Punch and Judy artistes on the seaside pier. On special occasions, her mother served the family a treat known as “Italian dinner”: a plate of spaghetti and tinned tomatoes topped with a crowning glory of Spam fritters. I suspect Lina Stores would have done very well had they opened a branch in 1960s Herne Bay.
London, especially its Clerkenwell and Soho areas, has long had a thriving Italian community, from waves of refugees fleeing 19th century Napoleonic Wars to thousands who emigrated after 1945 to escape Italy’s postwar poverty. And, as we’ve said, where folk go their food goes with them. “When Lina Stores was first founded, Soho was home to a thriving Italian community of butchers, delicatessens, shops, restaurants and bars. Most of these independent businesses have slowly closed their doors but Lina Stores has remained a constant, a home away from home for many Italians like me in London,” says Lina’s Head Chef Masha Rener.
Lina’s Soho Restaurant continues the same time-honoured traditions as Lina Stores, from the familiar white and pistachio green design, furniture and tableware to the mouthwatering menu. Food philosophy here: simplicity and the very best ingredients. That means pasta handmade daily from Italian flour and fresh eggs, a seasonally-changing menu of regional dishes from family recipes, traditional wines and cocktails and the world’s best cannoli outside Sicily.
Even on the damp cold Monday night of our visit there’s a lively buzz and full house, along with a warm, exuberant welcome from manager Stani and his staff. Our toughest decision is whether to dine upstairs with its counter seating, 1950s retro feel and fun view of chefs at work, or downstairs in the cosy- tabled basement, a cross between a Soho drinking club and an old-fashioned ice-cream parlour. Far easier to choose our food and drink, because Lina’s menu is comfortably brief and everything looks fabulous.
Our choices were all outstanding. Antipasti of aubergine, tomato and parmesan polpetti; radicchio and puntarelle in a light anchovy dressing; top notch Gorgonzola twinned with sourdough bread and sweet’n gently spicy pear chutney. Small plates of double ravioli, their pockets filled with Jerusalem artichoke, parmesan and ricotta; swallow-shaped rondini stuffed with Devon crab and scallop; and a glorious pumpkin and fresh sage ravioli with toasted hazelnuts, as scrumptious as any we’ve had in Italy. From Lina’s short but select wine and beverage list, we adore the white Gavi di Gavi and earthy, red Chianti Classico. Dolci are a matter of four choices, so we obviously need one of each, with extra spoons. There are not enough superlatives for Lina’s remarkable pistachio sorbet (made, we’re reliably told, with just sugar, water and premium Sicilian pistachios), except to say that this alone would have made the visit worthwhile.
Other yummy London Italian eats can be found at Trullo, Boca di Lupa, tiny, brilliant Enoteca Supertuscan and our current pizza fave, Radio Alice. Outside the capital, check out Sarti, Valvona & Crolla or Alchemilla in Glasgow and Marmo, Pasta Loco or Ripiena in Bristol.
Lina Stores Soho Restaurant at 51 Greek Street, London W1 - Website: linastores.co.uk
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Images: Image 1 - Lina Stores: Everything under the Tuscan Sun, since 1944; Image 2 - LIttle Bites of Heaven, Pistachio Sorbet and Fresh Cannoli at Lina Stores Restaurant
