London’s favourite Italian delicatessen, Lina Stores, responded at lightning speed to the national lockdown and launched its online grocery delivery service in April. Months on, it’s one of the food industry’s rare success stories, bringing its signature turquoise striped boxes full of delicious goodies to all London postcodes and also nationwide.
Established in 1944, Lina Stores has grown from a bijou Soho delicatessen to include a standalone restaurant around the corner on Greek Street and a restaurant-deli-cafe at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross. With such a flurry of activity in the past few years, it’s no wonder that Lina Stores innovated its offering to keep us well fed when movement was restricted and spirits were low.
Groceries
The online store features a diverse range of imported fresh cheeses and cured meats, olives, antipasti, baked bread, fruit and vegetables. You can also pick up storecupboard essentials like artisanal dried pasta, tins of San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, jam and 00 flour.
Home-made Pasta
The star of the show, however, has to be Lina Stores’ unique, hand-made products including fresh pasta, slow-cooked sauces and indulgent desserts. I’ve ordered from Lina Stores quite a few times over the past few months and cooked up an indulgent feast of pasta and cannoli on my birthday.
The home-made Pappardelle and Tagliatelle come covered in flour in little nests and generously serve four. They have a lovely flavour and deep yellow colour and cook perfectly in just a few minutes. The vibrant green Artichoke and truffle ravioli is also a real treat and is best served simply with butter and Parmesan.
I was also really impressed with the fresh pasta sauces, which also serve four. Norcina, traditionally from Umbria, is a creamy, rich ragu of Porcini mushrooms and sausage while the Bolognese is exemplary with top quality beef and plenty of red wine.
Delicious Cannoli
I can never resist the Sicilian Cannoli and you can order five bite-size ones to go with your coffee or super-size it with two giant Cannoli. The fried pastry shells are piped full of velvety, marsala-scented ricotta and studded with crushed pistachio and bittersweet dark chocolate chunks – just heavenly!
Chocolate lovers will also delight in the insanely dense and gooey Baci brownie, baked with the famous hazelnut chocolates from Perugia. Another must is the heavenly Amalfi lemon pudding – a moist Italian sponge with zesty citrus custard and ground almonds.
Delivery
Now that you’re most likely sold on a Lina Stores order, let me tell you it’s actually the most accessible of all food delivery services, with free delivery, a small minimum spend of £20 and a good range of delivery slots. The service is professional and friendly from start to finish and all items are airtight sealed for safety and easy freezing. What could be better than that?
Are you planning to try a Lina Stores home delivery? Which items would you choose?
For more information and to order a delivery, visit: www.shop.linastores.co.uk
Food photos by Chérie City (delivery photo by Lina Stores)
