London

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Best Traiteur

The Grocer on Elgin

WINNER
The Grocer on Elgin
Honestly – we wanted to give this award to some cute little no-name deli stuck out in Zone 6, but the fact is Ashley Sumner and Vivenne Hayward’s slick set-up is too damn good. You might flinch at the volume of packaging (a dish to feed six requires buying three or four packs rather than one big tray) and its corporate, please-roll-me-out-nationwide styling, but it affords the essential detail competitors miss: clear instructions for reheating that you can refer to when you’re back home. The Grocer (which is not really a grocer) also offers an unparalleled choice of dishes from the upright self-serve chiller cabinets lining the walls. Like curries? You’re well served here, with Thai green, vegetable and duck curries, orange lentil dhal, korma-style dishes, plus saffron rice and satay chicken kebabs. Feature continues

Is French food more your thing? You could pair braised beef in red wine and thyme with truffle mash, slow-cooked carrots and/or little gem, peas and Alsace bacon. Unlike supermarket brand products, the dishes here don’t all seem to taste the same, either – the rich spicy flavours of our lamb and prune tagine were notably different from the Moroccan meatballs, though both dishes were inspired by North African cuisine. Desserts are something to look forward to with chef Frederic Flamme’s background as a pastry chef. Packaged options (which even include Eastern-style options such as mango and almond jelly) are expanded with an array of baked goods including beautifully blowsy meringues in exotic flavours, lamingtons and cheesecake. The problem isn’t finding, it’s choosing.
The Grocer on Elgin, 6 Elgin Crescent, W11 2HX (020 7221 3844/www.thegroceron.com) Ladbroke Grove tube.

RUNNERS-UP
Hand Made Food
You might not guess it from the genteel neighbourhood, modish menu or the buzz emanating from the semi-open kitchen, but Hand Made Food has a strong ethical stance. Chef-patron Fergus Clague and wife Vicky, who have been running this combined traiteur, deli, café and catering business for 12 years, support local producers, use free-range and organic meats, and – perhaps most unusually – employ several chefs full-time year-round to give the staff security of income. There is a wide range of dishes chalked up on the blackboard – paella, perhaps, studded with juicy chunks of chorizo and chicken, will stand alongside slow-roast pork with apricot and sage, plump homity tarts and bastilla dusted with icing sugar. Take one of the floppy plastic buckets to collect artisan groceries from the shelves, including Sharpham Park spelt cereals, French moscatel vinegar, Seggiano pasta and England Preserves’ London marmalade – made in Deptford, that really is local.
Hand Made Food, 40 Tranquil Vale, SE3 0BD (020 8297 9966/www.handmadefood.com) Blackheath rail.

Melrose and Morgan
When Ian James and Nick Selby first set up Melrose and Morgan, they thought it should be a high-quality grocer with kitchen attached. But they soon realised that local customers wanted ready-prepared foods, and tailored the operation accordingly. A huge table down the centre of the store groans with cakes and pastry-cased savouries; at the far end one of the in-house chefs may be crumbing joints of chicken or carving the organic, home-baked ham to serve with, say, a salad of lentils, vegetables and frisée. Turn to the chillers and choice explodes, with popular smoked haddock fish pie, potted shrimps, seasonal soups and delicious desserts such as Valrhona chocolate mousse, poached fruits and trifle. James and Selby have recently built a new off-site kitchen under the railway arches near Chalk Farm. Currently the deli’s in preservation mode: look out for sweet pickled white peaches, apricot kernel jam and pear and fennel chutney on the shop’s shelves soon.
Melrose and Morgan, 42 Gloucester Avenue, NW1 8JD (020 7722 0011/www.melroseandmorgan.com) Chalk Farm tube.

Tavola
Owned by acclaimed former chef Alastair Little and wife Sharon, this friendly shop is the only one of our shortlist not to have the benefit of café seats. Its success, therefore, really does rest on the output of the kitchen and the skill in sourcing covetable groceries that will make customers shop here and not at one of the other good food shops in the vicinity. Cleverly, this is not just a place to buy dinner: daily lunchbox options may include buffalo mozzarella salad or tandoori chicken. A central table displays large terracotta bowls of – perhaps – minted artichokes, mayo-free coleslaw, harissa-marinated chicken and poached peaches. Confident in their customers’ adventurous tastes, Tavola's chiller cabinet holds the likes of rabbit sauce for pasta and Vietnamese pho, as well as down-home classics like lasagne. Many of the cakes are bought-in, as are the Alba Gold ice creams, but these are first-rate lines from artisan producers.
Tavola, 155 Westbourne Grove, W11 2RS (020 7229 0571) Westbourne Park or Bayswater tube.

Trinity Stores
The blackboard outside proclaims ‘Easy Supper @ Trinity’, and offers suggestions to locals walking home from the station. This friendly deli-café aims to ensure that people can take away supper for two for around a fiver. The choice of dishes is not extensive, but nearly everything we tried was utterly delicious. Juicy kebabs of chicken and peppers marinated in honey and mustard were paired with deceptively simple couscous salad – something with too many ingredients would have detracted from the main course. A self-serve chiller cabinet holds own-made seasonal soup (say, courgette, pepper and pea) and tubs of dippy-saucy-nibbly things such as rocket and ricotta pesto, tomato salsa, and celeriac remoulade, plus packs of La Tua fresh pasta, which is made in London. The chocolate mousse was good, but the lemon posset stunning. Trinity Stores is a great addition to Balham’s burgeoning food scene, and active in the community.
Trinity Stores, 5 & 6 Balham Station Rd, SW12 9SG (020 8673 3773) Balham tube/rail.

Leffe Best New Restaurant | Best Gastropub | Best British Restaurant | Best Family Restaurant | Best Local Restaurant | Best Cheap Eats | Best Bar | Best Design | Best Traiteur | Best Coffee Bar