Restaurants

The Fat Delicatessen uses a similar approach to the adjacent and slightly longer-established Trinity Stores, in that it’s both a smart food shop and a café, but, in the Fat Deli’s case, the balance is shifted in favour of the café. Even though there are only four tables, plus a few bar stools, it’s very spacious and doesn’t feel cramped. The menu offers Italian-accented Spanish tapas, with dishes of the day – such as puréed white bean soup topped with smoked butter – chalked on a blackboard. Colourful slivers of jamón ibérico were cut to order and dished up with a salad; little padrón peppers were grilled and served as a warm snack. Not everything is Mediterranean or Iberian, however; many of the cheeses are British. Some good wines by the glass or bottle are a bonus. If you’re not eating in, Fat Deli is still a good place to browse; the chilled display cabinet near the till is packed with mouth-watering traiteur dishes to take away, and banks of shelves are loaded with oils, dried beans, Ortiz tuna, wines, walnuts and other southern European store-cupboard staples.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008