Poilâne

In business for over 200 years, the last 100 of those on this site, Paxton & Whitfield sells a wide range of British and continental European cheeses, plus excellent hams, biscuits and real ale. Service is exemplary and delightfully unstuffy – a rare pleasure on Jermyn Street. Among the unusual English varieties to look out for are Oxford isis (washed in mead), caradon blue from Cornwall and naturally smoked ‘ceodre’ cheddar, and the shop now has an extended range of French cheeses, courtesy of Androuet, a traditional Parisian cheese shop. P&W is also known for its celebration ‘cheese cakes’ – contrasting tiers of artisan cheese rounds made to look like traditional wedding cakes. They also now serve sandwiches at lunchtime.