shopping
Shops I can walk to, followed by those that are an easy bus journey for me (from Rye Lane SE15). Many of these places don't exactly scream 'budget' at you, but I only visit the more expensive shops occasionally, and then for only one or two items - a small handful of girolles from Franklin's perhaps, or a little pot of olives from Brindisa.
rye lane
In the spring of 2011, I went on my decennial visit to the ancestral home in Cheshire. It was the first time I’d been away from Peckham in five years. It was a bit of a jolt. Apart from anything else, I was struck by how amazingly tidy the countryside was. I don’t mean just the towns and villages. I mean everything – hedges, fields, cows. It’s like you’ve walked into a Sunday evening TV serial. But when I returned and walked out of Peckham Rye train station onto the Lane I kissed the ground. Well, no, not really. I’m not that fucking crazy. But I wanted to. This is my manor and I love it.
It’s stating the obvious I suppose to point out that, if you’re skint, it helps to live in a poor borough. You’re catered for in a way that you wouldn’t be in, say, Marylebone or Chelsea. Rye Lane is at its best in the early evening, after the high street names have shut up shop and the Asian, African and Caribbean stores take prominence. We also boast more nail salons per capita than anywhere else in the country.
Persepolis
28-30 Peckham High Street
SE15 5DP
Persepolis is rather famous and justifiably so. Like the title of the owner’s first cookbook (Sunday Times Cookbook of the Year 2007 ) says, it’s ‘Persia in Peckham’. There are decadently sticky pastries, great breads, fantastic pickles (including 14 year aged garlic) and much more. There's a small deli counter offering trays of mezze for lunch. Sally’s second book ‘Veggiestan’ is now out.
Khan’s Bargain Ltd
135 Rye Lane
SE15 4ST
A wonderful shop. Khan’s encapsulates everything I love about Rye Lane. At the entrance, there’s a good display of fruit, vegetables and herbs (they stock fresh dill, not something always easily available, but which I like a lot). Inside, it’s vast. It could easily lay claim to nation status. Rows of tins, jars and bottles that go on forever.
Lidl
Peckham High Street
SE15 5DP
Lidl’s is, not to put too fine a point on it, insane. When you first walk in it seems to reflect nothing so much as the despair and hardship of living on the poverty line. This remains true even after their recent refurbishment. Principally because nothing changed. Then you stumble upon bags of padron peppers. Or moose leg steaks, hare, pheasant, partridge, venison and lobster in the freezer cabinets. I'll just repeat that - MOOSE LEG STEAKS. At the time of writing they'd got raclette grills and fondue sets. They were next to the windscreen wipers. And it stocks the cheapest 24 month aged parmesan that I can find.
The 99p Store
87-91 Rye Lane
SE15 5EX
This is where I get pretty much all of my household items and toiletries. But it’s also worth looking around at the groceries - there's sometimes a surprising find.
Morrison's
Aylesham Centre
Rye Lane
SE15 5EW
I don't shop here a lot, preferring Asda (see below), but they have a pretty good fish counter - offering pouting and carp, for example - and sell cheaper cuts of meat like pig's cheeks. They also stock Bottle Green Elderflower Cordial, which I love.
United Meats
62 Peckham High Street
SE15 5DP
I've started coming here, since getting a heads up from Sally of Persepolis, for the halal lamb and chicken.
evalina road
Bambuni
143 Evelina Road
SE15 3HB
Closed Monday
A lovely new delicatessen and coffee shop. The coffee is from Volcano, the pork pies from Brays Cottage, the bread from Born and Bread Bakery. There's an excellent selection of cheese, salami and prosciutto and the shelves are stacked with interesting bottles and tins. Shipton Mill flour is sold by weight. And check this out - they have a refill system for wine and oil - buy an empty bottle and fill up, then bring your bottle back for refills.
F.C. Sopers
141 Evelina Road
SE15 3HB
Open Sunday 0900-1400
Closed Monday
I am displaying no local bias when I say that this is one of the best fishmongers in London. Much of the fish from British waters is bought direct from day boats. I eye the turbot with a pauper’s wistful longing, but I regularly buy squid, mackerel, sardines, flounder, pollock, gurnard, hake, sea bass and sea bream here. And the occasional small tub of crab meat.
Ayres The Bakers
131-133 Evelina Road
SE15 3HB
Ayres is close to the heart of every Nunhead resident. Before everything went tits up with the Suez crisis, all bakeries in England were like this. Gloriously traditional, it opens at six twatting A.M.! Just in time for me to buy my breakfast doughnuts. You’ll find no ciabattas here, my friend. I will countenance no bread for a bacon sandwich other than their farmhouse white. I also like their light rye and granary.
R Beaumont*
121 Evalina Road
SE15 3HB
In some ways, a typical local greengrocer, in that there’s nothing exotic or trendy on offer here. But what they do have is well sourced and they have a loyal local following and a big fan in yours truly. And they sell parsley by weight, which is useful when you’re buying for one.
* The sign above the door says 'Rudd's' but it's not.
H.A. Smith
113 Evelina Road
SE15 3HB
I used to ignore this place, favouring the lovely Naz as my local butcher. Sadly, he ceased trading in 2011 . A casually dismissive tweet of mine prompted replies of strong support for Smith's. Vincent Ayre tweeted: 'I have always found Smith's to be a very good butcher - good quality meat, superb poultry. I get all my meat there.' So I've realised I was unfair and have started using them.
no. 12 bus
Geoff Sargent
348 Lordship Lane
SE22
I usually pay a visit here when I go to Dulwich library. It's opposite the Sainsbury's Local and has no name above the door. A great little butchers, highly recommended.
no. 37 bus
I’ve got nothing against gentrification, per se. For one thing it’s simply an inevitable development for certain postcodes; for another, it tends to be to a foodie’s advantage. But, dear God, isn’t the process of it laughable to behold? Lordship Lane is a Northcote Road wannabe. No resident of SE22 will truly be at peace until Waitrose open up a branch there. Like any arriviste, quick to take affront, Lordship Lane guards its newly acquired status zealously, keen to distance itself from its vulgar and noisy neighbour. SE22 holds SE15 in much the same regard as Rome held the Visigoths. Have a gander at the East Dulwich Forum. It’s a riot. And look upon the temple to Mammon that is Foxton’s and despair.
Still, fair do’s, there’s some very good tucker to be found here. You’ll get top quality meat and fish from William Rose and Moxon’s respectively. And there’s the lively Northcross Road Saturday market, starring the G.G. Sparkes butcher’s van and the Dogfather. But here’s where I tend to shop:
Blackbird Bakery Café
46 Grove Vale
SE22 8DY
I come here for their really very good slow rise and sourdough loaves.
The Cheese Block
69 Lordship Lane
SE22 8EP
Whenever I walk in here, I can’t help but feel that they don’t seem particularly happy selling cheese. No matter, they stock an excellent and wide range.
SMBS Foods
75 Lordship Lane
SE22 8EP
The sister shop to the Cheese Block, they have a good choice of fruit and vegetables. A lot of what’s on their shelves falls into the ‘health food’ bracket.
Franklins Farm Shop
155 Lordship Lane
SE22 8HX
An offshoot of Lordship Lane’s best restaurant. A small selection of food from Franklin’s kitchen (tubs of welsh rarebit for example) compliments a very upmarket display of fruit (little known varieties of apples etc.) and vegetables. I like this place a lot. Just can't afford to buy much.
no. 36, 436 or 12 bus
Cruson
26 Camberwell Church Street
SE5 8QU
They’ve been selling fruit and vegetables here for forty years and counting. Whatever I buy always seems to cost much less than I was expecting. A delight amongst the exhaust fumes and bedlam of Camberwell.
Sophocles Bakery
24 Camberwell Church Street
SE5 8QU
I come here to buy daktyla (the seed-sprinkled loaf that you can break off into ‘fingers’) for 85p and flat bread the size of a football pitch for 70p. Ridiculously good value.
no. 36 or 436 bus
Italo
13 Bonnington Square
SW8 1TE
Set on a corner of the 'fuck me, I wished I lived here' Bonnington Square, with its magical Pleasure Garden, this is a wholly delightful little deli/cafe, its tables spilling out onto the pavement. They sell their espresso beans for the great price of £2.80 per 250g, and stock Franco Manca bread.
no. 78 bus
Asda
Old Kent Road
SE1 5AG
Back when I was a man of some considerable substance, Waitrose Canary Wharf was my supermarket of choice. It’s got a sushi bar for fuck’s sake. Nowadays it’s this Asda. Yet, should I ever find myself in funds again, I’m not sure as I’d change back. (There is a small and poorly stocked Asda on Rye Lane, on the site of the old Iceland, but unfortunately it retains much of the latter's East Germany circa 1970 atmosphere). I genuinely like shopping here. I only tend to buy the basics (and fruit and vegetables), but I detect a foodie sensibility at work. They used to sell Jules Destrooper Almond Thins (my biscuit of choice) although they now sell their own brand. They also stock wicked drinking chocolate from The Spanish Chocolate Co. Plus there’s the Asda Price Guarantee. And I believe it was they who coined the term ‘whoopsies’.
W. Bunting
13 Peckham Park Rd
SE15 6TR
One stop prior to Asda, this is a fine butcher. They do a big restaurant trade, so have a wide range and can get you anything in. The last time I asked for bavette here, they brought out what looked like half of a cow and cut it off for me there and then.
no. 78, 63 or 363 then no. 21 bus
Borough Market
SE1
The gastroscenti's love affair with Borough is over. In a story as old as time, the old lady has been traded in for a younger model, namely Maltby Street. Too much of a tourist attraction and declining quality as the number of stallholders has grown is the common assessment. There’s also growing disaffection between some of the long-standing stallholders and the landlords. This reached a new low in 2011 when seven traders were evicted from Borough for trading at the nearby location. But Maltby Street is only open on Saturday mornings and has a limited range. And there are still great things here. Come early in the week (when there’s only a small number of stalls open plus the surrounding shops), or on Thursday morning before lunchtime. I really come for this lot:
Gastronomica
Location: Middle Market
Trading days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Gastronomica are a superb importer of Italian produce specialising in small artisan producers. They supply Locanda Locatelli, which should be recommendation enough for anyone. If I owned a deli, these are the people I’d get all my Italian foodstuffs from. Apart from Borough they are at three other markets and also have two shops. Last New Year, this is where I got my fresh cotechino .
Ginger Pig
Location: Middle Market
Trading days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
This is about as good as it’s possible for a butcher to get. If you’re a meat lover, here’s where you should come to worship. Brawn, onglet, pork rib chops and pork belly seem to be my most regular purchases here.
Brindisa
Location: Middle Market
Trading days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Brindisa can take much of the credit for the fact that Spanish food is finally getting, in the UK, the reverence that is its due. Unbelievable quality. I mainly come here to scream ‘HOW MUCH FOR A PACKET OF FUCKING LENTILS?!?!?!’ before being asked to leave.
The Flour Station
Location: Jubilee market
Trading days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday
A really top notch bakery. I usually buy a loaf of either Tortano, Pugliese or Calabrese.
Comptoir Gourmand
Location: Green Market
Trading days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Marvellous patissier offering such toothsome delicacies as fruit tartes, meringues, éclairs, and almond, pecan and raisin shortbreads. I have, on occasion, gone to Borough solely to buy their canelés de Bordeaux.
no. 63 bus
Gazzano & Sons
167-169 Farringdon Road
London EC1
And I’ve saved the best until last. This salumeria, ‘Italy in a shop’, is absotively posilutely my favourite place to buy food in London. I come here once every couple of months to stock up on pasta, cheese, salamis, sausages, grilled artichokes, salted anchovies and capers, oils and vinegars. There's no pretension or self-regard here. Just a family running a shop as they have been doing since the beginning of last century. I can do no better than quote Matthew Fort from his 2010 obituary of the sadly departed patriarch, Joe. I think he's describing the shop as it was before the 2006 refurbishment, but the description holds true:
‘The first thing you noticed as you went into Gazzano's…was the smell, perfume rather – the sweet savour of cured pork overlaid by the clean, lactic tang of cheese and the heady blast of coffee…Gazzano's, founded by Joe's family a century ago, was a model of its kind, shelves piled with rustling bags of pasta asciutta, dried pasta, ranks of bottles and tins of olive oil and carefully selected wines. It cheered you up just going in there, browsing over the display cabinet of salamis speckled with fat and peppercorns, legs of prosciutto or rolls of porchetta ready to be carved, and mortadellas as round as cannon barrels. There was an array of cheeses, laid out with artful casualness, and neat tumps of sausages, glistening and tied to each other with string. Around the corner were the fresh pastas, raviolis with two or three different fillings...agnolotti and tagliatelle.’
One of the truly great food shops.
