Best posh pantries in London

Londoners are, at last, finding a gourmet alternat ive to homogeneous supermarkets and soulless coffee chains thanks to an exciting new breed of caféscumdelis. Not only do they promise organic coffee and handmade biscuits, but an array of fresh food and ingredients presented so beautifully we challenge anyone to leave empty-handed.

Take flamboyant new arrivals Albion Emporium and Betty Blythe, where stores are decked out in vintage style, and the staff are dressed in similarly eyecatching attire. It may sound pretty frivolous for these tough times, but the savvy shopper wants something special for their hard-won cash.

So if the prospect of a long queue at the check-out or another bland cup of coffee fills you with dread, try our pick of some of London's most enticing gourmet larders.

ALBION EMPORIUM
It's entirely appropriate that this hugely original newcomer is in Covent Garden, as the Victorian-style emporium deserves a place on the tourist trail - as does the solicitor-turned-shopkeeper's full Victorian garb and resplendent moustache. Home-grown shoppers will also fall for its charms, finding it a place to rediscover one's inner Britishness with the help of gooseberry wine, honey mead, pear drops or Lancashire cheese. At the back is the refectory (café is too French), which serves a bill of fare (menu is also too French) of classic grub such as a ploughman's or pork pie with chutney (£4.85) washed down with ginger beer (£2), real ale (£3.25), or a pot of tea (£2.50).
38 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, WC2 (020 7240 7222)

LEILA'S SHOP
There's no hope of doing an anonymous trolley dash in this diddy Shoreditch larder, as most of the wares are hidden in storage jars. You have to ask for your dried beans or porridge oats to be weighed out for you - quite an interactive treat in this day and age. It can be rather intimidating, even though it's styled like a cosy kitchen, as guests are perched around a communal table nursing lattes (£2). The café menu is short and simple, including fried eggs with sage (£4) or a delicious Comté cheese and cornichon sandwich on St John sourdough (£3.80).
17 Calvert Avenue, E2 (020 7729 9789)

BETTY BLYTHE
The store is named after the glamorous silent movie star who apparently had a penchant for turbans, pearls and red lippy, a look to which the shop girls' Twenties attire pays homage. The retro vibe at this "fine food pantry" extends to the goodies for sale: oldfashioned egg and watercress sandwiches (£3.55), Coke in glass bottles and even ostrich-feather dusters (£22). There's also bread from Gail's, cheese from La Fromagerie and organic fruit and veg from Shared Harvest. The basement tea room offers chocolate brownies or signature fresh fig and white chocolate macaroons selected from vintage tiered cake stands. Very English and very eccentric.
73 Blythe Road, Brook Green, W14 (020 7602 1177)

TRINITY STORES
If the floor-to-ceiling shelves of Trinity Stores are anything to go by, smart south Londoners are filling their Anya Hindmarch shoppers with Amalfi lemon gelato, quinoa and Sardinian fregola (a type of pasta). That said, this village store and café doesn't shy away from the familiar - you'll still find scotch eggs, builder's tea and wedges of sponge cake. Build yourself a tasty post-work supper from the stock of farmhouse cheeses, artisan breads and store cupboard basics, or do the lazy thing and eat in (until 8pm).
5-6 Balham Station Road, SW12 (020 8673 3773)

FOOD HALL
The green and gold colour scheme brings to mind a rather famous shop on the other side of town, but Food Hall is pure Shoreditch: all good-looking staff and attitude. The shop's onetime incarnation as a dairy reveals itself in a cold room lined with marble shelves with huge truckles of Colston Bassett stilton alongside colourful fruit and veg. In the café, dishes are kept simple but tasty: sausage roll, pizza or quiche with salad (£7.85).
374-378 Old Street, EC1 (020 7729 6005)

FLANEUR
Open until 10pm, Monday to Saturday, this classy Clerkenwell one-stop shop and restaurant is as close as London gets to New York's Dean & DeLuca. Its large size and slick City location makes Flaneur more glossy, urban deli than corner shop. Seated at one of the dining tables over a bowl of gazpacho or a lobster salad (£21 for two courses), you're right in the thick of the food hall, with shoppers reaching past you t o g rab s ome Colonna olive oil or Poil‚ne sourdough from the shelves. Whether you come here to eat or shop, it's hard to leave without doing both.
41 Farringdon Road, EC1 (020 7404 4422)