Saponara

Why doesn't this lovely little place have a list of great reviews already?

Saponara can be found, conveniently for me but not for them, diagonally opposite Islington's Packington estate, where demand for truffle oil and Lingua della Suocera* is likely to be low although, I imagine, other grander residences nearby are well-stocked with the deli's delicacies.

I visit every six months, following visits to my dentist in Packington Square (the terrific, painless Maxine O' Grady at Charles Landau's surgery). A few gulps of their great coffee are usually enough to distract me from a numbed maxilliofacial muscle and, if I've not been 'treated', I'll stop for lunch.

A fairly typical choice of Italian panini, although their food is more tasty than usual deli fare. Soups are delicious - cream of courgette soup was on offer the day I was there. Fresh pasta is sold at the counter and an interesting selection of tinned and bottled Italian imports, along with a good few shelves of great Italian wines, is on offer.

A bowl of soup, at £3.95 - isn't exactly cheap, but it's not really that kind of place - the place is busy lunchtimes with a devoted clientele and Saponara brands itself more as a high-quality, high-end deli that lays on food for its cognoscenti friends.

The owner (owners?) are charming, funny, helpful and welcoming. A few square metres of la patria, in Islington.

Enjoy.

*The astonishing 'Mother-in-law' biscuit. Like langues du chat, but longer, and rougher...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubber_slippers_in_italy/388... (thanks to Rubber Slippers in Italy)

Their white truffle oil, at £6.95 for 40ml, is pretty good value and, available in three choices of fancy bottle, makes a brilliant gift.