The Gazzano's

By far the best Italian deli I have seen in London. I enjoy everything about this place — from the great, friendly staff to the excellent coffee and panini. Whenever I go, I feel like part of the family. Insider clue: the truffle ravioli are exceptional. The prices are especially reasonable, considering the quality of the products they carry.

Every time Big Dave goes in here, he talks to himself in an Italian-American accent much like someone from the Sopranos. Upon my most recent visit I decided to argue with myself about the quality of my mafia leadership abilities. It resulted in me "whacking" myself, right there in the middle of the shop, resulting in a power struggle that would shake the family to it's very core.

Then I paid for my olives and left.

The Gazzano's is/are dope depending on whether you are referring to the deli-cum-supermarket-cum-coffee bar or the family themselves. Whichever way, they're equally dope.

Forever etched in my memory, after another regular jaunt to the homeland of my Roman missus, is the terror of the moment that Ryanair demanded an extra sixty smackers to carry our cases, bursting with cheeses, oils, sausages and a whole host of other delicacies, home. Not pleasant, I can tell you.

We found two alternative options for the future: British Airways and The Gazzano's. The latter have a family store, here since the beginning of the last century, brimming with top quality Italian goodies and at prices that are pretty much on a par with a regular supermarket. If you can find sausages equal to the Napolitan spicy ones here, weighing in at only £6 a kilo, I will be your sex slave until Boris J lights the Olympic flame.

The service is bubbly, friendly and addictive. A brief trip, after I've told her indoors that I am only popping out for one, usually results in me propping up the counter for hours discussing the frustrations of our beloved Gunners or Calcio for hours!

Who of us is without one flaw? True, it must be noted that the coffee and the bar are nothing exceptional , but that would be like complaining that J-Lo never arranged a lift home for me after treating me to a feisty night of 'this one's on the house" passion.

I love this place and would be lost without it. Gazzano’s sells all the fine quality Italian ingredients, dry pastas, cheeses, salame, coffee, prepared foods, home made pastas/ravioli/gnocchi, mozzarella, olive oil, amaro, bread, cookies, sweets, and the list goes on, that one could want. The owners and staff are excellent and I especially love going there on a Sunday morning when all the old-school Italian families pop in for supplies after church.

The deli is excellent, but they lose two stars for the cafe area. The cafe used to be far better, but they’ve now crammed in too many tables and it’s often used as overspill for the storage area. Maybe that’s meant to add to the ambience, but I think a lot of the food is overpriced and that the quality has gone downhill.

This place has what you need in the way of pastas, antipasti, sausages, oils, sweets, fresh breads, fizzy water … there’s even a little sandwich and coffee bar in the back which serves one of the best espressos in London. The folks behind the counter are really friendly and, honestly, the prices are usually more than reasonable.

Best place in Clerkenwell to get some Italian food. Especially the pasta and the panini’s are really nice.

The only other thing to add about this place is that the prices are extremely good for meats and cheeses compared to any supermarket specialty counter. (To say nothing of Carluccio’s!) They also stock cheap stove-top espresso makers, those rubber rings that need replacing in them and seeds to grow your own Italian veg. It’s very full Saturday afternoons and Sunday after church, when local Italians flock here to stock up. What better recommendation could there be?

In this shop you will find Italian food only: olives, ham, cheeses, pastas, biscuits or cakes, alcohol, vegetables, coffee obviously and other Italian products.

The other day, my friends and I wanted to make pastas and chicken with pesto. So we went to this shop to buy all the ingredients: pastas, pesto, onions, parsley, fresh cream, (we bought the chicken somewhere else). It was yummy!

If you are interested and would like the recipe, give me a shout!