Italo Deli Formerly: I Knit London

Tucked away, just five minutes from the the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, the Eagle, Chariots and the rest, you'll find this corner café-shop that sells not only Italian specialties — including high-quality provisions and expert espressos using Jack Coleman coffee — but non-ethnic-specific food items (proper fruit and veg, jams, beverages etc) and home-made savouries including hot dishes (six a day) and well-stuffed sandwiches. Previously a standard corner shop run by a man named Tony, then a knitwear outlet (I Knit London, now in Waterloo), this woody, warm and reassuringly analog space was taken over in 2008 by Charlie Boxer (son of food writer Arabella Boxer and former cartoonist and editor Mark Boxer) and Luigi di Lieto. The latter left in 2010, with Charlie now running the operation solo, albeit with genial help. A bonus is its Bonnington Square location, immediately opposite the lush and lovely best-kept-non-secret gardens. Boxer's two sons run the nearby foodie haven Brunswick House Cafe [see entry]. Weekday kitchen = 12 noon–2.30pm; weekend kitchen = 11am–2.30pm. AKA Italo Delicatessen. Tube station: Vauxhall, then a five-minute walk.