Italo Deli Formerly: I Knit London

Tucked away, just five minutes from the the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, the Eagle and the rest, you'll find this corner café-shop that sells not only Italian specialties — including high-quality provisions and expert espressos using Monmouth coffee — but food items (proper fruit and veg, jams etc) and home-made savouries, including well-stuffed sandwiches. Previously a standard corner shop run by a man named Tony, then a knitwear outlet, 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 position within best-kept-secret Bonnington Square, defined by its lush and lovely neighbourhood-run gardens. Bonnington Cafe (just opposite Italo Deli) is also a thing in these parts. 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. Tube station: Vauxhall, then a five-minute walk.