Where to buy pasta, coffee and groceries in Soho
Fresh pasta on Brewer Street, beans on Old Compton Street and three Chinatown supermarkets: a short list of Soho shops worth the detour.
By Only Soho Editorial
Soho has fewer delis than it once did, but the ones that remain are worth planning a route around. Pasta, coffee, tea and a proper Chinatown shop: here is what to buy where.
Pasta: Lina Stores, 18 Brewer Street
Lina Stores has traded from 18 Brewer Street since 1944 and is named after its founder, Lina, who came from Genoa. By its own account it has made fresh pasta since the day it opened and has supplied Soho restaurants with it for over eight decades.
The counter also sells cured meats, cheeses, antipasti and dolci, and there are gift hampers if you need a present. Order: fresh pasta with one of the homemade sauces to take home, and a panino if it is lunchtime. Sandwiches and pasta are made on site every day.
Two practical notes. The shop is cashless, so bring a card. And its own site gives hours of 10am to 7pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday, but check before a special trip. Underneath is Bar Lina, an aperitivo bar, if the shopping turns into an evening. The separate Lina Stores restaurant is on Greek Street.
On cheese: Lina Stores is the one place in this guide with a cheese counter, so start there. Lina Stores has the details.
Coffee and tea: Algerian Coffee Stores, 52 Old Compton Street
Algerian Coffee Stores dates from 1887 and still looks the part, with a red-and-white striped awning, gold script signage and the original shelves, wooden counter and display case. It is the place for beans and leaf rather than a seat: roughly 80 coffees and 120 teas are on the shelves, according to That's Up, from Genmaicha and Nilgiri to mate and Earl Grey.
Order: whole beans or a ground blend to take home (Jamaican Blue Mountain is among the beans described), and a bag of loose-leaf tea. Prices are reported to be friendlier than a central London café's markup, and it takes cash or card.
Hours, from its own site: 10am to 6pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 7pm Thursday to Saturday, closed Sunday. Go on a weekday morning and you will have room to browse. See Algerian Coffee Stores for contact details.
Chinatown groceries, on Soho's southern edge
For everything else, head to Chinatown, where three supermarkets sit within a few minutes of each other.
Loon Fung, 42 to 44 Gerrard Street
Chinatown London says this is the first of five Loon Fung shops in London and has served the Chinese community since 1965. Stock is imported from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan and elsewhere, from fresh fish to snack packs. It has been called "your local Asian Sainsburys". Listed hours are 10am to 9pm daily.
SeeWoo, 18 to 21 Lisle Street
Founded in 1975 by Stanley Tse and his two brothers, SeeWoo is reportedly the first UK retailer to import pak choi. It stocks Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian groceries, fresh produce, frozen goods and pantry staples, and chefs shop here too. Listed hours are 10am to 10pm daily, though one directory says 9pm, so allow for that on a late run. Buy: fresh produce and pantry staples.
New Loon Moon, 9 Gerrard Street
Described as the first Asian specialist store in the area, it now runs over three storeys with more than 4,000 East and Southeast Asian products. The Cheong family took it over in the 1980s. Check its hours before you set out. The full rundown is in Chinatown London's supermarket guide.
A note on Old Compton Street sandwiches
I Camisa and Son at 61 Old Compton Street, the Italian deli that traded in Soho in some form from 1929, closed for good on 3 August 2024. Its lease battle drew a Soho Society petition of almost 6,000 signatures. Old directory pages still list it, so do not go looking.
The site is now All'Antico Vinaio, the Florence sandwich shop, which opened in September 2025. It is a sandwich shop, not a pantry: order a schiacciata (Tuscan flatbread) sandwich, with fillings such as stracciatella, mortadella and pistachio. Prices at launch ran from £11.90 to £14.90, per soho-london.co.uk, and it opened from 10am to 10pm at launch.
A route that works
Lunch at Lina Stores on Brewer Street, then walk south to Old Compton Street for coffee and tea, then on to Gerrard Street and Lisle Street for the supermarkets. Carry a bag.
