Melbury & Appleton

Perfect! Speedy! Great packaging and coms! Alemany Spanish Honeycomb Honey, Gâteau Basque with Vanilla Cream — a must, Truffle «Caviar» (Truffle Pearls) also a must!, on Truffle Linguine (Linguine al Tartufo), Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzel Pieces, Almond Tart.
Neutral for the preserved onions with salt butter
Negative for the lupin as it’s extremely salty and taste not that great –whoever has eaten fresh is able to tell the difference.

This British and continental deli is fab for picking up a few quality ingredients for a special dinner. You wont find boring ubiquitous brands here as everything is specially selected and only the finest products make it to their rustic shelves.
I’ve found lots of nice things here, from hard to find products that I’ve needed at the last minute (that you just can’t find at the supermarket), such as dried shiitake mushrooms, to red popcorn for Valentines Day (yes that’s sick I know, but it was just sooooooo cute). It’s only a small store and it’s packed high with yummy things so you feel like you’ve just clambered into a giant food hamper.
I’ve recently discovered their delicious organic wines that are sourced by Ethical Edibles. The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a rich Riserva is really tasty and although it’s not cheap (around £17 a bottle) it’s excellent. The deli counter offers some lovely nibbles, I love the Iberico de Bellota type that livens up an omelette with minimal effort. I had a wild boar pasty the other day (I’m a sucker for trying anything new) and it went down a treat. Whilst if you’re an ice cream fan then don’t pass by without buying a tub of the gooseberry and elderflower flavour that is very, very nice.
There is also a mini free-​from and kosher selection. I recently bought some diabetic chocolates for a neighbour and she commented that they were some of the best she’s tried.
For something a little special, Melbury & Appleton is a great stop.