The top London restaurant suppliers now delivering food boxes to your door

Knock knock: Natoora is now making home deliveries, having previously supplied some of the top restaurants in London
Stuart Matthews

For those who can’t get a supermarket delivery slot, there’s new a solution.

Wholesalers that supply London’s restaurants are now delivering fresh produce to consumers’ doors.

“So many people need food now and we need to keep our business,” Mauro Cappellazzi, owner of New Covent Garden’s Cafe Deli Wholesale, told the BBC last week.

“It’s our responsibility to do what we can to help people, especially those who can’t leave their homes.”

These are the wholesale heroes feeding the capital — tell all your neighbours.

Natoora

The Bermondsey supplier is renowned for sourcing some of the best blood oranges and winter tomatoes in the capital and it has now opened its chef-only ordering app to the public for the first time. Anyone in London can download the platform to get seasonal fruit and vegetables, sustainably produced dairy and charcuterie, and store-cupboard essentials (flour, rice, tinned tomatoes) delivered straight to their door. There’s no minimum spend.

Where: Zones 1-4, Teddington, Twickenham, and Kingston-upon-Thames.

When: Delivers daily, check the app for the next available slot

Delivery charge: £6 per order

USP: No waste. The wholesale giant works with London charity The Felix Project to ensure hungry and vulnerable people have access to good and nutritious food that would otherwise be left for surplus.

Nature’s Choice

The greengrocer’s new home delivery service is booming amid the lockdown. Consumer orders have rocketed from 16 to more than 1,000 a day in less than two weeks, according to the company’s commercial director, Vernon Mascarenhas. Facebook and Google are just two of the companies that have recommended the home delivery service to their employees.

What: Fruit and veg boxes and £15 essentials boxes (eggs, milk, bread)

Where: Across London. Check website for postcode radius area

When: Delivery within 2-3 working days, Monday to Saturday

Delivery charge: Free

USP: Easy pickings. Nature’s Choice has just four options for home delivery: a small, medium or large fruit and veg box, or an essentials box.

HG Walter

Family-run HG Walter in Barons Court supplies many of the capital’s Michelin-starred restaurants, and is now offering a six-day-a-week home delivery operation amid the lockdown. Phone or email if you’re in self-isolation and they’ll leave your order on the doorstep.

What: Meat, fruit and vegetables

Where: Within the M25

When: Six days a week

Delivery charge: Free for orders over £50

USP: Quality meats. River Cafe, Harrods and The Savoy are among regular clients.

The best London restaurants offering delivery

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London Dairies

London Dairies’s £30 home-delivered fruit and veg box includes milk, bread, eggs and cheese. The New Covent Garden supplier says it’s open to order suggestions so let them know any new products you’d like to try.

What: Dairy, cheese, fruit, veg, bread, tins, UHT juices, water and soft drinks

Where: All London postcodes, plus Barnet and St Albans

When: Six days a week

Delivery charge: £15 minimum order for free delivery

USP: Speciality cheeses. London Dairies’ extensive cheese range includes Somerset Camembert, Isle of Wight Blue and Applewood smoked cheddar.

I.A. Harris

The New Covent Garden wholesaler’s fleet of 17 vans and 40 staff is now delivering to homes across London and the Home Counties. Email orders@iaharris.co.uk with ORDER and your postcode in the subject line. All stock is delivered in recyclable cardboard boxes.

What: Fruit, vegetables, bread, milk, eggs, pasta, frozen foods, oat milk, soya milk, almond milk and tofu

Where: Across London

When: Six days a week

Delivery charge: Minimum order £20

USP: I.A. Harris is working with other suppliers to donate fresh produce to St George’s Hospital ICU in Tooting.

Boxfood

A new meat, fruit and veg box delivery service from Camden butchers Henson. Essential boxes start at just £12.70.

What: Meat, fish, veg and fruit boxes

Where: London postcodes within the M25, Essex and Hertfordshire

When: Delivery within two working days for all orders placed before 5pm. Weekdays only

Delivery charge: Free

USP: For every box purchased, Boxfood donates produce to City Harvest, a London organisation providing food to the vulnerable and hungry.

Regency Foods

The Brent Cross wholesaler is now offering next-day home delivery six days a week. Chopped tomatoes, whole milk and coconut cream are among this week’s most popular products.

What: Household items and foods from dairy to confectionery

Where: Across London

When: Next-day delivery Monday to Saturday on orders over £80 in central London before 2pm

Delivery charge: Free delivery on all orders above £80

USP: Cleaning essentials. Supplies include gloves and antibacterial cloths.

The drinks delivery services bringing the bar to your doorstep

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Plaquemine Lock

The canal-side Islington pub is not a wholesaler but staff are maintaining orders with suppliers and acting as a delivery hub for neighbours. Anyone living within a mile’s walk can order and pay over the phone and pub staff will deliver the food themselves in a contactless drop. They’re also offering toilet roll and (free) hand sanitiser.

What: Full greengrocery selection, dairy, dry goods, British meat and fish, Monmouth coffee

Where: Homes within a one-mile radius of the pub (Graham Street, N1 8LB)

When: Order by midday for next day delivery

Delivery charge: None

USP: The pub is offering free boxes of basics to anyone near the pub living in food poverty — email chef@plaqlock.com if you know someone in need.

Knock Knock by Smith & Brock

Camberwell family wholesaler Smith and Brock launched its new home delivery service Knock Knock last week, offering seasonal fruit, veg and dairy boxes to doors across south and west London. It has already amassed more than 2,000 followers on Instagram and customers have been commenting on their friendly drivers and fresh produce.

What: Fruit, vegetables and dairy

Where: South and west London

When: Lead time is currently 5-7 days

Delivery charge: £5 or free on orders above £35

USP: All Knock Knock’s orders come in cardboard boxes and staff will offer to take your box back to the warehouse after delivery to ensure it’s recycled.

Cafe Deli Wholesale

The Croydon wholesaler’s fleet of refrigerated vehicles is delivering across the city. Stock includes milk alternatives like Oatly, a vegan blackcurrant crumble slice, and smoked Scottish salmon.

What: Dairy, grains, rice, pasta, milk alternatives and salad cream

Where: All London postcodes

When: Contact company for details

Delivery charge: Contact company for details

USP: Hero helpers. Cafe Deli is offering priority discounts and access for NHS workers — you just need a valid NHS card or email for verification.

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