With London’s dining landscape expanding out from the centre, new micro-destinations are beginning to emerge. One standout is the power-lunch heartland of Canary Wharf, now maturing into an all-round foodie haven in the corporate east. Last year, we featured the French brasseries Marceline, which paved the way for the arty Indian bistro Kricket and the latest from the Big Mamma group, Barbarella, opening this month.
Now the financial enclave has its own authentic Italian as Lina Stores, the citywide deli-brasserie, launches just outside the light rail hub.
Fans will recognise the brand’s inviting pale-green stripes across the ground floor, dressed like an upmarket diner with banquettes and bentwood chairs at marble tables. There’s also an open-plan deli with timber shelves, inspired by the original Lina Stores on Brewer Street in Soho, to cater for in-office lunches. A more formal dining room in dark timber and green opaline glass sits upstairs under an expansive curved ceiling, with a private dining room for 10 to the side. In all, the location serves 100 covers.
The scheme was devised by White Rabbit Projects, the hospitality design practice founded by Chris Miller and a regular Lina Stores collaborator.
Menus cycle through breakfast, lunch and dinner and feature Italian breakfast sandwiches, salads, homemade pastas and cannoli with ricotta, pistachio and chocolate. Specials from head chef Masha Rener include a fried ricotta and herb gnudi antipasto with chilli marmellata; a tuna crudo with capers and salsa verde; and chicken Milanese with Amalfi lemon.
The adjacent Bar Lina has a retro colour scheme featuring deep, glossy reds and a cocktail menu of Italian classics like the Negroni. Head bartender Matteo Pesce has added a list of spritzes, including one made with the house Limoncello. A backlit onyx bar illuminates the space, which accommodates 76 people from the aperitivo hour until late.
