The Best Places In London To Eat Cheese

Cheese.

Just saying it makes everyone smile.

So we’ve curated a list of the very best cheesemongers, pop-ups, restaurants, and masterclasses in London. All for your perusal.

Enjoy.

CHEESEMONGERS:

Kappacasein Dairy

With the help of a traditional 600L copper vat bought over from France these guys have been hand-crafting cheese (Bermondsey Hard Pressed, Bermondsey Frier, and Ricotta) since 2008. They’ve got two spaces; one in Bermondsey where every Saturday morning you can head down, have a natter with the traders, nibble on some tasters, and potentially take something home for tea, and one in Borough Market where five days a week you’ll find them serving up legendary toasties & raclettes that are just on another level.

Details: 1 Voyager Industrial Estate, SE16 4RP | Borough Market, 1 Stoney Street, SE1 9AA
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Buchanans Cheesemonger

Rhuaridh Buchanan – the brains behind Buchanans – passed up the opportunity to work with legendary triple Michelin-Star wining chef Thomas Keller in New York in order to train as an affineur (basically a cheese guru) at world-class cheesemongers Paxton and Whitfield. That’s a pretty big commitment to cheese. And it speaks for the passion and with that the quality of the cheeses you’ll find at his own Paddington-based shop, whether you’re choosing something to take away or eating-in from from their daily-changing menu alongside a beer or glass of wine.

Details: 5A Porchester Place, W2 2BS
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La Fromagerie

France, Italy, Britain, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Holland, and Germany are just a few of the countries suppling cheese to La Fromagerie. From the point it arrives on their doorstep it’s quickly whisked away to be tended to by little yellow elves in hats (their in-house cheese connoisseurs) until it’s reached its peak deliciousness. Then it’s upstairs to be ogled by you in their mighty cheese room, sold in slabs for home, or alternatively to be eaten in the form of a fresh tomato & mozzarella salad, cheese boards, or melted cheese toasties in their cafe.

Details: 2-6 Moxon Street, Marylebone, W1U 4EW; 30 Highbury Park, Islington, N5 2AA
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Paxton and Whitfield

Hard cheese, soft cheese, blue cheese, they’ve got it all. Or so thought Queen Victoria when she appointed them her official cheesemonger in 1850 (yes, they’ve been going that long). Winston Churchill wouldn’t get his curds from anywhere else. And now you can buy it online or in one of their two London-based shops.

Details: 93 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6JE | 22 Cale Street, SW3 3QU
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Neal’s Yard Dairy

As well as the famed Covent Garden and Borough Market shops, you can thankfully now buy Neal’s Yard cheeses on the tinternet, or – for a mere £47 a month – set yourself up with cheese subscription where you’ll be delivered approximately 1.2kg of the most seasonal cheese every month for a year. They also do classes, but we’ll talk more of that later.

Details: 17 Shorts Gardens, WC2H 9AT; 6 Park St, London SE1 9AB
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Rippon Cheese

This quaint Pimlico curd-haven have lined their shelves with 500 different types of cheese from across Europe – that’s a different cheese every day for one year and 135 days, to be exact. And? They make cheese wedding cakes.

Details: 26 Upper Tachbrook St, Pimlico, SW1V 1SW
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Wildes Cheese, Tottenham

Philip Wilton had a day job once until he took redundancy by the horns, and set up his own cheese making company on an industrial estate in Tottenham. His cheeses change with the season (poetic we know) and can be bought either online or from a variety of market stalls around London. Alternatively you can even ask Phillip to make you your very own bespoke cheese.

Details: The Micro Dairy, Units 9 and 10 Frontier Works, 33 Queen Street London. N17 8JA
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Cheese at Leadenhall

Tucked away in Leadenhall Market is this cheesemonger-stroke-restaurant-stroke-bar. It’s all headed up by a particularly knowledgable woman named Sue Cloke who, prior to 12 years running her own business, carved a career in the smelly stuff at both Harvey Nichols and Paxton & Whitfield. They also have a number of cheese or cheese and wine tastings on offer. You can sip on a welcome glass of Champagne whilst learning a little about their various cheeses. Next you get the chance to pick five cheeses of your choice before being greeted by one of their friendly bar staff who will introduce you to two red wines, two white wine, and a port to sip alongside.

Details: 4-5 Leadenhall Market, City of London, EC3V 1LR

CHEESE POP UPS:

Mac to the Future

They’ve been to the future and apparently it’s grate. So great, in fact, that they’ve bought a little back with them – which was a wise move, seeing as they’re now lauded as one of the definitively best places in London to eat cheese, thanks to their jazzed up mac & cheese. They’ve got mac & cheese with marmite; caramelised onions; mushroom and truffle oil; or smokey harissa and fresh chilli. And if that’s somehow not exciting enough they’ve also got a selection sides like their signature Giga Watts, which are mac n cheese rolled into balls and deep fried.

Details: Location varies, more info online.
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The Cheese Wheel

Freshly rolled pasta. Dunked in a wheel of cheese.

Details: West Yard, Camden Lock Market, NW1 8AF

CHEESE RESTAURANTS:

Morty and Bobs

Nowadays you’ll find grilled cheese aficionados Morty & Bobs in King’s Cross’ new cultural hub Coal Drops Yard – it’s in one of the old railway arches, and boasts the original curved brick ceiling and walls. They’re open seven days a week, breakfast through to dinner, with the main focus being of course their cheese toasties: the ‘straight up’ with mixed onions; mushroom and truffle; and ‘special’. However, they also have a number of other dishes to choose from, including some slightly lighter avocado-based ones during the daytime, and some slightly more evening-y numbers – rib eye steak with house hash browns and fried egg – at night. You’re also welcome to just pop in for a few drinks before heading somewhere else if you’d rather. They do a whole variety of classic cocktails, as well as a number of locally-sourced craft beers, cider, and a few European wines.

Details: 49 Coal Drops Yard, N1C 4DQ | Westfield Food Court, Ariel Way, W12 7GE
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Champagne and Fromage

Shop cum restaurant, it does exactly what it says on the tin: great Champagne and over fifty different types of French cheese. You can drop in and take away or alternatively make an evening of it with the likes of bespoke cheese boards curated to your taste, baked camembert with figs and thyme or basil and sun-dried tomatoes; or, if it’s meat your after, boards of charcuterie or duck confit. READ MORE.

Details: 22 Wellington Street, WC2E 7DD; Unit 10-11, Brixton Village, SW9 8PR; 34 Greenwich, Church Street, SE10 9BL; 42 Newington Causway, SE1 6DR
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The Cheese Bar

The starters are cheese, the mains are cheese, the desserts are cheese. A lot of it’s melted, all of it’s delicious, and there are plenty of equally as enjoyable drinks – both soft and alcoholic – to wash it all down. READ MORE.

Details: Camden Market, North London, NW1 8AH
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Androuet

It’s a restaurant inside a cheese shop, a quaint little place where every Tuesday to Sunday, lunch and dinner you can sit surrounded by shelves packed full of cheese (plus the occasional happy shopper) and feast on a menu of toasted sandwiches, pasta, raclette and fondue.

Details: 107B Commercial Street, E1 6BG

CHEESE MASTERCLASSES:

Wildes Cheese

You know that moment when you cut into a wheel of Rogue River Blue, try a little and think, I could do better than that…well now you can. At Wildes all you need is a day and you’ll come home well-versed in the art of cheese making from the comfort of your own abode. You’ll also return with a semi-hard white cheese, a semi-hard blue cheese, a lovely soft curd cheese, and a small camembert-style cheese to show off to your friends.
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Neal’s Yard Dairy

Hosted by their in-house cheesemongers as well as the cheese-makers themselves, NY run classes teaching you everything from the tradition of British farmhouse cheese-making, to cheese pairings, and crafting the best cheese board. But the best part? Sometimes they let you try on the outfit.

Details: 17 Shorts Gardens, WC2H 9AT; 6 Park St, London SE1 9AB
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Champagne + Fromage

Taking place in the soft leather chairs of the dedicated Champagne + Fromage Tasting Room in Covent Garden, these tutored masterclasses will involve 5 different regional cheese paired up with grower champagnes, and topped off with tartines & cured meats.

Details: Twice a Month | 22 Wellington Street, Opera Quarter, WC2E 7DD | £65

Last updated: 12th September 2019

Need more? Head to Chiswick Cheese Market