Legendary Italian delicatessen Lina Stores has been a Soho institution since 1944, with many an ardent pasta fan making a pilgrimage to its Brewer Street corner site. Now, almost 75 years later, the owners have opened a restaurant a few blocks away on Greek Street.
Architects Red Deer, unsurprisingly, took their cues from the original store, echoing its distinctive pistachio green-tiled, black and white facade in the new space’s interior and exterior colour palette. Diners are greeted by a mosaic floor embedded with the restaurant’s name, a green- and white-striped awning, and pale green cement tiles, leading into the two storey 53-seat space.
Art deco aesthetics flow through the ground floor 12-seater bar, with its sleek aluminium and formica countertop, padded green leather stools, fluted glass panels and globe lighting, and continue downstairs into the intimate basement restaurant, which sports a vaulted ceiling and raw whitewashed walls. Graphics, meanwhile, are by London design agency Everything in Between, who added a neat touch to the tiny tables, inlaying each corner with the letters of the restaurant’s name.
When this place is busy, which it invariably is, the poor acoustics mean you may have to speak loudly to your dining companion, but it’s a fair sacrifice for the hearty offerings of pasta, all handmade daily on site, tossed with simple but tasty ingredient combinations. A ricotta and herb gnudi with sage and brown butter was hard to desert, but leave room for dessert as there are top-notch cannoli on offer. Lina Stores’ restaurant looks on course to be another Soho institution.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
51 Greek Street
-
Huma Bhabha and Alberto Giacometti share an emotional connection in dialogue at the BarbicanThe Barbican's new series, Encounters, sees Alberto Giacometti's work paired with a series of artists
-
Build your own library with Assouline’s new collection inspired by treasured family heirloomsKnown for its luxury travel books Assouline announces the new 'Library Collection' featuring home objects from bookends, a magnifying glass, home fragrances and more
-
As Photo London turns 10, seven photographers tell us the story behind their portraitsPhoto London celebrates its tenth anniversary from 14–18 May 2025 at Somerset House
-
Fin-to-gill sophistication awaits to Tom Brown at The CapitalExpect ambitious cooking from the country’s most creative seafood chef
-
A first look inside Josephine Marylebone, a bistro-licious French restaurantFollowing the success of Claude and Lucy Bosi’s first restaurant, in Chelsea, Josephine Marylebone is the second outpost, fitted with an oyster bar and a focus on classic French cuisine
-
The Kerfield Arms is south-east London’s hot new gastropubIn Camberwell, this stripped-back haunt comes courtesy of the team behind The Baring in Hoxton
-
Premium patisserie Naya is Mayfair’s latest sweet spotHeritage meets opulence at Naya bakery in Mayfair, London. With interiors by India Hicks and Anna Goulandris, the patisserie looks good enough to eat
-
One Club Row is London’s answer to the Lower East SideLocated at the site of the former hotspot Les Trois Garçons, One Club Row brings back noughties glamour with 19th-century interiors, gourmet bites, and jazz nights
-
Marylebone restaurant Nina turns up the volume on Italian diningAt Nina, don’t expect a view of the Amalfi Coast. Do expect pasta, leopard print and industrial chic
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Treehouse Hotel Manchester: you may not want to leafTreehouse Hotel Manchester offers a nature-infused biophilic sanctuary amidst the city’s ever-growing architectural canopy
-
Dining at Pyrá feels like a Mediterranean kiss on both cheeksDesigned by House of Dré, this Lonsdale Road addition dishes up an enticing fusion of Greek and Spanish cooking
