Chances are, if you’re reading this, you live in London. Which means there’s absolutely no need to wait in that never-ending virtual queue for your groceries. Like everyone, we’re really trying to keep our visits to the shops to an absolute minimum – so have become fully immersed in ordering our food and drink online.
To try and help you guys we’ve rounded up the companies we’re ACTUALLY using right now. Yep, these are the companies delivering delicious products that you can still get a delivery slot within a reasonable time frame. We live in E5, so you might find this list is slightly skewed towards east London but this isn’t about us listing each and every delivery service. We’re simply aiming to cut through some of the noise and only shout about places we think are genuinely useful right now. We hope it helps!
We’ll try to update this as and when we find them but these are the food & drink websites we’re using right now. We’ve also got a separate one with restaurant deliveries going live shortly.
Food
Our go-to for all things dairy. We always start the day with yoghurt and fruit and I’m pretty fussy about where it comes from. These guys normally supply the likes of Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges so this really is the crème de la crème of well, cream. And milk. And all that stuff. They keep adding more produce to the site, so you can get milk (and non-dairy equivalent), cream, butter, yoghurts, charcuterie, cheese crackers, eggs, fresh juice, coffee and Pump Street chocolate. With a small selection now available from HG Walters.
MEAT! We’ve found ourselves eating a hell of a lot less than we were which is a good thing, however, with the weather warming up it’s hard to resist chucking some on the BBQ. HG Walters is utterly delicious. Although they’re now appearing on a few other websites, this is where you’ll find the full range PLUS the absolutely genius Patty & Bun DIY burger kit. It’s been so popular they’ve sold out but it should be back in stock soon we’re told. Worth every penny, it serves 4. They also do fruit, veg and meat boxes if you can’t be arsed to put it together yourself.
Originally intended for chefs and restaurants, Natoora has quickly adapted to the current situation and allowed us all in. Be warned, this one’s slightly bonkers. Firstly, you’ll need the app. Once that’s downloaded you’ll be able to add goodies to a live basket. There’s no running total of what you’ve spent and you’ll not see a final price. Whatever is in your basket at the cut off time is what you’ll get. Be really careful to check the quantities you’re adding as plenty of stock is sold in KG and as much as we’d love to accidentally order a kilo of burrata, our bank balance probably wouldn’t agree. Having said all that, it’s gorgeous quality produce and they stock really hard to find ingredients. We’ve got wild garlic, pecorino and Romanesco on the way!
This London Field bakery is currently delivering within two days AND you can order a bag of flour from them. Gold dust right now, no? They do lovely fresh produce boxes like the ‘Fresh Vegan Box’ which includes non-dairy milk, sourdough, avocados and mushrooms or a ‘Cupboard Box’ with the likes of flour, coffee, granola and jam. You can also order everything individually and again, they have a few breakfast bits from HG Walters such as bacon and sausages. Don’t forget to add a few cakes. You deserve them.
Stock up on high-quality cuts with award-winning online butchery Farmison & Co. They are still delivering 7 days a week with next day available and their own self-isolation delivery plan in place. Boxes start at just £36.50 so are really good value too!
Mighty Small is a brand new food delivery service (which launched today!) and features a host of small independent brands with the aim of helping them during this crisis and beyond. It’s great for all the ‘other’ stuff that you can’t get elsewhere. This is our go-to for snacks, treats, drinks and condiments with brands including Leon, Moma and maybe some you won’t have heard of yet too! We love that you can shop by occasion, such as ‘indulgent night in’ and there are also some great bundles such as the ‘working from home’ box. That will be all of us then?
In many ways, The Cookaway is a recipe meal kit like many others. However, in light of the current situation, they’re also offering a super helpful ‘Larder Essentials Box’ which contains ingredients to make recipes and works out at just £1.40 a head. This one is available nationwide.
We actually love cooking, but even we’ve found three meals a day quite a challenge. For those that really miss picking up something pre-prepared (and don’t want to resort to yet another unhealthy takeaway), Chefly is a good option. Meals are healthy, made fresh by chefs (hence the name) and come vac-packed. We tried a tasty miso salmon with beetroot quinoa and aubergine, steak with mexican peppers and sliced chicken breast with black dahl tangled cabbage. Ours were delivered on the 5th and had a use-by date of the 10th and 12th so last a decent length of time. It’s actually a subscription model and the more meals you add, the cheaper they get. They’re designed to be heated in the microwave (for 3 mins) but we stuck it in the oven and it was fine, with all the packaging completely recyclable.
Use code: REALFOOD for 20% off your first order.
And now for some brand’s we’ve not used yet but have heard good things…
Like many restaurants, Sabel have pivoted to food delivery boxes – but these are ‘boxes with benefits’. Alongside the basic fruit and veg box, you can upgrade to get exciting extras (like black garlic), as well as recipes that can be made with the ingredients in your box, mixed herbs, pantry items, eggs and milk or a non-dairy equivalent! AND you can further upgrade to get all that plus everything you need to make a Sunday Roast. We’re sold.
Leon Feed Britain
The beloved healthy fast food chain Leon have launched ‘Feed Britain’ – a selection of boxes delivered within the M25 (expanding soon!). You can purchase any number of boxes, including a Family Favourites one which includes premade Leon favourites (as well as a vegan alternative), fruit & veg boxes, cheese selection boxes and of course, a ‘Thank you Baked Potato’ box full of…. potatoes.
Probably our favourite bread in the world. Not only can you get your hands on their glorious potato sourdough you can also stock up on eggs, FLOUR, fresh yeast, pastries, coffee and milk. Oh, and if you want to jump on the sourdough wagon, you can buy a starter for £1.50. Feeling generous? There’s the option to donate £2 towards a hospital food box, and every time they hit £26 The Dusty Knuckle will send a food box to the next hospital in the list.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, these guys have seen 99% of their sales drop as they usually only supply restaurants and as a result could go out of business. It’s not just them, the entire artisan dairy industry has seen over 75% drop in sales and are under similar pressures. To try and adapt they’ve started a fab new local grocery delivery service collaborating with friends and colleagues to give people amazing quality very good value produce straight to their door. Expect the likes of whole milk, Anglum sheep cheese, eggs, salted farmhouse butter, sourdough, pitta bread, croissants, fruit & veg as well as dry goods such as pasta, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, oil and flour.
Catering to quite a few London postcodes, Wolf & Lamb deliver groceries within two days, with delivery free over £35 and 15% off for NHS workers. You can get egg & dairy bundles, jumbo pasta bundles or fruit and veg boxes. Again you can buy items individually with stock including meat, charcuterie, milk and cheese as well as tinned fish, risotto rice, sugar and LOO ROLL. And wine. Don’t forget the wine.
Pale Green Dot has just added meat from H.G Walter, cheeses from The Cheese Merchant, and dairy boxes to complement their existing veg box deliveries (which are ideal for two people). Quite the one-stop-shop, they cover homes in London, Brighton and Hove.
Nowadays we’re all a little more clued up about how our meat consumption affects both ourselves and the planet, with more people than ever choosing to shun it altogether in favour of a plant-based alternative. Here at Crummbs HQ we’re still partial to some every now and again but only from a trusted source. Enter – The Ethical Butcher. The clue is in the name really but these guys are on a mission to get us reconnecting to where our food actually comes from. The Ethical Butcher sells the most ethically sourced meats available with transparency and traceability that is unprecedented in the industry. Even the packaging materials used to transport the meat are recyclable, down to the vacuum packs which are fully compostable and are the first of its kind to be used in Europe. Pick and mix or go for a box that will see your freezer fully stocked for weeks.
Daylesford has launched its first organic vegetable box (and it’s only £15!). From their organic farm straight to your door, the box will contain six different organic, fresh, seasonal produce from their Market Garden. Delivery is available to all UK mainland addresses!
Although better known for their cakes, Lola’s have launched a grocery page and are still fulfilling all their orders. You can buy bundles and boxes or choose exactly what you want – from veg, fruit, cheese, milk and other weekly supplies. Delivery is contactless and available nationwide seven days a week – and whilst very reasonably priced, if you use the code ‘crummbs10′ you’ll receive 10% off at checkout. It’s a single-use discount and expires a month from now (27th May).
If you’re craving restaurant-quality steak, you may be interested to learn that Tom Hixson of Smithfield, has joined forces with London steak restaurant Heliot Steak House to launch a premium fresh meat box for UK-wide delivery. You’ll receive 4.7kgs of meat, across various cuts, including our favourite chateaubriand which works out at £4.35 a steak!
For a more well rounded, value option, musclefood launched some new hampers into about week 2 of lockdown – which they put onto express 48hr delivery.
They’ve called them Essentials Hampers and in a nutshell, are all the meat a family will need during lockdown. So good quality meats including chicken, sausages, steak, burgers, mince, bacon medallions and beef for stir frys.
Booze
Let’s be honest, lockdown has got us drinking on the regular (at least now we’ve got a legit excuse right?) Whether you’re on the hunt for wine, beer or bottled cocktails. These guys will sort you out…
These guys hadn’t been open long before lockdown came into place. Instead of welcoming us into their bar, they’re offering contactless drops (free if you’re in the local area!). The wine is all organic, biodynamic and quite frankly, dreamy. You can also buy spirits by the bottle, beer and cocktails such as the Mezcal Margarita for four (£22).
We love Richard at Wanderlust wines and have never had a bottle that wasn’t banging. During lockdown we’re particularly keen to keep stocked up with his curated cases (from £82 for 6 bottles).
Drop Wine is a clever little app in which you tell it what you like to drink, and they’ll deliver it for FREE, seven days a week. Pretty good right? You can tell it what food you’re pairing it with, what mood you’re in or by price (and prices are super reasonable!).
The Camden cocktail dive bar is delivering their pre-mixed cocktails nationwide! Starting at £35, choose from either a rum, vodka or gin base and William Borrell will rustle you up the perfect serve. Quarantini anyone?
