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Love Cullen skink, Arbroath smokies and Dundee cake?
Well you, and other keen fans of yummy Scottish scran are in luck, as this summer London's first ever Scottish deli is set to open. Coming from the team behind the wonderful Auld Hag, who until very recently were serving up some serious haggis poutine at Exhale Brewery in Walthamstow, The Shoap will be bringing all manner of north of the boarder delights to Islington very, very soon.
The plan is to open up this summer on St John Street, just south of Angel station, and to get the ball rolling founder Gregg Boyd has set up a Kickstarter in order help raise £40,000 in order to fund kitchen and retail equipment and to fit out the main deli area and purchase stock.
The Shoap will sell Glasgow morning rolls baked in-house and filled with Aberdeen Angus topside. There'll also be the aforementioned Cullen Skink velouté, and seasonal lunch specials, such as Scottish wild mushrooms and pearl barley or haggis with tattie puree. Baked goods will also include shortbread, Ecclefechan tarts and tablet. Coffee will come from Caora Dhubh Coffee Company on the Isle of Skye, and there'll be beer from Scottish breweries Newbarns, Overtone and Simple Things Fermentations, cheeses from IJ Mellis cheesemongers from Edinburgh, Scottish pork charcuterie and Stornoway black pudding. And of course, there will be haggis.
'When I moved to London I couldn't believe Scottish food wasn't readily available,' says Gregg. 'Where could I get a roll and square sausage or a Scotch pie or a can of Tennents? Where was all of our incredible produce like cheese, soft fruit, seafood and beef? This is where the idea of Auld Hag was born. After a series of weekend markets and pop-ups, we realised there was more to it. There was a need to support the suppliers we had forged relationships with and in turn, find new ones. There was a need to show people the soft drinks made using Scottish soft fruit; the chocolate made in the east end of Glasgow and all the home comforts us Scottish folk miss away from home. There was a need for the Shoap'.
The plan is for small Scottish producers to host tasting nights and events at the Shoap too, which will be open from 8am-8pm every Monday-Saturday.
406 St John Street, Angel, EC1V 4ND
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