Tube: Chalk Farm / Deptford Bridge

While many food trucks do brisk business in cheese toasties, when one put down roots in Camden it was a Big Deal. Matthew Carver’s bricks-and-mortar version of his Cheese Truck combines cool interiors with gourmet toasties and a decent craft beer offering. The Camden spot opened to fanfare, but there’s actually another in Deptford; Archie’s Bar serves more of the same gooey, cheesy deliciousness we’d all sell our grandparents for. Get off at New Cross if travelling via Overground.

Deptford Market Yard SE8 4BX; deptfordmarketyard.com
Camden Stables North Yard, Chalk Farm Road NW1 8AH; camdenmarket.com

Tube: Brixton

We mean, come on. Champagne and cheese = a restaurant we will never leave. French cheese (to go with the French fizz, natch) abounds in these cosy boltholes: expect cheesy boards, tartines and salads, as well as gooey baked dishes and seasonal specials. Afternoon tea includes a flute of grower bubbly and a scattering of macarons (to cleanse the palette before you go in for more cheese, presumably). The four locations (Brixton, Covent Garden, Greenwich and Mercato Metropolitano) often hold masterclasses too.

Unit 10-11 Brixton Village SW9 8PR; champagneplusfromage.co.uk

Tube: Covent Garden

Well-known among those in the capital, you can catch a delicious whiff of this cheesy heaven just wandering near its Covent Garden premises. The stock is vast (all UK and Ireland), the staff are knowledgeable and the samples are generous (even when the staff suspect they’re unnecessary given you’ve come in every week for the same cheese for roughly six months). What more do you need? (The team also has a spot in Borough Market.)

17 Shorts Gardens WC2H 9AT; nealsyarddairy.co.uk

Tube: Stamford Brook

The famous cookery school offers a cheese-making class, which for £155 will furnish you with not only a warm glow of pride at all the delicious soft cheeses and butter you have been able to make with your own fair hands (halloumi, mozzarella, mascarpone, ricotta…), but with the recipes to make them again at home. The class, which includes lunch, runs four times a year, and the school also regularly offers the opportunity to explore the history of cheese in a tasting session with cheese historian Tom Badcock (yes that’s a thing).

16-20 Wendell Road W12 9RT; leiths.com

Tube: South Kensington

The now-famed La Cave à Fromage opened its doors for the first time 10 years ago in South Kensington, attracting lovers of cheese from across the capital thanks to its huge range and array of nibbles (essentially bread, meat, cheese and wine – nailed it). There are now branches in Notting Hill and Chiswick, and the shops hold regular raclette and fondue evenings as well as themed wine-matching (truffle cheeses, France vs Britain etc).

24-25 Cromwell Place SW7 2LD; la-cave.co.uk

Tube: Piccadilly Circus

If you like your cheese with a lengthy history and royal connections, this is the place. With roots going back to 1742, Paxton & Whitfield is one of Britain’s oldest cheesemongers, currently holding two royal warrants (by appointment to HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales) having previously provided Queen Victoria with her fromage fix. The original Jermyn Street spot is such an institution that queues form in December for cheeseboard fodder. The company also runs a Cheese Society subscription and there’s a second shop in Chelsea.

93 Jermyn Street SW1Y 6JE; paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

Tube: Northfields

This Ealing deli is serious about cheese, stocking more than 150 British, Irish and French varieties (as well as charcuterie, crackers and craft beers). However, recognising that cheddar is by far the biggest seller, in 2013 owner Brent Wilkinson added a conditioning room in which the team could mature it, adding flavour profiles to truckles sourced from cheesemakers all over the UK. Plus, there are plans to hand-wash batches in the near future using beer from nearby microbrewery The Owl and the Pussycat. Let passionate staff guide you through your purchase, be it a snack or an entire tower, get stuck into the monthly Cheese Club or attend a wine-matching evening.

108 Northfield Ave W13 9RT; cheddardeli.co.uk

Tube: Bank

Sate your sweet-savoury cheese craving with a treat from renowned chocolatier Paul A Young, whose delicious concoctions include Goats’ Cheese and California Prune (white chocolate, prune puree and a milk chocolate ganache made with goats’ cheese and goats’ milk) and El Dorado Rum, Coffee and Mascarpone (rum, milk chocolate, coffee and mascarpone wrapped in white chocolate speckled with ground coffee beans). Find them at his three London shops and online via UberEats and Amazon Fresh. Branches in Bank, Islington and Soho.

20 The Royal Exchange, Threadneedle Street EC3V 3LP; paulayoung.co.uk

Tube: Borough / London Bridge

If you’re a fan of Spanish queso, Brindisa is worth a jaunt. The London restaurant chain’s main shop is in Borough Market and there you’ll stumble upon around 60 artisan cheeses imported from Spain (and staff to guide you through them). Meanwhile, the tapas menu at the five restaurants includes several dishes designed to showcase the different varieties, such as Monte Enebro with orange blossom honey and beetroot crisps.

The Floral Hall, Borough Market SE1 9AF; brindisa.com

Tube: Shoreditch high Street / Liverpool Street

The mountainous-looking snack you see before you is, mother of god, a cheese and truffle doughnut. One of chef Adam Handling’s signature dishes involves light, fluffy choux doughnuts filled with a cheese sauce and covered in truffle and Parmesan shavings. A LOT of truffle and Parmesan shavings. The dish is available on both the à la carte and tasting menus.

2 Ely’s Yard, Old Truman Brewery E1 6QR; thefrogrestaurant.com

Tube: Knightsbridge

High-end purveyors of cheese, The Fine Cheese Co. offers around 110 European varieties, carefully sourcing each artisan example with the aim of educating the palettes of London’s cheese-loving foodies. The passionate team are constantly on the lookout to add to their range, and are willing to help anyone navigate their selection either with advice or via private tasting events. Last year, the London spot opened À Table, where shoppers can sit down for a meal and choose a bottle from the 100-strong ‘wine wall’.

17 Motcomb Street SW1X 8LB; finecheeseshops.co.uk

This tiny award-winning cheese-making company based in Tottenham has no shop front, but has become a big name in urban cheese. As well as being found in restaurants and at markets across London, the cheese – created using milk from a single herd of Jersey cows in Lancashire – can be bought online (its incredible Cheester Egg went down a storm). The cheese-making courses are also acclaimed, and can be tailored for hen dos, team-building and the like, while cheese wedding cakes are also on offer.

wildescheese.co.uk

Tube: Cambridge Heath

This delicatessen and café on Broadway Market is packed full of gourmet treats and is an extremely pleasant little spot to indulge in a bit of people-watching. You might struggle to get a table as it’s just so popular, but swing by anyway in hope and in the knowledge that there’s tonnes of artisanal French cheese to console yourself with at home.

35–37 Broadway Market E8 4PH; labouche.co.uk

Tube: Baker Street / Arsenal

As well as supplying the capital’s top restaurants, the two branches of this famed cheese shop house maturing cellars and La Fromagerie’s signature walk-in cheese rooms (inspiring the name of founder Patricia Michelson’s first book, The Cheese Room). Both host workshops, tours and tastings, and the Marylebone spot has an adjacent café known as No. 6, showcasing the beautiful foodie goods on offer. The Highbury branch also has a café, but as it accommodates just six people, there’s a no-bookings policy.

2-6 Moxon Street W1U 4EW; lafromagerie.co.uk
30 Highbury Park N5 2AA

Tube: Greenwich

SE London’s wealth of cheese options continues with The Cheeseboard, a shop with more than 150 artisan cheeses and a monthly cheese club delivering cheese right to your door. It holds regular tasting events matching the cheesy wares to wine and beer, and happy couples can order impressive cheese towers, such as the pictured.

26 Royal Hill SE10 8RT; cheese-board.co.uk

Tube: Canary Wharf / Poplar

As a cheese fan and a fan of food in general (if not, what are you doing here?) you’re probably aware of Pizza Pilgrims, but you may not know that the restaurant’s newest branch, near Canary Wharf, pays homage to one of its most-used ingredients – Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan). The light fittings at Pizza Playground are display wheels of Parmesan, the tables are clad in yellow Parmesan tiles and topped with Parmesan maturing boards, and, of course, the cheese in in evidence all over the menu.

12 Hertsmere Rd E14 4AE; pizzapilgrims.co.uk