Queues outside All’Antico Vinaio – best known for its generously filled Tuscan-style sandwiches – have been a familiar sight in Florence for more than three decades. They’re soon to be replicated in Soho as an outpost opens on Old Compton Street on September 20.
With branches across Italy and America, this will be the first London All’Antico Vinaio, and it takes over the site of historic Soho Italian deli I Camisa & Son, which closed in August 2024 after more than 60 years of trading.
“I felt it was time to write a new chapter,” second-generation owner, Tommaso Mazzanti, who joined the family business at 16, tells Broadsheet. “London, and especially Soho, is a place that represents energy, diversity and movement. It’s the ideal environment.”
All’Antico Vinaio began life in 1991 as a 20-square-metre bakery in Florence’s historic centre, near the Palazzo Vecchio, where it gained a cult following for its freshly baked schiacciata. A chewy, pillowy flatbread reminiscent of focaccia with a crisp outer shell, here the affordable regional staple is stuffed with locally cured meats, cheese, vegetables and spreads, which spill from its centre.
The La Favolosa, made with sbriciolona salami, house-made pecorino cream, artichoke and lightly spiced fried aubergine, is the family’s signature, while the La Toscana featuring Tuscan salami, aged pecorino, sun-dried tomatoes and a silken onion cream is also popular. More pared-back lunch staples such as the La Emiliana, filled with feather-light mortadella and stracciatella, will also be available.
In London, Mazzanti is also promising fillings unique to Soho, including The Royal – which is under wraps until opening – as well as a quirky Tuscan take on a local tradition. “On Sundays, we’ll bring our own version of the Sunday roast – the iconic British ritual – inside a Florentine schiacciata. It’s our way of saying that wherever we go, we always try to respect local traditions and merge them with ours.”
All’Antico Vinaio opens at 11am on September 20, when the first 500 people in line will get a free schiacciata.
All’Antico Vinaio
61 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 6HS
Hours:
Mon to Sun 10am–10pm
