The best restaurant meal kits for a lockdown treat

Napoli Gang by Big Mamma group

When restaurants were forced to close, the Big Mamma group (of Gloria and Circolo Popolare fame) was quick to launch a delivery-only service, Napoli Gang, whizzing a range of the restaurant group’s best-loved dishes to lucky postcodes across London. Make nights at home more delicious with sumptuous-sounding pizzas like the Truffle Squad (mozzarella fior di latte with fresh ricotta di bufala, black truffle cream, fresh seasonal truffle and button mushrooms sautéed with Sicilian thyme), and existing Big Mamma favourites: the 10-layer lasagne and cliff-edge lemon meringue pie among them.

Deliveries available in Shoreditch, Kentish Town, Fitzrovia and Wandsworth. Click here to order.

The Tramshed Project

Dominic Cools-Lartigue’s latest venture The Tramshed Project – which boldly opened in autumn 2020 – barely had time to bed into the Shoreditch scene before it was forced to close again to comply with coronavirus restrictions. Fortunately, the innovative offering (which had previously launched in the flesh as a cultural hub, workspace and restaurant) has adapted to suit the current times, with head chef Andrew Clarke putting together a selection of meal kits to enjoy at home. Launching this week, the meal kits cost £50 (with the option to add on wines and cocktails), and include: Diners can choose between a meat feasting menu, a vegan feasting menu or the option to build your own box from a selection of the restaurant’s tantalising small plates (the ox cheek croquettes and burrata with blood orange sound particularly enticing).

JKS Restaurants: Gymkhana, Trishna, Hoppers, Brigadiers, Bao and more

Sibling-run restaurant group JKS has launched a home delivery service from several of its most popular restaurants. Whether you’re craving a Michelin-starred curry from Gymkhana or Trishna, upmarket ‘beer snacks’ from Brigadiers, ASAP Pizza from tip-top bakery Flor, or Sri Lankan specials from Hoppers, you can now get them delivered to your door.

What’s more, the Sethi siblings have expanded the reach of their two delivery-only brands: the new Rice Error by BAO (from the team behind acclaimed Taiwanese mini-chain Bao) and Moto Indian Kitchen.

London-wide delivery available, cost dependent on purchases. Click here to order.

Ottolenghi

While devoting half a day to an Ottolenghi recipe may prove the perfect lockdown activity, it’s not the only way to enjoy the superstar chef’s exquisite cuisine. His self-titled restaurant group is offering a selection of brunch, lunch and supper kits from London outposts NOPI and ROVI. Signature dishes include Ottolenghi’s famous shakshuka and twice cooked chicken. Bottled cocktails can also be ordered, including NOPI’s Negroni and the ROVI 75.

Nationwide deliveries available from £25.50 for two. Click here to order.

Padella

Nowhere does pasta quite like Padella – those lucky enough to bag a table will tell you. But thanks to the restaurant launching meal kits, you can skip the queue and enjoy its acclaimed dishes at home throughout lockdown (and perhaps beyond). Among the easy-to-assemble offering is the renowned eight-hour Dexter beef shin ragù and creamy pici cacio e pepe.

Nationwide deliveries available from £15 for two people. Click here to order.

Bubala

Proving that their innovative streak runs deeper than creating some of the best vegetarian Middle Eastern food you’ll find in London, Marc Summers and chef Helen Graham – aka the duo behind Spitalfields restaurant Bubala – have teamed up with Dishpatch to launch deliverable meal boxes, so you can enjoy some of their all-star small plates at home. The mixed mezze includes some of the restaurant’s most hyped dishes, the halloumi with black seed honey and potato latkes among them.

Nationwide delivery available from £50 for two. Click here to order.

Dishoom

Those who keenly miss the experience of eating in one of Dishoom’s plush dining rooms, but don’t miss the inevitable queue to get inside, can rejoice: the renowned Indian restaurant has adapted its popular breakfast offering into meal kits which can be delivered to homes across the country. Customers have two choices: either the signature bacon naan roll or an all-new vegan sausage naan kit which has been developed with fire-pit cooking maestro Neil Rankin. Each kit comes with the spices needed to brew a batch of the restaurant’s special Masala Chai. And for every kit sold, the restaurant will donate a meal to its long-term charity partner Magic Breakfast. Weekend mornings are about to taste a whole lot more delicious.

Nationwide delivery available from £16 for two. Click here to order.

Rosa’s Thai Café

While the white sand shores and warm turquoise waters of Thailand might feel like a long way away right now, you can bring a top-notch take on one of the country’s most popular dishes into your home with Rosa’s Thai Café. The London-based mini chain has teamed up with Great Food 2 U to launch DIY pad thai kits, which can be assembled easily with the help of a step-by-step cookalong video. The kits are larger than the average restaurant meal kit – feeding four – and will bring you one bite closer to your next foreign holiday.

Nationwide delivery available for £40 (feeds four). Click here to order.

Santo Remedio

Santo Remedio by London Bridge is a rare, authentic gem of London’s Mexican food scene, so it’s thrilling news for foodies that the restaurant has launched sharing-style Remedy Kits to be enjoyed at home. The meal kits offer three meats to choose from: bone in short rib, barbacoa lamb shank and duck carnitas – each of which comes accompanied by a selection of sides including house-made black beans, plus salsas and Santo Remedio’s superlative corn tortillas. For the full experience, spice up your order with bottled margaritas or an unusual Mexican wine.

Nationwide delivery available from £45 for two. Click here to order.

10 Greek Street

While its reliably busy, pared-back dining room is one of the best spaces for immersing yourself in the throbbing heart of Soho, 10 Greek Street has launched meal delivery kits to tie us over until we can next visit. Created by head chef and co-owner Cameron Emirali, the kits here are seasonal and refined. In chillier months, dishes might include a duck pie with spiced sweet potato mash, braised red cabbage and red currant, followed by poached quince, polenta and almond cake with crème fraîche for dessert.

Nationwide delivery available from £55 for two. Click here to order.

Kolamba

Soho’s relatively new Sri Lankan restaurant Kolamba launched to critical acclaim in autumn 2019, but the lockdown forced it to close before many of us had the chance to fall in love with it. Thankfully, the restaurant has launched Kolamba At Home – a teaser, if you like, for what to expect when it reopens. Requiring virtually no work at all, the ‘bold and vibrant’ feasting boxes simply need to be reheated at home. Diners choose between a chicken and vegan option, and can look forward to the likes of fiery pol sambols, Ceylon chicken curry, and dahl.

Nationwide delivery available from £36 for two. Click here to order.

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Angela Hartnett’s Café Murano

Turn your kitchen into a space where Michelin-starred meals are made (okay, compiled) by ordering a menu box from Angela Harnett’s Café Murano. The meal boxes feature a selection of Italian dishes including burrata drizzled in blood orange, braised beef shin with potato gnocchi, and a lemon posset with poached rhubarb and shortbread biscuits to round it off.

Nationwide delivery available from £55 for two. Click here to order.

Pophams

Between its exceptional pastries filled with seasonal delights and its delicate, design-led bowls of pasta that look like works of art, Pophams is a bakery-cum-pasta parlour that’s elevating standards. Both its Islington and Hackney branches are offering home delivery. Our advice? Save on delivery costs by ordering breakfast AND dinner – you won’t regret it.

Delivery available within a two-mile radius of either location. Cost dependent on purchases. Click here to order.

Lina Stores

Beloved Soho deli and restaurant Lina Stores is helping novice cooks create their favourite Italian dishes at home with pizza and pasta meal kits. With top-quality ingredients and idiot-proof instructions, you can enjoy a just-baked prosciutto and mozzarella pizza, fresh artichoke and truffle green ravioli or homemade spaghetti bolognese. The kits provide enough food for multiple meals, and can easily be frozen. The online store is also well stocked with Italian delicacies and store-cupboard staples and, best of all, homemade desserts (those baci brownies are definitely better than your lockdown baking efforts).

Nationwide delivery from £32 for 10 meals. Click here to order.

Arabica London

Falafel wraps are the kind of food you take for granted when there's a wealth of street-food options. But they can be a faff to make at home. Middle Eastern restaurant Arabica makes it easy with this DIY falafel kit, which includes raw Beiruiti falafel mix, chopped salad, tahini, chilli sauce, pickles, khobez flatbreads and easy instructions to make your own gourmet kebab. There's a also a tempting selection of pre-made mezzes if you feel like creating a full Middle Eastern feast.

Nationwide delivery from £20. Click here to order.

The Cinnamon Club

Planning a virtual party? Let Vivek Singh’s delectable Indian restaurant The Cinnamon Club take charge of the catering. Its Feast at Home kits come with ready-to-cook dishes, recipe cards and spice kits (allowing some control over the heat, hurrah!). What’s more, orders can be taken for groups of over 20 living at different addresses.

There’s a range of different meal kits to choose from, each a chance to sample contemporary Indian dishes made with seasonal British ingredients. There’s a classic Cinnamon Club experience for two; a four-course at-home feast; and the showstopping Shaan-E-Raan, which serves four to five and comes with a whole, slow-braised, Mughal-style Kentish lamb leg.

Nationwide delivery available from £100 for two. Click here to order.

London Shell Co.'s Seashore to Front Door Boxes

Cook up the freshest fist from London Shell Co., the floating seafood restaurant. The two delivery boxes provide everything you need for either a picnic or a barbecue for two people – plus a bottle of English sparkling wine to wash it down with. The fish in the boxes will change weekly for optimal freshness, ensuring you enjoy the catch of the day from sea to plate in a matter of hours. For the ready-to-eat picnic box, think freshly prepared fish and seafood accompanied by soda bread and pickles. The ready to cook BBQ Box sets you up for a great grill, with dishes such as monkfish kebabs or tuna burgers, plus line-caught mackerel, king prawns, sides and sauces. Fish is sourced in Cornwall and delivered within the M25 every Friday (with plans to expand to nationwide soon).

London-wide delivery from £45 for two. Click here to order.