Lina Stores expands its London empire, its latest outpost a revamped Victorian bank

Denizens of London’s Shoreditch neighbourhood won’t have missed the ninth opening for the veteran Italian deli and restaurant Lina Stores, taking over a Victorian-era bank in the ancient city. The space is unmistakably ‘Lina’, clad in signature pistachio green with plenty of Guatemalan green marble and long, low bespoke banquettes upholstered in green jacquard velvet to complement the heritage wood panelling, original mosaic-tile floors and steel columns.

Ahead of its 10-year anniversary, local studio A-nrd unveiled the design of the open-plan dining room late last year. Uncovering and restoring original details, they added ladder-back bentwood chairs, custom globe pendant lights and steel table lamps — a collaboration between A-nrd and LightsOn — to create the feeling of a grand European brasserie. New archways complement old fanlights, and swaths of exposed plaster reach up to the coffered ceiling. The wall-to-wall bar and open-plan kitchen have seating for 11. They face bespoke curved benches in a green stripe by Tibor, which tie into the Lina Stores aesthetic.

Photography: Adam Firman

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‘We wanted to create a space for Lina Stores that felt authentic and familiar, but at the same time was surprising,’ says A-nrd founder Alessio Nardi. ‘Developing their material and colour palette, I believe we created a richly layered interior… full of subtle design details which celebrate the fabric of the historic building and creates an immersive and new Lina Stores experience.’

The property has 180 seats in all, including a private dining room located behind an original arched timber door. The darker, woody space has its own booth, upholstered in lichen-green Crest leather, and long table with marquetry in alternating white Carrara and Verde Guatemala marble.

But there are more seats still in the hidden basement cocktail bar, a glamorous late-night space that might have eluded Shoreditch locals. Bar Lina was designed in a contrasting 1970s Italian palette of dark burgundy, with reflective surfaces and a monolithic communal table crafted from Rosso Levanto marble. The lighting is lower, the leather is mahogany and the floors are a black oak from Havwoods. The room is cocooned in floor-to-ceiling burgundy curtains and banquette seating in burgundy red chenille by Gancedo. A semi-private sunken booth sits behind the original steel bank vault door.