Neal's Yard Dairy

Neal's Yard Dairy is a small but cute little dairy shop with friendly workers who know their stuff when it comes to cheese! Their selection is small but well curated, and reminds me a lot of Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco - they are so generous with the samples.

I personally did not buy any cheese because I prefer softer cheeses like brie and brillat which they did not carry; however, next time I'm in town I will definitely be stopping by their pizzeria!

Such a lovely and helpful shop. Neal's Yard Dairy is a wholesale business that buys and matures various kinds of cheese from different parts of the UK. The employees are passionate about what they do and they were really helpful with any kinds of questions.

They have a very good selection for tasting so if anyone is looking for some British cheese, this is a good shop to visit.

Tip: They're running cheesemaking classes under the name "milkjamlondon".

Some singer once belted out "If there's a rock and roll heaven, well you know they've got a hell of a band." That's downright true. And, if there's a heaven for cheese, it must be disguising itself as Neal's Yard Dairy.

I was lured into this place one gray and typically chilly London day by the seductive wave of a piece of Stichelton cheese held out on the end of a cheese-cutting utensil. "Try it!" encouraged the worker. I reached out tentatively, gingerly, carefully and let the morsel of angelic food fall into my palm and from my palm into my mouth. Oh, the delight. The potent, creamy, absolutely stunning flavor burst forth like a fireworks finale.

From there I wandered into the store, passed the section with fresh breads and headed straight for the cheese counter. I'd passed the gates of heaven and found myself thrown into some sort of paradise. Cheese left and right, up and down, round and square, firm and soft. And there, to tend to my every curiosity, jovial salespeople. If I so much as looked at a cheese or mumbled its exotic name, the staff sliced off a small chunk for me to sample. Now if there's one thing I like better than free samples, it's true love. True love and samples that you don't feel guilty taking. No one stared at me maliciously as I noshed bite after glorious bite of cheese. I settled upon a cheese so creamy, it melted like hot butter in your mouth. So tasty, it sang songs of praise to my olfactory senses.

I ate so many free samples that I blew up to the size of a giant round balloon, just like in Willy Wonka. The Oompa Loompas rolled me out as I cried with tears of joy clutching my cheese purchase to my size V inflated chest.

This place is a cheese lover's paradise. Some of the cheeses are more expensive than buying a Picasso painting, but darn my socks if they aren't deliciously worth it. Next time you're feeling like some mighty fine dairy, head over to Neal's and eat your heart of Camembert out.

Coming from "America's Dairyland," it was a real treat when my Irish friend took me to Neal's Yard, where the staff are amazingly competent and knowledgeable about their goods.

Working with over 40 cheesemakers, Neal's Yard features cheese that is blue, hard, soft, or has a washed rind; and these can be had made from cow's milk, goat's milk, or sheep's milk. The cheeses come from all over the British Isles, that is, England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. A list is available on paper from Neal's, showing for each cheese, the maker, region, animal the milk came from, its breed, the milk source, and what coagulant was used. Their website shows photos of their cheeses, along with additional information in paragraph form. I remember particularly enjoying some Cornish Yarg, which we ate along with a meal I prepared from duck breasts. They also have a few cheeses from France and Italy. On last checking, there were 51 cheeses from cow's milk, 16 from goat, and 10 from sheep; also notable was that 49 of these were raw milk. When I returned home, I was pleased to be able to recommend their wholesale side as a source to my local grocery coop, which is occasionally able to get a few cheeses from them.

The man who helped me was extremely knowledgeable, and offered tastes of anything I was interested in. When I'd made my purchases, he asked if I was then going back home. As I wasn't, but was going to wander around the market for a while, he offered to hold the cheese for me until I was ready to go home, to maintain its freshness on a late summer afternoon. That was thoughtful, kind, considerate, and professional.

After arriving a bit early for the borough market I wandered around some of the nearby shops. When I saw the immense wheels of cheese in their window, I had to enter. Homer had his sirens. My temptress is cheese.

This place is for cheese lovers what the Willy Wonka Factory * is for candy lovers. Shelves stacked tall with all manner of fromage. And though I've been to other emporiums with a much larger selection, this place is more refined. Curated. For example, you'll browse their selection of goats milk cheeses and think there's nothing missing. Since I hadn't even checked in to my hotel at this point, I wasn't in a buying mode. But I did ask permission to take some pics and the nice staff not only obliged, but started slipping me samples.

I like blues and they offered tastes of several, and I was blown away by a particular selection called Stichelton. It's similar to Stilton, but made from raw, unpasteurised milk and thus is much more dynamic. At this point I'm already half naked so I ask for their most stinkiest selection. What did they procure?

A cheese actually called Stinking Bishop, similar in texture to a Brie but much more pungent. I've had stinkier cheese, but those are usually too runny to deal with when you have no fridge. For a mere 8 pounds I got enough cheese to pair with bread which will cover a couple of meals in my budget wary stay in London... and I'm already guessing they'll be some of the best bites of the trip.

* By the way, I did ask if there was a river of cheese I could dive into, but apparently there isn't. Or they are just keeping it to themselves.

Always a favorite stop in London. The prices are right, the cheese mongers are knowledgable, and the products are delicious. The cheeses are all locally made and taste better than any I've had before.

Go for the Stichelton- a less than strong bleu.

Being in a Neals Yard cheese shop is an immersive experience. The smells are deep and rich. Friendly staff encourage tasting. Somehow they manage to make good old cheddar cheese sound exciting. NY specialises in British cheese only so Parmesan fans need to look elsewhere. Staff will generally offer a similar alternative.

On the dairy side, try the hard to find clotted cream butter. It's delicious. Bit disappointing on the yoghurts but only because I prefer a thicker consistency.

The cheeses are pricey but when you find yourself eating a plastic tasting commercially produced supermarket cheese, you'll understand why. It is possible to order Neals Yard cheese online and have it delivered but where's the fun in that.

Quite literally, a temple to cheese.

Almost like a religious experience, with cheese lining the walls tucked high and low, almost an untouchable altar of gigantic and mouth-watering offerings. Once in the shop, and you've waited your turn, the gods will smile on you as a Neal's Yard apron wearing and knife wheedling cheesemonger starts the process of asking questions about what you are looking for, what you like, and by process of elimination trying to help you narrow your search. (Did I mention that this is is by far the best part, because now you are off and running, sampling and tasting freely on your search for the perfect choice?)

The cheese is sublime. And should there be any doubt that you've possibly died and gone to heaven, the foodie beloved Borough Market is right around the corner.

Fabulous British cheese shop. Friendly and helpful staff. Come here when you visit borough market and sample some of the British cheese before you buy them. Then head out to Brindisa food (Spanish) shop across the street and pick up some Jamon....and you'll be set for dinner!

One of the shops on the border of Borough market was Neal's Yard Diary which is one of the most expensive cheese places in London. I've only read about certain gourmet cheeses in books, therefore, seeing these in person was overwhelming. It's like reading books about fine art and then actually seeing the art in a gallery in person. Most of the cheese fir a small wedge is about 35 pounds. It's really good cheese. The place was like the Harrods of cheese. They were really nice about allowing me to sample certain selections. I settled on a single snack serving for 40 pounds as I knew that I was never going to get another opportunity in my life to do this.