
Whenever I blog about a new vegan place, I get quite a few comments from readers overseas saying how Melbourne seems to be so ace for vegans and plant based eaters. Well, Melbourne now has yet another fantastically super all-vegan food outlet I’m excited to share with you: Smith & Deli in Fitzroy.
Co-owners Mo and Shannon are the masterminds behind the all-vegan and much loved Smith & Daughters restaurant. Smith & Deli is, as the name suggests, more a deli style set up. There’s no seating but there are shelves, display cabinets and fridges full of goodies, many of which are made on the premises. There are housemade pizzas (I saw margherita and pepperoni), dips (garlic aioli, tzaziki, fava bean dip, red capsicum dip), pesto, quince paste. You can grab some canned hominy, uncooked beans, chickpeas and such as well as syrups like agave, maple and coconut syrup. There were beverages, Tofurky products and Miyoko cheeses in the fridges, with chips, confectionery and more on the shelves. The food display cabinets contain more housemade foods like pastrami, turkey, marinated artichokes and other foods suitable for an antipasto platter, pretzels, croissants(!) and the sweeter baked goods like almond croissants(!!!), pain au chocolat, sticky challah rolls, biscuits (cookies), slices, doughnuts and more.
And the sandwiches– oh my word the sandwiches. YOU GUYS, THE SANDWICHES. Just… sandwiches. There’s the Rocky (sliced Philly steak, grilled onions and peppers, melted mozarella all toasty, $14), the Maury Ballstein (meatballs in Napoli sauce with fresh basil pesto, rocket and buffalo mozarella on a toasted roll, $14), Club Sandwiches Not Seals (turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo and cheddar on sourdough, $14), Buffalo the Vampire Slayer (buffalo tofu, ranch, shredded iceberg, carrot, red onion and celery in a roll, $12)… and so so much more. There’s even a Truffle Shuffle, which is a grilled cheese with ham and truffle oil for $12.
I’m going to stop talking now, because I’m likely to start talking all ludicrous-speed in a shrill voice. Because love can do that to you.
Lotsa-photos time, with my purchases at the bottom.














I’d studied the menu for a few days, since Smith & Deli opened on Tuesday. I ended up getting the Home Alone. Best sandwich I’ve ever eaten everrr. Put it this way, I don’t really like Brussel sprouts but I had absolute faith in this sandwich because it contains turkey, roast brussel sprouts, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potato and gravy in really nice bread. The deli had run out of the turkey so I opted for the chicken instead. I LOVE THIS SANDWICH. It cost $15– pricey for a sandwich but I’m happy to pay that for something where the ingredients are fresh, housemade and did I mention an entire roast meal in a sandwich?! I had a ten minute walk to the car after buying this and stopped when I saw a little community garden setup. I had to hurry up and photograph the sandwich (half is shown below) because I wanted to stuff it in my face and there was no way I was going to wait another eight minutes or so before getting to the car. Half the sandwich was really filling and the other half will be toasted in my panini press. This was magic:

Update: another sandwich, this time the Rocky. Oh my word…

The kids asked for a plain croissant each. I had a little and while I was not expecting this to be anything like a non-vegan all butter croissant I’m sure this is as close to a ‘real’ croissant as you can get. I’m happy with that! Shannon has done some wicked awesome sorcery with these and if I ever crave croissants I know where I’ll be going. Oh and hey, check out what I did with bringing a gingham tablecloth as a prop. I got all matchy-matchy with the shirts the Smith & Deli staff wear (but I didn’t get pics of their shirts, doh):

On another visit, I got the ham, cheese, tomato and mustard Croissantwiches of Eastwick ($12). Think toasted croissant with all those fillings. Toasting made this seem more ‘real’ croissant like than the plain untoasted croissants. Brilliant. Action shot:

For a sweet treat, the kids asked for a jam drop biscuit each and a chocolate biscuit to share. I got a quince custard Danish for Husband. I had a taste and like the croissant, I know exactly where to go now if I am in desperate need of a Danish. Really well done:

Another sweet treat to share with family was the vanilla custard slice. It was pretty cold in Melbourne today and the icing stuck to the lid of the container and was really hard to take off, though I did manage it well after this photo was taken! Wobbly custardy goodness with pastry and sweet icing done well:

Finally we got a Challah sticky bun ($7) to share. Think cinnamon bun, but more butterscotchy-caramely than cinnamony. Sticky gooey loveliness:

I wish I had more time just to hang out and check every single thing on the shelves and in the fridges. Smith & Deli is already so popular, with many of the fresh food items selling out during the day. I love the New York Deli styling, the gingham shirts, the friendly service but most of all I love the thought and effort that has gone in to everything they make. There was a lot of excitement in the lead up to Smith & Deli opening and when you’re in there checking out what’s available and how beautiful the space is, it’s easy to see why.
Where’s the Beef? have blogged about their visit. You can also read reviews at Quinces and Kale and over at The Good Hearted.

Smith & Deli
11 Moor Street, Fitzroy
Smith & Deli on Facebook
Smith & Daughters on Facebook