Missing dining out? One of Brisbane’s favourite cafes has turned to takeout

This deli’s comforting and classic Italian food can now be enjoyed from the comfort of your couch.

To say it’s been a trying 12 months for Maria and Vince Anello of Brisbane dining institution New Farm Deli would be an understatement.

In July last year their beloved cafe and grocer of 44 years was destroyed by fire, with not even a wheel of cheese or tub of olives salvageable from the smoke-ravaged building.

However, in just four months they were able to rebuild. At the end of last year they reopened with a shiny, new fit-out offering all the comfort and familiarity of the old. Plus, there’s a little extra glamour thanks to gorgeous new cabinetry, brass touches, elegant timber detailing on the ceiling providing some much-needed soundproofing and a flash cheese cabinet holding more than 200 varieties of fromage from across Europe and Australia, including a rare Swiss gruyere, with only six wheels available Down Under.

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The venue once again became a cafe locals cherished, with the place heaving no matter what day of the week, filled with a palpable energy and sense of community as customers shared bowls of pastas and piadine catching up with friends, having business meetings or just escaping the office for a break.

New Farm Deli’s new fitout. Picture: Mark Cranitch

But for now, sadly, this charming space can no longer be enjoyed because of the COVID-19 shutdown of restaurants, cafes and bars across the country.

What can be enjoyed, though, is the deli’s comforting and classic Italian food.

The Anellos have always had a strong takeaway offering, with a wide range of ready meals perfect to enjoy at home on the couch. Now they have ramped it up, offering drive-through pick-ups, self-isolation and office delivery, plus call and collect orders.

Everything is available from pasta to panini, soups, coffee and deli items such as cheeses, meats, sausages, dips, flour, Italian desserts, dry goods and more.

Forget battling supermarket hordes, this is your one-stop shop.

Crab lasagne at New Farm deli, now available for takeaway. Picture: Mark Cranitch

For a sandwich as good if not better than what you’d find at New York’s famous Katz’s Delicatessen, try the wagyu panini ($14.50). Triangles of toasted crunchy-outside, fluffy-centred bread are jam-packed with silverside-like slivers of wagyu beef, tomato, lettuce and melted cheese all pulled together with lashings of peppy horseradish cream and mayo. It’s the type of dish that reminds you just how good a sanger can be and why they will always be a favourite.

Their classic puttanesca ($20) is a worthy takeaway option, but for a little bit of extravagance during your living room feast, try the signature crab lasagne (pictured). For the bargain price of just $21.50, butter-soft sheets of egg pasta are layered with generous amounts of sweet crabmeat in a salty tomato and bisque-like sauce. Delicious. And the best bit about getting this dish takeaway – you can actually lick the bowl clean without breaching any etiquette issues like you would in the cafe.

Order both items with a ready-to-cook pizza for the kids or dinner the next day and you’ll be happy.

New Farm Deli has been around since 1975 and it now more than ever needs our support to ensure it’s here for another 40-plus years.