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Designer delicatessen Hunter & Co Deli opens in Elsternwick

Dani Valent
Dani Valent

The salami-inspired counter at Hunter & Co looks good enough to eat.
The salami-inspired counter at Hunter & Co looks good enough to eat.Chris Hopkins

Think deli, think salami, right? Hunter & Co Deli, a new provedore, cafe, caterer and take-home meal specialist in Elsternwick, takes it all the way. As well as selling salami, there's a huge, pink concrete counter that looks like salami, complete with gleaming morsels of fat.

Owners Charlotte Spong and Ben Jager, experienced front-of-house professionals at venues including Melbourne Wine Room, Nobu and Botanical, will happily bring over a stick of salami to prove the resemblance.

Other fun food detailing by Mim Design includes ruffled concrete counter fronts to resemble cut brie and drop lights that look like mozzarella. The design is almost as delicious as the food.

Lemon and thyme roast chicken.
Lemon and thyme roast chicken.Chris Hopkins
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Daily salads – soba noodle with cured kingfish, say – share fridge room with pies and bakes (fish pie for me, please); a daily hot chicken dish awaits, too.

British chef Matt Woodhouse ran Jones the Grocer in New Zealand. He neatly integrates deli goods with the small eat-in menu in dishes such as marinated sardines with pickled grape and cucumber salad, or folded egg with prosciutto.

The rear mezzanine is devoted to wine for sipping there or taking home; the 12-seat table is already popular for bespoke dinners.

Beetroot salad (foreground) and quinoa salad at Hunter & Co.
Beetroot salad (foreground) and quinoa salad at Hunter & Co.Chris Hopkins

Spong and Jager quit restaurants just before their five-year-old twins were born and they've honed their deli vision for the past four years in Croydon. The plan was always to bring their business closer to the inner city. They've done it and it's a fine addition to a flourishing food precinct.

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Open daily 8am-6pm.

Shop 1, 28 Riddell Parade, Elsternwick, 03 9532 4427, hunterandcodeli.com.au

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Dani ValentDani Valent is a food writer and restaurant reviewer.

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