Delicious delis are popping up all over Liverpool and Wirral. Jade Wright gets a taste of what is on offer

TIME was, not that long ago, when a delicatessen was a specialist shop, somewhere you’d only visit if you couldn’t find a specific ingredient anywhere else.

But now they are springing up across Merseyside, influenced by the New York model.

Known increasingly as delis rather than delicatessens, they are havens for foodies looking not only for otherwise unobtainable gourmet delights, but also for everyday items.

The quality and the range tends to be better than supermarkets can match, so the popularity of deli-prepared foods is hardly surprising. Picking up a prepared meal in the deli, along with other staples we might need for home, represents one-stop shopping.

Plus, an increasing number of restaurants are opening deli counters for take-away food.

The Di Bella family, who run Da Piero, the fabulous Italian restaurant in Irby, have just opened The Italian Butcher and Delicatessen.

It gives the opportunity for fans of the small but perfectly formed 18-seat restaurant to taste the produce even when they can’t get a reservation.

Dawn Di Bella, who runs the restaurant with her husband, Piero, and son, Alan, explains: “Piero has always been very particular about the produce he uses. It was getting to the point where he was struggling to find the meats he wanted. So we have a friend in Rome, a fantastic butcher called Chiarah Gabrielli, and somehow we persuaded her to come over. She runs the butchers, with our son Alan.

“As well as the meat, we have olives, cheeses and prepared meals that you can cook at home. It’s the produce that we use in the restaurant and it’s made freshly on the premises.

“On the morning we opened Chiarah made 12 kilos of sausages and they flew out of the shop. We had no idea how popular it would be.”

The shop, which is open six days a week, hasn’t even got its signs up yet, but already it has a loyal customer base.

“We have been amazed,” says Dawn. “We have people coming in every day and buying just what they want for that night’s dinner. They say they can’t buy in small enough quantities from the supermarket, so things go off. But with us they can buy just what they need, so there’s no waste.”

It seems that across Merseyside, the deli is proving more and more popular.

Vinea on the Albert Dock is in the process of expanding its delicatessen.

“We have decided to re-launch our deli with more of a New York vibe,” says business development manager Dan Harwood.

“We’ve recognised that the demand for quality delis in Liverpool is growing and that at the moment only a scattered handful exists.”

Vinea has been bringing customers tastes from around the world for more than three years and has gradually expanded its deli offering to accompany the array of wines it sells.

“A larger portion of our shop will be dedicated to showcasing artisan cheeses and meats as well as olives, breads and chutneys and pickles,” adds Dan. “This will sit well next to our range of boutique wines from around the world.”

Vinea will be showcasing its new deli at a special summer wine tasting evening on June 24, followed by a series of wine tasting courses allowing people to learn how to properly ‘nose’ a good wine and fully appreciate taste, tones and tannins. The next course is due to start on May 31 and bookings are currently being taken.

Pioneering city centre Delifonseca celebrates its fifth birthday this month.

The Stanley Street deli and restaurant will mark five years in business over the next bank holiday weekend with five food talks – one to represent each year it has been open.

There will be a party on May 30, plus the five special talks by suppliers and specialists on June 7, June 21, June 28 and July 4.

There will also be an English Wine and Seafood Night on June 24, A Taste of Spain on July 29, A Scouser's Set Menu on August 26 and the Delifonseca Annual Wine Tasting Evening on September 30.

In the five years since it opened, Delifonseca has more than made its mark on Liverpool’s dining scene.

Last year Delifonseca expanded into a second shop at Brunswick Dock.

The brainchild of Candice Fonseca, it combines the deli offerings with a restaurant and has garnered a clutch of awards, including best value restaurant in this year’s Which Good Food Guide.

Across town, The Quarter on Falkner Street has also expanded its deli offer.

The new space allows customers to buy fresh produce, a variety of sweet treats, breads and the cheeses that the Quarter uses itself. It also provides a great place to purchase gifts and hampers.

The deli came about through customer demand, says co-owner Gary Manning: “More and more of our customers were asking for a deli offering for fresh locally produced breads, meats, cheeses and other larder essentials.

“We opened the first phase of the deli in 2009 and because of increased customer demand for a wider selection of goods, the deli expanded quite considerably in November 2010.

“Customers tell us that they are bored of supermarket shopping, preferring instead to buy local from smaller, more corner shop-like stores like ours. Our customers tell us what they would like us to stock, and we react and get the products in for them, something that the supermarkets often can’t react to so quickly.

“The deli has a community feel – as it should. People begin to get to know each other and we get to know our customers well, allowing us to serve them better and more often thannot, put a fresh loaf aside for them to pick up on the way home from work. Long live the renaissance of the deli.”

Where is your favourite Merseyside deli? Let us know by emailing jade.wright@liverpool.com