Roccos Deli

Overview

Roccos Deli opened in 1977 under a faded green-and-red sign in Yarraville that's barely changed since. There is no official menu, just a counter where regulars know exactly what to order. A mother-and-son duo took over in 2016, keeping the original recipes and daily rhythm largely intact; the founder still drops by for coffee and a chat.

The main event is the Rocco Roll, a made-to-order Italian-style sub built on a choice of ciabatta or Vietnamese baguette. Antipasti goes on first — olives, sun-dried tomato, grilled capsicum, eggplant — followed by sliced-to-order meats like pancetta, prosciutto, mortadella and chicken, or a vegetarian version loaded with pickled zucchini and artichokes.

At peak times, up to 14 staff work the counter in a full production line, and the volume of customers means nothing sits around long enough to go stale. An occasional meatball sub, made to a generations-old northern Italian family recipe, tends to sell out almost as soon as it's posted on social media.

Beyond the rolls, the cabinet runs to jam doughnuts, cannoli in flavours like custard and ricotta, and take-home containers of gnocchi and lasagne, backed by coffee from Reverence. Once the lunch rush clears, it's mostly locals topping up on milk, eggs and deli staples for the week ahead.

Images: Supplied.

Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.