The team behind Merrymen cafe in Hampton launched into the sandwich game with its latest bayside venture Robin's Deli.
Here, only eight stacked sandwiches are up for grabs (plus fries and hash browns for good measure). But don't let the small menu fool you. Robin's Deli isn't playing it safe — nor is it making things simple and easy for itself.
The limited menu and smaller site give Chef Cristina Kelly the opportunity to be super creative, abandoning classic sanga combos and opting for far more fun creations.
The options are divided into brekkie baps, fresh sandwiches and toasties. For an easy $10, locals can nab the breakfast muffin loaded with pork sausage, a fried egg, American cheese, chilli jam and Robin's secret sauce. Or they can start the day with a souped-up Vegemite toastie made with mozzarella, gruyere, cheddar and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Praise the cheese gods.
The fresh offerings lean more into the healthy side of things, with the salad sandwich chock-full of local veg and a punchy green sauce, while the roasted chicken option is kept more classic with just a herbed aioli, pickled onion and shredded lettuce.
Then we get to the four toasties. These are for those wanting a more gluttonous lunch. There's the mortadella toastie that's also filled with stracciatella, sundried tomato pesto, fermented hot honey and pistachios. And the meatball sub consists of a baguette stuffed with pork and beef meatballs, Napoli sauce, honey cumin yoghurt and chimichurri.
We could go on with listing the whole menu or you could just head down to Robin's Deli in Cheltenham yourself. If you drop by for lunch, beers will be on offer. But you can also get around classic cafe staples like coffee courtesy of Inglewood Coffee Roasters, chai, juices and sodas. Bevs are kept simple at Robin's Deli. It's the sangas that really shine.
