Col'tempo Deli
Where: No 2 8th Ave, Berea
Open: Tuesday to Saturday 7am to 4pm
Call: 073 305 9057
Col’tempo, the Italian deli and eatery nestled just off Florida Road, has always been a favourite. It’s a converted old Berea house. The garden has a vine-covered terrace, ideal to sit out in the warm winter sun among the herbs. It’s a very inviting space.
It’s also the home of their boutique charcuterie factory which makes a range of Italian cured meats like salami, bresaola and soppressata and coppa and Parma ham. You can see the salamis hanging to cure in a room next to the lunch venue and, of course, buy them in the deli.
It almost feels like a little part of the Italian countryside has been transplanted into Durban.
I met bridge friend Trevor here for a quick lunch in a busy week.
We found the last table inside on a bustling Tuesday lunch. I ordered a bottle of their lemon soda, which somehow tastes so much better than our dry lemon. They’re not licensed but you can bring your own.
The menu is simple and authentically Italian. There’s a few filled panini with a selection of their own salamis and cold meats, a couple of pizzas, again highlighting their own charcuterie, and a few pastas with a couple of light meals thrown in.
Trevor wanted to try the baked artichokes (R79). He’d been hearing others talk about them but had never tried them himself. These are delicious, baked in a Parmesan cheese sauce and gratinated with crisp bread crumbs. I went for a starter portion of their minestrone soup (R55) ‒ another winner. This had a lovely depth of flavour and was packed with interesting veg. It came with a generous sprinkling of parmesan and a nice piece of crusty toasted ciabatta. You can order a main portion size as well, a great lunch for less than R100.
We then shared a pizza. There’s one with olives, capers and artichokes, another with pepperoni, and of course the classic Margherita, cheese tomato and basil. We opt for the cupid, with pancetta and gorgonzola (R150), one of Trevor’s favourites. I’d never tried a pizza here and was impressed. They have super thin and crisp bases ‒ that stayed crisp until the end ‒ and the simple flavours of gorgonzola, pancetta and red onions were allowed to stand out. We were brought a bowl of hot chilli in case we wanted to spice it up. Trevor did.
Previously I’d had their excellent beef ragu served on a thick ribbon pasta, and their gnocchi gorgonzola which is deliciously rich yet the potato dumplings light.
Desserts here are simple and home made ‒ chocolate brownies or an Italian fruit and nut tart, sold to us by our waitress as a cake with raisins in it (R40). I would give it a try. It is exactly the sort of cake I like, a simple moist sponge, a scattering of fruit and nuts and a dusting of icing sugar. No heavy icings and not too sweet. It went well with an excellent coffee.
No trip is complete without taking home a hunk of gorgonzola, imported from Italy, and at least one packet of coppa ham. There’s any number of interesting things in the deli, from home-made frozen filled pastas, to cheeses, to pickles and olives, and sauces. Not to forget a selection of fine Italian nougats and chocolates and biscuits, and meringues.
Their home-made biscotti are good. I’m tempted to take some home, but I know the law about biscotti. While one would never dream of eating a whole packet of biscuits in one go, somehow a packet of biscotti just disappears once you’ve opened it. I’ve no idea how.
Food: 4
Service: 3 ½
Ambience: 4
The Bill: R379
The Independent on Saturday