Darling Deli

Visited for lunch and couldn’t really get anything we wanted. All sandwiches are pre made which really doesn’t allow you to have what you want, you just end up with certain things you like but with some ingredients you might not. I was told they don’t make up anything any more because there’s ‘only 3 of us and it gets too busy’. Well it was bang in the middle of lunchtime and there was only ourselves and 2 other people in the shop, hardly overrun! I even asked if they could put some coronation chicken on a wrap with a bit of salad, to which I was told no, obviously. The only thing they would make up was salad boxes where they added a filling on top of certain salads, be interesting to see how much longer it would take to add those ingredients to a roll instead of a salad bowl, I’m guessing not much if anything. I bet they also have far more wastage pre making. Not sure how businesses survive sometimes..

Quite possibly the finest English breakfast in the land- I have travelled from Kent to the Clyde, from Truro to Aberdeen, and the breakfast at the Darling Deli in Combe Down stands with anything I have tried elsewhere.

Darling Deli offers an excellent selection of fresh salads, savoury baked items and lots of delicious cakes and pastries to choose from. It is truly the perfect place to stop and pick up something scrumptious.

A quick review to acknowledge how delighted I was with a takeaway snack from this really good independent deli in fashionable Combe Down, Bath. I had been here before to buy the occasional frozen ready meal (well the main protein element to which I added veg). On this occasion I was pleased to buy one of their large/jumbo sausage rolls. I could have had this heated to eat ‘on the hoof’, but I decided to take it home, heat it in my own microwave, add some Cherry Tree Kashmiri Chutney. This was a fabulous and substantial snack, with a lump of meat equivalent to at least two large sausages. The meat was really firm and well-seasoned and the flaky pastry did just that. It was a well spent £3.50. This establishment, in normal times, operates an excellent café and an event food service. I do hope that they can keep going and the local community supports the business.

Darling Deli provided excellent service and a delicious buffet at the reception after my father's funeral last month. There were lots of favourable comments about the spread; and the gluten-free and vegan guests were really pleased to be so imaginatively included. I highly recommend Darling Deli for their menu selection, quality and price.