Providing expats and savvy shoppers with authentic goods for years, here’s the best European specialty stores around town.
Gaganis Warehouse
Tarama? Bulk tubs of haloumi? Or just want a Greek sausage on pita from the barbeque out the front? Everyone should visit Gaganis Warehouse in West Hindmarsh. It’s worth it just to browse the store’s enormous selection of herbs, spices, nuts and seeds, but there are plenty of delicious amusements, such as toddler-sized tins of grilled eggplant, 7.5-kilogram bags of Nostimini seasoning (a patented Gaganis Bros product) and all the equipment you’ll need for home winemaking.
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With a Milka chocolate selection that trumps Aldi’s and a meat case filled with homemade mettwurst, this is one Hahndorf storeworth battling the tourists for.
You’ll find a vast selection of products beloved by Adelaide’s German migrants. Authentic items such as curry ketchup, toast sprinkles (like European fairy bread) and Knorr seasoning can be bought along with a selection of chocolates and sweets.
The shop also sells a favourite Swiss chocolate brand often not seen outside Europe: Camille Bloch. You won’t find the Ragusa chocolate anywhere else in town.
Lucia’s Fine Foods
Lucia’s is a family-run fine-foods store, deli counter and sandwich bar that fills up around a third of the western wall of the Adelaide Central Markets. It offers a handsome selection of homemade Mediterranean and imported Italian products such as pasta, sauces, tinned fish and sweets.
“We have some rare products like cullatello,” says Manager Saskia Jobson. “It’s similar to prosciutto, but from the upper leg of the pig near the rump. Literally translated it means ‘tight-arse’. It’s lovely and tender, though.” The cured meat can be purchased in the shop, between the cafe and sandwich bar.
Mercato
Any reputable source will tell you that the north-east is where to go to find authentic Italian fare. Here in Campbelltown you’ll find Mercato, a modern Italian superstore and eatery that specialises in imported wines and spirits, kitchen equipment, pantry products, cheeses, bread and fresh deli items.
At the end of the year you’ll find treats such as Panettone, “an Italian sweet bread often given as a gift at Christmas time” says wine sales and marketing coordinator Chris Sarandis. He says Mercato has “one of the largest selections of Panettone in Adelaide”.
The venue also has a casual restaurant serving pasta, pizza and cakes. They often host tasting events and a monthly all-you-can-eat pizza al taglio night. Be sure to secure a ticket in advance.
Mozaika
Mozaika is Russian for “mosaic”. Keeping to the theme, the Hackney store sells a range of imported Eastern European foods and products. Delicacies such as paskha, a pressed, sweetened cottage cheese with raisins, can be found in the dairy fridge and there are rows of imported liqueur-filled chocolates.
“Many Eastern European stores may focus on one or two things, but we like to make sure we have variation,” says shop assistant Dmytro Sydorenko. “Here you can find liquor, tea, food, sweets, books, gifts. All sorts of things,” If you’re stuck for a present, Mozaika also sells colourful matryoshka-doll-shaped bottles of vodka.
Sevenhill Fine Foods
You may remember the red-signed stall at Adelaide Central Markets, piled so high with cured meats, pickle jars and European sweets that the counter was barely visible. It’s still around, just a few stalls east and a bit less cluttered.
Sevenhill still serves products such as smoked speck and Dutch liquorice alongside the pickled veg and cakes, but it has shifted its main focus to cured meats – the store’s crown jewels. Owner Inessa Del Medico’s favourite items are the bacon, ham and prosciutto, which are all made in South Australia by partner company San Jose Smallgoods.
This article is presented in partnership with Holden Astra – 2016 European Car of the Year.
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