Shannon Martinez Opens a New Smith & Deli on Degraves Street

“It’s kind of a from-morning-to-night-we’ve-got-you situation," founder Shannon Martinez says of Smith & Deli’s new CBD outpost on Degraves Street, right by the Flinders Street Station underpass.

The location is the first new Smith & Deli since Martinez, one of the country’s leading plant-based chefs, relocated her business from Fitzroy to Collingwood in 2021. It’s also the first completed project under Tomorrow Food Group, a business Martinez co-founded with impact investor Kelly Jarrett earlier this year. The group now encompasses Smith & Deli, Martinez’s Hot Listed Collingwood restaurant Smith & Daughters, and upcoming wholesale business Made by Smith.

Location informed the new venue, designed around people moving through the city at speed. Coffee and pastries fuel the morning rush, market plates anchor the lunchtime offering and, come evening, the team takes advantage of an 11pm liquor licence, flipping the deli into more of a Spanish tapas bar with drinks and small plates from 4pm.

While Smith & Deli built its reputation on plant-based salads and sandwiches, the CBD outpost gives Martinez, who is not vegan herself, room to broaden the offering. There are still sandwiches, but the daytime menu centres around cafeteria-style market plates, with diners choosing from a changing selection of mains, sides and salads. “I think for the city, where everyone’s moving fast, the idea of having an ever-changing selection of hot food that’s ready to go just makes sense,” Martinez says.

At the moment, dishes include red lentil dal, braised chickpeas, cauliflower cheese bake, crispy tofu with chilli and Thai basil, roasted carrots with tahini and date molasses, and mapo- and miso-glazed sweet potatoes. The result feels less like a traditional vegan deli and more like a produce-driven cafeteria, with vegetables, legumes and grains taking centrestage. “It’s a chance for us to make a super-seasonal menu, be more creative and show off beautiful produce,” says Martinez.

Convenience extends beyond lunch service. Refrigerated cabinets are stocked with ready-made meals designed for the journey home, alongside pantry staples and take-home goods. Martinez says the offering is aimed at city workers looking for an alternative to takeaway, without the need to spend hours cooking after work. “I still think there’s a serious gap for really beautiful convenience food,” she says. “You don’t really want to cook for two hours when you get home, but you also don’t want to eat takeaway all the time."

From late afternoon, the venue takes on a different personality. The menu expands to include tapas-style snacks such as fava dip with chicory and gluten-free focaccia, kofta with muhammara and pickled onion, and croquettas with cheese and padron peppers. There’s a small wine list, as well as cocktails including Martinis, Negronis and Kalimotxos (equal parts red wine and cola).

The 22-seat space is unmistakably Martinez. Burgundy walls, pink marble countertops, tiled columns and dark timber shelving create a moodier take on the traditional European deli, while indoor and outdoor seating ensures the venue remains as suited to a quick coffee as it is an after-work drink.

Martinez and Jarrett have plans for further expansion, but for now the group is focused on establishing the Degraves Street venue as part of Melburnians’ daily routine. For the chef, the goal is simple. “We just need to make really beautiful things.”

Smith & Deli
16 Degraves Street, Melbourne
(03) 9123 1711

Hours:
Mon to Sat 8am–9pm
Sun 9am–7pm

smithanddeli.com