I always thought I’d end up living in Melbourne. After five years in the UK and Europe, it seemed like the most “cosmopolitan” choice. But if I’m totally honest, that really just meant neighbourhood wine bars with snacky small plates.

When the panny-D put the world into a tailspin, I ended up on the last flight out of Munich and living in the spare room at my parents’ house in Canberra faster than you can say “a glass of chilled red and the anchovy toast, please”. Sydney – a quick jaunt up the highway on the green limousine (a Murrays coach) – swiftly became my new home.

The eastern suburbs seemed like a perfect fit, especially when you couldn’t travel more than five kilometres from your residential address or spend any time inside venues. And don’t get me wrong, being able to see the ocean lapping against the horizon from the top of my street has been sweet. But the culture I crave (natural wine and carbs), is somewhat lacking on this side of town.

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However, a new dawn is here.

Cut Lunch Deli is doing the residents of Randwick (and its beachy surrounds) a solid and extending its opening hours four nights a week. Once the coffee machine is put to sleep and the sandwich crumbs are wiped up, the After Hours menu arrives.

For anyone unfamiliar with the Clovelly Road venue, the deli-style sandwich shop opened in 2022 as owner Libby Dunlop’s solution to not being able to find a decent sanga in the beach-adjacent suburb. Now, Dunlop and her team are filling another gap in the market: wines by the glass served alongside a tight menu of snacks.

From Thursday to Sunday, after 3pm, you can order natural wines from local producers – think Das Juice, Delinquente, Good Intentions and Small Fry – as well as tins from Yulli’s and Bizzarro. There’s also a handful of non-alcs, including a strong selection of Strange Love sodas.

In terms of food, snacks start small. Grab the warm olives, a plate of Proper Crisps or a couple of Gildas if you’re just stopping in for “one quick drink” on the way home. If you want something more substantial, there’s fluffy focaccia served with a creamy pool of stracciatella and either very crunchy cucumbers or shaved salami – these accompaniments will rotate seasonally.

Then there’s the pièce de résistance: the Schnizt After Hours. According to Dunlop, it’s a “more grown-up” take on the daytime fave. “We’ve added a shallot chilli jam with some crispy shallots and swapped the lettuce for slaw,” she tells Broadsheet. It’s served on the same pillowy potato bun, but the crumbed chicken that generally overhangs the edges is a little bit more demure for dinner. “We make it a bit more neat and tidy – you could eat it on a date.”

The menu says to “ask about dessert”. So ask I do. Dunlop’s background is in pastry – at Quay, no less – and she’s taking the chance to play around here. Banoffee pie, sticky-date pudding, a smooth-as-silk lemon pie and a chocolate raspberry tart have starred so far.

In the few short weeks since Dunlop and her team soft-launched the evening offering, Cut Lunch Deli has transformed the little corner of Clovelly village. When I get off the 339 after work on a Thursday, the buzz is palpable. I’m hot-footing it over the zebra crossing in pursuit of a salty snack and a crisp white before wandering home to cook dinner. And I can already feel my rubber arm being twisted by the group chat on future sunny Sunday arvos. Let’s just call it my second living room for the foreseeable future.

“People can sit here all night if they want. We’re not going to take bookings because we want it to be relaxed. We’re a neighbourhood cafe and now we’re a neighbourhood after-hours venue, too.”

Cut Lunch Deli
220 Clovelly Road, Randwick

Hours:
Mon to Wed 6am–2.30pm
Thur & Fri 6am–late
Sat & Sun 7am–late

cutlunchdeli.com.au
@cutlunchdeli