Essential Deli

OMG I just ate a butter chicken pie from this place ! It was $ 8 !!!
But it’s going on my list of top ten pies !
Home made and chokka full of perfectly cooked chicken pieces with a rich tomato butter chicken gravy, and crispy pastry .
I was hoping for their custard square but no luck, they had other slices on offer but no custardy heaven .
I’ll admit when he said «that’s $ 8 «I thought to myself this had better be the best damn pie EVER ! Lucky it was and nicely hot as well .
They have a beautiful selection of salads and filled rolls .
Coffee here is so so, but this isn’t a coffee destination .
If your ever in the village stop here.

This is a pretty spot on name and when I actually ventured in here for the first time, the array of good looking food in the cabinet makes it a tough decision!
I’ve had a really good pie from here, so if you feel like a pie and are in the vacinity I would definitely recommend a visit here. It’s obvious they use high quality ingredients because this showed in the taste. Another time I purchased an afghan as a sweet treat and it tasted just like one my aunty had whipped up (which is fine by me).
The salads all looked really good also, and they have, what I’m sure are delcious frozen meals to take away — for those nights you know you won’t be bothered cooking.
Even though it was rather crowded on my visit, the service was fast and friendly. Great job!

essential — Absolutely necessary, extremely important, indispensable, fundamental.
Not quite.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice European styled deli that I hope to see more of opening around Auckland. Maybe a little competition will do their prices some good. Here, they stock some healthy looking food that’s nice for a picnic treat, and friendly service to cope with the constant stream of people.
Everywhere I look these days, food is boutique and gourmet and organic, or has some redundant gold medal. If Essential Deli gets rid of the tables blocking their product, I might find something worth buying. For now places like Nosh will fulfill my «essential gourmet» requirements.

Mmmmm delis! Cold cuts, cheeses, pickles and breads, food at its finest! This one supplies all of those things and more. I love coming here and grabbing a selection of tasty treats and heading up Mt Eden to enjoy them. They also cater here, as well as make family sized meals like chicken pies, which is great if you don’t feel like cooking but still want a healthy nutritious meal. They use free range eggs, chicken, bacon and ham which is reassuring to know and it really does taste better. They make a good coffee too! It’s nice to sit at their outdoor table and have bread roll and a coffee… yum!

I discovered the Essential Deli relatively recently. I’ve always known it existed but only cottoned on to its good food and service within the last 8 months.
It started off one day when I needed something to eat quickly, on the way to a job. I stopped in and got a salad (half orzo, half caesar) to go, as well as a trim flat white. It was really good, so the next day I went in again and got the same. It kind of turned into a thing, because I would flirt with the guys (and sometimes the girl) behind the counter and we’d have this banter going on, and every time I stopped by they’d ask me about my blog and I’d ask them what was new and it was just like the movies.
Anyway, my point is, the food is good. The place is unassuming. It’s mainly a deli, so there’s only one table to eat at inside, and two outside. The salads are good, the food in the cabinet is constantly changing. There’s often pizza in there, sandwiches and delicious looking to go meals like salmon on noodles, or lasagne or chicken and rice (there are also frozen to go meals). The pies are really good too. I’ve never had the dips and cheese and such, but I’ve always wanted to, does that count?
In related news, they also sell Kohu Road icecream and Benger juices, which are both very good and not that easy to find. #veryrare