The joy of the Irish deli counter

And a guide to ordering for anyone new

I’ll try to hold back from over-romanticising here, especially since it’s been over a decade since I lived in Ireland. But it’s exactly that absence that makes me appreciate the quiet cornerstone of Irish food: the deli counter. 

Look, I’m not the first to write about this, but think of it as an awareness campaign. If you’re lucky enough to visit Ireland, enter most, if not all, supermarkets and petrol station shops - we’re talking your Spars, your Centras, your Dunnes Stores - and a glass display of wonders awaits. Food both hot and cold (details to follow) and someone on hand to serve it to you. How happily they do that is dependent on mood, if not your decisiveness and efficient delivery of order.

The hot food usually comprises a range of excellently beige and brown components - sausage rolls, breadcrumbed chicken, hash browns, potato wedges, and of course, the factors that make up the infamous Irish breakfast roll: sausages, rashers, white or black pudding and eggs. Note: the word ‘roll’ is vital in Irish deli terminology - it’s a baguette, but if you use that word instead, you run a strong risk of earning yourself a French-inspired nickname which will persist for the rest of your days.

I was about 7 or 8 when the breakfast roll became popular and let me tell you - it was a truly great time. Sunny Delight had also reached our shores and my mother would come home occasionally with a bottle of Florida Style and roll containing your combination of choice (sausage, white pudding and egg for me), warm, wrapped in foil and weighing as much as a newborn.

Another creation borne of the deli counter is the chicken fillet roll, now a street food in London, and a wonderful thing. Your filling options here are tomato and lettuce - anything too exotic beyond this will incite a raised eyebrow, which I endured for the love of cheese.

The jambon deserves an honourable mention here, and apparently a paragraph of its own too. Puff pastry folded up in the corners to create a pocket of lava-hot cheese sauce and essentially, lardons. Again, no French airs or affectations are permitted when ordering here - it is a jam (like you’d spread on toast, with a hard j) and bon (like Simon le), blunt and literal.

Now, the cold counter. Here you are essentially creating your own sandwich or more preferably, your roll. Paninis very much had a moment in the sun, but alas, were a passing trend. Present in this section should be a wide range of fillings; if there are fewer than a dozen, you should leave this shop immediately and find an acceptable alternative. Meats, eggs, cheese, vegetables, stuffing - yes, the chicken type - should all be present and correct.

You will be asked if you would like a brown or white roll (or bread, if you’re inexplicably ordering a sandwich), then butter or mayo. Only once these steps have been completed can you proceed to selecting your chosen fillings. Anything goes. Mine now is slightly limited by being vegetarian, though I did spy falafel in a Dublin deli this weekend - my, how we’ve grown! I like to include potato salad, the mashed variety, although there is usually a chunky option too, maybe with some cheese and peppers. Yes, bizarre but all combinations must be sampled. Your roll is then wrapped up in paper, a price sticker applied, handed over and then you proceed to the checkout, picking up crisps (Tayto, obvs) on the way.

The beauty of the Irish deli counter is that it offers a life beyond the often painfully soggy and disappointing pre-packaged sandwich. Now in London, I often crave a roll (especially if a little hungover) and can only turn to Pret’s overpriced and underfilled offerings to scratch the itch. The bread isn’t right - too artisan, too crunchy; they’re quite frankly too small; and crucially, there is no space for personalisation. At the deli counter, every day presents the possibility for a new variation.

And so, dear reader, next time you scoff at the concept of Irish cuisine, cast your mind to the deli counter - a world of opportunity.

Let us know your favourite roll filling combinations in the comments!