Tonino has opened on King William Road and punters can expect traditional focaccias and a big hit of Naples because “if it’s good enough for the Italians, it’s good enough for us”.
The last time CityMag visited Tonino, it was hardly recognisable as a future sandwich deli. We sat on a makeshift bench amidst renovation chaos.
A month or so later, co-owners and siblings Anna-Lisa and Nicholas Barone again sat down with CityMag, but this time on the corner vinyl bench beside pistachio green walls filled with Tonino-coated art and photography.
“My dad literally said yesterday ‘this is a very unique mix [of prints]’. People usually go for all photos or all prints and we’ve done both,” Anna-Lisa says as she admires the prints from below.
“We have picked images that remind us of Italy and some of these images are specifically from Naples, which was a big inspiration for our food.
“And just like classic Italian scenes like the nonnas talking on the street, the man sitting and having a cigarette and an espresso, the nuns shopping.
“The flooring is the most classic Italian deli-style floor.”
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Tonino is opening today, and the menu highlights traditional and Naples-inspired focaccias.
In February, the Tonino team told us punters could find flavours “a little bit different”. The final menu lives up to that statement.
“We’re doing a sweet focaccia which is a little bit unique. That’s Nutella toasted marshmallow and fresh strawberries. You’ve got the salty, crispy focaccia and Nutella and then like blowtorched marshmallows — so good,” Anna-Lisa says.
“It’s probably a little bit inspired by our pizza place [Side Hustle] I’d say. We do a Nutella pizza which is very popular and very delicious.
“And the focaccias are a very similar dough to pizza — they’re both salty — and we thought the saltiness and the Nutella pair well,” Nicholas elaborates.
The Tonino team has curated seven savoury choices as well.
“We’ve got some of the traditional [styles], like the prosciutto, fior di latte, tomato, basil — we just think it’s so good and original, it doesn’t need to be changed at all,” Nicholas says.
They’ve also included sandos that are popular in Italy but not as well-known in Adelaide.
“We’ve got our salami which is a pretty loaded one. We’re using three different types of salami so you get a wide variety of flavours in that,” Nicholas says.
“We’ve got a fennel salami, a hot Calabrese salami, then a plain salami… with giardiniera pickles, provolone, fior di latte, spicy mayo [and] fresh tomatoes.
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“We’ve got a cotoletta sandwich with tomato basil sugo and blowtorched provolone and it’s kind of like a chicken parmigiana but in a sandwich,” Anna-Lisa says.
The other sando fillings include capocollo with gorgonzola cream, honey chilli and rocket, and a mortadella with pistachio aillade.
Anna-Lisa and Nicholas’ Nonno not only inspired the name behind this new sando prospect but inspired one porchetta focaccia in particular.
“We’re from Abruzzo, and Abruzzo is famous for porchetta and our Nonno actually loves making porchetta, and he makes a really good porchetta,” Anna-Lisa says.
“He’s 92, 93 — if he could keep up, we would get him to make it for here.
“It’s rolled pork and it’s filled with garlic and Italian herbs and pepper.”
The Tonino team have opted for a rotational three-piece dessert menu, with tiramisu, rum babà and semifreddo set to hit the first iteration.
Anna-Lisa and Nicholas have sourced goods directly from Italy for the deli. Where this wasn’t possible, they decided to source from businesses in Adelaide including It’s Olio, Italia Pasta Fresca and Oztalia.
“Some of them are actually homemade [and] handmade by the small businesses here, which we love because we’re a small business… and I often think their products are better than the larger chains and bigger companies,” Anna-Lisa says.
It’s not an Italian deli without coffee
Tonino has jumped straight into the sando renaissance currently happening in Adelaide while staying authentic, especially to Naples culture.
“I think a lot of places get inspiration from Italy and then they adapt it to the Australian palate perhaps or use it as more of an inspiration rather than actually keeping it authentic,” Anna-Lisa says.
“I think we just want to keep them as they are, like rum babà is literally served as it is with the cream on top and it’s just fresh fruit and that’s it.
“Even with our sandwiches, like we said, the ones that don’t need to be touched, we’ll keep them. It’s what they get in Italy, so it’s what we’ve got here,” Nicholas elaborates.
“If it’s good enough for the Italians, it’s good enough for us,” Anna-Lisa says.
Tonino is located at 3/114 King William Road, Goodwood and is open from Tuesday until Saturday from 8am until 4pm.
Connect with the business on Instagram for more.
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