Mercato

I grew up in this area, and have driven past Mercato on my way to friends’ houses but had never stopped in until last week. A few Italian people I know say it’s a bit overpriced compared to the western suburbs, and I can see that it may be for some items, but I think they are not too bad.
The layout of the store is typical Italian grocer, with as many items as they can fit and everything grouped logically, which I like. They have flour sections with descriptions of what the particular flours are best for (e.g. pizza/​bread/​pasta). They have a great range of cheeses and cold meats, fresh pasta, coffee, Italian wines and spirits, biscuits, cakes, sweets, antipasto and canned and jarred tomatoes, passatta and marinated everything.
They also sell wholesale to caterers and event organisers and have delivery and a catalogue that can be requested from their website, where they also have recipes and events notices, such as wine tastings.
On one end of the store there is also a bakery/​pizza bar with barista coffee, authentic Italian pizzas and panini and freshly baked bread and pastries at a good price. It’s worth checking out just for the bread. I bought a great large sourdough for about $ 5. Bellissimo.

Café Mercato on Lower North East Road is a combination Italian food market, kitchen wares and coffee shop. It’s a one stop shop for all things Italian. The range of food and kitchenware has to be seen to be believed. The recently refurbished coffee shop has a variety of traditional cakes and pizzas. There are no table numbers but instead each table has the name of an Italian city. Well worth a visit.

This place is like a treasure chamber that never ends. All kinds of produce with an Italian origin or manufacture, and a gorgeous café and restaurant as well. It’s hard not to spend a lot of money here, as I discovered much to my wallet’s chagrin. The variety of goods in the market area is almost limitless – from cooking supplies to wine to herbs to cured meats to the biggest provolone I’ve ever seen, Mercato has it. I’ve never seen so many varieties of olive oil or vinegar! And they have a huge range of Strega chocolates which are quite possibly the most amazing thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.
The bakery section is delicious, the breads are all fresh made and the sourdough with mixed seed crust is incredible, I highly recommend it. Similarly, the pastries are delicious and fluffy and light, no day-​old dry foods here. The coffees are piping hot and freshly brewed, with a wide choice of options for coffee afficionados.
This place is very popular and it’s easy to see why. It was jostling room only at the smallgoods counter and there was a queue at the bakery section. The staff were rushed off their feet, but this didn’t affect their work in any way – they were all polite, smiling, cheerful and happy to help and answer any and all questions.
I highly recommend Mercato for anything relating to Italian cuisine. You won’t be disappointed. It can be a bit pricey though, which is the only downside, but if you’re prepared for that, then you’ll be very satisfied and won’t suffer «spendy shock» when you see your totals after indulging in a wonderful foodie shopping spree.

Oh my goodness, Mercato! Where do I start?
We came here as part of the Unilocal Campbelltown Food Trail — and I’m so glad Mercato was included, as I’d heard about this place from an Italian friend who comes here regularly.
Now I love the liqueur called ‘Strega’ … it is *very* hard to find in Adelaide. Well, Mercato has it in bucketloads! Strega posters everywhere, cartons and cartons of Strega liqueur — even a cream Strega liqueur and Strega chocolates!
I really need to come back here when I have more time to have a leisurely browse through all the pasta, sweets, equipment, wine, etc. etc. And they have great classes for cooking, for kids and adults alike. Definitely a real gem in this area!

Yet another wonderful delicatessen in the Campbelltown area, this one is certainly top of it’s class, with an absolutely huge range of Italian specialities — even just one area such as cheese or olives or cold meats is bigger than many deli’s whole displays, and the varieties of pasta and biscotti and, well, just everything, is staggering. There’s also a wonderful bakery/​café inside, offering beautiful fresh baked goods to takeaway or sample on the premises (the coffee is pretty spectacular, too).
There’s not a lot you can’t find in here — there’s a whole wall full of frozen goods too that cater for finger food and nibblies if you’re having a cocktail party and need a quick solution for food.
Staff are knowledgable and always happy to help you find what you need — Mercato is an absolute pleasure to shop at.