After 13 consecutive months, Flinders Street cafe ‘Luigi Delicatessen’ continues to hold their spot, sitting atop a list of 1332 restaurants in greater Adelaide, as the #1 rated Trip Advisor destination for diners.
The popular Trip Advisor app is known for drawing the best, and worst from customers – with reviews tending to be brutally honest. Perhaps this is why the amazing number of 5 star reviews (172) for Luigi Delicatessen is even more impressive.
Opening from 6:30am weekdays (and Saturday 8am), Luigi’s caters to a business crowd, offering up incredible breakfast & lunch, great coffee and brilliant service. They’ve recently acquired a liquor license as well (to our excitement), putting Friday night drinks and boozy brunches on the table!
Luigi has always understood how important great service is, having started in hospitality as an early teen. While it’s been a long-term dream to own his own cafe, his vision only came to fruition three years ago (in July), when his passion for food and people came to life.
Since then Luigi has juggled home life with 4 year old twins and a 10 year old son to wife Danae, his hectic cafe hours, and his dedication to his team with humble pride. The kids are often seen visiting the cafe, and Danae’s palate is responsible for the great coffee blend that Luigi’s baristas serve up to their loyal customers.
With a focus on fresh, high quality food, Luigi sources ingredients from all around South Australia, with their incredible pork belly bacon being prepared especially for the restaurant by their local butcher. To ensure their Italian menu sets the bar high, the kitchen also uses some ingredients imported from Italy – such as their mozzarella. Vegans, vegetarians, celiacs and those looking for gluten free options are also catered to.
Set menus aren’t a thing at Luigi Delicatessen, with the food offering changing daily to bring customers the freshest, best options for the season. Famous for their pastas, bruschetta and fresh salads with your choice of protein, you really can’t go past the crab pasta – which is to die for. The Glam Adelaide team have often had a sneaky lunch meeting at Luigi’s and can vouch for the food and coffee!
The lack of a printed menu also has its benefits when it comes to service. The staff need to understand what the chefs are doing, what the food is about, and how it’s all put together. This then allows them to really interact with customers and chat to them about what will work best for what they’re after. The team are also carefully screened before joining Luigis – with a proven ability to be a people person a must. Luigi is after good old fashioned European service.
The Trip Advisor reviews reflect all of this – with an overwhelming love for the service, the food, and Luigi himself quite apparent. But we’ll let you be the judge of that.