Carton Deli

Carton Deli is light and airy sandwich and coffee deli on the corner of Hindmarsh Square and Pulteney Street. On any given weekday, tables quickly fill up for the lunch rush – occupied by workers from the surrounding office buildings, uni students, and guests staying at the Pullman Hotel.

Zac Schneider (ex-Dayjob) opened Carton in 2022, in the former Dunfor Noodle Bar site. The minimalist space – all timber, concrete and tiles – is largely the same, but Schneider has dedicated the menu to things between bread: specifically, burgers, rolls, toasties and baguettes.

You might start the day with a bocadillo (a Spanish-style baguette) filled with cheese, omelette, jamon serrano and onion chilli jam. Or head in for lunch for a Korean fried chicken burger with gochujang sauce, wombok, Kewpie mayo and cheese (vegos can sub in a crumbed and fried portobello mushroom – one of Schneider’s favourites).

Schneider says that a lot of the menu is accidentally nostalgic. Yet with chef Duane Tilka (ex-Clutch) at its helm, the result is nothing like the sandwiches of your childhood. You might find: a toastie stuffed with apple slaw, mozzarella and pulled pork slow-cooked in sarsaparilla; a tricked-up version of the classic Aussie roast chicken roll, featuring sous vide chook, cabbage, quince aioli and pickled daikon; and an inspired spin on the ubiquitous ham-and-cheese toastie (with strong Hawaiian pizza DNA) featuring smoked ham, melted cheese and a pineapple-mustard brulee.

As for the coffee, Schneider uses locally roasted Kindred Coffee beans for espresso and batch brew. Pair your cuppa with a pastry by Prove Patisserie.

The buns and baguettes are supplied by Skala Bakery while Sam Ferguson (Elementary Coffee, ex-Clement & Herron) bakes the bread for the toasties.