Col'tempo Salami
Where: 2 8th Ave, Morningside
Open: Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm
Call: 031 303 1848
Col’tempo simply means “with time” and it is the philosophy behind the excellent charcuterie of father and son team, Hylton and Paul Rabinowitz, whose salamis, hams and sausages are sought after by top chefs around the country.
From peddling salamis at markets, they now have one of the best delis in Durban. Pasta in every shape and form, pickles, preserves, cheeses, yoghurts, biscuits, nougats. There was even a giant panettone for sale ‒ the biggest such cake I’d seen.
The setting in an old house is simply inviting. Clean lined and modern, there’s a courtyard outside where you can dine under large umbrellas amid the lush herb garden ‒ and yes, they were picking herbs as they were needed. Inside it’s a few tables in the front of the deli with picture windows looking over the herb garden and the meat-drying store that runs down the side of the building.
The menu has been kept intentionally simple and is designed to showcase their superb meat products. There’s a selection of home-made panini, a few pizzas, a few pastas and a couple of salads. And don’t forget a proper minestrone soup ‒ but in the heat of summer this somehow did not tick the box.
Rolls were flying out the kitchen, the hero being something of a favourite, stuffed full of coppa ham, Milano salami, soppressata, mortadella, pepperoni and Mozzarella with tomato and rocket. Now that is a meat feast. But there’s also Parma, tomato and Parmesan; and mortadella, Gorgonzola, ricotta, sweet red mustard, tomato and rocket. A veg option takes in artichokes, Mozzarella and tomato. This being Durban, there is also a burger panini.
Pizzas also feature the contents of the meat fridge. I liked the sound of pancetta, Gorgonzola and red onion, although my friend eyed the olive, caper and artichoke variety. But then he loves artichokes. He couldn’t take his eyes off the large jars of pickled artichokes on the rack behind me. Pastas take in puttanesca, Bolognaise, meatballs or cannelloni.
And that’s it.
We started by sharing a meat board they made up for us (R95) which came loaded with the deli’s best ‒ smooth silky Parma ham, sweeter coppa ham, Milano salami, spicy soppressata, chourico, mortadella and Mozzarella served with olives and slices of their ciabatta. This exceptional plate of food could easily be a light meal for two to share. I particularly enjoyed the soppressata, a coarse-ground salami, often made from all the unusable bits of the animal from southern Italy, while the coppa ham, from the rolled and cured shoulder of pork, has always been a favourite.
After all this food we decided we would share a pasta and settled on the lasagne (R105) ‒ another massive portion ‒ served with a side salad and more ciabatta. This was a very meaty version of the dish, and perhaps could have done with a little more tomato, but we certainly enjoyed it ‒ and polished it off.
Dessert was tartufo or Italian kisses, which we skipped in favour of an iced-coffee (R40), advertised as the real thing without all the ice creams and milks that “pollute” this classic. It tasted every bit as good as it looked ‒ although my latte-loving friend would have preferred all the milky stuff going on. He enjoyed his lemon soda.
And like all good delis, one always leaves with a brown paper packet stuffed full of life’s little luxuries ‒ a selection of their charcuterie, a block of mature Gruberg cheese, ginger preserve, a packet of amaretti biscuits … and, yes, a large bottle of those artichokes.
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ambience: 4
The Independent on Saturday