A small delicatessen in Keswick is tickling the taste buds of its hundreds of customers each day with huge flavours of the Mediterranean from its Italian-vibe food.
Panino Italiano sandwich bar and café in Keswick’s Main Street packs a flavour punch with its home-made range of traditional and modern Italian quick bites, street food, vegetarian and vegan ranges of panini, pasta and pizza, and a tempting array of pastries, cakes and traybakes.
Before setting up the business, owner Jessica McKenzie was inspired by a number of trips to Italy to ensure she captured the true mood of the country and its food.
Jessica, who also runs Syke Farm Tearoom in Buttermere with her husband Jamie, bakes her most popular food — classic sausage rolls — fresh every day along with more unusual flavour combos like pork and sweet chilli and pork and stilton, and what one delighted customer described on TripAdvisor as an “awesome” vegan sausage roll.
Freshly made sandwiches are served on pitta-like breads and are packed full of five or six filling from a good selection of meats, cheeses, smoked salmon, cream cheese, olive and pesto spreads, sun dried tomatoes and grilled vegetables.
When the doors open at .30am seven days a week, there is a range of bacon, sausage and vegetarian and vegan baps to set hungry customers up for the day.
Jessica and her team also make a wide range of cakes and traybakes, the most popular being Mars Bar cakes and cherry bakewell, with all the deli’s food complemented with Italian illy coffee or a comforting hot chocolate.
Shop manager Grace Fairfield said: “Jessica wanted to create the Italian street food vibe using fresh Mediterranean ingredients wherever possible. We also provide vegetarian and vegan options every day so we can cater for all tastes.”
Jessica added: “I’ve always been an early riser and thinks nothing of cooking up a batch of sausage rolls and cakes which I deliver to the deli before it opens, ready for those hungry early risers.”
