Arena Deli Cafe e Cucina

On an Australian scale, Mosman is an older suburb. Retail on Military Road has been around for years — from the days when the thoroughfare carried provisions and staff to and from the barracks and encampments on the various harbour headlands.
Arena’s has a long history in the area — past links explain why there are neighbouring shops called Arena Deli and Arena’s Fruit Shop that actually have no connection today.
The deli was recently refurbished. It now houses one of those lovely long deli counters that, when the place is not busy, is a strip of temptation: work your way from the pickles and olives, through the hams and proscuitto to the biscotti and macarons. Lots of the goods are imported and unusual, though there are also excellent local cheeses and artisan breads.
In the highly competitive world of the lower north shore deli, you have to work hard to stand out. Arena’s has developed relationships with a number of local schools and works to put together antipasto platters and so on to ease catering — all good ideas. There is a small in-​house dining area down the back — though I’ve never been tempted past the retail section. Bit of a thumbs down for the coffee sadly — tried one day when all the dedicated coffee shops had queues, and it wasn’t a highlight.

This family run and owned delicatessen feels like it’s been around for a long time — and they have, at least as greengrocers since 1959.
What I like about this deli is that it’s long. Walking down the passageway you go on a journey of deli food delight starting with freshly made sandwiches, loaves of bread, then cheeses, salami’s, olives in the counter and the pasta sauces and the like on shelves to your left. When you get to the end, you can walk through to a small café area and enjoy a bite to eat or coffee. Personally, I stick to the coffee and wait to make myself a delicious home made roll with all the goodies I’ve bought on my deli walk.
I’ve not been there on a crowded day but I imagine it would be a bit tight with more than a half dozen people walking up and down to pick what they’d like.
Lavazza coffee. Some say it’s the best brekky in Mosman — I’ve yet to try but the fresh deli goods certainly get a thumbs up.