Get messy – Hot Mess Deli lands in Varsity Lakes with seriously stacked sangas

Five years is a long time to eye off a shopfront. For chef and Varsity Lakes local Matthew Sidoti, the corner of Main Street and Varsity Parade was worth the wait. He’d had his sights on the location for years and, when the opportunity finally came, he jumped at it, turning the space into Hot Mess Deli and finally bringing a long-held idea to life.

The inspiration comes from Matt’s love of food and a fairly loose philosophy around what constitutes sandwich material. If something tastes good between bread, it’s fair game. Rather than sticking to the traditional deli playbook, Hot Mess gives Matt room to draw on dishes and flavours picked up throughout his travels and hospitality career and reimagine them in sandwich form.

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Matt’s background has moved between coffee and the kitchen. Before Hot Mess, he spent two years as head chef at Tugun’s Hidden Gem Coffee and previously owned and operated cafes in Sydney and on the Gold Coast, including Robina’s Milk Money Espresso.

That experience comes together at Hot Mess, where much of the work happens before anything hits the bread. Slow-cooked meats, sauces and pickles are made in house, including the corned beef piled into the Reuben. The namesake grilled cheese comes with that spicy ‘nduja vodka sauce for dunking, while the grilled mortadella layers the Italian deli meat with scamorza, fried egg, house pesto, pickles and rocket.

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Before you get too attached to any one menu item, you should know that Matt plans to keep things moving with seasonal produce and limited off-menu specials, using the deli as an outlet for whatever dishes and flavours he’s into at the time. Paradox Coffee Roasters specialty coffee is pouring from early in the morning, with a tiramisu-inspired cold foam adding a little something extra for those who like their caffeine on the sweeter side.

Beyond the food, Matt wants Hot Mess to feel like a proper neighbourhood deli. At a time when QR-code ordering and automated service have become increasingly commonplace, he’s deliberately taking a more personal approach.

If you’re of the persuasion that pretty much everything tastes better in sandwich form, Hot Mess Deli has your name all over it.

Head to The Directory for opening times.