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Lotts & Co Deli was voted by the Irish Times as Best Newcomer of artisan shops in Ireland, despite only emerging on the market in 2015. Lotts & Co was set up by brothers Paul and John McNerney who also own several restaurants in the area including the Old Spot pub and Paulie’s Pizza. This new venture is an ‘all in one’ deli with a fishmonger, butcher, cafe, rotisserie, bakery and winery, therefore the McNerney brothers are trying to keep up with the growing trend or return back to the ‘independent’ shop.

Lotts exudes a ‘shabby-chic’ take on Fallon & Byrne/ Dean & Deluca and its fresh, locally-sourced Irish produce filling the sanded down wooden shelves also reflect the sustainable-based ethics these businesses introduced from East-Coast America to Ireland. Colourful squashes, beets, meats and fresh fish (caught “on the line from the Irish sea”) spread across the store. Moreover popular house-brands are substituted for local produce under their sustainable pledge, for instance, an Irish-sourced version of Bon Maman jams which are produced by a Frenchman living in Dublin. The coffee used in Lotts is ground from Italian beans in an Irish brewery ran by the TCD Science Gallery café owners. Finally, their honey brand is not only Irish, but sourced from Trinity student and Suas President Kevin Keane, who runs Keane Honey with his family in Ratoath. General manager Rory English explained that Lotts & Co were trying to keep up with the Dublin and global health trend, while also setting it.

Impressed by their sustainable produce and beautiful spread, I moved along with the French-hipster music past the Scandavian section (a popular spread mainly laid out for Ballsbridge’s Scandi-locals) and towards the food bar at the back of the store. From the massive sandwiches, soups, meat and fish sections I chose a salad combo – a mixture beetroot, aubergine and green bean, tomato, cucumber and feta, and coleslaw. It was fresh and filling and I sprinkled this with a seed and goji-berry mix on top which gave it an alternative edge. My flat white had a sweet taste to the coffee, however this was perhaps a bit too milky.

This was a treat lunch at €10.75. However as café’s surrounding college have lately increased the prices of their salads and hot lunches, Lotts is a lovely alternative. Moreover its sustainable resourcing ethics of produce and brands is worth paying the extra few euros for.

 

Lotts&Co is open from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 6pm Sundays