Newcastle Living Magazine

Food, Wine & Good Times at Urban Deli and Bar

New to the scene in 2022, Urban Deli and Bar is the perfect blend of a traditional corner store deli and a modern wine bar.

Helmed by longtime hospitality veterans Kasia Idczak and Tim Atkinson, the couple bring with them over 30 years of experience in the industry. 

Stepping inside the venue is like stepping into an old school European deli that’s been reinvented. While the couple were traveling around Europe they fell in love with countries like Italy, Poland, France and Croatia, and this came through in the interior of Urban Deli and Bar. Kasia says another major inspiration was to include a large-scale variety of wines for patrons to choose from. 

“A key point was to have an extensive wine list. It’s a big industry and there’s always going to be something new on offer. As wine lovers ourselves, we wanted to create a space for the local community to come and truly relax without feeling rushed,” says Kasia.

“Since Tim and I met in London in 2016 we started combining our ideas. The plan was to have an intimate wine bar, but we wanted to do something different, so we came up with the idea to put together the concept of a wine bar, deli and restaurant. We didn’t want to run a business in London and since we moved to Newcastle last year we decided that is a perfect place to do it.” 

Next to the wine list, one of the biggest stars of the show at Urban Deli and Bar is their charcuterie boards, which guests will attest is a lot of fun. Unlike most boards, Kasia and Tim put a lot of time and effort into making their boards entirely customisable. 

“We have a big board on the wall with all sorts of cheese and meat options. There’s over 40 products listed, with a variety of produce from Europe and Hunter Valley. We also encourage our guests to have a look at our deli fridge, which is in the centre of the venue.” 

The minimum portion is 50 grams so guests are guaranteed to get a great variety of taste and textures. But apart from that, there are no limits in the selection process. 

“You can mix cheese and meat or just go for a purely cheese board. They can also choose their own condiments, bread, crackers, anchovies, olives etc. We’re always more than happy to give recommendations or we can create the board for them, as we’re making sure our staff is knowledgeable about products that we sell.”