Queen Sally's Diamond Deli is a colourful little deli café on Queens Drive at Lyall Bay — a fun and fanciful place with a flying horse wearing a cowboy hat as a lamp, which tells you most of what you need to know. It opened after fire gutted the nearby Maranui Café back in 2009, created to keep the hardworking café team in employment, and nearly ten years on — with Maranui now well and truly re-opened — this cheerful spot isn't going anywhere.
The cabinet leans heavily plant-based: expect to see only two meat options, with the rest filled by beautiful samosas, salads and filled wraps, all without the animal protein. The menu tacked to the coffee machine changes weekly, depending on what's in season and what creative new salad and doughnut flavours the team at the off-site kitchen have come up with — always vegetarian friendly and delicious. Havana coffee is the house pour.
It's a beautiful mish-mash of high tea meets deli: plenty of sweet treats, from wholesome raw slices to the special Pink Chelsea Buns that are genuinely hard to turn down, plus homemade preserves and shelves stocked with Wellington Chocolate Factory, Baron Hasselhoffs, Libertine Teas, Fix and Fogg, Earthend Honey and old-fashioned sweets from Arrowtown. There's fresh bread, pies, pastries and salads to take away, and a Dr Feel Good ice block best enjoyed with a great view of the bay.
Babies, friendly dogs, schoolboys and local tradies all pop in for their share of warm service, Havana coffee and takeaway lunches — an easy-going reminder of what a neighbourhood café that caters to everyone looks like. The team also caters for special events by email.
On Queens Drive at Lyall Bay, a short stroll from the water, Queen Sally's Diamond Deli does things its own way. There's a flying horse with a cowboy hat serving as a lamp inside, jars of homemade preserves lining the shelves, and a cabinet full of salads, samosas and sweet things that changes week to week. It's a fun and fanciful place — and Lyall Bay has embraced exactly that sort of place for close to a decade.
The deli has an unusual origin story. When fire gutted the nearby Maranui Café back in 2009, Queen Sally's was opened to keep the hardworking café team in employment. Nearly ten years on — and with Maranui now well and truly re-opened — this colourful little deli café isn't going anywhere. It has become a fixture in its own right, with a loyal following that stretches well beyond the bay.
Queen Sally's puts a big emphasis on vegan and vegetarian food. On most days you can expect to see only two meat options in the cabinet — the rest is beautiful samosas, salads and filled wraps, all without the animal protein. The menu tacked to the coffee machine changes weekly, depending on what's in season and what creative new salads and doughnut flavours the team at the off-site kitchen have come up with. What you can always count on is that it's vegetarian friendly and, by all accounts, delicious.
Lunch here might be a couple of samosas and a seasonal salad, a filled wrap for the road, or one of the fresh pies that sit alongside the breads and pastries. Everything is built to travel, and plenty of locals swing by for a takeaway lunch before heading to the beach.
The best description of the shop might be the deli's own: a beautiful mish-mash of high tea meets deli. Alongside the lunch cabinet there are plenty of sweet treats — raw slices for those who want something a little more wholesome, creative doughnut flavours, and the special Pink Chelsea Buns, which are genuinely hard to turn down.
The shelves read like a tour of local makers. There's chocolate from Wellington Chocolate Factory, treats from Baron Hasselhoffs, teas from Libertine Teas, goods from Fix and Fogg, and Earthend Honey. Homemade preserves line the shelves alongside old-fashioned sweets from Arrowtown, and Queen Sally's makes its own specialty sauces, chutneys and jams to take home.
All of it pairs well with a Havana coffee — the house pour here and a big part of the deli's draw. On a fine day, take a Dr Feel Good ice block outside and enjoy it with a great view of the bay.
Step inside and it's like stepping back in time to when a local deli was a frequent sight in the neighbourhood. Queen Sally's is an easy-going reminder of what a café that caters to everyone looks like: babies, friendly dogs, schoolboys and local tradies all pop in for their share of warm service, Havana coffee and takeaway lunches from a place that knows how to foster a community vibe.
You'll find Queen Sally's at 200 Queens Drive, Lyall Bay. It's closed Mondays, open from 7:00am to 2:30pm Tuesday to Friday, and 8:00am to 3:00pm on weekends.
Planning something bigger? The team also caters for special events — email maranuicatering@gmail.com to ask. Otherwise, simply come on in and taste for yourself. As the deli likes to say: you're always welcome at Queen Sally's.