Bragazzi's

Bragazzi’s opened in Sheffield in 2003 and is owned by Matteo Bragazzi. The idea came on holiday in 2002: over a shakerato outside a bar in Fiano Romano, his brother Dino talked through the family’s history of Italian food in London, where their father had come over and made a business of selling food. The bet was placed that evening, and the first big shop of Italian produce was shipped to England with help from Zia Maria.

It is a café, delicatessen and shop, run by a small team with a shared regard for shopkeeping and “the unrelenting pursuit of making good coffee”. The coffee is a house blend curated by Bragazzi’s and roasted by Dark Woods Coffee in West Yorkshire, using specialty-graded coffee traceable to the farms that grow it.

Bragazzi’s trades directly with suppliers in Italy. The deli counter holds DOP cheeses and cured meats, with fresh Italian eggs and sausage, and the shelves carry flour, dried pasta shapes, chocolates and sauces. Most people come for the sandwiches, built from DOC cheese, salami and preserved vegetables; there are pastries at breakfast, and in winter the shelves fill with Christmas produce from Italian producers.

Photograph: Bragazzi's