Is this Melbourne’s best Reuben sandwich? Ruben’s Deli boosts Armadale’s growing food strip

Reuben sandwiches are ubiquitous in Melbourne right now, but when the sandwich is your namesake, maybe you have a head start in making a killer version? Certainly, the pastrami on rye toastie at Amanda Ruben’s new Armadale deli is a cut above, mostly because of the extraordinary pastrami.

Cape Grim brisket is brined for a day, rubbed with a house spice mix that goes big on pepper and paprika, then smoked overnight on beechwood in a low oven that eases the meat into juicy, tender, quivering submission. Layered up with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on rye, it’s an instant highlight at the sandwich and provisions store.

The shop adds to the joys of a burgeoning southside food precinct that includes The Leaf Store grocery, Phillippa’s Bakery, Lune Croissanterie, Albert’s Wine Bar, and Victor Churchill butcher and restaurant.

It’s also just up the road from the site where Ruben ran her first business. When she opened Cooper and Milla’s in 2006, it was among the first Melbourne cafes to pile a bountiful salad selection in a display cabinet for eating in or taking home. She leaned into her Jewish heritage at her next venue, Miss Ruben in Ripponlea, a busy catering operation and eat-in cafe, which she ran for five years until 2020.

The idea for this deli has been bubbling for a while. “I’m paying homage to New York, to my Jewish roots, and also to the delis of Rome,” she says, rhapsodising about the salumerias and alimentari of Italy.

“For me, a deli is like being in Disneyland – the food, the wine, the meats,” she says. “I love that feeling of overwhelm, that you don’t know what to buy first.”

She’s hoping Ruben’s becomes a fixture, here for the long haul. The retro design layers mid-century branding, menus and uniforms over a Victorian setting in heritage-listed Kings Arcade, with its mosaic tiling and leadlight windows.

Ruben has brought in Chris Watson to oversee the food. Previously chef at two-hatted Cutler & Co, Watson most recently ran Meatsmith specialty butchery for four years, turning shopping for chops into a gourmet experience. He left there to become the resident pastrami pro at Ruben’s. “It’s an exciting project, cool and unique for Melbourne,” he says.

House-smoked fish is also a feature, hand-sliced to order for piling into bagels with herbed cream cheese or taking home. Bringing meat and fish under one roof makes Ruben’s a mash-up of a New York “appetizing store” – which sells smoked and cured fish, pickles and cheese, but no meat – and the classic kosher deli, which sells meat but no fish or dairy.

Ruben sees her offering as an adjunct to home cooking. “Melburnians like to cook, but they like it easy: maybe you do a beautiful roast yourself and buy the wine, the salads, the antipasti here.”

Elegant lasagne scrolls, roast vegetables, turkey meatballs and an array of sweets are equally apposite for quick family meals and lavish entertaining solutions. “We want people to take food home, put it on the table and have that feel of feasting,” she says.

Watson is proud of the cinnamon babka, which has taken much enjoyable testing to nail. Fluffy and light, it’s shaped and twisted then baked in a wheel to ensure crunchy bits, then topped with cream-cheese icing. The chocolate and tahini cookies that garnered devoted fans at Miss Ruben are available in Armadale, too.

Ruben’s is set up mostly as a takeaway operation but there are a few seats inside and tables on the pavement. “As the weather gets better, I can imagine people sitting outside with a glass of wine or a cocktail and a cheeseboard or pastrami box,” says Ruben. Online ordering of catering boxes is on the way too.

Open Mon-Fri 8.30am-6pm, Sat 8.30am-4.30pm, Sun 9am-4pm.

Kings Arcade, 978 High Street, Armadale, 03 8637 0555, instagram.com/rubens_deli