Papa Costa

Papa Costa is not a café or deli (well…it is in fact both) it’s a portal… no a secret passage… into a different world to that of the other shops on the Clifton Triangle. It’s such a surreal experience walking in past the shelves of international foods but actually it’s a really great thing that this shop has survived. I imagine larger companies and chain stores must be kicking their door down daily trying to get them to sell.
Even though it is a deli, mini-​supermarket and a café the real draw for me is the cups of coffee for £1 and the hot dogs they have in the summer for £2; that’s budget!
I think this hidden away place is such a gem purely because it is on the triangle and because it isn’t a clothes shop or jewellery shop and they certainly are independent. It is almost like a cultural excursion to a European destination.
They always seem to take a relatively long time to make my sandwich, I don’t mind so long as love and attention is going into the making of that sandwich, which takes them so long to construct and then grill.

Papa Costa is a Mediterranean café in a great location on Queens Road. I’ve had a friend telling me go here for a lunch panini for absolutely ages, and this is one of the cafes that he swears by.
Perhaps that raised my expectations, because I wasn’t very impressed when I stepped in here. It was very dingy when I was there, and yes the paninis and sandwiches did look very good, and they had a deli counter that sold cheeses and cured meats, which is great. If you like pasties, you will like this café, as they are huge here.
This café was too dark, lacking in atmosphere and needs to be sprinkled with sunshine and rainbows to make it brighter! Happier! Cheerier!

Papa Costa is a greek owned deli cum café which spills out onto the bustling Queens Road on sunny days. It has a laidback feel to the place and is slightly haphazardly (although I would argue charmingly so) decorated.
There’s a good range of gourmet sandwiches featuring fresh ingredients from all over Europe. Personally I recommend the slightly more expensive freshly made ones to the packaged varieties stored in the fridge, I reckon it’s worth the difference.
The breakfasts are also fairly decent, and not too expensive either. I’ve never found the deli wildly inspiring but it doesn’t come with as heavy a pricetag as a lot of other Clifton delis so if you’re in the area and seeking unusual produce it’s worth a look.

This place on Queens Road is a café and a deli rolled into one. You can select your meats and cheeses to takeaway or you can sit in and indulge in a sandwich, panini, or jacket potato. There’s a distinct European feel to the place, lots of olives and that kind of thing, which I’m a big fan of. I had one of the potatoes here and it was pretty good, as well as being very reasonably priced. Papa Costa is a very modest kind of place and it’s also part of the fair-​trade network, so if you’re out shopping on Park Street and are looking for somewhere to go to lunch, this is a great option, being both cheap and ethical.

A reliable independent deli that’s holding its own despite being surrounded by Waitrose and Sainsburys. There’s a very good range of sandwiches, considering the size of the shop, and they also do good cakes and interesting pastries.
The service is relaxed and very friendly, you don’t feel too rushed– but on the flip side that means that service can be slightly slow sometimes if you’re in a hurry, say if you’re on a lunch break.
Not too expensive, it’s another independent shop worth supporting.