Adriatic

Adriatic Bringing authentic Italian food, wine and equipment to South Africa since 1970. We have warehouses based in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
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From premium pantry staples to curated Italian wines and gelato expertise, we celebrate tradition, quality and flavour in every detail. At Adriatic, we believe great food starts with quality ingredients and the right tools. Since 1970, we’ve been bringing authentic Italian food, wine, gelato expertise and professional catering equipment to South Africa; supporting homes, chefs and hospitality businesses with trusted excellence.

The Spritz started in the Veneto as something very practical. A splash of bitters added to wine to stretch it a little f...
23/08/2026

The Spritz started in the Veneto as something very practical. A splash of bitters added to wine to stretch it a little further through a long afternoon. Nobody planned for it to become Italy's most exported aperitivo ritual.

Brotto Spritz Hour Aperitivo is the bitter you build it with. Add it to a glass of Prosecco and a splash of soda, drop in an orange slice, and you have a proper Italian spritz made from an Italian bitter, not a supermarket imitation. Negroni Antica Distelleria's Eleven Spritz brings a different bitter profile for those who want something with a little more edge.

The formula is simple. The result is not.

Both available at Adriatic. Not for sale to persons under 18.

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In 1919, a Florentine count named Camillo Negroni walked into Caffè Casoni and asked the bartender to replace the soda w...
20/08/2026

In 1919, a Florentine count named Camillo Negroni walked into Caffè Casoni and asked the bartender to replace the soda water in his Americano with gin. The bartender obliged. The Negroni was born.

Equal parts bitter, sweet and strong. It is the aperitivo at its most serious, and it has not changed in over a hundred years because it doesn't need to. Negroni Antica Distelleria's Bitters Aperitivo gives you the foundation. Pair it with one of Adriatic's Italian gins, the Silvio Carta Pigskin or Christian Drouin Le Gin Carmina, and you have everything the count intended.

Some things get it right the first time.

Negroni Antica Distelleria Bitters Aperitivo, Silvio Carta Pigskin Gin and Christian Drouin Le Gin Carmina all available at Adriatic. Not for sale to persons under 18.

At 6pm, something shifts in Italy.The work stops. The glasses appear. A small bowl of olives arrives on the table, and n...
17/08/2026

At 6pm, something shifts in Italy.

The work stops. The glasses appear. A small bowl of olives arrives on the table, and nobody is in a hurry anymore. The aperitivo isn't a drink before dinner. It's a philosophy, a daily non-negotiable reminder that the best part of the day is still ahead of you.

This August, we're bringing that ritual home.

Adriatic | adriatic.co.za

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A winter board asks for a red with some weight behind it.Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is one of Italy's most reliable answers...
03/08/2026

A winter board asks for a red with some weight behind it.
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is one of Italy's most reliable answers. Deep ruby, soft tannins, dark fruit that sits somewhere between plum and blackberry, with enough acidity to cut through aged cheese and cured meat without overpowering either. Minini's version, selected from vines they have worked since 1909, is the kind of bottle you open on a cold evening and find yourself reaching for again.

The heavier the board, the more structured the wine needs to be. Italy figured this out a long time ago. Minini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo available at Adriatic. Not for sale to persons under 18.

The most argued-about pasta in Italy has four ingredients. That's it.Guanciale, Pecorino Romano, egg yolks, black pepper...
30/07/2026

The most argued-about pasta in Italy has four ingredients. That's it.

Guanciale, Pecorino Romano, egg yolks, black pepper. Romans didn't add cream. They didn't need to. The sauce comes from the eggs and cheese meeting the starchy pasta water and the rendered fat of the guanciale, which is not bacon and not pancetta. It's cured pork jowl, and the difference matters more than you'd think.

The recipe. Serves 2.

Start with the guanciale. Cut it into thick pieces and render it slowly in a dry pan until the fat runs clear and the edges begin to colour. Set it aside and keep the fat in the pan.
Bring well-salted water to the boil and cook 200g of Rummo Spaghetti No 3 until just al dente. While it cooks, whisk together 4 egg yolks, a generous handful of Pecorino Romano and a good amount of cracked black pepper until it comes together into a pale, thick paste.

The important part: take the pan off the heat before you add the eggs. Combine the drained pasta with the guanciale and its fat, then add the egg mixture and a ladle of pasta water, tossing constantly. The residual heat does the work. Add pasta water a little at a time until the sauce is silky and coats every strand. It should never scramble.
Finish with more Pecorino and more black pepper. Serve immediately.

Rummo Spaghetti, Guanciale and Pecorino Romano all available at Adriatic.

An Italian antipasto board has rules, even if nobody writes them down.A few meats, sliced properly. Two cheeses that tas...
27/07/2026

An Italian antipasto board has rules, even if nobody writes them down.

A few meats, sliced properly. Two cheeses that taste nothing like each other. Something with acidity, usually olives, sometimes pickles. Good bread. Everything with enough space to be itself. What you won't find on an Italian board: a tower of crackers, a tub of cream cheese, anything that needs to be explained.

What's here tells the story on its own. Prosciutto crudo and mortadella from Adriatic's deli range. L'Affumicato, a smoked sheep's milk cheese from L'Antica Cascina, with enough character to anchor the whole board. Focaccia, olives, fresh figs, a jar of something sweet for alongside the aged cheese.

The secret isn't the arrangement. It's that every single thing on the board is worth eating on its own. Shop the range at Adriatic.

In Italy, the cheese you reach for says something about what you're making and why.Parmigiano Reggiano is aged for two y...
24/07/2026

In Italy, the cheese you reach for says something about what you're making and why.

Parmigiano Reggiano is aged for two years until it becomes golden and crumbly and deeply nutty, the kind of flavour that makes a simple pasta feel like a considered one.

Grana Padano is smoother and paler, with a quieter taste that works beautifully in risottos and slow sauces, the cheese that holds things together without drawing attention to itself.
Pecorino Romano is made from sheep's milk, which gives it a sharpness and saltiness that nothing else quite replicates. It is the soul of carbonara, of cacio e pepe, of dishes that have been made the same way in Rome for generations.

Not interchangeable. Not the same. Each one exactly right for something.
All three at Adriatic.

Ravioli appears in Italian records as far back as the 14th century. A merchant's diary from Genoa, 1381, lists it at a f...
21/07/2026

Ravioli appears in Italian records as far back as the 14th century. A merchant's diary from Genoa, 1381, lists it at a feast. It has been on Italian tables ever since, and for good reason: two layers of pasta sealed around something good is one of the more honest pleasures a kitchen can produce.

Adriatic's Ravioli goes from freezer to table in minutes. What you get in return is a proper filled pasta, on a winter night, with a glass of red already open.
Serve it simply. Brown butter and sage. A spoon of good tomato. Parmigiano over the top. The filling carries the flavour, the rest is just framing.

📍 Available at Adriatic

Most people have eaten something called mortadella. Far fewer have eaten the real thing.Adriatic stocks Levoni's Mortade...
18/07/2026

Most people have eaten something called mortadella. Far fewer have eaten the real thing.

Adriatic stocks Levoni's Mortadella Modena IGP and IBIS Mortadella Bologna, both carrying protected Italian designations that mean something: the breed of pork, the grind, the fat-to-meat ratio, the hand-cut lard studded through each slice. Those white pockets aren't a flaw. They're the whole point. They give it the clean, silky finish that no supermarket version gets close to.

Serve it at room temperature. Sliced thin on good bread, or thick and eaten with your hands. In Italy it goes into warm focaccia with stracciatella and nothing else. In your kitchen, same rules apply.

📍 Available at Adriatic

In almost every Italian town, there is a salumeria. Not a supermarket aisle, not a deli counter in a shopping centre. A ...
16/07/2026

In almost every Italian town, there is a salumeria. Not a supermarket aisle, not a deli counter in a shopping centre. A place with its own smell, its own light, its own logic.

Prosciutto hung from hooks. Salami lined up behind glass. An owner who knows the age of every wheel of cheese and will tell you, unprompted, which one you should take home tonight.

The salumeria is where Italian food culture lives when it isn't at the table. This July, that's where we're spending our time.

Address

Stand 88/89 Newton Street, Meadowvale, Ext 3 Route 24
Germiston
1610

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 17:00
Saturday 08:00 - 12:00

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