PROJECT 72 WINE&DELI

Where the Deli Counter Meets the Wine List

Kosovska Street runs through one of Novi Sad's denser central blocks, the kind of address where bakeries, small provisioners, and neighbourhood cafes have coexisted for decades. It is in this context that the wine-and-deli format makes particular sense. Project 72 Wine & Deli, at number 15, belongs to a category that has been expanding quietly across Serbian cities over the past several years: spaces that function as both retail wine shop and seated eating destination, where the logic of what you drink and what you eat is determined by where things come from rather than by conventional menu architecture.

The format itself carries editorial weight. In cities like Belgrade, a similar model appears at Langouste, where the sourcing provenance of seafood and wine drives the offering. In Novi Sad, the deli-wine hybrid is still a relatively compact niche. For context on the broader dining range in the city, see our full Novi Sad restaurants guide.

The Sourcing Logic Behind a Wine and Deli Format

The wine-and-deli model, wherever it appears, rests on a particular premise: that the provenance of ingredients and bottles is itself a form of curation. In this format, the deli counter functions as evidence rather than afterthought. Charcuterie, cheese, preserved goods, and accompanying small plates are selected on the same criteria as the wine list, regional identity, producer traceability, and the argument that where something comes from shapes how it tastes alongside everything else on the counter.

Serbia sits in an interesting position for this kind of sourcing story. The country's wine regions, particularly Fruška Gora just west of Novi Sad, have been developing a more refined identity over the past decade, with producers increasingly working with indigenous varieties like Tamjanika and Prokupac alongside international plantings. A wine-and-deli format in Novi Sad has natural access to this regional supply chain, and the format rewards venues that make that connection explicit on the shelf and on the plate.

The deli side of the equation draws on a comparable regional tradition. Vojvodina, the autonomous province in which Novi Sad sits, has a long history of cured meat and dairy production shaped by its Central European and Balkan crosscurrents. A well-sourced deli counter in this city has material to work with that a comparable venue in a Western European capital might struggle to match at the same price point, provided the selection is disciplined and the provenance is actually tracked rather than implied.

How This Sits in Novi Sad's Current Eating Scene

Novi Sad's restaurant scene has been broadening its range noticeably since the city held European Capital of Culture status in 2022. The effect on hospitality has been layered: more format experimentation, more venues oriented toward visitors with international reference points, and a gradual shift in what locals expect from a mid-range eating and drinking experience. The wine-and-deli model lands in that shift precisely because it is format-fluid, it works for a quick glass and a board of provisions, for a longer seated dinner, or for taking bottles home.

Among venues in central Novi Sad, Project 72 occupies a different register from full-service restaurants in the area. CUBO and Ananda operate in a more structured dining format, while Caffe Pizzeria Big Blue anchors the casual end. Comida Sanchez brings a different geographic sourcing reference altogether. FISH&ZELENIŠ pulls toward a seasonal-produce approach that overlaps with the sourcing logic of the deli format without the retail wine dimension.

The deli-wine hybrid sits between these poles. It does not require the commitment of a reservation-led dinner, and it does not default to the beer-and-pizza model that still dominates casual eating in much of the city. What it offers instead is a considered selection of things to drink and things to eat, with the sourcing provenance doing the editorial work that a conventional menu hierarchy would otherwise provide.

The Wider Serbian Context

It is useful to position Project 72 against what is happening in the broader Serbian food and wine culture. Venues oriented around local and regional sourcing are appearing across the country, from ETNO PODRUM BRKA in Nis and Etno Kuća Dinar in Vrsac to Etno Restoran Fijaker in Sombor and ETNO KOMPLEKS NIŠAVSKA DOLINA in Pirot, all of which foreground regional produce as the central argument. The difference at a wine-and-deli format is that the retail element is integral: the sourcing claim is testable because you can buy the bottle or the product and take it home, not only consume it at the table.

This retail-hospitality hybrid is a more European reference point than a Balkan one, it echoes the wine bar and épicerie formats of Paris or the enoteca-with-kitchen model that runs through northern Italy. That the format is finding its footing in Vojvodina, a region shaped partly by Austro-Hungarian administrative and culinary history, is not incidental. The cultural geography of this part of Serbia has always been oriented as much toward Central Europe as toward the south, and a wine-and-deli format carries that orientation naturally.

For comparison with venues elsewhere in Serbia that take a more celebratory approach to local produce, ČARDA ZLATNA KRUNA in Apatin, Borkovac in Ruma, Gallery Caffe & Restaurant in Cacak, and Aleksandar Gold in Uzice each show how regional sourcing gets expressed differently depending on format and geography.

Planning Your Visit

Project 72 Wine & Deli is located at Kosovska 15 in central Novi Sad, within walking distance of the main pedestrian zone. The wine-and-deli format is well-suited to an early evening visit, the combination of retail browsing and seated consumption means it works at a pace that most formal restaurants cannot accommodate. It is open daily from 12 to 11 PM, and reservations are recommended. Fish & Zeleniš is a useful cross-reference for another Novi Sad venue where the sourcing argument is central to the visit.