Boar’s Nest Deli

Have been here a few times due to its proximity to where I work. They have a diverse menu yet seem extremely short staffed. If it gets at all crowded (crowded being more than one party), then it will take roughly 15 minutes to get your sandwich. The sandwiches are solid… my go to there is anything with corned beef.

Don’t bother ordering from them if you’re not near Chinatown, because they use bicycle delivery (and don’t bother to mention that) so your food will be late and cold. And they make no apologies for their less-​than-​stellar service. The Spinach Pie was cold and greasy, the Pita Pizza might have been good if it’d arrived on time, and the food was an hour late. Save your money, you’d have better luck at Dunkin Donuts.

The service was great on a Saturday afternoon. Mysteriously, the door was open despite it being cold, but I was still happy to sit and eat my sandwich. The meatball sub was OK, but needed more meat. The Boars Nest Club Sandwich was excellent!
I would recommend this spot for a quick weekday lunch. Make sure to get a sandwich with deli meat. You can’t beat Boar’s Head meats.

I ordered online, which worked out fine.
I tried the vegetarian panini ($ 5), and I thought it was just okay. The portion size was a little below average, there was only one basil leaf in the sandwich, and the taste of the sundried tomatoes kind of dominated the whole sandwich. I’d totally pay $ 2 more for a really great veggie panini and Boston Kitchen Pizza, which is just a block away.
I also tried the «green thumb wrap» ($ 7). I didn’t taste that much hummus; whatever dressing they put in the wrap, it totally took over. All I tasted was complete bitterness in my mouth. It was borderline rancid.
I really want to write them a good review, but their vegetarian options are lacking… The employees are EXTREMELY nice. They’re easily the nicest restaurant/​food establishment that I’ve encountered in Boston.

Good variety of sandwiches, but the store-​bought bread is just lousy — tough and overly chewy. You literally have to bite down and tear at each bite.
It also got rather annoying having the cashier incorrectly charge my small sub as a large on several occasions. It’s not that difficult to ask what I ordered now is it?

I remember how excited I was when I first learned that the Boars Nest Deli would be occupying the space that was vacated by the 75 Café on Kneeland Street in Chinatown. I had no love loss for the 75 Café. Sure, the food was fine and affordable, but I refused to give this restaurant my business because the owner treated his staff terribly. Every time I visited this place, I witnessed the most abhorred conduct by one human to another, and I became ashamed of myself for not reaching across the counter and popping that jerk.
The Boars Nest Deli couldn’t have been a sharper contrast to the previous den of despair. Designed to resemble a 50’s diner, it was bright and cheery compared to 75’s dungeon-​like décor. In addition, their menu consisted of more than two dozen sandwiches and wraps with a wide variety of quality ingredients. In time, I sampled nearly all of them, but my favorites to this day are the New York Central (corn beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on rye), The Mumbles Menino (chicken salad, hot peppers, onion, lettuce, tomato, and Russian dressing on a sub roll), The Brusci (cracked pepper turkey, muenster cheese, roasted red peppers, and spicy deli mustard on a sub roll), and The Greek Tycoon (grilled steak tips, cucumbers, feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers, Greek olives, oregano, and special dressing in your choice of tortilla wrap). Though I’ve never seen anyone order it, there’s a joke sandwich on the menu. The A-​Rod is full of bologna, plain yellow mustard, and bland American cheese. Yep, that sounds about right. It’s like we used to say back on the farm… you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig… unless its purple lipstick, then it’s an A-​Rod.
Along with the cold deli sandwiches, there are a variety of hot deli subs, such as meatball, Italian sausage, chicken cutlet, and eggplant or chicken parmesan. Finally, there are salads (for the health conscious consumer) and hot daily lunch specials. Early risers will be happy to know that the Boars Nest is open for breakfast, and serves a range of omelets and breakfast sandwiches. Other than the variety of menu items and the quality of the ingredients, what helped to differentiate the Boars Nest Deli from the 75 Café was the owner. Billy was a salt-​of-​the-​earth type who truly valued his employees and customers. Unfortunately, Billy sold the restaurant in December 2009, and while the menu hasn’t changed and the new ownership is equally as nice, the prices have increased just enough to make this restaurant a bit too expensive, in my opinion. A sandwich, salad, or lunch entrée with a can of soda often exceeds $ 10, which is difficult for me to justify spending on a daily basis. Therefore, based on value alone, I cannot give the Boars Nest Deli better than three stars.

Thank goodness for this place. For the same price as Au Bön Pain, you get a bigger, better-​quality sandwich and super friendly service.
My fave is the steak tip salad but I’ve never been disappointed with their sandwiches or wraps. They’re pretty generous with the meat, which is really all you can ask from a deli. Plus, they take pride in their work. I once asked for a sandwich (I forget which one) and the guy asked if I wanted everything on it, to which I offered my knee-​jerk response of «NO MAYO!» He shook his head and responded, «I would never put mayo on this sandwich.» Ahh, sir, you have made me a lifelong customer.

I was in the neighborhood a few weeks ago and was in search of breakfast and I was not interested in a Chinese-​style breakfast. I walk down Kneeland and I approach this building. It is in the midst of construction and the only thing thriving on the first floor is this deli. The place is empty except for 2 guys sitting in a booth having breakfast. It is eerily quiet, and I am shocked to find myself actually missing the NYC breakfast bustle. The place looks ancient. The booths and memorabilia on the wall look like they have been there for like 50 years. I was getting worried and was ready to bolt, but then the guy behind the counter asked what I would like. OK, I played it safe. A small coffee, and a bagel with butter. Both items were fine. No complaints. The place also kept me out of the cold for a bit and they didn’t cared that I lingered in the booth for awhile. And, the guy was also very nice. So 3 stars ;-)