Eppy’s Deli

I used to go here a lot because I work around the corner, but I have been traveling a good amount more. I’ve been gone for a couple months and came home to see that they have closed. Seriously a bummer! There are many far worse places still open, so it’s definitely surprising.

This is my favorite deli in Chicago. I used to live real close by and would eat there once a week.
Pastrami on marble rye with swiss cheese and hot mustard toasted up. Makes me hungry just thinking about.
Service is great and the owners are always around to make you feel welcome.
I give them 4 stars and not 5 because the sides need some work. They’re pretty bland.

It’s hard to disagree with the other reviews:
Yes, they mess up my buddy’s order probably 50% of the time.
Yes, wait time is very inconsistent… sometimes they’re quick, other times seem to take forever to make a sandwich
Yes, the owner is a bit odd and almost prides himself on being abrasive (he has often said of his own restaurant «the service is s&%it, but the food is good»)
Yes, the «you pay after you eat» policy is bizarre.
Yes, the temperature soup pricing strategy seems illogical (wouldn’t 1 — temperature soup make more sense? Why would you lower your price as demand increases?)
…so, why do we keep coming back here? Because they make great sandwiches, and $ 8.50 for a meaty sandwich + drink + sides is a really good deal!

Instantly fell in love with this place. A big sandwich with 2 good sides and a drink for $ 9. The owners are extremely friendly and nice, the food is excellent and a value you can’t beat in the city for this type of food.
Zero complaints about this place and I’ll surely be back.

The owner Larry is a nice guy. I like to refer to him as Larry Legend of the deli world. Anyway, I haven’t eaten here in a while, but in the six previous times I have enjoyed it. The quality of food has been consistent. The portions huge and the sides tasty. Good value for the money.

My favorite place for a perfect sandwich. The owners are very kind and the staff is always welcoming.

Killer deli! Great sandwich combos and great deal on soups. The price is dependent on the temperature. The guy workin here is a trip. He called out our sandwich and he said you should just say «over here a$$hole.»

My coworker and I were looking for a Jewish deli in the loop and decided to go to Eppy’s. We were greeted right when we came in by the friendly owner. My coworker ordered a bowl of matzo ball soup and it cost her $ 5. The matzo ball bent her plastic spoon and she said it was awful.
I requested a salmon salad and they didn’t have any salmon. Very disappointing. I ended up getting a grilled cheese. They didn’t have any challah bread or sourdough, so they put it on Texas Toast. Texas Toast at a Jewish deli? My sandwich included two sides and a drink, but I still don’t think it was worth $ 9.
We won’t be back here.

Let’s get this out of the way first. This place is no Perry’s, and suffers from such close proximity. But, definitely a step above a chain like Jason’s Deli, or most deli’s you would be able to find in the burbs’. If it was located further away from the cathedral of corn beef next door, it wouldn’t be getting these harsh reviews.
Overall: a true ³⁄₅ but added a superfluous star to help their average
I finally made me way here since the line at Perry’s was out the door and the line to Eppy’s was non-​existent. I had been meaning to come in since the prices were definitely better and the wait at Perry’s sometimes outweighs the deliciousness and experience, but had been turned away by many bad Unilocal reviews. The service was quick and prompt, and I ended up getting a pastrami on marble rye with coleslaw, tater’ salad, and a diet Dr Pepper for my drink. The sandwich, drink, and 2 sides came to 8.95 pretax, and I got a matzo ball soup for an extra 70 cents using their unique soup costs as much as the temp outside (I wonder how that works for subzero weather, if the soup is free or if they pay you to eat the soup, though i am sure a dime or penny is the floor to that idea).
All in all, a delicious meal at a reasonable price. Unlike at Perry’s, I was free to take my call from my dad inside (though I normally follow the Perry policy, you don’t want to dash from your meal if you get an unexpected call like i did today).
Some downsides:
–I like paying up front and not having to wait for the sandwich to be delivered, the lady went customer to customer until she finally saw me waving at here-​and there weren’t that many customers here
–Cheese was an extra charge, would’ve been nice to know that ahead of time. Couldn’t really taste it so I would’ve liked my 95 cents back.
–The tater’ salad and coleslaw were subpar, I liked getting 2 sides, but would’ve preferred 1 solid side from Perry’s
At the end of the day, thanks to the cheese charge, I was really only saving time coming here, and would say that if line wasn’t a factor, I would always choose Perry’s first, but, it’s nice to know this is here. Definitely might hit it up in the winter months when the soup will really be a deal!

Pros:
— The owner is really friendly and makes you feel welcome
— The ambiance is nice
Cons:
— Employees preparing the food act like they’d prefer to be doing anything other than making sandwiches
— The sandwiches are decent, much better (flavor, portion, creativity) can be found next door at Perry’s

Good, but make sure they put a lot of meat on your sandwich. I paid $ 8.50 yesterday for a sandwich with two slices of meat. My fault, I was so hungry I didn’t notice until I was almost done. In the past, all the sandwiches had lots of meat.
Be mindful Chicago! Stay safe, stay meaty.

I didn’t like the food

I always walked past this place without a second thought until today. It’s far too close to my office to ignore!
I dropped by for lunch with a few coworkers on a Friday afternoon. The place was pretty empty for 12:00 lunch time and we were all pleasantly surprised at the amount of food we were getting.
If anything, it’s a unique place to experience. You walk in, they take your order. You choose your sides and sit down (without paying until after you’re done eating!). You grab your own soft drinks and wait until they give you your sandwich. I know people complained about the slow service, but with the price of the sandwich including two sides, and the temperature soup, it’s a pretty fulfilling meal even before you get your sandwich! The sandwich was pretty much standard deli fare, nothing special.
But the people working there were so kind and very nice, we would definitely go back!

Went with a friend yesterday, she’s pescatarian and Jewish, and literally the first five dishes she ordered here were unavailable. Lox, and whitefish salad are the two that come to mind, but she was so thoroughly irritated, she ended up getting the final remaining item on their menu that she didn’t particularly want. I felt bad as I had already ordered.
The food is decent, the service friendly and very direct, but honestly the older woman at the counter was down right rude when my friend mentioned her dismay at the menu. The woman blurted back that since they weren’t popular items, you can only get them on Thursdays (if even then). As my friend rightly pointed out, why the hell do you have them on your menu then? If you really want to keep them there, denote it as such. The woman was unapologetic and didn’t seem to care.
Overall, a highly disappointing Jewish deli. Not that there are many good ones in the loop, but I’d avoid this place if you’re looking for something legit.

I don’t get the poor reviews, but perhaps it’s a matter of taste or timing. This is one of my favorite spots in the city. I found it by accident a few years ago. I had planned to go to Taza on a date, but it was closed. This place looked friendly so we took a chance.
The Reuben was the best I had ever eaten. The couple who own it were charming and good-​humored. The price of the soup is whatever the temperature is that day.
I have since returned several times and it has been excellent every time, and everything we have ordered has been delicious.

First things first, my Reuben was AWESOME. Simply superb. I get a reuben at just about every deli I go to and after a few bad ones recently this was unbelievably tasty. The meat was perfect, and very thinly cut. There was a good amount of thousand island but not an overwhelming amount. The sauekraut was good as well and the bread was good bread. I would absolutely get the reuben again and highly recommend it.
But the rest of the meal was entirely forgettable. The tomato basil soup was simply not good. I don’t know if they added some cheese or what, but it was thicker than expected and despite two basil leaves, there really wasn’t a good basil flavor to it. Don’t get the tomato basil soup. I also had the mac and cheese as my side. It was thoroughly mediocre and had clearly been sitting out for a while. No real creamy cheese or any unique flavor so I’d have to say avoid that too.
It’s also kinda odd that you place your order, sit down, wait for your sandwich and then pay after eating. Just strange, but not important. Meals right about $ 10 depending on sandwich/​side
Bottom line: Superb sandwich, terrible sides.

I stopped here to grab a sandwich when Perry’s was closed (got there at 345). They were understandably slow (who eats lunch at. 345?). The owner (manager?) guy was really nice, but the food was eh. Large sandwiches which I appreciated, but the meat was meh, but most importantly, NO BACON.
The Sammy comes with a drink and two sides which is nice, but I only drink water so it wasn’t relevant to me.

Forewarning: This review will read negative. Let me preface this by saying that Eppy’s is not bad. The sandwich meat is hit or miss, with some great pastrami. The reason this review will read worse than the restaurant really is, is because of the surrounding environment. It is important to take into consideration that there is another deli two doors down that blows Eppy’s out of the water.
Let’s start from the beginning. When you first walk into Eppy’s, you see a lot of chalk. I like chalk. Chalk means specials, and specials make me, and my wallet, happy. The first chalk scribed special I noticed was a «temp soup.» This was a fantastic idea. The temperature outside is what you pay, in cents, for a bowl of soup. The colder it is, the cheaper the soup. «Yes please,» I joyfully shouted… in my mind. The soup of the day at the time was Chicken Chili. Sounded awesome.
As the line moved along (slowly), I placed my order: «A pastrami on rye with light Russian, a side of cole slaw, a side of potato salad, and a side of Chicken Chili. My total was just over $ 9.00, not bad in my book (note that you pay after you eat).
As I seated myself, I first tried the soup… er, uh, chili. What was pronounced chili, was more reminiscent of a bowl of minestrone soup. Not a single ounce of chicken, nor beef. Not even a single kidney bean. Nope, nothing but tomato sauce, tomatoes, and white beans. Even for minestrone, it was barely edible.
I took a bite of the sandwich and most of the wrongs were righted. The slice of pastrami had tenderness, flavor, and several more of his friends nestled cozily on a soft bed of rye bread with light Russian dressing. Take note kids, this was the one saving grace for Eppy’s.
Let’s move on to the last piece of the meal, the sides. The potato salad was not bad, but not any better than the kind you pick up at the grocery store, in fact, that’s probably where it came from. The cole slaw was pretty good. It had a subtle hint of pineapple, which went well.
Now, there’s one more piece of this review left to cover, and it doesn’t even really relate to Eppy’s. Eppy’s Deli is located on Franklin St. Just north of Eppy’s is another deli called Perry’s Deli. If after reading this review you have even the slightest instinct of stopping by Eppy’s let me do you a favor (I should really charge for this). Walk just 100 feet north, and bask in the glory that is Perry’s.
You can thank me later.

I met some friends here for lunch during work one day at their suggestion. I got there first and was waiting by the menu checking it out. The owner (I am assuming) gave me the run down on how things worked (well, sorta, he left a few important things out). I thought he was really nice, not sure what people are talking about. I guess I caught him on a good day!
The soup thing is funny, the temp of the air is the price of soup with a sammy. The only thing is, the sammy also comes with 2 sides and that is a lot for this dame to eat for lunch! I made it through the gauntlet of ordering and sat down to get my sammich delivered. I didn’t know you can just grab your own drink. It is a little confusing because you pay after. I always wonder how many people forget to pay. Anyway, the food was good! It is a quirky little place which kinda makes me like it more. I thought the book exchange was funny too, and it is all romance novels, haha.
I would definitely go back and this time I would be more of a pro! Plus they have free Dum Dums, like at the bank!

First thing you need to know-Eppy’s crazy. You never know what he’s going to say because he has no filter. Things to know-​You pay after you eat, if you’re getting a warm sandwich sit down and they’ll bring it to you, don’t stand in the doorway while you’re deciding what you want to eat because it will look busy and people won’t come in, don’t take a tray if you’re getting it to go, don’t sit at the big table unless you have a big group and you can wrap your leftover sandwich in foil because he doesn’t make $ 300,000 a year which I guess is the magical point that will allow him to provide boxes for leftovers. If you’re sensitive, you’ll probably want to go somewhere else because sooner or later he’ll upset you.
Second thing you need to know is that you’ll get a good sandwich at a good price that includes a drink plus 2 cold sides or 1 warm side. Cold sides include macaroni and potato salads, chips and my favorite the fresh fruit cup. Warm sides include mac & cheese and mashed potatoes and gravy. All of this comes for $ 6-​$ 8. You may get a bigger sandwich at Perry’s but it will cost you $ 8 or $ 9 and will only include your sandwich. They also have the temperature soup which is priced at that morning’s temperature. Unlike the ripoff at RJ Grunts where the price can’t go below zero, Eppy’s will pay you to eat their soup if it’s below zero. My Catholic southside friend had his first taste of matzo ball soup here and now gets that when he eats here. I usually get the corned beef sandwich but recently tried the meatloaf sandwich which was also tasty.
Eppy can be actually kinda pleasant (sometimes) if you get to know him. Stop in for the experience.