Lino’s Market

When it comes to Fantastic Italian Deli Food … I have just one word that comes to mind! mangiare! mangiare!

They are rude and put out to serve those who come in. My wife and I came in on a Saturday afternoon. They weren’t too busy at all. We asked a man behind the counter about some of the peppers. He said he was on lunch so another old man jumped in and started complaining that he hadn’t had a break in 8 hours. He was not happy to help us. People shouldn’t shop here until they learn how to treat their customers.

Consistently very good from their meat case, to their deli, and small grocery selection. So much packed into a small setting. You’ll be surprised to see what I mean if you haven’t been in Lino’s.
Lino himself is a friendly guy, who will be working as hard as everyone else, and you might not notice him as the owner.
The freshness of their meats is amazing. Their deli is as close to Little Italy in NYC or Boston as you’d expect in Durham, CT. If your lucky you might find fresh bread for the Bronx.
Their prepared meals and catering will rock your senses, trust me, it’s great.

Love Lino’s for salads, wraps and sandwiches! The imported Italian goods are amazing as well.
One of my top 3 places to eat in Durham for lunch!

Great sandwiches, friendly staff, awesome prepared meals but be prepared to wait for the awesomeness.

I drive by Lino’s at least once a week, but have never gone inside.
A couple of days ago, my husband brought me home an Italian combo from Lino’s. It was amazing! The cold cuts were delicious, the veggies and toppings were all plentiful and fresh. It had the perfect amount of oil and vinegar/​salt and pepper. The price was just $ 8! It was absolutely enormous (I had a quarter and I was full), and the perfect size to share with a friend. The bread was just enough (not too much).
I am very excited to go back myself and see their selection of Italian delicacies for myself.

Italian combo was a home run. Fresh bread, great Italian meats, fresh provolone and terrific oil and vinegar dressing. Outstanding!

I have been patronizing Lino’s since it opened. Their selection is exceptional; great quality on meats and deli. I have used their catering services many times. It was always great. I am surprised that some reviews talk about poor service. That has definately not been my experience. Lino treats his customers like family. I have called Lino for his advice when one of my purchases is not turning out well. He gives advice and the outcome is always perfect. When my daughter was a baby Lino’s Mom would carry her while I shopped. When I was undergoing cancer treatment Lino always asked how I was doing. He offered to deliver anything I needed. i am one of lino’s loyal customer’s and will continue to be.

Love this place… my go to for all Italian specialties!

Absolutely excellent deli. Sandwiches are great and the staff is knowledgeable and the prices can be great if you hit a sale. Land O Lakes American cheese is ALWAYS
on sale! The service can be slow but they are really busy and good stuff takes time for pete’s sake. As for the stuff left out, I am betting this was said by a typical «purell carrying germophobe» I grew up in a family that thawed meat out on the counter and I didn’t get sick or die either! Also took a drink off the garden hose when we were kids and lived to tell about it! LOL. Go to Lino’s and enjoy! Mangia!

Lino’s is all about service, family values, and deli delights. Sandwiches made to exact order with a smile and at low prices. Soups, made to order take always, and groceries of fresh high quality. Go today!

Love Lino’s! Best Italian deli around. Friendly staff and everything is always fresh. I just wish they had their stuffed artichokes everday.
They are wonderful for catering, too.

By far, the best deli in the area. Sandwiches, grinders, wraps are the nonpareil.

I loove Lino’s as do so many other people. This place is always packed on the weekends. They have a deli. They have meats (steaks, fish). They have lots of delicious little goodies that you won’t find at any of the main grocery stores around. My favorite example is Kinder chocolate. Kinder chocolate is to Europe as Cadbury is to us, but better! My co-​workers have brought their different candies and bars to the lab after trips to conferences and their homes. It is a rare and delicious treat to find it here in the states. I was overjoyed to see Kinder Bueno bars at Lino’s. I now have my boyfriend hooked on them. They have so many other interesting things in the store too though that I have never seen and cannot wait to try.
The people are usually crowded in there waiting in line for the deli. I usually grab a coffee and walk around to pick out something fun to buy while my boyfriend waits in line to place our orders. They have a great selection of meats and cheeses. Our favorite things to get are their smoked gouda and a stick of sausage/​dried meat, which are always winners for guests as appetizers with wine. They also make some of the best sandwiches: breakfast sandwiches, hot and cold subs/​grinders, philly cheese steaks. You will find something in there that you like. They also do gigantic party sandwiches. I saw one go out while I was there last time. I swear this was the biggest sandwich I had ever seen. It dwarfed the ones you get out of Blimpie or Subway etc. It was amazing.
The people here are always extremely nice and the wait is totally worth it. Lino’s is a little gem and definitely worth exploring.

Lino’s is my favorite place to go for lunch, so I’m glad it’s only about 5 minutes away from work. Their standard deli sandwiches are fine, but their specials are what I go for. Store-​made roasted meat on full Italian loaves for very reasonable prices and that taste oh so good. And it really makes a difference to see a real Italian grandmother cooking away in the back too. The meatballs are great and massive too. The grocery side can be a bit pricey for staples, but does have a lot of Italian brands that just aren’t normally sold in the US.
My only complaint would be that the wait can be glacial. It seems like large call-​in orders often get priority over customers standing right there, so you can be the only person waiting and it will still take 5 – 10 minutes to get to you. And if there is a big line, good luck. Everyone working does seem very busy, but it’s a bit aggravating when you just want a quick sandwich.
(And for those previous complaints about open air food being left out — which I always found charming — they now have glass cases for all that.)

I got a roast pork (I think) grinder there last week. (As a commenter below said, it was in a pan out in front of everyone. I didn’t have a particular problem with this. I thought it was a neat, old school way of doing things.) It was probably the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten.
The place was jumping but service was still attentive and friendly.

I saw the sign that mentioned Grinders… and that’s what enticed me to pull in and check this place out.
It’s a very cramped and very busy market. There are throngs of people waiting around the deli. So I thought this looked promising.
I order a meatball grinder with mozzarella and roasted red peppers. And while it was being toasted, I took a look around. They sell all sorts if breads brought from local bakeries, there’s a bakery case full of delicious looking pastries, there are pre-​made dinners waiting for you to take them home and heat them up, and there is Moxie! It’s not easy to finds Moxie soda around and I snagged one for myself.
As for my grinder, it was delicious! The bread was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The meatballs were very flavorful and not too bready. And the sauce was finger-​licking good.
However, I was a little disturbed about all the sheet pans full of food out in the open. There was all sorts of stuff balanced on top of the deli case, right there in front of the customers. It wasn’t being chilled nor heated… just sitting there festering with customers able to cough and sneeze all over that. And even with the many employees they had working back there, no one was making an effort to put the food away properly. That being said, hopefully that delicious grinder won’t make me sick.

Went in for coffee and sandwiches … came out «a believer.»
I found some Italian cheeses and meats that were priced below what my local Italian deli charges — and some meats that’re very hard to find (e.g., «copa» — a dry, rosy capicola cousin).
Service can be slow because it’s bustling in here. In a place that’s this busy, they’d need a dozen people behind the counter to keep it moving along. I’d also hazard a guess that the folks whining about service time are also the boors who, when their turn is called, haven’t a clue what they want and then hold up everyone else while they hem and haw about what to get.
Yes, they have some young people there to help them make sandwiches. As soon as I’ve expressed interest in butcher, cheeses or meat by the pound, someone more knowledgeable takes over. There’s an older woman here who’s served me sometimes and she really gets into the whole Italian-​deli bit of handing a morsel of what I want to buy over the counter for a taste.
The hot and sweet store-​made sausages are absolutely wonderful, with a good balance of meat and fat and spices. They perform well in a sauté pan and on the grill. Butcher meats are not the very highest quality but aren’t unreasonably priced. The hamburger is delicious — but you’re not paying what you’d pay in a supermarket, either.
Deli sandwiches are not costly and are packed with meat and cheese. The rolls they use are very, very good. Salads were generous but not inexpensive.
There’s an array of wonderful breads on sale at the check-​out counter.
What’s not to love?
We have gone out of our way to get down here. That says it all.

As a former resident of Durham I have had plenty of experience with Lino’s. Authentic Italian foods and hard to find cold cuts cannot make up for the long lines, atrocious wait times and a parking lot that haunts my nightmares to this day.
Service is deplorable. The employees act as if they don’t need customers and are inconvenienced by their presence. There is no professionalism to be seen since most of the people working the deli counter are high school children. Cleanliness and sanitization seem to be an afterthought.
My last and final experience with Lino’s was a half-​hour wait for a half pound of fried scallops.(some of which were bad). What a joke.

Came here for lunch after ziplining at nearby Empower Sports, nice selection of old school italian grinders and deli salads. I ordered a wrap with turkey, mozz, and all the veggies. Nice size portion, but a little messy to eat. Next time I’d ask them to cut my wrap in half!
The Italian pastries and cannoli looked amazing…