McAlister’s Deli

Sooooo slow. Total chaos in the restaurant. Don’t expect a quick lunch… Budget a lot of time. I’ve been waiting now for over 30 minutes for a little sandwich to go. I won’t be back.

Had great sandwiches while traveling through Indianapolis and the southern states and was really excited Mcalister’s came here. Love the teas and the Newyorker sandwich but have to share it with someone because it’s so big. Very friendly staff.

Located near Wendy’s on S Winton Rd. Wish this location had a drive thru as I really enjoy their Teas but it would be unlikely I would stop and go in just for this. Came in recently for lunch and had their Banh Mi style pork sandwich which was average. Not much flavor on the pork and the pickled veggies weren’t that flavorful either. The pickled jalapenos were nice and added a needed spice. The bread was the best part — fresh, soft and perfect for the sandwich. My husband had the New Yorker Sandwich which was toasted with pastrami and quite filling. They have a toppings bar area with pickle spears, peppers and numerous hot sauces which I love. I thought the prices were decent.
The pasta salad was below average — the pasta was undercooked and there was really minimal Italian seasoning or dressing — I wouldn’t recommend it. The mac & cheese was pretty good, creamy but the pasta was in this case mushy and overcooked but overall not bad at all.
The sweet and unsweetened tea here is wonderful and they offer free refills. They also have Green Tea but I haven’t tried it yet. If you stop at the Jefferson Rd Tops they currently (⁵⁄₂₀₁₆) have a coupon on the back of the receipt for a free 32oz Sweet Tea — Use it!
On a side note when you walk into their restroom you are greeted with a wonderful aroma of cinnamon rolls! The aroma was so wonderful my husband went up to the counter to see if they sold cinnamon rolls and they don’t — odd. The restaurant is very clean as well as those aromatic bathrooms.

This place reminds me of the Corner Bakery, only without the quality food. I got dizzy looking at the menu, as there were too many options for my little brain to absorb. I finally settled on one of the seven salad choices; the «Italian». This consisted of some bagged greens and sliced up Italian cold cuts and cheese. The Lite Italian dressing was boring and had an unpleasant aftertaste. It tasted like it came from a bottle, and I think I can still taste the preservatives although it’s been over an hour since I ate it. The décor is attractive and there are complementary pickles, so that is a plus. My companion had the turkey Reuben, and he seemed to like it. I think there are better choices in our community for this type of restaurant. If you’re in the neighborhood and want a quick lunch, but nothing too exciting, this is your place.

McAlister’s offers so many different kinds of sandwich choices. I love the variety although it always took me 5 mins to decide what I wanted. Its healthy food choices remind me of Panera but definitely different styles of food.
***Updated: As their business grows, the wait time continues to rise especially around lunch time. It could take up to 20mins or more. I hope they can figure out some ways to change that such as mobile order, speed kiosk line like Panera, or online order. I guess I’ll continue to support their business even it is not convenient sometimes.

Sunday night around 7:15 stop in and just not very good and enjoyable at all. 10 people in this place and I’m waiting forever for a simple sandwich. The bread on the Italian was hard and very chewy I think I lost a tooth somewhere here!!! Just kidding kinda done with this place so time to move on to something else!

Fresh food! Tasty salads and sandwich– their loaded potato was great. Better than Panera

My wife and I each got hot sandwiches and they were terrible. They were worse than Subway. The meat was dry and almost tasteless and the bread was extremely chewy and hard to eat. The mac and cheese was bland and the mashed potatoes were definitely made from potato flakes. I have heard their loaded potatoes are good but their sandwiches were sub-​par, especially for the price.

My daughter and I tried out McAllister’s for a casual dinner on a Friday night. First of, no line at the counter and friendly staff. They had to manage on only one working register because of computer problems.
The place is large, quiet, and clean.
I had the spicy southwestern chicken sandwich and a cup of chicken dumpling soup. My daughter had the Chicken Cranberry Club. The food was well prepared a day tasty. Portions were good but not overboard. All in all a good experience.

First time customer. Just had lunch at this location. Chili was very good. NY sandwich was filled with a ton of meat. Very delish. Service was amazing. Managers were friendly and right up front. Very clean restaurant. Will definitely go back!

This is our second visit and we love this place. We have tried spud, sandwiches, soups and everything was tasty, we liked it. The spuds are big, but only complain is that if you want to add sour cream you have to pay more. I have been raised believing spuds come with sour cream by default. We loved their coffee. Service was good. Will visit again.

Stopped with a friend tonight to grab a bite, the restaurant is new to me. You place your order and they bring it to your table, service was fast and the food was delicious. Price was right as well, seemed fair for what we paid, will go back and try something else. It’s seems a lot like Panera, but they bring you your sand which instead a paging you to the counter like Panera.

This is my favourite place to eat right now! The menu is extensive and delicious, the staff? I mean southern hospitality in Rochester? Yes please!!! Tonight because it was my birthday, Trey? (I hope I spelled her name right) she took it upon her self to have the manager bring me a slice of cheesecake or chocolate cake, and ended up leaving both, we’ve been there so many times already, and will keep returning!!! Love the baked potato, soups salads sandwiches, and I don’t have to clean up my plates or get my food!!! Love love love!!!

This is my second visit to the establishment. The first time the computers were down and they sent us away. This time they were open and in full swing! I waiting on a long line for about 10 mins. Ordered the choose 2. Asked if I could do the nachos and soup. Was told «yes». Told the cashier the nachos looked soo good and I was excited for all that «stuff» (referring to the toppings). Made sure to ask if it came with sour cream and guac like the photo. He said no, but he could add it. Thought that was weird since the photo had those items dolloped on it.
My receipt didn’t show the sour cream and i mentioned that to the guy who took my order. He said, «that’s ok, I will just grab you one when your food comes out. » Food arrived at my table and the nachos were plain with a cup of cheese and jalapenos on the side. My guac was on the side too, but the sour cream was missing. The team member who dropped off my food was kind enough to grab me one. Overall these nachos were a huge disappointment. I would never waste $ 7.29 again on those again.
The Cheddar broccoli soup was good. Reminiscent of Panera Bread! I looked at their cookies. Sadly, they did not look appealing, at all. The whole idea of this place is also similar to that of Panera as well. Overall, I’d choose Panera any day!

I’m not quite sure about this new addition to the Rochester food landscape… McAlister’s presents a mixed bag of food options. I haven’t tried their baked potatoes yet, just soup & salad. I’d place them in between Panera and Corner Bakery… but with Fox’s Deli just around the corner they’ll only get my business after 3 PM

I did TO GO so… ok it was after the lunch rush. After 2pm. I walked in, it’s a big place, warm and inviting. It’s tidy, color scheme is soothing. This is a chain deli it’s not Katz in NYC, Canter’s in LA or the Bagel in suburban Chicago. That said let’s move on… The menu is LARGE, you can find something for everyone. I got the McAllister’s Club typical club sandwich it’s HUGE you also get a choice of side I think that’s great no paying extra and I got the famous sweet tea with lemon. Ok with my side for the sandwich I got Potato Salad it was ok at best, only issue was no fork with my to go order I noticed it when I got home? No matter. The sandwich was large and pretty tasty I only ate half they also give you a pickle and the way they separated it was great no soggy bread. They have enough people to take your order but it seemed a little jumbled? One person was paying someone was waiting for a to go order than me. I asked for it to «to go» people who work there are pleasant, the space is pleasant but I have to make another visit and try something else. It’s pretty good, huge portions and if you leave here hungry your silly. That’s all I got for now.

As far as I’m concerned eat here at your own risk. I feel like it’s the McDonalds of deli/​café restaurants. I had the chicken salad croissant. The chicken is what I call «tuna» chicken, aka canned chicken. Luckily it didn’t taste like tuna. The quality of ingredients is lacking. I grabbed a cookie and then made the mistake of reading the ingredients. It contains a preservative that is derived from butane… no thanks. My coworker and her daughter grabbed salads here. The daughter’s had a hair in it which could be overlooked. Then her mother found a piece of scrub sponge in hers. Just when I thought I might try their salads. Drive a couple more minutes to corner bakery café or panera. I’ll stick to these cafes.

Honestly, this place is five stars at what it does. It’s not a five-​star restaurant for sure, but this place serves Panera-​like deli food a heck of a lot better than Panera does. A huge menu with salads, soups, sandwiches (hot and cold), pastas, and baked potato creations all very reasonably priced (my better half and I got in and out for less than $ 16). The food was well made and pretty tasty, but where this place really shines is service. Got a salad that we didn’t realize had bleu cheese on it and we don’t like bleu cheese — they gladly just made another one (quite quickly I might add) without bleu cheese. Everyone was very pleasant and just nice to be around as well. A real slice of Southern life (the chain is from Oxford, MS and ubiquitous in the southern US) up in Rochester!

Amazing deli food with generous portions. Great options for a Kid’s menu. They even have nice honeycomb (prevents them from rolling off the table) crayons for the kids the draw with, not those cheap wax crayons you find at other chain restaurants.

Nice place
The quality of the food is very good
Not a real old fashion deli but I think it will do well ., I love the brewed ice tea
(they sell it by the gallon !!!)