Nardelli’s Grinder Shoppe

I wasn’t going to write a review but given the fact that I can’t hold down a meal the day after eating at Nardellis I feel compelled to warn people.
I had never eaten at any Nardellis before yesterday when I decided to grab lunch for my partner and I. The woman at the front was pleasant and told me about the corned beef special and seemed to understand what a Reuben sandwich was except once I placed the order she literally asked me how a Reuben was made.
That should have clued me in, but I was tired and brushed it off. And then explained to her how to make a Reuben sandwich.
I also bought my partner a peppers and onions grinder which tasted fine, but nothing amazing.
But I had a half of the Reuben sandwich (and other than that I had the same cereal I’ve been eating for a week) and since then I can’t keep down a meal — like just oodles of noodles meal (nothing fancy since I know that stomach cramps after a sandwich are a signal of impending doom).
Tl;dr — only eat here if you want to incessant diarrhea from food poisoning and mediocre food.

Where I come from, (JERSEY) when you eat in a good Italian deli, the food might be pricy but, you will leave there with a sandwich that will fill you up. That’s not the case at this deli.
The food In this place is overpriced. $ 1.19 for a regular sized bag of chips! No shame…
A SMALL cup of soup, just over $ 4.00. REDICULOUS!
I would have to think you can get more bang for your buck at another «mom and pop» deli in the area. I don’t recommend this one.

There were 5 customers in line ahead of me when I arrived yet my time in and out was less than five minutes today. The girl at the counter even apologized for my wait (which there really was no wait) which means she is attentive and caring. Two different people helped me since there was no one in line waiting behind me and a third man asked if there was anything else I needed. I felt very well attended and one of the girls even stopped in the middle of making a sandwich to double check the ingredients I had asked for instead of making a possible mistake. My experience here today was 100% positive and I recommend this venue to anyone who is a fan of Nardelli’s delicious famous sandwiches!

Unilocal made me give the one star! The food is mediocre at best. So much so that I have no idea how he stays in business. Even worse though is how he treats his employees. The Soup Nazi was a nicer person! I don’t know how he keeps people even in this economy. See to me it’s not just the food, it’s the atmosphere, so even if this was the best, I can’t eat inside & listen to this, nor can I go home with that thought in my head. Say something & he’ll tell you it’s none of your business. To me, that sort of thing goes to characer & when someone’s in charge of something I’m going to put into my body… Several things I’ve heard him saying to his people lead me to believe he takes cheapness to a whole new level. To what extent I wonder? Anyway, I must wonder at all the great food reviews as I see it as nothing to write home about, Most of the times I’ve eaten in there was when having a car repair done & there wasn’t much close to choose from. May start having to brown bag it!

Wow, such a good experience. The staff is very welcoming, the food is very good (not the best, but the price is great). The best option for a quick meal in the area.

I don’t understand the fuss. Everything in the display case looked like it was a week old. I asked what «diced veggies» meant and was told a few types of vegetables all marinated. Marinated in what? I shouldn’t have to ask 10 questions to find out what you’re trying to put in my sandwich, the fact that I needed to ask at all should have been enough for me to know better than to try and order there. Then, when I finally got my ‘half’ they may as well have used two slices of Wonder Bread. It was the smallest sandwich I’ve ever paid over $ 6 for. Sort of to their credit, there was a TON of meat on the sandwich, but honestly, if I wanted to get a pound of turkey all sliced up, I’d go to a deli and ask for it, but I went to a GRINDER SHOP because I wanted a GRINDER, not just half a pound of meat slabbed on a joke of a ‘roll’.

The cannoli is the best anywhere! Love the take out salads and grinders. Well worth the stop!

Great spot. You can’t go wrong with any of the sandwiches here. The staff are also super friendly and personable as well. I always feel welcome when I visit and will always go back. Tip well and they’ll ring the bell!

I have been a Nardelli’s fan for years and I am pretty obsessed with the meatball grinders to the point of writing a love letter to them (refer to one of the Waterbury locations for evidence) but this particular Nardelli’s served a meatball grinder that was not to the level that I am used to from the other locations. Skimped on the meatballs AND sauce and what meatballs they did include in the sandwich were lacking in flavor. I know it can be better than this!

Two words: Italian Combo.
I don’t know what it is about this sandwich. It is hands down my all-​time favorite sandwich even beating out Jim’s Steaks and Pat’s King of Steaks. I can’t say anything else about it. You just gotta go try it!

Solid Connecticut Italian deli. Best grinders around. The people talking bad about Nardelli’s wouldn’t know a good Italian combo if they got whacked in the face with it! Only four stars because the prices are high.

If not for the fact that I’d be worried about dying of heart disease before I turned 40, I would eat here everyday, for every meal, and maybe even dessert.
This is a great deli, with quick and friendly service, good prices, a large selection, and one of the best tasting Italian Grinders you could imagine. I love Italian Grinders, I’ve had a whole bunch of ‘em, they will one day clog and kill my heart, and this Deli has fantastic ones.
They also ring a fun bell when you tip them. So tip them and make the bell sing!

Don’t knock it til you try it! Nardelli’s is the ideal shoppe for the perfect grinder. It’s a matter of which Nardelli’s you support. Are you a Middletown Nardelli’s fan? Or for Cromwell Nardelli’s? I had to choose Middletown because my brother is from there and boy did we choose right!
If you are getting a grinder. The concept is simple, you can look in their deli case and see which base looks good. The BBQ bacon & cheddar for example, the bacon and cheddar already slabbed on the bbq chicken, pre-​made, there were about 3 of em left on the tray. You say, «Hey, I want that.» they say «sure» and heat it up, put it in your white bread sub (whole wheat, etc additional cost). DONE.
Might I add, the bread they use is LIFE. Length is a little more than a foot (forget Subway foot longs!) and the width is not wimpy narrow sized but very wide to hold all the goodness inside. Outside is crunchy. Overall good quality bread.
I got the Turkey Club «Our Style» I got the whole grinder for $ 9 cause mind as well since half a sub is $ 6.
You also get the option of panini pressing your grinder. It flattened out my grinder a bit but it kept it warm and still tasted phenomenal!
Brother got the Barbecue, Bacon, and Cheddar. Whole sub as well, c’mon roll with us too! Go all out or go home! He loved it, I tried it and loved it better than mine actually! Rich flavors, you get the most out of the sandwich. This one was popular amongst customers. I looked at the sandwiches in the display upon entering and the BBQ chicken was almost all out compared to the other grinder items.
Both our grinders offered extra fillings at same cost (Mayo, L & T-​I got mine w/​o tomato… yes I am that person… Classic Mix (diced veggies), Hot sauce, olives — I also omitted hawt sawz and alloves because I don’t need that ridiculousness in my life. Glad Nardelli’s offers me the freedom to add whatever I want in my sub.
When can I come bacK? I’m starving just talking about it!

I went to the original Nardelli’s in Waterbury many years ago and I never forgot how good the grinder tasted. As my Brother Kevin Dos Silva from Waterbury told me you haven’t lived until you’ve had a Nardelli grinder. It he Nardelli grinder I had in Middletown was very good. A large selection of sandwiches to choose from and a large selection of salads.

From the rave reviews online, to the constant ranking of best grinder shoppes I was excited when the stars finally aligned for me to stop in for lunch.
I had a terrible interaction with the counter staff. I can go into detail but it’s far to long to make my review helpful. Let’s just say that even telling them it was my first visit, and with a few questions they were less than impressed that I was interrupting their break time (which someone from the kitchen shouted they needed to take.) with a few questions and ordering. At one point I was just going to cancel my order because I just didn’t feel wanted there, but there was a flood of people coming in and I didn’t want to embarrass anyone.
Needless to say, my order was incorrect, which directly had to do with the interaction of the counter staff, but was absolutely delicious. The bread was tasty, and flaky the meats were clearly high quality. I couldn’t finish my half grinder it was so stuffed with Italian combo goodness. We also tried the chicken salad which was your standard deli case salad but totally satisfying.
I’m having a hard time with my ranking, I was disappointed in how I felt like a burden with ordering and a few simple questions about the menu but the food really did over come that. I can’t say I would come back because I don’t want to bother anyone, but if you want to try it I bet you’d like the food.

I visit Middletown about once a week, and have wanted to try Nardelli’s for quite some time. I had heard very good things about the grinders and was happy to finally have a chance to try them today. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with both sandwiches I ordered, in both the components and the preparation.
First, there was the whole Roast Beef grinder. The menu advertised Roast Beef «Prime Choice». Sounded great. I got mine with mayo, and tomato — nice and simple. I got a decent sized portion of absolutely run-​of-​the-​mill supermarket grade roast beef — very bland. There was just barely enough «spread» on the roll to add that tangy, slightly vinegary taste that indicated something other than fresh mayo. The roll was also of the supermarket variety — somewhat dry and spongy, with a chewy crust. It was wide, and the four tiny slices of unripe tomato looked very very lonely. One tiny tomato slice was the top of the tomato.
Next, I also tried a hot grinder — Sausage, Peppers and Mushrooms Parmigiana. The sausage was undercooked with a distinct «raw» taste, and the 20 minute ride home turned that grocery store roll into one big pile of brown mush. I can’t comment on the sauce as it all soaked into the roll.
Another annoyance was that they had no menus at all. My was is disabled and remained in the car, hoping that I could bring her a menu. When I explained the problem and requested one, the person cooking in the back told me she could look online. He sounded rather aggravated. I was the only one there, so it’s not like I was holding them up.
Given their reputation, and the very high prices, I was very disappointed. I doubt that I will return.

This may be a chain, but they have some of the best sandwiches and cold cuts in the Northeast. I used to go here every other week when I lived in CT, and after having the girlfriend try it for the first time, she wants to go every time we’re back visiting.
This Nardelli’s, in particular has a pretty terrible parking lot, with some of the tightest parking spaces I’ve ever seen. Also, if it’s rush hour, you’re going to have a hell of a time making a left turn out of this place, but those are really my only gripes.
The sandwiches here are huge and absolutely delicious. The Italian Combo is definitely the favorite. The diced veggie mix they add to their cold sandwiches along with the hot sauce you can get on it, make it amazing. In fact, thanks to this place, I often put hot sauce on my Italian subs now, and it surprisingly works.
Along with their sandwiches, they offer many prepared dishes and pastries. The cannolis are decent but maybe not the best I’ve ever had.
If you’re thinking about coming, which I highly recommend you do, then you may want to go for the half sandwich (unless you have a pretty stellar appetite), because it’s definitely enough to feed one person.

I think I’ve figured out how I can love Nardelli’s again… order the cold sandwiches instead of the hot sandwiches!!!
This location is convenient to my house but the parking is terrible! I try to go on off peak times so that the lot doesn’t stress me out so much. Recently went in for a quick lunch on Chrstmas Eve and have to give kudos for the staff’s pleasant attitudes. If they were unhappy with working on Chriatmas Eve, they didn’t show it! Always great, friendly service at the Middletown Nardelli’s!
Having voiced my disgusted opinion of the microwaved food in my review for the Cromwell location, I won’t rehash it here. Bottom line… I’m not eating hot food until they do away with the microwaves, it’s a disgrace to the food. So when my husband was craving a Nardelli’s sandwich, I agreed to go and give a cold sandwich a try. I didn’t know what to order, so went wit the self-​described «world famous» italian combo. Not the kind of thing I’d usually order, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat a turkey sandwich. The Italian combo, was fabulous! I got it with the works and it was just right. My husband liked it too, probably more than his microwaved buffalo chicken grinder.
Skip the microwaved fare, in favor of the cold sandwiches, and you’ll be happier! The salads and desserts are all great, but everything (including the sandwiches) is a bit pricey. We usually skip the extras, since it just feels wrong to spend $ 30-​$ 40 on fast food lunch for 2 people. Two full sandwiches will run you $ 18 as it is, but for the average eater, you can get 2 — 3 meals out of it.

For years now I have been saying, «I have to go to Nardelli’s.» Today I made good and scratched one off my bucket list — awesome experience. Of course, it won’t be years again before I return!!!

Nardelli’s! An often touted staple of great grinders or Subs in the region. I’ve ate here a few times, good staff, decent food. I’ve tried the Italian, Steak, and seafood.
My wife loves the seafood, and it is implausibly good and gargantuan amount of shrimp, crab, and lobster meat for the price.
The steak however is rather disappointing, similar in consistency to a Subway Philly steak; not good. Also this Nardelli style is muddled with mayo and hot sauce, not my cup of tea.
This place is definitely quantity over innovation, with pretty good quality when it comes to ingredients. If you’re looking for more creative grinder or submarine sandwich fare, Middletown has better options around. If you need a lot of food in a pinch that is still good quality for the price, this is your place. They also usually have pretty friendly staff!