Gandolfo’s New York Delicatessen

The food is always amazing. This unfortunate review is for the girl at the front counter with pink hair and no name tag.
We walked in to order some sandwiches to go for my family. We walked up to the counter to order and she told us to wait a minute, so we did not problem. As I was ordering 4 sandwiches she was getting a little attitude because I added some extra thing to two of them. At the end of ordering I gave her a coupon I had. She then rolls her eyes and let’s out a big «uhhhhg». Then she says that she had to put the coupon in at the beginning of the order so she didn’t want to take it. Trying to be nice if said okay, I will use it next time.
While we were waiting for our sandwiches, she then came over and informed me that they were out of turkey so I had to change 2 of the 4 sandwiches I got. No problem, I did. Then she bring out an order and is staring at me so I asked if it was mine. She then rolls her eyes again and says, «LAU-​RA» like she is talking to a 3 year old. Kind of rude if you ask me.
Finally after waiting she brings me my to go order and says that she hope I have a great rest of my day.
If you go here the food is amazing but really try to avoid the employee with the short pink hair.

I used Gandolfo’s to deliver a meat and cheese tray and all the fixings for sandwiches, potato salad, desserts and a fruit tray to a friend who had had a death in the family. Even though they usually deliver sandwiches, Don, the owner, was more than happy to help me with exactly what I needed– a platter so people could make their sandwiches when they wanted them. The food was beautifully displayed, delivered on time and my friend and her family said the food was simply delicious. Thank you for making a difference! I felt their prices were extremely reasonable, too! Great job, Gandolfo’s!

This place is a complete joke. Tonight was the third time that I walked in between 6:30 and 7 and they are out of nearly everything. What part of serving until closing, which is 9 p.m., does the store manager or the store owner not comprehend? I feel bad for the ypung girl that’s working the counter, she seems to be the one that always takes everybody’s frustration, even though it’s absolutely not her fault.
Three strikes and you’re out.

Used to visit this location multiple times with my coworkers a year+ or so ago, and loved it.
Didn’t go back until recently and I don’t know if training or staff has gone downhill– but my sandwich (and my wife’s) weren’t up to snuff. Didn’t discover this until I got home with my order.
I ordered a little Italy. The meat was sliced very thick– definitely not what you’d typically get on a sandwich/​sub. And what meat there was, was very little in quantity. And there was no «wet» component. No mayo or oil & vinegar (it’s supposed to come with all that.) It also was hastily put into the wrapper (because it was all sideways/​spilling out when I opened the wrapper).
They gave my wife onions on her sandwich even though I asked for no onions and confirmed it with the person taking my order. And they did not put avocado on the sandwich (which was supposed to come with avocado).
I probably won’t be going back again for a long time.

I’d give it zero if I could. First we got there at 7:20ish, it was our first time there (they didn’t tell us what time hey we’re closing so we didn’t know we had to rush) We didn’t know what to order but were quickly informed that they were out of pastrami (which was half the menu) and hot dogs. So already it took longer for us to order our food cause we had to make sure they had what was on the sandwich. We both ordered hot sandwiches. 1 Ruben and something Mama. After we sat down we were told «oops we are out of sauerkraut» then I asked her for a different sandwich which she seemed shocked that I didn’t want just corned beef on toast. About 5 minutes later they brought us our sandwiches (I ordered the godfather, basically chicken parm on a sandwich) and they were not hot barely room temp. Grosssss. Once we started eating they turned off the ordering area lights and they disconnected the soda machine. This pissed me off cause we both ordered soda and only has one beverage. About ½ through our rushed meal my husband realized that they never brought him his pickle that he ordered. When we told her she sighed and said «do you still want it» to which he replied, «well I paid for it.» What she brought out was pickle spears wrapped in parchment paper. Not a real pickle as was described on the menu. At this point we were so pissed the we just left. And scarfed the rest of our food and pickle outside. Because it was very clear to us that the staff couldn’t wait for us to leave so they could go home.
My advice: if you dare to try this place make sure you get the no later the. 6:30pm and if you order a hot sub. Be prepared to sent it back so that it’s actually hot. Which means you might just want to prepare for a
Microwaved sandwich.

It’s hit or miss when I’d order from here.
Delivery is better than pick up and we used to order this almost weekly for delivery.
If you order there and wait for your order you’ll probably die of starvation before your sandwich is ready.
The reuben here is sooooooo good!
Pasta salad is also pretty good.
Potato salad is bland.
They are almost always out of certain toppings and trying to substitute other meats/​cheeses/​sauce etc.

Out of pastrami and bacon at an NY Deli. Worst part was I found this out after I ordered my sandwich, paid for it and sat down. Not acceptable.

Stopped in for a sandwich because I was in the area (inland Oceanside, north of Hwy 78!!).
This was a Wednesday, around 4:00PM. Guess what — no hot dogs (they stock Nathan’s), and no pastrami!!! Really? This is a NEW YORK deli. Good Grief Charlie Brown.
Two stars instead of one because the breakfast sandwich I had was ok.

This place used to be so good. Owner needs to work on quality control. Seems more bread than anything else on the sandwich. …seriously on a 6 inch sub there was one slice of tomato cut in half and a sprinkle of lettuce. The workers stand around with friends talking. I’m not surprised that we were the only people there. Won’t be going back, such a bummer.

Delicious sandwiches! SO many choices & great service! I couldn’t decide on which side salad to get, so he asked if I’d like a sample. The pasta salad is yummy. :-) Extra added bonus is that we had a Local Flavor coupon! We shall be back.

My original visit here was great. I gave them 4 stars because I really loved my sandwich (even tough I didn’t like the broccoli salad). Well, I brought my husband and two kids here yesterday for lunch and am really disappointed.
I ordered a Manhattan Transfer, my husband ordered a Big Apple, one of my boys ordered a Little Italy, and my youngest ordered a Tuna sandwich. Then they tell me they don’t have any tuna. Ok, after perusing the menu, we decide to order him a hot dog. They don’t have any hot dogs either. So we go with turkey. My husband looks at me and tells me, «the sandwiches here better be fantastic!»
We all enjoyed liked our sandwiches. I thought $ 10 was a little steep for my ½ of sandwich, but what REALLY irks me is that for my son’s turkey sandwich (that he only ordered because they were out of everything else he wanted) we said «no tomato», but «add pickles instead» and then they charge me for pickles? Yes, it was only 10 cents, but it’s the principle. Not that it matters, but my other son said «no tomato or onion» and I said «no tomato» on my sandwich. Hmmm, I would think with all the tomato they saved, in addition to the fact that they were out of everything my 5-​year old wanted to eat, that they would throw in what ended up being two little slices of 10-​cent pickle!

This place has changed since the last time I was here and I will not be returning. The girl that was working the front was unfriendly and did not know what sandwich was what. She did not greet us and all of the condiments, forks, and straws were empty. I had to go in to get my sandwich from outside, and once I got it we saw the girl who served out summer salad at the front and an employee from the back smoking cigarettes 50 feet from us where we are and went back in and did not wash their hands. I was grossed out so I left without finishing my sandwich.

First time here, read revues but still decided to give it a try. Out of pastrami and roast beef at 1:30.Ice machine had some black stuff come out with the ice and the soda fountain drinks were all mid marked. I have never waited this long for a sandwich anywhere. I will not be back.

I visited this shop for the first time today only to realize I made a mistake. If you’re on a time constraint or don’t want food that’s recycled from another customer I’m not sure if this is the place for you.
We decided on the two sandwiches we wanted and ordered at the counter. The receipt was printed at 2:06pm. Two small groups of people arrived shortly after and placed their order. 2:24pm rolls around and a woman orders sandwiches. It’s now 2:37 and three parties were served several sandwiches. One small group had some issues with their order, two of which they received the wrong sandwiches. One man actually handed his sandwich back that he poked through with his hands. The clerk took the sandwich back. I still had not received the two sandwiches we ordered at 2:06pm — it’s okay, mistakes happen. I was ignored waiting at the front desk by a man in a dress shirt, I’m assuming this is the manager. Finally the clerk acknowledges me and says he’s cutting the meat so it’s taking a while. The clerks were nice, accommodating and friendly but the man in the dress shirt (manager?) was not. When I finally get one out of two sandwiches not only was it lukewarm and cold around the edges (on toasted bread), but the wrapper was badly wrinkled, as if it had been rewrapped twice. The clerk said it was a fresh sandwich, but it was lukewarm. It appears, based on the facts, the sandwich was actually the one that was man handled by another customer.
At this time I was still waiting for the second sandwich… it’s been almost 40 minutes since I placed my order… for a sandwich. Most importantly, one appears to have been manhandled by a customer and recycled back to me.
I requested a refund as I did not receive my second sandwich, the first one was cold (and came after 30 minutes) and I believe contaminated by unknown hands. The, I believe, manager walked out annoyed as hell. I was being very nice and was just wanting a refund so I could leave. He asked me why I wanted a refund and I explained it had been 40 minutes and I had not received my order and my first sandwich was mishandled. He then goes in the back, comes out, and says «well the other sandwich is right here» … I hate to waste food, but at this point I was not going to accept a sandwich that was 40 minutes after I ordered by a man who was condescending, rude and not a bit sympathetic.
He had an employee process the refund, not once did he apologize or even act like he cared. I’ll be buying food from another deli I can trust won’t hand me contaminated or cold food, won’t make me wait 40+ minutes for food, and will actually have a little bit of remorse if they’ve made a mistake. Mistakes happen… but at Gandolfo’s you’ll be treated like a second class citizen by a man in a dress shirt if there is a mistake with your order.

We love there food! My husbands favorite is the knucklehead and I like the Broadway & the Yonkers. Great NYC style and food like the city. A little pieces of NY in SD. We have ordered there sandwiches for big groups and parties.
Check them out if you haven’t! For all of you Nathan’s fans they got that too!

I still can’t find a better sandwich than the Carnegie Hall at Gandolfo’s. I’m warning you, it’s an enormous sandwich. But the flavors and the amount of meat is incredible. Corned beef and turkey with cabbage, thousand island dressing, and toasted bread.
I love that this chain has its own private label meat — definitely makes it unique.
The location is a little hard to find in a strip mall hidden in a business area, but the inside is clean and the staff is friendly.
Now that I have moved, I really miss this place.

We’ve been going to Gandolfo’s for quite a while now and we have always loved the food; unfortunately, I would have to agree with the numerous recent reviews describing the decline in the quality.
Last month one of the sandwiches we ordered was made wrong. Not a huge deal, so I decided to order again.
I ordered my favorite sandwich– the French dip. I can’t put my finger on it, but the taste was off and completely different then before. What really ruined the sandwich was the quality of the meat. Almost every bite resulted in stringy, chewy veins of fat (?) that kept you from completing the bite without pulling out the entire piece of meat from the sandwich. Ewwwww.
As others noted, there were signs on the registers indicating what meat they were out of for the day. The chip stand was also rather bare.
What happened? Bring back the quality that made you so popular. I don’t think we’ll be ordering again. The food is not cheap and the quality no longer matches the price.

Not sure what happened but it seems average now. They have been out of pastrami, corned beef, and potato salad. My «deli style» did not seem to have more meat than regular. Maybe they made it wrong? Also, they no longer participate in MOGL.

Update: the owner threatened to sue me over my previous bad review and somehow convinced Unilocal to take it down (businesses can’t pay to alter reviews eh?)
Here are the highlights you will experience when visiting this location:
–Unmotivated and over worked employees who receive no help from the owner when it gets busy. You will be waiting for your order longer then Nelson Mandela waited for freedom.
–They are about as well stocked as fireworks store on July 5^th, in that they are out of everything. Constantly. What kind of deli is constantly out of meat and bread?! And don’t think it’s because they are just SO busy that they can’t keep it in stock, its because they never order enough. When it is in stock you might be surprised to learn that a vast quantity of product comes from the grocery store or a discount grocer like smart and final-​or big lots-​or food 4 less. What isn’t stocked from these «last call before expiration» places now comes from Tip Top meats in Carlsbad. Soooo why go here?
–The place is generally about as clean as a methadone clinic waiting room and even comes complete with a few cockroaches for ambience. With all the scurrying company you will never fear eating alone at Gandolfo’s!
–It’s fun for the kids! Teach them how the body works by letting them view the homeless people that literally use the fountain outside on the dining patio as a toilet occasionally. How informative!
What a treat this place would be if it were the only option for food in a third world country. But here in Oceanside? Bad service, dirty conditions, poor stocking, unhelpful owner and threats of lawsuit just for voicing your negative opinion? How draconian. If he treats his store’s guests like that, imagine how he treats his staff-​which might explain the bad service.

For the better part of a year, I’ve been working my way through Gandolfo’s menu one sandwich at a time. So far, my favorite is the Rockefeller Ruben. The Oceanside location is ideal with plenty of parking and inside it is organized to keep folks moving through the ordering line which helps reduce the crowds — especially on Fridays when everyone seems to want one of their sandwiches. Overall, the restaurant is clean, well kept, and has a host of friendly staff members.
The menu is colorful, boasting a long list of choices with fun names like Central Park, Taxi Driver, or knuckle Sandwich. There is something for every palate: two fisted meat monstrosities (both cold and hot), as well as crisp vegetarian delights that I found surprisingly filling. Sandwiches aside, they also serve Nathan’s famous hotdogs and have a great kid’s menu.
If you have a sweet tooth, and need a sugar fix after having consumed one of their two handed sandwiches, you’re in luck as they offer a variety of deserts as well.