Spring Garden Deli

Quick service.
Super friendly staff.
A TON of food for your money.
Simple diner dishes but they’re all delicious.

I live in this building and it’s a great place to stop by for a quick eat. You’ll find your typical deli/​diner food, but don’t expect anything crazy gourmet. The things on the menu, they make pretty well. Usually i stop in at off hours, so there isn’t a long wait. You also get a good amount of food for your value.
There is also a grocery section for any smaller items you may need.

Update: unfortunately closed a year or so ago.
My goto place when I’ve been cooped up home too much and just want a simple meal or sandwich that *I* don’t cook. Owners and staff really friendly and get to know their regulars. You can bring a book, a newspaper, a crossword puzzle, etc and never feel rushed, even if you are by yourself. Excellent food considering it’s «just a diner». The cook can make really tender salmon, unlike most places of this type.

I lived above this deli for close to two years, and let me tell you, this is one of the best diners near center city Philadelphia. The best cheesesteaks with the best price. I’m not kidding; Jose’s cheesesteaks were better than Pat’s AND Gino’s! Their menu is huge, lots to choose from. Love the people who work here. I miss this place more than any other diner in Philly. When I visit and bring my friends and family, this is where we’ll get a true Philly cheesesteak.

I lived across the street from the place briefly before moving to Wash West but I always had a pleasant visit whenever I stopped in. Most of the time I was just grabbing a bottle of water or a candy bar but the one time my dad, sister, and I stopped in for dinner, everything was pretty tasty. Huge portions too!
The ladies at the front counter are all really sweet. I’ll definitely pop back in here if I’m in need of a quick snack while in the neighborhood.

We stopped here unironically on our way to the Eastern State Penitentiary museum. The interior reminded me of places I ate when I was young in the 70’s. The waitress was friendly and efficient Breakfast was basic but good. Veggie omelet was well-​prepared with good veggies.

They serve paletas from the ice cream box (stawberry, coconut, pineapple, banana), klondike bars, et al.
Oh, and they have lottery tickets, in case you’re feeling lucky. Oh, and powerbars.
They also have some very limited supply of cleaning supplies and emergency toiletries. And they’ve always been really sweet.

The world of oddly shaped diners is fascinating to me. The room is quite large and contains about 30 dining tables, a cashier’s counter, a kitchen, a small grocery store, and some other stuff.
My friend and I came over here and I listened to him explain the laws of small grocers to me: two of everything. I looked around, and what did you know, there was two of virtually everything. Even Vietnamese fish sauce.
The diner staff was nice, and put up with me and my hung over friend. We order the specials: I got corn beef hash with eggs over easy and he got eggs bennies. The food didn’t take too long, but when it arrived it honestly wasn’t all that appetizing. I ate the whole plate but I was just really hungry.
Overall, the prices were fair, the service was decent, but the food wasn’t great. But they do have Vietnamese fish sauce.

Drinking all night again. End up in some high rise apartment complex on the BFP where my friend was staying. Not sure where I’m at. Wake up. Hungover. Still unsure where I’m at. My friend said, «wanna go to a diner? «I said sure. Take an elevator to the lobby. He opens a door.
WTF?! I walk right into the kitchen side of a diner. Mind you I had no idea where i was. That kinda blew my booze-​induced fragile mind.
This place is a grocery store connected to a diner connected to an apartment complex. It’s pretty weird. Anyway, the menu is pretty standard for a diner, meaning there’s a ton of shit. The servers promptly brought iced water, which looked like an oasis to my dehydrated self. I got french onion soup and an egg and bacon sandwich. It was really cheap. I could make better variants at home, but I’m paying them because there is no way I could function at that time. That’s fine with me and I left satisfied.

above average hoagies at a very decent price. tasty sweet peppers. good breakfast sandwiches

This place is great if you’re looking for diner quality food for cheap. They have great friendly service and their breakfast is better than most diners I’ve been to. I love the vegetable omelet with cheese. The turkey club with fresh turkey is excellent too and big enough to split.
Update: This place has closed down):

Okay, so the neon sign says they’re open until midnight, but they’re really open until 10 or so, sometimes closing earlier than that. And they don’t take credit cards any more, but there’s an ATM inside. And I got a hoagie there once and asked for Muenster, which ended up being white american cheese. All of these things are, unfortunately, pretty par for the course in many Philadelphia retail businesses of this sort. You get used to it.
Oh, and if you’re there to buy grocieries, you’re paying their markup from retail, because I’ve seen them get resupplied, and it’s pretty much like they go to Wawa a block away and buy stuff and re-​sell it. However, if, like me, you live 50 yards away, it’s a great place to go in the rain.
BUT — the people who work there are uncommonly nice. This is a sea change from many of its competitiors, who view seem to view most customers as a disappointing side effect of opening a business. This place is also an incredibly inexpensive greasy spoon breakfast or brunch, but without the greasy part. There are also some pretty interesting and friendly people there buying lottery tickets — say hello to them.

Pretty standard greasy spoon diner, plus a convenience store (that carries a random assortment of cereal, soda and toiletries). The service was good, and the price was on the high side of normal.
I got waffles with a side of bacon — waffle was yummy but lukewarm, bacon was overdone. My friend’s eggs and turkey bacon with hashbrowns looked to be a much better option — I’ll probably stick with eggs in the future.
I’m willing to give them the 3-​star benefit of the doubt, but I have yet to be impressed. At the same time, the options for greasy spoon diners in the area are limited, so if that’s what I’m hankering for, I’ll probably be back.

If you’re in the area and are looking for a quick, cheap meal at a no-​frills place, Spring Garden Deli is about as good as they come. The menu is pretty expansive, with hot and cold sandwiches, breakfast option, and desserts… including milkshakes. The atmosphere is kind of grungy, but not gross. The wait staff and counter guys are friendly and efficient. If I lived in the area, I’d be a regular.

The atmosphere here is not the best, but the food is great (big portions), the staff are friendly, and there’s a good mix of different types of people. If you ever get to talk to the cooks, they usually are entertaining and engaging.

I read the other reviews had had hopes that this could be the laid back cheap dingy dinery place that I’ve been looking for. While it didn’t quite fit my specific needs and wants in that department, I’d still consider it a great place to go.
The portions are good sized, you wont go hungry and their prices are in line with the norm. The service is good, as mentioned before and it was fairly quick even around noon on a Sunday.
It looks like this place seats up to 4 at every table (but I’m sure you could squeeze one, maybe 2 more). Some are booths and some are just tables and chairs.
The atmosphere here was also fun. I especially liked the festive icicle lights in the front of the place.
I like this place and would probably go here more if I lived in the neighborhood. But the search for my favorite place to go and get a bite to eat continues.

I’ve been to this deli several times and it always proves to have a great atmosphere to sit and enjoy some excellent food.
The service is friendly and quick. I would recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a quick bite to eat and be statisfied. The portions are huge for the price. The place is very clean and the waitstaff is very friendly. They have a great selection of food for breakfast, lunch and even dinner.
Not only you can eat, but you can also do your quick grocery shopping all in one.