Magnolia’s Deli & Cafe

The Sandwiches here are so amazing, I had a hard time picking just the 1 for lunch. The only downfall was with the outdoors seating the tables are too close together. We got stuck sitting next a group of individuals who were very loud and were saying some pretty terrible things. Obviously not the hostess fault but it wasn’t a busy after ok and we could’ve been seated a table away instead right next to them.

Went to Magnolias for the first time today during my lunch hour and had a very nice experience! We were a group of 8 and were seated right away when we arrived around noon.
Their menu has a ton of options — soups, salads, sandwiches etc. They also had a lot of local craft beers available as well. I went with the southwest chicken salad and was not disappointed. A great portion size and they weren’t shy with the toppings! I’ll definitely be back in the near future.

Haven’t been here in years decided to stop in today. Ordered lunch with wine. I got the blue pear salad which was made of spinach walnut blueberry pear with blue cheese crumbles and balsamic dressing yum! :) my mother ordered a sandwich which she ended up taking to go! Great portion sizes! Great service we were seated immediately with no wait at all. Also our server was nice and helpful with decision making :)

Caesar salad is a must!!! Magnolias will be busy on weekends so try takeout. Another highly recommended item is the tomato soup.

Everything here was delicious! Service was great and fast. I ordered a pizza which is huge for only $ 11 – 15, definitely an entrée for 2+ people. Two of my friends got the tomato artichoke soup and both said it was amazing. We shared tiramisu cake and Oreo cake, highly recommend the tiramisu. They also have outdoor seating.

I loved the menu and it was yummy food. There was a lot of options on the menu. They have wraps, salads, soups, pizza, sandwiches and more. The dessert is amazing I had a great price of tiramisu! The atmosphere was really cute too (café like).

Swung by this spot on a sunny Monday afternoon for lunch while in the area. Had the East Ave sandwich with a beer. Solid food, quick service, nice seating area outside. I highly recommend this place for lunch. Beautiful part of Rochester, too.

This is a solid lunch spot. The tomato artichoke soup is always really delicious. This last trip it seemed a little less creamy and more watery than on previous visits. It still tasted good but I wasn’t thrilled about the consistency. The croissant chicken sandwich was tasty as well. My lunch companion had the buffalo chicken salad. Although I did not taste it, it looked huge and delicious.
The service was attentive. It was our server’s 4^th day but she was very sweet and fast. No complaints. I will always come back as it is a casual and fresh place. I hope next time the soup will be back to standard.

Magnolia’s is a good little spot. It’s solid, but it doesn’t wow me. The Rising Sunflower sandwich is consistently delish, and they have great pizzas! But I rarely have an urge to eat at Magnolia’s ASAP.
Definitely a nice spot for a casual lunch. And Obama ate here! So that’s cool. Just not overly infatuated with this place.

I came here with my fiancé for lunch on a Sunday afternoon, the restaurant was busy. We were seated right away.
Our waitress came. We told her what we wanted to drink and we were ready to put our food order in. She insisted she get our drinks first then come back and get our order. (Red flag) My fiancé asked what she suggested him to get and she said it was only her second day at Magnolias. (Another flag) She did not even inform us of the specials. (Another flag) He ended up ordering the tuna on a croissant and cream of tomato. I ordered the chicken salad on a croissant and shrimp and corn chowder. You have to like mayo in order to eat either of those. Both croissants sandwiches came with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Both sandwiches were delicious. I loved my chowder and my fiancé inhaled his soup.
Our waitress came to take our dirty dishes and we asked for the check. She totally disappeared, we waited for quite a while. I had to ask another waitress to go find her. Finally our waitress came and she said, hopefully you get a better waitress next time.
The food here is always great. I’ve had great experiences here minus the waitress this time.
There is a dessert case that will probably make you drool. There is a fridge filled with beer and IPAs. When the restaurant is busy, the noise level is really loud. There is no parking lot only street parking.

Their. Tomato. Soup.
Great location and cute café ambiance. Perfect option for lunch on Park Ave. Lots of food/​beverage options. I haven’t had many of their menu items because I am pretty content with the Tomato Soup. If i’m there for breakfast the Croissant sandwiches are good. I’m not sure why other people thought this place was pricey? I think the prices are great for the quality and quantity of what is given!
Magnolias seems to be a staple lunch location in Rochester. Every time I go here someone mentions «Obama ate here,» which makes me chuckle. Do any other cities/​restaurants do this? Make an entire sandwich based on ONE visit from the President? There must be many «Obama Sandwiches» because I imagine he goes out a lot. He doesn’t exactly have much time to make himself a sandwich at home.

After Obama dined here in 2013, his order became a menu item: ½ cheddar cheese sandwich on grilled sourdough with a cup of Magnolia’s Signature Cream of Tomato, Artichoke & Cheese Soup for $ 8.99
After Jean K of Unilocal fame dined here in 2015, her order was removed from the menu. She skipped the Obama Special and opted for the strawberry kale salad with grilled chicken. Her salad included plenty of fresh strawberries, goat cheese and apples.
Although the Jean K salad is no longer available, there are still plenty of options if you don’t want to order the Obama Special. The salads are large and in charge, and there is a nice variety of sandwiches and wraps to choose from.
Overall, service was very good although the interior looks as though it likely hasn’t been touched since Obama dined there in 2013, possibly (probably) even earlier. It’s quaint and cozy though with plenty of seating, both indoors and out.

Never mind the silly reviewer who says she showed up with a party of 11 and expected to be treated like a little princess. Chefs and wait staff laugh at people like that, as they should.
The food here is terrific. I’m a creature of habit, so I almost always have their tomato artichoke bisque. While some have commented that it’s not as complex as they expected, I’m a slow eater, so I notice more things in food. It’s fabulous. Sandwiches are perfectly assembled and tasty. There’s enough variety here to please anyone except the most annoying dinner companion — the person you will never go out with again.
The beautifully arranged glass of water included a lemon slice. To. Die. For.
For dessert, there’s the staff. Always friendly, and dressed in black. And pretty. In black. All of them. That matters if you’re me because I like ladies in black. It’s tactical. It’s classy.
If you’re on a diet, DO NOT look at the cake selection. You’ve been warned.
I see that there’s a question here about «Waiter Service /​Yes /​No /​Not sure». How could you eat at a restaurant and not be sure if there were waiters? Help me out with this. If you did NOT eat at a particular place, why would you be posting a review?

Get the Obama special! Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Perfect for a blustery day. The decorations inside are adorable, service was great and food came out very quickly.
The only negative I noticed was that they won’t seat you until your whole party has arrived, but there were plenty of tables when we were there on a weekend afternoon.

Came here for the first time during the Park Ave fest, so it’s possible I visited at a time that they were unusually busy and understaffed. In any case –
I tried the french onion soup and the tomato soup. The latter is one of the soups they are known for, but I still found it somewhat one-​dimensional and underwhelming. You need a good stock for French onion soup, and this wasn’t it. They also don’t even offer gruyère as one of the options for cheese.
People rave about the pizzas. I tried a bit of the pizza that came with proscuitto and artichoke and was not super impressed. The crust was floppy and the sauce was mediocre. There’s also a surprising lack of meat options for the pizzas.
I had a university sandwich, which was their version of a Philly cheesesteak. The onions inside the sandwich were burnt rather than caramelized. Would not get again.

I came here back in late August on a work lunch. It was busy for a late lunch, but we were able to find a table after only about 15 minutes. One of my favorite things about Magnolia’s is their menu. They play on the area that they’re in and have a lot of menu items that are named for people, places, and streets in Rochester.
The hostess was very friendly and joked with me a bit to keep me in good spirits while I waited for a table. While seated, the waitress was friendly and attentive, and the service was very quick for being busy. The food was delicious and the prices seemed very reasonable. I have not been back for dinner, but I love this deli for a nice summertime lunch.

This charming and beautiful café is a must if you’re visiting Rochester. Heck, even Obama has been there. Speaking of, I had Obama for lunch. Yes, the Obama Special consists of some of the best tomato soup I’ve ever had, with delightful floating crostini on top, and a grilled cheese sandwich half. It was the perfect lunch, so evidently Obama chooses well. At least when it comes to lunch. By the way, the salads looked amazing, and I will have one on my next trip.
What needed improvement? The service. To quote Obama, It was «likable enough.» The host was incredibly friendly and seated me immediately. My server took a while to get to my table. When I needed a refill and my check, I had to ask the host to hunt him down. He seemed to get distracted, or perhaps was overworked. But overall, this was a really nice experience, and I’d love to go again.

I really enjoy coming to Magnolia’s, it always gives off a good vibe, the service is friendly and the food good, plus it’s close to all the other good diners and restaurants.
We ordered a mimosa and it comes with a cute little strawberry and the bottle and orange juice so you can pour as much as you want.
We also got the Quattro Stagioni Pizza for $ 13, the portobello mushrooms were amazing, however they divide the toppings into four so you can only get one thing at a time, plus the prosciutto was way too salty, I would have loved if the toppings were mixed to even out the flavours.
The only thing shying it from 5 stars is the food has so much potential but just doesn’t have that oomph. A perfect place for a casual meal to enjoy brunch or lunch, but nothing more.
But I would definitely come again, their fresh baked pizzas always smell and taste delicious and fill you up!

I’ve walked passed this place a million times and never actually thought to try it out. A year after living in Rochester, I am deep in regret. Never again will I be passing up a Magnolia’s lunch. Checked Unilocal first and tried out the Rising Sunflower after I saw many recommendations and it did not disappoint. The combination worked perfectly and I loved the pesto mayonnaise on it!
The next time I went I tried out the Chicken Basil BLT. Wish it had a little more bacon or that the bacon was a little crispier. Let’s be honest though, I ate the whole sandwich and was happy with every bite I took. The basil made it a winner in my book.
Also have to recommend their soup/​salad combo. I had the French onion soup and Caesar salad. Was not expecting the amount of salad I got with a to-​go salad combo. It was served with croutons, bacon, and mushrooms. Never had mushrooms in a Caesar salad but it all worked really well! I prefer my soup to be a little more savory so it was a little sweet for my taste. I wish I tried their tomato artichoke soup but I can never pass up on French onion. I guess I’ll just have to try that on my next visit!

Great good, excellent service and good value — what more can one ask for when in an unfamiliar city? I walked here so parking wasn’t an issue, but I could see how it might be for others. That being said, there’s plenty of side streets so just be ready to not be curbside.
I got the ginger chicken salad and a cup of their tomato artichoke soup, which were both HUGE and tasty. My server was attentive and the food came promptly. I’d definitely recommend this place onward!