Lee’s Deli

Run of the mill buffet-​style food sold by the pound. Most, if not, all of the food options are Asian and are pretty decent for the price. I ordered a banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) yesterday and it wasn’t bad considering it only costs a few bucks, but was satisfying. Its a good lunch option when you are not looking to spend dinner prices on lunch.

Lee’s Deli is good in that you have choices — one can choose between their buffet/​salad bar (charged by the pound), get a sandwich or burger, or even ramen. But the quality of food is truly «meh» and they exist because they take advantage of FiDi workers who need something to eat quick before heading back to their office or chow down at their desk while revising a spreadsheet. There are better food options in the area, don’t be afraid to explore what else is in the neighborhood — and stop eating at your desk!

I have been here four or five times. Each time I’ve been, I get a plastic container and take what I feel Iike eating, and then head to the counter to pay. Usually raw vegetables or something snack-​like.
The last time I was there I remembered being surprised that my meal was around the exact same price as the previous time — they charge by the lbs. Around $ 7.65 or so. I assumed coincidence, and went along with my day. I went back in today, and got more raw veggies… maybe ¾ filled one of their small containers. Go to the counter to pay, and when she weighed my food I saw the $ 7.65 number to the left, and then a quick flash of a smaller number to the right of $ 5.24. When she took my food off the scale, obviously the $ 5.24 number went away. Thinking I didn’t see that number she tells me my total is $ 7.65. Immediately I tell her that she’s over charging me. Her response is that the 4% San Francisco health tax is the reason. I explain that the discrepancy is more than 4% and ask her to weigh my food again. Sure enough, she apologized for trying to over charge me and charges me the correct amount.
It is clear that this is a regular practice at this specific Lee’a Deli. They expect that customers are not paying attention, and charge them UP to the per lbs price if the meal weighs less than one lbs. the food is fine, but integrity is important when running a business. Whomever runs this place has to know this is a regular practice. I’ve been charged $ 7.65 who knows how many times. Shame on me for not catching it sooner. Never again Lee’s Deli.
*note I have had their sandwiches before and they don’t overcharge for those as they are a set price. But the buffet… that’s where they goose the prices if you’re sleeping.

I was very excited to find this place and I really tried to like the food here, but no amount of wishing could change the horrible food that I had from this place. An instant soup in a cup would have been better!
The food is bland and flavorless — like eating rubber– and it seemed dry and old as well.
The experience was like eating an old, dry french fry without any salt that you find between your car’s seat cushions– you only eat it because you are willing to put just about anything in your mouth out of desperation from hunger.

Most incompetent, ignorant workers for the chain. Ordered the regular Vietnamese sandwich with the ham and the headcheese. Granted Im from out of town and this is only my second visit to their chain. I dont know their menu items by heart. Plus i sensed a language barrier as they greeted me in thick accents. For safe measure, I specified the ingredients i wanted in my sandwhich and I even pointed to the picture.
She hands me the grilled pork sandwhich. I told her I didn’t want this. Then she gives me every excuse: we don’t have pâté, she heard me say pork. When I pointed out to her what I wanted, she said, oh well you didn’t say «combo». Oh I’m sorry your brain is so limited that you only understand one word, and no other forms of communication like pointing to a picture on your menu! You can point to a picture to Koko the gorilla and she knows what you want. But no, this woman only operates by one word.
Whatever I didn’t feel like arguing. After I paid, I asked for a receipt. «Oh transaction over, I can’t give you receipt.» Like really lady?! Isnt this illegal?
Never going back to this location. If this chain fails, it will solely be on poor customer service.

I was pleasantly surprised after having lunch here recently. Lee’s Deli is kind of a Jack-​of-​All-​Trades. As I only had the Chinese buffet, I cannot comment on how they excel in all their trades.
Lee’s Deli is a great place to go to if you and your friend have differing opinions on what to eat for lunch. Hot or cold sandwiches? Salad bar? Hamburgers? Noodle Soups? Chinese buffet? Look no further than Lee’s. Everything is available to-​go, which is great if you’re in a rush; if you want to stay nearby there are tables outside the deli. My boyfriend and I each snagged a couple containers and filled them with what we wanted from the buffet — it’s per weight, not container, so FYI!
I think the best part about the buffet was the variety of items I could select. BBQ pork bun, steamed broccoli, soy sauce noodles, spicy tofu, and stir fried green beans were what I filled my box with. My boyfriend enjoyed some potstickers, egg rolls, fried rice, and pepper beef. Add on two drinks and the total was only $ 22. Everything was hot, delicious, and perfectly seasoned.

I still frequent this place, both the New Montgomery & Montgomery locations. The food bar is pretty good. My fave is the honey walnut prawns and Spicy Thai Chicken. I used to ove to just gome and get a box of veggies (steamed borccoli with garlic. broccolini, green beans) but one day when i walked in i saw one of the cooks flash frying the «sauteed» green beans. I’ll stay away from thise from now on. An my new fave dish here is the soup. So many options to choose from, great on a sick or cold day and under $ 7!!! Oh… and it’s freshly made!

I am so glad that I found this restaurant which offers many kinds of traditional Chinese food. Maybe not so traditional, but the taste is good enough for me. You can select hot food or cold food (salad) there. They only cost by weight. I choose hot food. They offer shrimp dumplings (so delicious)，steamed dumplings with soup inside (also deserve a try), noodles, rice (not good, so hard), and so on. The fish, beef, curry chicken are also delicious.

My go to when I am looking to get food fast or in the mood for a variety of choices. They have a nice buffet which includes Chinese food (fried rice, chicken, vegetables, tofu, fish, etc), a variety of dumplings, a salad bar, and some other options.
They seem to continuously put new food out, so it stays fresh and warm.
They also have a counter where you can order sandwiches, soup and other hot food choices.

Fast take out Chinese food but the food doesn’t taste good n fresh. just let u know
Also, the price is measured by weight. kinda pricey.anyway not coming back

I now work in the FiDi and with lines out the door everywhere lunch time becomes a game of «how quickly can I get food to go?» Luckily there’s a Lee’s across the street, which is buffet style, Asian leaning, food by the pound price. I delighted at dim sum but my friend loaded up on fried rice and was mad his lunch cost so much. I like to think the strategy of this place is to scope it out, and then pick items to fill your container. Nothing worse than filling up on chow mein and then realizing the other side had bao.
My coworker says their breakfast buffet is also tasty. The deli counter will also sell you sandwiches.

STAY AWAY from this location! I normally LOVE Lee’s Sandwiches BUT the last time I went there disgusted me enough to never want to come back. When I was at the register getting ready to pay the lady she was opening up a new roll of napkins. As we both look down at the napkins four cockroaches fall out and what does this lady do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Instead she stares at me and smiles. I asked if she would throw that away and she continues to smile and says «it’s okay». What!?! This is not okay! She then goes on to hand me the napkin and I just walk away. If this is how they handle napkins I can’t even imagine their care for other areas of the store.

Not haute cuisine. But c’mon! You can get ANYTHING you want, even at breakfast. Like, I like scrambled eggs with cheese (check), some bacon (check), tater tots (check) and some fresh avocado (yes, CHECK). That is COOL. I go to Lee’s at least once a week. You can turn up your nose if you want… but then you’ll just look like a pig!

I think a demon must have possessed me to come here for lunch today during work… because I ended up getting food poisoning shortly thereafter consuming sushi, dim sum, and salad from here.
Sushi and dim sum were very disgusting. Salad was good – but how can you go wrong with spinach?
My coworkers say their chicken sandwiches are good. Do NOT get food other than their sandwiches.
Thank you, Lee’s, for making my Friday afternoon an excruciatingly miserable one.

To rank the deli fairly, you have to ask yourself why you are coming to the place first. If you want to get food near your work, with a predictable short waiting line, and consistent no surprise, then this will be you best bet.
If you are looking for a nice salad or sandwich, there are better choices nearby.
Tip: Dim sum by the weight. If you are looking a good ROI, Lee’s Deli delivers 10x than Yang Sink. For a true double blind test, I bet 90% people couldn’t tell the difference.

Is it the finest food? Not at all
Is it quick? Yep
Is it affordable? Sure
Do I eat at Lee’s a few times a month? Uh huh
If it wasn’t so damn close to my office and the salad bar didn’t have Ranch dressing, I wouldn’t be frequenting Lee’s nearly as much. But it’s the perfect hangover lunch or just a fast salad in a pinch.
Definitely not my proudest meal, but I’ve definitely had worse.

Stay away from the Asian buffet and stick with the sandwiches.
It’s almost ironic that a lunch spot named Lee’s actually offers better sandwiches and salad bar as opposed to Kung Pao Chicken and chow mein. But go figure.
When I first started working in the FiDi/​Downtown area, I must have had Lee’s sandwiches 5 days per week. They were quick, delicious, and cheap (perfect for a busy bee living on a tight budget). It’s amazing how Lee’s Deli grown in to such a lunchtime dynasty over the years. There seems to be a location around every corner now. And instead of just sandwiches, they offer a salad bar, Asian cuisine bar, burgers, ramen, you name it!
While I respect their interest in appealing to the hungry masses, I’m a firm believer that you can’t please everybody. In fact, I think you should choose one thing and do it well. This is perhaps why my lunch today was such a misfire. Instead of opting for a cheap turkey sandwich on French Roll, I went for the Asian buffet. I filled my tray with a bizarre, heartburn-​inducing medley of Chinese and Thai-​inspired delights (noodles, orange chicken, curry chicken, spicy beef, etc.). Unfortunately, none of the dishes tasted half as good as they looked. To be honest, some of the choices were downright inedible.
If you do decide to go with the buffet, please note that they charge by the weight of the food (so you may want to abstain from the rice and heavy proteins if you really want to get the most bang for your buck).
But like I said before, I’d stick with the sandwiches. They’re always a safe bet. Asian buffet… not so much.

Just for Convenience alone this place should get 5 stars but were basing it on what they offer right? hahaha, simply accessible is the word I can describe for this place, they have a buffet option in the morning, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, fried rice, steamed rice, CCM (chicken chow mein), frittata, dim sum options like shu mai, shrimp dumplings, did I mention this is a buffet???
This is so bad if you have borderline high blood if not borderline diabetes hahha, once a week I think this place is still bad for you, possibly once a month may be ok. The staff is friendly, the place is really clean especially considering it is on market. bottled or fountain drinks offered, pretty much it’s own little grocery in here if you need it they probably have it.
food **** buffet for breakfast so good but so bad for you hahha
price $
service **** very helpful staff
ambiance **** clean, take it to go, $ 10 min I think for cards

My last meal in San Francisco :(
I ordered an everything bagel with eggs, bacon and cheese. Really good and again, bacon cooked perfectly, San Francisco understands me. They made the sandwich fast! They have a variety of different items to offer and they had cronuts at the register which I just think is so cool. I still haven’t had one. If I was working in this area, I’d stop by here for food. Seating is inside and outside. It was a nice day and we sat outside. It’s fun to people watch!

While there is a HUGE variety of things to get at Lee’s –ie. everything from Chinese dim sum to tater tots to a salad bar, I’ve only come here for their $ 4 Combination Vietnamese Sandwiches. Don’t know why, but I stumbled into Lee’s one day and decided that’s what I wanted. It’s a quick and cheap meal, especially during lunch. It’s fair for what you’re paying and I love that their breads are always fresh. I usually order my vietnamese sandwich with everything on it — veggies, jalapeños, carrot, cold cuts, and sauce. They also have beef and pork options for their Vietnamese sandwiches as well.
No seating on the inside, it’s definitely a cheap, fast, order to-​go kinda place.