My Favorite Deli

I like Steve, he always waves at me and greets me warmly. I didn’t get a weird in your face Christian vibe, he seemed like a pretty easygoing man. Great for breakfast and brunch and lunch!

After I wrote my initial review for this place, Steve stopped me as I walked by. He apologized for his comments and admitted they were out of line. I thought that took real backbone and I appreciated it. Apologies are hard, and Steve does work hard at making a successful business. Now I’ll be more inclined to give him my business again. And if you’re in the area, it would be worth a shot.

Popped in here for a quite bite in between meetings and I loved it! The man working there was very friendly and talkative. The sandwich was delicious and made very quickly. Great quality and even though I got it to go, they still wrapped up a deli pickle for me! Delicious! Definitely a hole-​in-​the-​wall gem and well worth a visit for a quick and cheap sandwich, soup, or salad :)

So… after getting the wrong condiments EVERY time I have gone here, I emphasized what I wanted today. I got the correct condiments but the requested bread and toasting of bread didn’t manifest. So, I guess I just need to just get used to sandwich roulette or skip getting a quick sandwich as a lunch option.

This place was wonderful ! The guy was so welcoming and nice. He kindly asked for our order and the food is amazing. I had a BLT sandwich and its one of the best ones I’ve ever had, especially toasted. A whole sandwich was enough to satisfy me for a while. I would defintely recommend this place to people!

Fast, low cost, simple. Exactly what I was looking for today. Breakfast is only breakfast sandwiches, but very good breakfast sandwiches, with sausage, egg, and cheese. Quickly prepared and a free serve your self cup of coffee. Can’t beat it.

I love things that are exactly what they purport to be, and in being so honest actually create a product that chain stores can’t touch. This is one of those places.
Tully’s, Starbucks, Specialties, Subway and the like are too busy trying to figure out how to not pay their employees a livable wage to care about the customers. To them we are cattle to be milked. To Steve and Soonie, we are neighbors to be served.
The equation is so timeless and simple, yet so rare these days it might actually seem trendy: simple things done well for a reasonable price and served with a smile.
So next time you’re in line at the Green Monster Corporate Coffee Gigantor and you feel doubtful of how much you’re actually going to enjoy your hemp milk half caff vente caramel frappé-​mochaccino and the accompanying gluten-​free mega-​nutritional macro-​biotic quinoa fermented tahini mushroom soy breakfast wrap, and you want to scream, «GOOD GRAVY, MAN! CAN’T I JUST GET A SANDWICH AND A CUP OF JOE FOR LESS THAN $ 20.00!!!»…take a deep breath and a little detour and drop in here instead. You’ll be glad you did.
Keep it local, peeps!

If anyone wants «ambience» as another reviewer demands, from even a simple sandwich spot, don’t go to a busy intersection in the U District. If you want a hearty breakfast sandwich that comes with a free coffee and friendly service by the proprietor (Steve) who remembers your order and greets you by name, then visit this place frequently. It’s old fashioned and simple in the right ways, as long as it doesn’t bother you that the street outside is «noisy» and there are «gawkers.» (May I suggest eating only in the suburbs?)

Just got a breakfast sandwich and they left the wax paper sheet on the cheese. I’ve always gotten a weird feeling about this place. I don’t plan to return.

A very basic deli, which is exactly what it purports to be. Had a half turkey/​bacon sando with a cup of clam chowder, and both were eminently satisfying. Solid sandwich selection, and extremely friendly service. Only complaint is that they didn’t toast my bread, nor did they ask me if I wanted it toasted. I guess I just assume that it’s OBVIOUS that EVERYONE wants a toasted sandwich, but maybe not. Heard a guy later ask for his toasted, and it didn’t seem like a problem, so just remember to ask!
Only a small counter for seating; probably designed to mostly do to-​go orders.
TLDR: A quick, easy stop in for a basic and tasty lunch.

I love coming here for 2 reasons: Steve is the friendliest person i’ve ever been served by, and I gotta have my Cali Club. Soonie does it right.
I immediately feel welcome as I walk through the door. I usually take my sammies to-​go, but occasionally i like to sit in at the window and people-​watch while i take my time having lunch.

Okay sandwiches with obnoxious ambiance– you get street noise and gawkers passing on 45^th. And if you want Christian pop and a sermon with your boring sandwich then this is your place.
Prices are reasonable for an okay lunch, and honestly there’s a dearth of good sandwich places north of Sarducci’s.
So if you’re in a hurry and don’t want a burrito, bento, pizza, wings, mongolian grill, Subway, teriyaki, udon, or a quinoa and spinach bowl then, sure, go ahead and get a sandwich, but I recommend you take your order to go and get the hell out.

I was fooled into thinking this was a New York style deli, so I stopped in for breakfast.
They charge almost 3 dollars for a crappy mass-​produced bagel graced with about a tablespoon of cheap cream cheese. For comparison, that’s the same price that Bagel Oasis charges for a freshly baked (if not mind-​blowing) bagel with a mound of quality cream cheese.
Speaking only for their bagels, this place is a sham.

I’ve had the bacon egg & cheese croissant for breakfast ($ 4.50 with complimentary coffee), and I have had the chicken salad sandwich. The food plus the friendly people working there made this a spot that I plan to frequent in the University District.

I love this place, and I am so glad it’s across the street from my work! Whenever I am unable to bring breakfast from home, I make sure to stop in to perk up! What initially drew me in was the handdrawn sign stating I get a free coffee with the purchase of a breakfast sandwich! Awesome! I love coffee, especially when it is free!
But what keeps me coming back is just how DELICIOUS their breakfast sandwiches are! I get the BLT & Egg sandwich on a bagel. The bagels are toasted & warm, but still super soft & delicious. I have gotten it on a english muffin once to save 50cents, and although that is still good, the bagel upgrade is definitely worth it!
Side note on the «ambiance» as others have mentioned. Yes, the man is Christian, yes he has Spirit 105.3 playing (not «blasting»), yes, he has a small sign next to the register (no on it), but please, even if you are Atheist, don’t let that turn you away from this place. He has never once pushed his beliefs on me, let alone mention it, and his cheery attitude is sweet & may even perk me up more that his delicious free coffee!

I love this Deli, its hours are limited, but when it is open, there is the best service by a very friendly man who is always waving to you as you walk by and cheerful.
The sandwiches are definitely worth the 5 stars on their own. Care is taken in making them and they always fill me up with great ingredients and soft. perfect bread. Love this place.

This is, by far, the best place for breakfast sandwiches I have ever been to in the Seattle-​area. I live in West Seattle, and I love a good breakfast spot, and this place, for the price you pay, is a steal of a deal!
It’s a hidden gem in the U-​District, and I am thrilled to see this establishment thriving, where so many others there before it have failed. I highly recommend you go in and give this place a shot. Try the bacon, egg, & cheese on english muffin! My fav.

Stopped here for breakfast because if you buy a breakfast sandwich you get a free coffee, so I think «what a deal!» The place is extremely small, ugh, so claustrophobic. My sandwich was very greasy and the coffee was just old. When I go to pay for my order the man at the counter tells me «there’s a .50 cent charge for orders under $ 5.» I paid for it, it’s only .50 cents! Then when I’m getting my coffee ready this guy is watching me the entire time, I decided to put some kind of flavoring in my coffee and he waits for me to pour it to tell me «those are extra you know?» This was clearly my first and last time at this place.

Like a lot of places, My Favorite Deli (a misnomer) features a trivia question pasted to the register as a fun little diversion while you’re waiting for your sandwich. In this case, however, the question is not designed to test your knowledge of Middle Eastern capital cities or South American rainfall in exchange for a free shot of espresso. Rather, it concerns your very soul … a soul the owner of the deli feels should belong to Jesus.
After ordering a simple breakfast sandwich, I made the mistake of glancing at the scrawled register sign that read: «Are you in control of your life?» The grinning owner noted this and asked me if I believed that. Sensing a trap, I replied that: Yes, in fact, I did believe I controlled my life as who else was there, really?
He then unfolded the «punchline» part of the sign which read: «And how’s that going?» I replied that it was actually going pretty well, thank you, and that I could see what he was getting at and I didn’t really want to hear about how turning my life over to Christ would solve all my problems.
And the sandwich wasn’t very good, either. Soggy white English muffin, bland cheese, and limp bacon. I could have made better at home, and will from now on. The only redeeming [sic] factor was that it was under $ 3. But that’s not worth being proselytized to at 7:00 am. Keep your Jesus and make me a better sandwich!

Since I often need to pick up a fast, convenient lunch, I’m normally pretty quick to try new sandwich places in these parts, but I hadn’t stopped by this little deli until today. I guess I’ve been thinking of it as ‘that hot dog place that keeps changing owners’, and didn’t realize that they’re now entirely focused on sandwiches.
‘Friendly fast filling fantastic’ said a banner by the entrance. I went inside to put these claims to the test. ‘Hello’, said the lady at the sandwich counter. ‘Hello’, said the guy coming out of the back room, chewing his own lunch. Friendly, check.
I checked the menu. Turkey and swiss, ham and havarti, etc. etc. There was also an interesting-​looking specialty sandwich menu, for people looking for something more exciting than a ham and cheese. Most sandwiches were in the $ 5 region. I went with a California Club — turkey, bacon, guacamole, and the default veggies. I found a newspaper and skimmed the headlines as I waited. «Musharraf lays out terms of comeback.» Tee hee, that Musharraf. I had to turn to page A3 to find out what the terms were, but before I could do so, I heard the cheerful sandwich guy call out my California Club. Fast, check. Not Jimmy Johns fast, but not dicking around either.
So, how’d the sandwich do on the filling-​and-​fantastic-​o-​meter? Well, it was a reasonable portion for a light weekday lunch. Decent bread. Non-​specific turkey. A little heavy on the mayo. I wouldn’t call it ‘fantastic’, but I had no complaints.
On the whole, probably not quite my /​favorite/​deli, but worth a spot on the weekday lunch rotation.