NEO Cafe Deli Mart

Unfortunately, the owners closed the place down because they couldn’t afford the high rent of their location. I guess my great reviews on Unilocal were, unfortunately, not enough to get people to patronize the place. Sad.

I have found my new sandwich place! I read reviews on Unilocal and I am so glad I stepped in. I ordered a sandwich here and it was super fresh and yummy. Definitely better than the usual Jimmy John’s. The lady behind the counter was also really nice. I will definitely be back for lunch!

oh my God this is the best place to have breakfast!
sick of Starbucks’ slow service on 42^nd? come here.
I’m sick of lining at Starbucks every morning. I think you are too, if you are a husky.
come here I think you will be satisfied.

\ (^ O ^)/​Wow! this place has everything! Good sandwiches and yummy yummy side dishes. I’ve stopped here for lunch and had a roasted beef panini with a coffee and it was to die for! Last week i had their Chilean Empanadas YUUM! the chicken flavor was awesome! can’t wait to try their beef and veggy ones too!!! they seem to be quiet popular and being so big it’s a meal in itself *stuffed*
whenever you get a chance to go by Neo try anything really, it’s all very fresh and delicious, and the service is outstanding! fast, courteous and with a smile ^_​^
I’m a happy camper!

This review was done on my experience from Oct 1010. When I went there, it was kind of quiet and also it took them a long time to make my breakfast combo– croissant sandwich, but the result was pretty good. There are small salad bar and lot of two people seating area, which is not bad. But I never went back there, even though I pass by there like every other day…

Awesome sandwiches, fast, affordable, clean. I can’t believe I’ve missed this place all year. The staff is friendly and they have massive pickles for 99c… it may be awkward eating one in public, but it’s so worth it. Go there now, do it, do it!

This place is fast, cheap and great. The staff is super friendly, and the lady that works behind the corner even knows me by name now. Its refreshing to see a place that cares as much about their product as they do the people that eat there :)
Great place, it would be your misfortune to miss this place.

Neo Café is the coolest new café in the U District. They have so much great stuff in such a small space. Their sandwiches are the best I’ve had anywhere!

I love the fact that you can make your own sandwich here!
It was really good, the only downside was I wasn’t a fan of the bagged lettuce on my sandwich, but other than that it was delicious.

I’ve been to Neo twice now. The first time I went I ordered a French Dip sandwich. It was good but I wasn’t a fan of the «au jus» that came with it.
I’ve also stopped by to pick up coffee in the morning. It’s so much better than waiting in line for 15 minutes at Starbucks, which is just a block down. I ordered the Truffle Mocha, which was delicious! The great thing about their most of their coffee drinks is that you can get a 12 oz or 16 oz for the same price!!!
This is a great place to stop and pick up something if you’re in a rush. They offer so much in terms of variety, like fresh fruit, candy bars, soda, smoothies, etc. Besides that, it’s just super convenient! I definitely plan being a regular.

Korean kimbap and soup where are you? A new little deli mart that is in a super convenient location. The owner is Korean and I could’ve sniffed it a mile away based on the décor and bright yellow signs. I wish it had kimbap (Korean sushi) and soup like other bright yellow shops in Korea do.
You can get meats, drinks, sandwiches, and they have a salad bar. Some of the lettuce is limp. For half a french dip sandwich and a small salad I spent $ 8. Not as cheap as I hoped it to be. The sandwich was small and just okay. My coworkers thought there’s was just okay too. There are few salad bars on the Ave. or on campus so this is nice to have close by.

Working at UW, I spend much of my lunch hour scouting new and old restaurants until I find my favorite of every cuisine. And if you’re a Bay Area transplant like me, you may have noticed a lack of specialty sandwich shops here in Seattle, especially in the U District. Last week, I visited the newly opened Neo Café, next door to MOD Pizza. I was happy to see a variety of Boar’s Head meats and cheeses displayed behind the deli window.
While I appreciate suggestions on sandwich ingredients, nothing makes me happier than to customize the architecture of my deli meat transporter. When I asked if I could make my sandwich to order, the lady happily pointed me to a box of short pencils and a skinny white sheet of paper. Instantly, I was brought back to my high school days. With only 35 minutes for lunch, my friends and I would race from the parking lot to Ross Grocery, grab a pencil and paper from the bin and ferociously circle as many ingredients as could fit on a large sourdough roll.
Back at Neo Café, I had the option to choose from ciabatta, focaccia, sourdough, wheat or french bread, a plethora of meats and cheeses, as many veggie ingredients and spreads as my roll could hold, and of course avocado (only 50 cents). At the bottom of the paper I also chose to have my sandwich heated in a panini maker. After picking up a 1L bottle of San Pellegrino I excitedly awaited the delivery of my edible vehicle. It was perfectly delicious and nicely heated and pressed with a good portions of each ingredient, especially the pastrami and avocado slices. This by far, is my favorite deli sandwich restaurant in the University District.

GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!
what are you waiting for?!
stop reading and GO ALREADY!

Do you know how hard it is to find a simple bagel+meat+egg+cheese breakfast sandwich on the Ave? Well, it recently got a lot easier thanks to Neo. The breakfast sandwiches are the best in the U. District, are reasonably priced, and come with a free small coffee, which is a nice bonus (the drip coffee is nothing special though). If you’re headed to campus from a University Way or 15^th Ave bus, the location can’t be beat.
The lunch sandwiches are solid; a little bit pricey, but filling. Employees are friendly, and service is quick. I’m becoming a regular.

They finally opened, WHOO-​HOO!
I like this place because the people are friendly, the music is upbeat, and the sandwiches are tasty. Plus, I got a free cookie on my first visit! I’m a sucker for free things. :)
They have a few other things, too (might explain the whole name). There’s a salad bar, a to-​go food bar, and an area with quick grab stuff like fruits and snacks. It might come in handy.
I’m also picking up on their $ 4 breakfast + coffee combo. I’ll try to savor the deal as long as it lasts.
It’ll be fun if I could make this a regular part of my terribly-​long «commute.» Neo’s worth a shot!

Is this a café, a deli or a mart? Augh, I’m so confused.
Neo has been ‘opening soon’ for ages, so I was pleased to see it finally open its doors a few days ago. I went in to pick up some late lunch. The first thing I saw when I entered was a small espresso counter with a large board advertising breakfast sandwiches. Not quite what I was looking for at three in the afternoon. But then I noticed a little card in the corner with the sandwich menu. Lots of choices, mostly in the $ 6-​$ 8 range, plus a build-​your-​own option. All sandwiches available hot or cold.
Neo advertises itself as a NY-​style deli, so I figured I should get their NY-​themed sandwich: pastrami (or was it corned beef?), swiss and coleslaw on rye. While they put it together, I took the opportunity to look around.
The first puzzling thing I saw was a pile of chopsticks on the little counter with forks and napkins and whatnot. I realize that different people favor different eating implements, but I’ve never met anybody who successfully ate sandwiches with chopsticks. Perhaps there was more on the menu than sandwiches?
I turned a corner to look at the seating area, and realized that the place was bigger than I’d initially thought. On my right was the main sandwich counter, with a full-​sized menu board and an assortment of potato chips. On my left was a salad bar and buffet, with east-​Asian-​looking food. They also had a refrigerated case that I didn’t inspect closely; perhaps it contained pre-​packaged items.
By this point, my sandwich was ready. They threw in a chocolate-​chip cookie in honor of the grand opening. The sandwich was a little on the small side, but hey, you don’t get a full-​sized deli-​style pastrami sandwich for $ 7*. Good meat-​to-​bread ratio. Slaw was a bit sweet, but added some nice crunch. There may or may not have been a little mustard. Overall, pretty much exactly the sort of sandwich you’d expect from a place like this.
Bottom line: a convenient place for UW students to pick something up between classes, but there are better places to go if you’re specifically looking for sandwiches.
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* Except at I Love NY Deli, apparently.