Erik’s Deli Cafe

Hmmmm. Okay at best. Had a Ruben. Tasty but thin. Thinnest bread I ever had. Service was spotty for our table, forgetting items amd. passimg over one of us.

I’m really torn about how many stars to give. This location is hit or miss. If your at the barnyard and your hungry it’s convenient and you probably won’t be disappointed. If you aren’t thrilled with spending $ 10 on a sandwich then drive across to subway. I often crave Eriks REO Speedwagon sandwich which is turkey, ham, cheese, tomato, onion, sprouts and ‘goo’ on sourdough. I add avo and that’s $ 1.29 or .79 depending on who rings me up. Strike one! Strike two and what lead me to finally write a review is this is the second time I’ve been here that they’ve been out of sourdough. A sandwich place out of bread. Sigh. They won’t compensate you in any way either for being out of what you ordered. Strike three… I’ve had two sandwiches that have had things in them. One was the sticker from the avocado (manager gave me a free sandwich after) and one was a little piece of plastic. They wouldn’t accept that it came from them and I didn’t want to waste my time arguing. It also depends who’s making the sandwich some of the workers just don’t care. I have and hr to kill twice a week at the barnyard and that’s probably the only thing that keeps me
coming back.

Got a Farmer’s Market sandwich with added pepper jack cheese, to go. Here’s my analysis:
Service: Five stars. There were 6 or 7 people ahead of me in line, and I thought it would take forever to get my sandwich. They filled the order of the party of five ahead of me in no more than five minutes, and mine was right behind it.
The sandwich was fresh, tasty, and sizable, but I won’t come rushing back for another one. Why not? 1) The bread. The «hearty 9-​grain» slices turned to wet toilet paper in no time. 2) Protein. I paid $ 1.29 extra for cheese. The paper thin slice didn’t add much to the sandwich, and what little I got from the avocado, mushrooms, and sunflower seeds wasn’t enough to get an adult through the afternoon. 3) Ingredient ratio. It was piled high with lettuce and alfalfa sprouts. In other words, mostly water.
On the positive side – the pickle spear served on the side was excellent!

Simple, easy, fast, GOOD food while you are in Carmel on way to point Lobos state park. Eat there or take with you for a picnic along scenic Hwy 1 coast.
The sandwiches are so big, I ordered the farmers market, a turkey on wheat and a cup of soup. I could have done the combo which I didn’t notice until after I was seated and really exploring menu. Or my BF and I could have shared a sand and each got soup. Loved the toppings, very California, sprouts, avacado, tomato, thin slices red onions. It was perfect.
Butternut squash bisque was velvety. An elderly woman local told me it is the best around, she doesn’t even make anymore and just buys quarts to go. I had already ordered but it reaffirmed my decision.
Overall good lunch place with salads, homemade soups, sandwiches and your average cookie, chips, drinks menu. Reasonable prices.

Erik’s is a clean little café/​deli with awesome, inexpensive healthy food in a homey atmosphere.
They have a variety of sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. This is a good place to eat for vegetarian selections without fake meat.
I’ve had the tomato bisque and the clam chowder in their fresh, filling and actually sour (yum) bread bowls. They give you the bread from the bowl! The tomato was neither acidic nor sweet and the clam chowder was full of potatoes and not gooey. I was the envy of my table eating the farmer’s market meatless sandwich. The sandwiches are hot type or cold not merely heated. Their salads are large, fresh and filling not tiny rabbit food portions you are sorry you bought. They have a variety of fresh cake in bags, three deli pasta salads, all you can eat saltines and good bottled beverages, fresh teas and the usual tap crap.
On the day I went, multi-​generational family groups covered the tables, inside and on the patio. We were served so promptly by a smiling man, I was shocked as we had just sat down!
Come here for large portions of fresh food with no attitude and decent prices!

Very much enjoyed the sandwiches I got to go for my husband and myself. (Don’t remember the name, but included roast beef on a roll and was very tasty.) Staff were above and beyond as family was having one of those unfortunate public spats, and they were more than patient with us. (They qualify for sainthood.) Fairly priced, portions are quite large. Hope they’re around for a long time. Next time I’ll go in alone and really enjoy the experience!

My husband and I stopped in for a couple of sandwiches to go on Labor Day. We were the first customers to arrive. When the girl unlocked the door, she did not greet us or say one word. My husband ordered a build your own Roast Beef sandwich and the same girl made it difficult for him to customize the sandwich. She was very short & didn’t want to let him know the various options. You could tell that she was not happy about working on the holiday. Overall the sandwiches were good. We are not locals, but even if we had the chance to go back, it wouldn’t be anytime soon. You can’t do over a first impression.

I eat here almost on a daily basis M-​F. Never had a bad sandwich, but beware the Sea Dog! It gets awfully messy! The folks behind the counter have been well-​mannered and friendly. I have tried several sandwiches on the menu and recommend the REO Speedwagon, and the Rio Grande. The entrees are stacked high and the veggies are cold and crisp. The orange slice on every plate is a nice touch. It’s not just for looks. It’s juicy and flavorful, try it!
Anyone giving this place an even nominally poor review is probably a dick to begin with.
Like I said; I eat here almost every weekday. I just moved to Cali about 3 weeks ago and so far I have been impressed with Erik’s and MAYBE MAYBE 4 other restaurants.
Keep up the good work, kids!

Tried this location of Erik’s again the other day for lunch. Have to say I was pleased with food, and prompt service. So am happy to change my initial review.

We went to Erik’s Deli 10 minutes before closing after spending the day at the beach.
We were welcomed in and treated very nicely. They even made another pot of coffee just for me. We have four boys and we were all hungry. The clam chowder and sandwiches tasted very good. My wife got a huge salad. We will go back. A big thank you to the polite employees.

What happened to this Eriks Deli? $ 8 for «The Aztec» and when it was served to me it wasn’t even put together– so amazingly tiny with only 1 jalapeño on each side? I guess this is what happens when 3 high school kids are left to run a restaurant. Everything sucked today I’m bummed and I never bother writing bad reviews.

The old Erik’s Deli on the west side of Santa Cruz was a regular spot for me growing up. The Barnyard location unfortunately does not do the brand justice. Not sure why I keep coming back… maybe because there are few affordable lunch options in town. Nevertheless, I need to find some other spots. My «heated» sandwich was cold. Total bummer on a rainy day when I hoped to warm up. Service is never more than adequate. Bagel Bakery, here I come.

It is strange how many items a sandwich contains and yet how tasteless it can be.
Ingredients: fresh.
Service: ok.
Taste: lacking.

They always do a good job here, for me. Go here about once a week and enjoy a nice lunch. Reasonable prices and nice location. Great for what you pay.

My favorite here is their Thai chicken wrap. It comes with a spicy peanut sauce and a mango «salsa» like mix. Their clam chowder is also good.

Really good for the price. Tortilla soup was excellent and the service was super fast. Portion sizes weren’t the biggest though

Cute place, great marketing campaign, but I grew up around good delis (Santa Monica) and this deli would best be termed «weak». I had the soup in the sourdough roll. The roll tasted very commercial, not home-​made as advertised. Salad was for the most part wilted, salad-​in-​a-​bag variety, probably over 5 days old. Soup was pretty bad (I had the vegetable soup). Tasted weird. Grudging service, broken soft drink fountain so had water. The price was shockingly low, but perhaps considering the above, it should be lower!

Originally we went to the Barnyard area to go to Lugano Swiss Bistro (they had $ 10 for $ 20 deal). Lugano was exceptionally well decorated and … I didn’t like the vibe).
Instead, we ended up go to Erik’s DeliCafe. From some reason the places doesn’t have perfect rating, although it should. Our sandwiches were absolutely delicious, tasted very fresh and the place was spotless clean, not to mention that the personal was super pleasant and accommodating.

Much needed. Beautiful in the old Hudson building. Great light food, fresh ingredients, healthy alternative. Excellent customer service.

Superb Sandwich Shop!
We loved the food here during our College years at UCSC and still do. Thanks!