City Gourmet Deli

I’m not big on writing reviews, but feel that the community needs to be warned about the expired and rotten food served here. Yes, the staff is nice and the store has a great selection. However, the food is almost ALWAYS bad. The coleslaw has been bad at least twice. I’ve had rotten grapes and apples. I’ve had black and blue fuzzy cottage cheese. Today, my coworker had a sandwich with bad meat AND an expired soda (I didn’t even know that soda expired!!) Every time I bring it to the attention of the staff, they always act surprised and will offer me a refund. However, it’s just bad business to disregard expiration dates! I have only given them so many chances because options are slim for lunch spots in this area where I work. However, I am finally done and thoroughly grossed out.

I’m giving this place extra points just for making their awkward location work. As other people have noted, freshness can be a problem here. It’s like a Catch-​22 situation. If you’re not fresh, they won’t come & if the proverbial «they» don’t come… it’s hard to have fresh stock.
I come here in the mornings for an egg sandwich or bottle of juice sometimes. Make sure they toast your bread & you’ll be fine. Paninis here are good too, but I stick to grilled cheese with veggies to be on the safe side. There is better food to be had up the street, but I give them credit for making this spot work.

I work in the building and have given this deli way too many chances. The employees are very nice but the food is bad… literally. Numerous times I have had to bring items back because they were expired. My three most recent trips I purchased a salad, ate half and refrigerated the rest for the next day. The next day the cucumbers were fuzzy!!! They had to have been very old. Then I purchase a pack of grapes for my children and had to throw them away because after the top few they were moldy!!! I decided I’d stick to only packaged items going forward. I grabbed a package of butter on my way home and surprise surprise my macaroni and cheese tasted horrible because the butter expired last month! They do not check expiration dates and I do not trust that they properly handle the deli meats and produce. i’d say pre packaged only but check the dates!

City Gourmet Deli is a great place to get lunch for those living in the no-man’s-land between NoLibs and Old City, and one of the few places in the city that serves a mean toasted bagel with lox for $ 6. The folks here are always super friendly and the store is well stocked with upscale items that you normally wouldn’t find in a regular Joe’s deli.
The only downsides to this place: they do need to step up the QC of their mixed salads and fruit, since coworkers have commented on the freshness. Also, the store REALLY needs better ventilation — any time I’m in there for more than a hot second, my clothes smell like their hot paninis for the rest of the day.

I work near this deli so it convenient although a bit expensive. Look over the food you get here. I ordered a sandwich for lunch today and with it you get one side. I ordered the fruit salad and upon looking at it, the grapes are moldy. There is actually white mold on the fruit. ICK!!!
This has been thinking I should find a different deli.

I’ve only ever gone around lunch but this place never fails to impress me. The food always tastes high quality and is absolutely delish. I work just down the street so it’s convenient to walk to and the staff so far have always been friendly and courteous. The prices are reasonable for the flavor of the food and amount of food they give you. So far all I’ve had are the paninis but I highly recommend them!

The food is good! I love the Panninis if you need something quick its priced higher but inline with the boutique deli’s.
My frustration though is they dont adhere to the business operating hours its 5:30 at night and I come into the store and once again I was told they were closing early this is a weekly occurance.
No matter how good your food is if I waste my time stopping by to find out your (Closing early) I will not return theres plenty of reliable restaraunts around!

I work around the corner from this place and I had been waiting for it to open for weeks. This deli will not let you down. The food is good and they only use Boar’s Head brand meats and cheeses. The people are really friendly and always greet you. I think the prices are comparable to other delis in the area, such as Museum Deli on Spring Garden. There is a large selection of other miscellaneous foods (snacks, fresh fruits/​veg, trail mix, cereals, etc). The breakfast sandwiches are pretty decent along with the «serve yourself» style coffee bar.