Bay Cities Italian Deli

Great sandwich place– they even have an option to add burrata to sandwiches. Great Italian deli. Seating is limited– it’s basically a grocery store and deli. Delicious!

I was surprised this place does not have 5 stars.
So happy my work is just a block away from this place. I love their deli. Everything is so freshly made. Great collection of cheese, olives, mustards and chocolate… mmmmm.
Friendly staff, too bad they are only open till 6 pm.

Bay Cities catered my hubby’s office lunch today. I have been wanting to try this place for a long time, so I joined my hubby at lunch. I can see what the fuss was about. My sandwich was not freshly made, yet it was still delicious.
I rarely eat meat, but I made an exception today for the sandwiches. I don’t know exactly what sandwich I picked, since it was catered, but it was delicious and chocked full of meat. It was very hearty.
I will say that I prefer Mendocino Farm, but I have only eaten their sandwiches freshly made… So it is not a fair comparison.

A Santa Monica staple — this place is the cherry on top of a beautiful city. Over the years I’ve tried everything from their infamous sandwiches (which are really as good as they say) to their packaged goods and their wine. The store is old school but always clean and bustling with people (be smart enough to avoid this place between 11 – 1).
I like to go during a Sunday, way less people but the same speedy service. The bread is out of this world, on the tougher side so definitely not for you wonder bread lovers. Such a feel good sandwich, if you eat half you’ll be in heaven. If you eat all of it — you’ll still be in heaven just napping.

Large Spicy Godmother please!
I didn’t even realize how popular this sandwich was until I sat outside to eat and saw the frosted glass window in the front for it. I just picked it from the TV menu. It was tasty. I thought I was going to save half for later but I couldn’t resist eating it all at once. I didn’t want the bread to lose its freshness. There were pickled carrots and I liked it. It was the first time I had carrots in a sandwich except in Vietnamese sandwiches.
I liked that some salads were ready to go and impulsively bought some marinated mushrooms. They were good too!
I went around 4pm on a Tuesday so parking in their lot wasn’t an issue.
I spent about $ 14 for a canned soda, large sandwich and marinated mushrooms.

Wow. I’ve been hearing rave reviews about this place for years, but I never really experienced it myself until recently. The Godmother sandwich never really appealed to me, and their grilled veggie sandwich is nothing to brag about. The real experience of coming here is what won me over.
Coming from Brooklyn, I’m used to seeing Italian bakeries and pizzerias on practically every corner. Needless to say, moving out here has been a tough transition in the world of food, as I’ve never really found a comparable place to Brooklyn out here — even Grimaldi’s in Torrance has been a letdown!
Walking into Bay Cities was like walking into my local market back home — it really reminded me of home and made me feel very nostalgic of my high school days. The set up is almost exact to the various markets I grew up with in Brooklyn, which was very comforting. Moreover, I definitely overheard some New York accents gruffly shouting around the store, making me feel at home more than ever!
They have a hot and a cold deli counter, with the cold deli being much more popular so you need to take a number and wait your turn. While you wait, you have the opportunity to peruse the various salads and fixins they offer in the glass display cases. Although the line can appear overwhelming, I was advised by another customer that it goes by very quickly. If you don’t want to wait in line for your number to be called, you could always check out the refrigerated section, where they have the same products pre-​packaged and ready to be rung up — what a timesaver! They even have their most popular sandwiches (including the Godmother), available to grab-​and-​go so you don’t need to wait in line! They’ve really got a wonderful system here!
The tomato basil bread is the biggest winner for me here — it’s an Italian loaf of bread with, wait for it… FRESH TOMATO SLICES baked right into the bread! The tomatoes are not cooked, sauteed, or chopped — they are fresh tomato slices bursting with juice and flavor INSIDE of the bread — how did they do that?! It’s insanely delicious and unbelievably inexpensive at under $ 4/​loaf! They’ve really got something special here.
The last time we were here, my boyfriend wanted to grab a half pint of corn salad from their refrigerator while we were waiting in line. When we saw they were sold out of it, we decided to forget about it. An employee overheard us, stopped what he was doing to double check the refrigerator first, and then went behind the counter and scooped us a fresh batch of their corn salad before we were rung up. Even when we told him we didn’t want to bother him, he really made it seem like it was his pleasure to help us, and even asked us if we wanted anything else. What extraordinary and attentive service! We didn’t even have to take a number, let alone ask for what we wanted and he fulfilled our wish. It’s really hard to find such eager customer service these days, so we really appreciated how much he went out of his way to make sure we left with exactly what we wanted.
I didn’t have a chance to browse their aisles, but they seem to have a large variety of grocery supplies. The space is pretty tight, so be prepared to be packed in like sardines during busy hours. The hot food bar can be pretty expensive, but the selection looks fresh and delicious. I think the Godmother is about $ 8 and is raved about by an Italian friend of ours. They accept credit cards, and offer a valet service by Luxe. Their parking lot can be horrendous most of the time, so be prepared to queue up to get a spot (let alone get into the parking lot). You could also try to find metered parking on Lincoln or Broadway (or any of the neighboring streets).

After the Art Los Angeles Contemporary exhibit we came here after few recommendations and the thousand reviews we found on Unilocal.
BUT I am not impressed.
Even though The bread is amazing… The sandwiches are just good sandwiches (we tried the veggie with provolone) … But they are just as good as the ones I make home…
Little crowded, long wait, good price… Get you out of the fuzz if you really need to eat and want to eat somehow healthy…
You can find some pre packed salads … Potatoes salad was great … Coleslaw was too sweet…
The thing I love the most is that I found my favorite Italian cookies… Abracci… And that made everything better!

GREAT bread. Like I could eat that with nothing else, just plain. So fresh, crispy, lovely!
Spicy sandwich. So spicy that it made me cry.

Mmmm. Fresh bread baked hourly, house-​made roast beef, pastrami and other meets, fresh salads, cheeses and full deli and you got yourself a bomb gourmet sandwich. Yes they have other things but I haven’t gotten to that yet, not sure if I ever will. I come here for amazing fresh bread and sandwiches.
Weekend mornings are very crowded.

The sandwiches are b.o.m.b. Call in your order during lunch or you’ll regret it as the wait is ridic.
They have a great selection of wine and I always get a box of Brazilian cheese bread to make at home. Everything is cheap as hell.

The market they have is expansive with so many unique goodies.
The sandwiches are good. I’ve ordered the meatball and a turkey sandwich all yummy and flavorful. The bread is what makes these sandwiches though– hands down.

The godmother might as well be my godmother. I wish it was my godmother so that it would be closer to me. I think about this sandwich about once a week. The only thing is that it’s about 25 miles away and traffic is a pain. I always have to talk myself out of driving on a weekday to get this so simple yet unbelievable sandwich. Their «special» pickled stuff in the godmother is the bomb. It’s so addictive. The bread is crispy on the outside and light and airy on the inside. This is the perfect sandwich.
I recommend trying their cheese selection. I love their blue cheese selection.
Also, don’t leave without picking up a loaf of their french bread.

This is the mothership.
Bay Cities has been in S.M. for decades and there’s a reason why. I haven’t eaten here since before Unilocal so it was time to update my memory of why B.C. is so good! After destroying the Godmother sub I ordered, I went back in, bought a fresh-​baked loaf of bread, some Greek feta cheese and sat outside with my foodie buddy. She did the same thing but bought her loaf with some Irish butter. We enjoyed the loafs more than the actual sandwich!
Yes it was messy and we looked like a couple of freaks eating bread, cheese and butter like that but it was well worth it!
Love this place!

4.5 Stars
Many a memorable Bay Cities’ Godmother or Meatball sandwich has filled my tummy during tailgates of yesteryear.
Many a Bay Cities drive by has filled my heart and hunger pangs with remorse viewing a jammed parking lot suspecting an equally compacted line at the deli even though the savvy have conveniently ordered online and are just picking up.
Yet somehow, I still manage to get my Bay Cities fix. Like last night, my sweetie’s turn to provide dinner. My 100% Italian guy volunteered to create his signature thin crust pizza and micro green salad. Surprise! He’d stopped at Bay Cities to treat himself at their gourmet market with a Sfogiatelle*, some Torrone (nougat), as well as, frozen Manicotti for us for the weekend then added two meatballs to share along side his cookery. We’re not big eaters so we split one and I just had the other for lunch with a bit of leftover salad. All I gotta say is DELICIOUS then, DELICIOUS now!
Someday soon we’ll park a few blocks away, have lunch then stock up on all things Italian to recreate his Momma’s recipes with the utmost authenticity!
*

This is a solid, albeit overrated must-​try LA sandwich shop. There’s no denying that the Godmother is a helluva sandwich, but is it the best Italian sandwich I’ve ever had? Is it so much better than Mendocino Farms of the No. 19 at Langer’s? No, but those are the echelons of LA sandwich eateries that this place is ranked against, and if judged by comparison, this place misses the mark for me.
I’ve had the Godmother, the Caprese and the turkey sandwiches here, and they do them well, made to order, fresh, and the service does a great job in spite of the zoo that this this place creates. To me, I’m more impressed by the artisanal grocery store inside. There’s a lot of European treats I can’t find anywhere else in LA, and for that, I have to give this place a good deal of credit.
If I lived in Santa Monica, I’d be here regularly but since I’m all the way on the eastside, I cannot say that I have dreamed of a sandwich from here (and I dream of sandwiches often). Not even once.

If you’re looking for a solid Italian sub around Santa Monica, this is the place to go. Bay Cities is known for the Godmother, but they have plenty of other great subs, salads, and pasta as well as a variety of Italian/​European goods like olive oils and jams. I usually get the Godmother, which is packed with meat, has a nice kick to it (though not too hard of a kick) if you get it spicy, and comes on some great bread. Large is pretty sizable and can double up as two meals for some, which makes it a major value play.
Would highly recommend ordering online (still need to pay in the store). There are cash lines (which have much shorter lines) and credit card lines (which check cards against ID).
There is a parking lot though it can get unwieldy during rush hour.

I’m seriously such a newb when it comes to places like this, so if you’re like me then this review is for you. I came here alone one day thinking it was going to be a restaurant, but it’s basically a huge supermarket with a deli, which is conveniently right when you walk in. The sandwich line was CRAZY and is pretty much like that all day, everyday. If you’re pressed for time, they have other food options and prepacked sandwiches/​dishes you can just grab and go.
Sadly I didn’t wait in the crowd for a sandwich, which is what I went for, and the crowd was too hectic to grab a pre-​made one, so I opted for the Shrimp Pesto Pasta and wow it was amazing! Every bite was delicious and got me really stuffed. The sauce was the perfect creamy consistency. I wasn’t even mad about the sandwich anymore.
I’ll definitely be back here!

Went to Bay Cities on a Sunday afternoon. Big mistake. Parking was horrible, but I still managed to maneuver into a spot in their tiny lot. The deli line had an extremely long wait, so I grabbed two pre made Godmothers (mild spicy) and headed for the check out. My suggestion is avoid weekends if you can & order online for a quicker check out process.
Even though I didn’t get the entire deli experience, I was impressed with their sandwiches. The grocery store also seemed to have a nice selection.
Despite me grabbing pre made sandwiches, the bread was still crisp. Which was awesome, because everyone knows how awful tomato juice soggy bread can be. The sandwich was loaded with various meats, a garlic spicy sauce, cheese and your usual lettuce and tomato. As a spicy food lover, I’d say the mild has just the right amount of kick. The garlic sauce they use, makes the sandwich irresistible. Next time, I’d definitely like to try what else they have.
My pre-​made Godmother was $ 8. About average cost considering it was well portioned and very filling!

I love Bay Cities… one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. I’ve been coming here for as long as I can remember and it never disappoints. It can get really crowded but the wait is worth it folks. If you want the godmother, they have pre-​made ones ready for you but if you want any type of customization, you’re going to have to wait for someone to serve you.
Make sure you get a number and listen as the guys call out each number. Most of the time, they will go through a bunch of numbers if you aren’t listening carefully. I stick with the godmother (w/​the works) and you just tell that this place uses the freshest ingredients. From the bread to the salami, this sandwich is BOMB. I love the dressing that they use.
If you’re in the mood for amazing sandwiches, don’t hesitate and go to Bay Cities.

Where do I begin?
This place satisfies me on so many levels. Not only do they have a wicked deli with the tastiest Italian dishes and sandwiches ranging from pasta, fresh burratta, baguette sandwiches and hearty salads, but they also have a super fun and unique selection of products in their market section.
Whether you’re a huge fan of international chocolates like Kinder, authentic Italian olive oils, signature jams from Europe or aromatic truffles, this place will be your new haven for goodies.
I find myself indulging in their chocolates and freshly prepared sandwiches every time I’m there, and I wouldn’t blame you if you do too!
If you’re hoping to eat your sandwich while you’re there, outdoor seating might be pretty annoying since it’s always packed in there. (Their deli line is always long too… But it’s worth it!)
Although they have their own private parking lot, finding an open parking spot is sometimes a challenge since it’s always crowded in there.
Overall, I LOVE this place and it’s definitely one of my favorite marketplaces ever.
Enjoy.

This used to be a regular spot back in the day. My buddies and I used to get their famous «godmother» sandwich, consisting of deli meat, mayo, and veggies. It’s a pretty good sub, I recommend it.
They have a lot of variety both from the US and from Italy. They have all kinds of sodas, cheeses, cooking ingredients, and wine. My personal favorite is the vanilla flavored sodas. I’m not big on sugary drinks, but I will make an exception for this place.
They have seating all along the outside, in front of the building and along the side adjacent to the parking lot. The wait can be quite long to get a sub, but the line at the register is not.
The parking lot has limited spaces, as this place is very popular. It can be a pain to find parking at times, but you can find parking across the street and at the meters.
The staff here gets a five star rating, twice over in my book. Reason being that they handled a situation today very well. There was a customer walking back to his car, about five feet from where my buddy and I were sitting. He collapsed over the hood of his car, and fell back into a seizure, hitting his head on the curb. I was the one calling 911, and many huddled around him. The general manager and several employees took good care of this guy until paramedics arrived. He GM comforted the guy, who was very disoriented and very belligerent. Fortunately the guy came out alright, and was transported to a nearby hospital.
Quite an experience, but the staff is on point here. I’d trust them with my life, and my subs. Five stars!

Having been to so many highly rated sandwich places, I just have to stop by Bay Cities for their famous creation! I ordered the Godmother with the works + hot peppers! The hot peppers gave it that extra kick. It was also what made this place stand out! It had so much flavor and was very satisfying! You can definitely taste the quality and freshness of the meat. The selections were paired perfectly.
My only complaint to this delicious sandwich would be the bread. It was really straining chewing on the bread. I could only finish half of the sandwich. The bread itself was not bland but had it been toasted it would’ve been a lot more enjoyable.
Highly recommend to order online to avoid the long wait. Enjoy!

Long waits for a sandwich…
I ordered the Godmother and it wasn’t as great as I expected it. It was cold and the bread was pretty tough when you try to rip it. It was also difficult too because every time you bit into it, the meat would just slide out the other end. I kinda expected a lot more out this sandwich with everyone talking about it.
I also tried the meatball marinara and that one was delishhh! It was so hot and the meatballs were so juicy. Even the sauce that was poured on top tasted great!
Hmm would I go back? Maybe for the meatball sandwich but definitely not for the godmother.

Godmother! One of the best sandwiches I have had in LA!
They have a parking lot. Lines are long. Cash only!
Order online if you do not want to wait in line. Online pick up is in the back. Pay at the register.
Godmother — $ 6.60 — The meat is so fresh and cut to the perfect thinnest. Giardiniera works so well with the meat and cheese. Each bite was perfect.

CHEWY BREAD. We got the famous Godmother sandwich (made of genoa salami, mortadella, capicola, ham, prosciutto, and provolone cheese with The Works (mayo, yellow mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, dressing, mild or hot peppers) We got the works with hot peppers, and it was way to spicy for me! I was in tears throughout the whole messy-​sandwich-​eating process! The value was great. $ 8.80 for a large (9 inch) sandwich with the works.
Such a delicious sandwich though; I could have done without the spiciness and the chewiness of the bread. I’m wondering if anyone has complained or asked if we can customize the bread? I would have chosen something softer. For sure you if you get this you have to try the works, but I would get mild for next time.
The service is like what you get in New York, a little rushed, a little rude, but really, the staff is only there just to get the job done and get it done fast – they’re not expecting a tip anyway, right? When we came here I was expecting it to be more welcoming and straightforward, and we seemed to have missed the place where you could take a number. Luckily an employee noticed us and helped us withing requiring us to take a number. The menu is up on two screens like a slideshow so it was hard to make sure you didn’t miss any of the items! I would have preferred a physical menu you can take though. I would come back, just not that often, as I prefer to keep my teeth healthy and strong: D

Bay Cities makes some bomb Italian sandwiches. What I love about these sandwiches, is that they don’t smother the sandwich in some fattening sauce that robs the sandwich of the various flavors it has to offer.
For around $ 5 – 7, you get a sandwich in a fresh baguette filled with delicious, fresh ingredients. As a first timer, I had to order the Godmother with «the works». The meat they put into it (I believe it was salami and something or other?) was so good! The sandwich is so large, its difficult to eat without the inside spilling out. Clearly a great place to take someone on their first date ;)
My friend ordered the veggie sandwich and she loved it. I’m confident that you will like whatever sandwich you order on the menu. They also have some Italian dish specials throughout the week and a whole lot of delicious looking pastas to offer.
Walking inside, you would think you showed up to the wrong place, but rest assured! While you’re waiting for your sandwich (which by the way, comes out super fast, you can look around and see all the Italian desserts, sweets, and a whole lot of other misc. snacks the store has to offer). You have to pick up a ticket number in order for them to take your order and you pay at the cashier, where everyone else would be purchasing their groceries. Make sure you pay attention to whatever number they’re calling, because they won’t wait! There’s lots of people waiting to order, so they try to make it fair to everyone.

Me gustaría darle 4 estrellas, pq los productos son buenos y hay mucho por donde elegir, pero es caro y el aparcamiento es una verdadera pesadilla…

I wish I had something like this near my place. It looks kind of like a ghetto market that just happens to have a cool deli built into it. In other words, a bottega. A delicious one.
Overflowing with lines at ALL times.