Zarri's Delicatessen
Categories: Convenience Stores, Delis [Edit]
1244 Solano Avenue(between Evelyn Ave & Masonic Ave)
Albany, CA 94706 (510) 525-5405
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
247 reviews
Neighborhood: Embarcadero
"I LOVE THIS PLACE! I have been coming here for awhile and it is most certainly one of my faves. One can definitely taste freshness and…" read more »
23 Reviews for Zarri's Delicatessen
I grew up eating Zarri's! The service is always friendly and nice. I love how they now serve all the vegetables as well as the meats etc.
Has to be my favorite sandwich place in the east bay that's for sure, and it's great only being three blocks from my house.
I always get the roast beef with everything on hard sourdough.
Make sure you get the hard sour, I'm not a fan of their new sweet sourdough.
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Really 2-1/2 stars
Atmosphere - no stars
Prices - very reasonable
Service - friendly but slooooow
Parking - difficult
Good, BASIC sandwiches at reasonable prices. I'm a whore for the po'boy deluxe with everything (including the 'veggies') on a sweet french roll. Good selection of deli meats including some stuff you may never want to eat (tongue, blood sausage).
Nothing fancy. Don't ever expect that. And don't come in around 1pm on a weekday, as the high school kids are in there at that time and it's a mad house. Although the kids were polite, which surprised me.
Didn't care for their other items, such as potato salad, etc. And the frozen ravioli we got there once really didn't do it for us. But we do buy their rolls so we can make great cheesesteak sandwiches at home. I may also try some of their other products from Italy down the road.
I'm a native Albanian, so this place is like nostalgia central for me. I remember coming in here with my mom when I was 4 or 5 and I love how it hasn't changed at all.
Delicious sandwiches, seriously, the best ever. So simple, so cheap, so yummy!
I also love the people who work there. Even though I don't come in nearly as often as I used to, they still remember me and always ask how school, etc. is going. So sweet.
Damn, now I want a sandwich.
Mr. Zarri has retired, but Zarri's is still a family place and solidly, but unostentatiously, Italian. People from Brooklyn feel completely at home in Zarri's. The sandwiches (and they don't call them pannini because they don't have to) taste great and cost astonishingly little. It's take-out, but on nice days all you need do is take yourself, your sandwich, and your drink to one of the tables on the nearby grassy tract under the BART tracks.
I am really super easy.
Simple.
If I come home, and there is a bag of chips on top of the fridge, and a Zarri's poor boy with pickles inside, I turn into a happy dog wagging my tail.
Also a great place to get those nougat-y candies in the little boxes with pictures of Italian royalty. For 50 cents. Zarri's. Eat it all on a bench outside and watch Albany folks try to rear end each other.
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I grew up on Zarri's- the sandwiches aren't fancy, but they do satisfy and I love their pickles!! I heard ownership has changed... but back in the day, Mr. Zarri and his sons made some awesome grub- and CHEAP, too! Where can you get a roast beef sandwich for less than 4 bucks??? Sodas, chips, cheeses, cheap italian wine, random oils and vinegars, dried meats (Salami for, like, 7 bucks a pound!!!), bread and sliced pickles for a dollar a pound- WOW! It is ALL good- and for less than twenty bucks, you could create quite a romantic picnic!
Used to be the best cheap sanwhiches around, but recently changed ownership. I've heard they've gone downhill, but not been there myself since they changed hands.
Their turkey & cheese sandwhich was practicially all I could eat when I had morning sickness.
This place is great for inexpensive groceries and good sandwiches. Ive been going there for 20 years, however, ever since the new owner bought it it has been covered with Christian pro-life propaganda! a little weird.... honestly, I dont care what your views are, but must you post them all over your store? It makes me feel a little uncomfortable, like the store is acting like a surrogate church.
Also, I was sad to see the sandwiches have changed. I loved the fact that the originals were traditional Italian sandwiches, no lettuce, tomato etc., thats what made them a zarris sandwich, ...oh well.
I love a good sandwich. A real sandwich. And Zarri's has them. Bread, meat, cheese, and pickles.
I like the fact that you walk in and it's like going back in time. The nostalgia that lingers here is great. The older gentleman that is behind the register is super cute, I just want to hug him.
So this place has been around for 30(?!) years and hasn't changed a bit. CHEAP, great sandwiches, cheeses and wines... not the best sandwich in the world but a great specific treat... poorboy deluxe... you can't knock it! I miss Mr. Zarri - but the place stayed the same, a local institution!
*** Update***
Mr. Zarri still up there selling sandwiches, worth it just to see the guy!
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I used to live down the block from this place and i would always go to zarri's for lunch or to get some good snacks/cheese/drinks. The people there are so nice and they love to chat. If you ask them for advice about certain foods they'll be more than happy to help. My mom used to go there to get mascarponi (sp?!) and lady fingers to make tiramisu and eventually they just new what she was getting right when she walked in. (She was the tiramisu lady!) The place is very adorable and I sort of felt at home there. Their sandwiches are great.
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MMMM....Sammiches...Eyetalian Sammiches.....Gianormous submarine sammiches that can stuff a family of four for only $9.95. Stop reading and go get one, don't wait for me, I'm unbuttoning my pants now, I'll just slow you down.
Some of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Simple, yet delicious. My favorite: turkey on a sweet roll with jack cheese. Amazingly good for how little goes into it.
Old fashioned Italian deli, with cheap sandwiches, fair to middlin' wine selection, and two critical items for my kitchen: pesto by the pint, and frozen raviolis; ricotta or meat, easy way to feed oneself or the kids. Unfortunately, he's not here anymore, but if you ever were waited on by son David, you'd leave wondering what happy drugs the guy was on..."Hi, Hi, hey there, how ya doin...nice day out there, yeah, great, wow, so what can I get you...OK, so what kind of bread do you want that on...OK, yeah, nice day OK, now, what kind of cheese did you say you wanted on that?...yeah..OK, wow, so, maybe some cole slaw with that?....No, OK!, now what kind of bread did you say again..?
All with a smile and constant nodding that nobody's seen since guys used to clean your windshield at the gas station. Once I asked the old guy Mr. Zarri what part of Italy he'd come from, and if he'd been back there....aw jeez, never been back??? unbelievable...too busy making sandwiches.
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A classically good sandwich made to order. No matter who you are you will find the perfect meat and cheese combo, or even all vegi choice if you wish, to put a smile on your face.
MmmMmmM...I heart this place and that says a lot.
I too miss the old Zarri's prior to the ownership change. There just aren't people like Mr. Zarri and his sons around anymore. However, the new owners seem to be trying hard and the food and interesting selection at still reasonable prices continues to bring me back. They should ditch the Zarri's Guy and Gal shirts though!
Sadly, I don't go to Zarri's much anymore. Ever since about a year ago, after the new owner took over, it's gone downhill a bit.
Sandwich prices went up, the old family staff largely left, and it just isn't the same old Zarri's anymore. While the sandwiches (and their sweet rolls) are as tasty as ever, the lack of fresh vegetables becomes very apparent after their recent price jump. A lot of new hired help isn't nearly as friendly and warm as the old staff.
Still good for a quality basic sandwich, but if you're looking for something REALLY amazing for a good price...meh
NOTE: I don't believe that the new owner is related to the family. He's an old family friend, according to "inside" sources. ::P
Best Sandwich in the Bay Area: A Zarri's Poor Boy Deluxe on a Sweet Roll
Zarri's is the way delis are supposed to be. The second you walk through those front doors you can smell ever slice of meat and cheese in the place. Just incredible.
Zarri's is the real deal.
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NOTE: This review was written before the recent change in ownership:
Zarri's is an Albany landmark. Their sandwiches are cheap but very basic. Their staff is always NICE!
I used to be a regular customer when I worked nearby .
Several times my co-worker would beg me to
go there for her, "Rinky, please get me a sandwich from Zarri's.
I'm in a bad mood and I can't face those NICE people!"
I've gone there recently and yes they're still as nice as ever.
Wish other businesses could take "nice" lessons from them!
This deli has the lowest prices guaranteed. The family owns the building and has been there for years. Mangia Mangia
This place probably opened in the 60's and I doubt they have changed a thing except for the small drink refrigerator in the corner. The outside looks quite dingy and I would have driven right past if I hadn't kept a sharp lookout with the address in hand.
The food is slightly better than the atmosphere but not much. Iceburg lettuce for all love!! I asked if they had a hot pastrami sandwich and the kind lady told me they had a hot salami sandwich. When I got home I realized she meant hot as in spicy, though to be sure I'm guessing that is what she meant because the meat was cold and barely spicy.
Unless you want to find a park bench nearby there is no place to sit and eat either.
I find the bay area lacking in the sandwich department, but Zarri's might be part of the remedy. The sandwiches are great and the service will out-nice just about any other place.
The products sold at the market are inexpensive and worthwhile. If only I lived in Albany rather than 4 blocks from the Berkeley Bowl, I'd probably shop here more regularly.
A great place to get good and inexpensive Italian products and sandwiches. I swear, they are much cheaper than other places for the same thing - olive oil, anchovies, capers, vinegars, you name it. It has the feel of a community store rather than a trendy, expensive shop. The service has that family feel to it also.
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