Carrollwood Café & Deli

Why 4 stars? Because this is one of the better old school deli's I've been to.

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There's a pretty distinct difference between sandwich shops:

A) Your standard chain fare - Subway, Jimmy John's, Firehouse, Jersey Mike's, etc.

B) Your trendy spots that just try to out-crazy each other with their menu items, where things like pork belly are aioli are prevalent.

C) Your old school NY style deli with the basics. Lots and lots of corned beef.

I personally think A's are mostly disgusting, while B's are generally my favorite.

Carrollwood Cafe & Deli is definitely a C, and C is definitely in between and A and a B in my personal preferences (not literally in the alphabet.)

I will say that they do a great job at being a C. Compared to the other C's in the area, it's definitely my favorite. However, the detriment of a C is that the menu is basic. The sandwiches are simply things like - ham, lettuce, tomato and swiss. Or another item is exactly the same, but with turkey instead of ham. It's just a little uninspiring, when you feel like you could drive half a mile up the road to Publix, buy those 4 ingredients, and make the same thing yourself in 10 minutes (including the drive to the store.)

I don't intend for this review to sound overly harsh, because I really did enjoy my visit. I just try to avoid writing a 4-star review with all complementary things. Business owners usually hate those because they don't understand why the review wasn't 5-stars. So, business owner, I hope that this adequately explains it.

At any rate, this is a fine place for a soup and a sandwich. I ordered the Roundhouse Beef Sandwich (roast beef, bacon, melted cheddar, and mayo) and the clam chowder. It was a really nice combo, and the order with the half sandwich was the perfect amount of food as we're trying to watch our calorie intake.

Oh, and speaking of 5-star reviews, my fiance felt it to be a hands-down 5-star experience, for what it's worth. Unfortunately, she has never written a Yelp review in her life, and probably never will. Ah, such is life.

This cafe is small but packs a big punch! They are located on N Dale Mabry in same strip mall as Outback.

Came in today for lunch and love that they have homemade soups. Got the vegetable soup with half Sammy combo. Sammie's are packed full and half is all a human needs! Served on rye, I got the light vegetarian. Smoked Gouda, provolone, tomato, lettuce and cuke. Opted w/o the shrooms that normally comes with. The soup was more of a broth but still tasty.

Met the very pleasant owner who was genuinely caring about our experience.

Combo with iced tea was about $9.00 and worth every penny.

I came here with a fellow Yelper for lunch. They have a large menu including sandwiches, salads, and soup. I got the turkey reuben and vegetable soup combo. The turkey was very fresh and clearly homemade. The bread was also good quality. I was very impressed with the freshness of the vegetable soup which had a nice spice. The service was also very good.

We had a chance to talk with the owner afterwards and were excited to learn that they make almost all of their stuff in-house. I do wish that they had silverware and reusable cups to save on materials. I would definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area. Just be sure to check the hours first, as they are only open for breakfast and lunch.

This is one of the very best delis around! I felt like I was back in NYC. I had s sick child and stopped in for their incredible chicken noodle soup . This is the real deal: lots of chicken and large noodles in a delicious broth.
Will be returning BC everything looked great with an extensive menu of sandwiches , hot and cold, including FRESH turkey , salads, soups, deserts and catering.
Parking us not a problem and nice seating area. Staff very accommodating .

Love the Carrollwood Cafe and Deli! Great sandwiches in an unpretentious setting. The owners are so nice and make you feel like you are coming to their kitchen for lunch. Love the selection of sodas too!

I was in the area for work and my colleague took me to this deli. Glad she did!!

When you walk in, it's what you expect a deli to be. There are a few tables but we just avoided the lunch rush and it was packed so I could see how people would just get take out.

The menu had just enough options to not be overwhelming. The deli trio caught my eye so I ordered that with a side of coleslaw.

Food came out quick and wow so good! It was like I was back home in NJ/NY area! Bread was soft and doughy, the pastrami and corned beef was moist and delicious.

Service was great as well. If I'm ever in the area again I would definitely come back!

There's really not much that needs to be said about this deli. It's simply a great place to grab lunch. The staff is super friendly and the food is consistently delicious. It's typically quiet, which I thoroughly appreciate when I just wanna sit down for a nice relaxing meal.

Thus far, I've tried their chicken noodle soup, carrollwood club sandwich, lobster bisque, and the Dale Mabry Cuban. These are all items I'd recommend trying. The two sides I have tried have been up to par, a sweet coleslaw and the potato salad which didn't disappoint. They also have Dr. Brown's cream soda readily available, of which I'm a huge fan.

In summation, this place is everything that a neighborhood café & deli should be.

My hubby has been raving about this deli for quite some time. So when a friend's father died. We decided to have 2 sandwich platters made and split the cost between 2 other family's. I picked them up and my only complaint is that they had flimsy plastic wrap over them when I would have preferred a dome. The first platter had all the salad sandwiches: tuna, chicken and turkey. Veggie sandwiches were also on that platter. I had a chicken salad and a turkey salad (halves) and they were delicious and filling. The other platter had turkey, roast beef, pastrami and corn beef sandwiches. My husband loved the cornbeef and pastrami sandwiches best. The actually store is small but there is some seating inside. I will be back to try more menu items in the future.

First off, this place is impressive! Small hole in the wall type restaurant that isn't open late and closed on Sunday... Which can only mean it's awesome!

I had the pastrami and clam chowder and my girlfriend had the Cuban and French onion soup. Again, impressive! Everything is homemade. Pastrami is the best I've had outside Katz's Deli, clam chowder could rival any New England chowder, French onion soup is ON POINT, and the Cuban (although not done the traditional way) is pretty rockin!

I met the owner and she's extremely sweet and her husband was working hard in the kitchen. Excellent food and service. I will DEFINITELY be back!

Where to start? The sandwiches are delicious and huge. I've tried pretty much everything on the menu and I must say the Pastrami is the best I've ever had south of the Mason Dixon line (and possibly north of it too) and the homemade rye bread is perfect with not a bit too much caraway, most people who don't "like rye bread" love their homemade slices. Next the staff is very helpful and friendly, of course it's a family run operation so it can get busy during the lunch rush, so first timers may not "feel the love" if their first trip is during that time, but come back a couple of times or a little after the rush and you'll soon feel like family there. Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the rotating menu of homemade soups never ever disappoint.

Whenever I bring friends there, I always recommend the half soup and half sandwich (either the Hot Pastrami or Powerhouse if they need help deciding), unlike other soup/sandwich combos you feel like you're getting a full delicious multi-course meal (especially if you finish it off with an over-sized cookie or cake pop).