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Categories: Delis, Diners, Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhoods: North Berkeley, Gourmet GhettoMon-Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Man, I've been here so many times since moving to Berkeley. I can exactly pinpoint why I like it so much, but I do. It's pretty much my standby when I can't think of anywhere to go and don't want to spent too much money. They make a damn good breakfast--from the classic two eggs any style to the wonderful french toast. Being a true Californian, I've grown used to the things that are called 'bagels' out here, but Saul's has the real, good shit. The mustard alone that is on every table is so good. Probably the best pastrami sandwich I have ever had. Everything I've had here I've really liked.
The service is hit or miss. The first time I came here was the day I moved into my apartment and the service was just okay. Last time I had a very nice waiter who was very attentive.
Also, anywhere that makes latkes that are at least half way decent had me at "latke."
Do not get the poorly named famous chopped chicken liver. The one saving grace: kaiser bread. It's delicious. Unfortunately Saul's doesn't make their own bread.
DO NOT GET IT.
It's mushy and weird and none too tasty. What the with the "chopped" in the name? 'Cause it comes out in a patty. A cold patty you'd serve your enemy cold.
Also, what the heck Saul's. Running out of corned beef on a Friday night at 730pm.
A + for service I suppose. Saving grace numero dos.
Okok, and the latkes are good. They're not the best though. In fact, I would call them poorly seasoned.
Came here for a late lunch today. Tried the roast chicken sandwich served on a ciabatta bread, eggplant, and a pesto spread with fries. Sandwich was just okay...chicken was a little dry and wasn't full of flavor like I expected (even with the pesto spread). The fries were a nice addition but I definitely expected more from the food.
Prices were $8 and up for most sandwiches and portions were not huge but just around right.
Service was ok but nothing really outstanding. Servers seemed in a rush.
We had decided to eat here since this place looked really busy but I wasn't impressed by their food or service unfortunately.
I have NEVER understood why people love Saul's so much... I don't get it. I appreciate the pickles you get on your table, and the matzo ball soup is decent, but the service and overall experience just sucks. Truly. I grew up in Berkeley and love and know the place like the back of my hand. Of the numerous times I have been taken to Saul's or was asked to meet someone for lunch or brunch there, it has NEVER wowed me. In fact, many times it has just left me annoyed.
First off, they almost encourage the self-righteous Berkeley behavior that the city is mocked for. People who dine at Saul's are borderline obnoxious with their needs and complaints. Nobody seems capable of just ordering food and being content.
The deli salads are under-seasoned and uninspired.
The sandwiches are overpriced and bland
Come to think of it, everything is overpriced.
Waitstaff is clueless and poorly trained.
Meh. WIth SO many amazing options in the area, might I suggest the following....
1. breakfast- Chester's or Fat Apples- traditional, yes, but way more reliable and better service (and coffee)
2. Sandwich - honestly? I'd head to Andronico's.
3. Anything salad-y or deli? POULET- a few blocks down. excellent take-out
4. Hot Food? Gregoire around the corner on Cedar is just hands down better for a take-out meal
5. Hippy-healthy? The juice bar collective- yummy, sustainable, Berkeley-granola-mom food with no apologies or modifications.
The one thing Saul's has that I love are those barrel pickles. Buy a jar somewhere else. Oh, and corned beef... that's a toughie. I guess if you must have a Rueben or corned beef, then Saul's is your only choice in the area.
I'm very unimpressed with Saul's Delicatessen. My boyfriend and I come here every once in a while and it's been okay, but we recently had an unpleasant experience that has made me vow to never eat there again.
The service- It's beyond atrocious and the waiters and waitresses are rude and lazy. If I'm paying $12 for a mediocre sandwich and a pathetic excuse for a garden salad, then the service better be decent.
The food- it's not very good. If you order something other than the pastrami you'll be unpleasantly surprised with the lack of flavor and quality for how expensive this place is.
The only reason why I'm giving them 2 stars instead of 1 is because I like the pickles and my boyfriend likes the herring.
Saul's Restaurant and Deli has been at the same location for as long as I can remember. Today, I was off searching for some good egg salad and got the jackpot here. The deli section is neat and clean and the woman who waited on me was very pleasant. Parking is a problem because the area has a lot of interesting stores, so be prpared to park at best a few blocks away. Their deli section is not as large as I recall it was decades ago but had quite a few deli items such as hamentashen (sp?), chocolate dipped macaroons, whitefish salad, an artichoke salad and yes, egg salad.
Their egg salad is not the typical mayonnaise drowned chopped and boiled eggs with a sprig f parsley for color. It is made up of eggs, very little mayonnaise, lots of parsley, green onions and some celery. It is flavorful and crunchy although it startled me that it was more green and white in color.
Went home, toasted some whole wheat bread and made perhaps the best egg salad sandwich I have had in a long time.
My pursuit for the best egg salad has finally ended, at least for now. Saul's is the place to go.
The "Pickle Incident" assures I will never return to this restaurant!
I can't seem to get a decent sandwich or friendly waitress at this restaurant.
Every sandwich I have ever ordered has been extremely sloppy. Portions were all wrong, soggy bread, etc. I might consider this the sandwiches' "character" but the lack of flavor leaves me unsatisfied and unconvinced... I have only eaten here several times because my BF has claims he has had good food in the past (and he loves the black and white cookies) but I don't think I will ever go back...
The last time I ordered a sandwich, I asked to add pickles to it, and the waitress pointed to the bowl of halved pickles on our table and said, "You have pickles there" as if it was absurd of me to make such a request....! I was shocked. It seemed like she was scolding me for being ungrateful for the bowl of pickles provided to every table. I didn't know what to say so I just let her walk away! I didn't have a knife to slice the pickles, and even if I did, why should I have to when I am paying for the restaurant to make a sandwich for me?
I am sorry to say I can't recommend this restaurant. The atmosphere is nice, but the food and service is atrocious!
How do I love Saul's? Let me count the ways...I can't believe I have not yet written a review for Saul's, easily my most-frequented restaurant on Earth.
Saul's is expensive, and the service is consistently terrible. That's right- I said it. A large portion of the food is so/so. For half the price, you can get a better burger down the street at Barney's.
But you don't go to Saul's for a burger. You don't waste a special place like Saul's on a simple burger and green salad. You go to Saul's for latkes and matzo ball soup and authentic Jewish-deli sass. You go to Saul's for the sole purpose of saying, "Excuse me! I asked for noodles in my soup." And they deliver. 5 stars.
They now ask whether you want pickles, which makes a lot of sense. Not everyone shares my passionate love of their pickles and there must have been a lot of waste w/ the pickles being given w/o asking to everyone. But that is not the reason for this update. Having benefited from Marlene's egg salad research, I suggested we try theirs and Alan picked up some for lunch today. It was better and cheaper than at Andronico's. There was some crunch from finely chopped celery and maybe onions and a green hue imparted by a mixture of herbs. I noticed dill, w/ which I have an ambivalent relationship, and parsley. I was concerned that the dill might be a little too assertive, but it wasn't. Mayonnaise was minimal. Alan toasted multigrain bread while I cut up tomatoes and it made for a very good lunch.
And we have been back, w/ fair regularity. Our waiter's name is Jim, and he's wonderful We even… Read more »
Another Berkeley classic and an another Berkeley mystery!
Saul's has been around for a while and has a good reputation. However, although Saul's maintains a menu and quality and rotating dishes on different days of the week, in my opinion the quality of their dishes meets acceptable standards, lacks creativity and good presentation and is uninspiring, boring, stagnant and overpriced.
The decor at Saul's is ugly at best, the place is too noisy and the service is most of the times not good at all.
I do not recommend Saul's because of its stagnant, boring and overpriced menu, the not so good and slow service, the ugly decor combined with too much noise amplification and reverberation of banging dishes and bouncing silverware and the effort it takes to park in that particular area of Berkeley.
Not exactly a culinary adventure
Sauls gets three stars for food and minus two for the awful service I endured yesterday. Waitresses who cop an attitude for no apparent reason, saying, 'DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING GIRL?' to my little sister is atrocious and but for the fact that we were having a nice family dinner, I definitely would have walked out.
I've been going to Sauls for years and I feel like service and food has taken a nose dive. Definitely, after the obnoxious-ness of last night, I won't be back.
I just got back from my 2nd trip to Sauls. I've had 2 really negative experiences. The food is absolutely mediocre, and the service is really poor. The waitstaff do not seem to be aware of you, let alone care about your experience.
This is one of the worst, if not the worst, dining experiences in the Gourmet Ghetto. I have no idea why they are still around.
Saul's has my favorite corned beef hash.
Want to try something strangely awesome? You know... one of those crazy food combos that go great together? Order a toasted onion bagel... add cream cheese... and finally spread a thin layer of their strawberry jam on-top of the cream cheese...
Don't forget to ask for a bowl of pickles for the table as well!
It took forever to be seated, when the place wasn't even half full, The server was inattentive. She said she'd bring us some free pickles and never brought them. It's expensive for having sub par food. Don't get the latkas, they had no flavor and were deep fried. Really gross. I do like how they decorated, but besides that don't waste your tome and money.
I've had good meals at Saul's before, and the service is always reliably excellent, so I'm reluctant to give it a bad review but after last night I just sort of have to.
I ordered the special zucchini cakes and after waiting more than 10 minutes they informed me that they were all out. So I opted for the chopped liver sandwich instead, which was supposed to come with tomatoes and onions.
The sandwich arrived quickly, but it was just a big smoosh of liver between two dry slices of bread. And the lettuce in the side salad was rotten! Not just one or two leaves hiding--a heap of big, gross, black, slimy lettuce right on top of the salad. Embarrassing.
The pastrami was quality - which is rare in pastrami. The cream soda refreshing, the pickle not so pickled you can't tell it was once a cucumber. The potato salad tasted homemade like if my mom made better potato salad.
Still, way more than I'm really willing to spend. I figured that $12 meant that the sandwich was slightly oversized, or the salad decent. But the sandwich was the size you'd make yourself at home, with nothing but mustard. The salad was 3 ounces, the pickle a half. A reasonable lunch, but more than I'd want to pay for it. You can get a good sandwich at Safeway across the street, with quality meat, if not quite like this.
I'll try another dish not quite so easy to make myself and see if the premium is worth it. It's nice that they were doing a documentary screening, and the service was worth supporting again.
We were driving to the Oakland Airport back from Napa and decided to stop off in Berkeley for lunch. It was Labor Day, so not everything was open. After trying to go to another place that was closed, we stumbled upon this place and decided to give it a try as it was very busy.
We opted for a seat outside and our server took a little extra time getting to us. I know it was pretty busy, but I prefer someone to at least say 'hello, I'll be right with you' or at least give us water. Once he did come by we just ordered right away (since we had plenty of time to decide).
I got the Tuna Sandwich and my husband got the Mezze Platter (i.e. pita and hummus platter). We ended up sharing both dishes. The food was ok, nothing special, but we didn't order anything that special. I asked for pickles on my sandwich and he just brought a dish of yummy, sweet pickles...we had seconds on those!
The biggest plus about this place is that it is organic and a green business. I ordered a coke and it came with a paper straw...pretty cool!
I'm new to the neighborhood, had just gone on a mini-trip to NYC, and so decided to try this place out.
The owner, the decor, the food, the wine selection, it alllll, was exactly what it should have been.
The owner greeted us like he's known us forever (but it was really our first time eating here);
The decor makes me feel like I'm actually in a NY Deli;
The food was good and everyone enjoyed what they got;
They had a decent wine and beer selection (more than just "a" house red, and "a" house white).
The reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because:
1. The hummus with heirloom tomatoes that we got as an appetizer was good, but not great (bear in mind, I am sort of picky when it comes to hummus as I have been spoiled by my sister's hummus), and
2. The pita bread was pretty standard.
But, with that aside, I am definitely coming back and will try a different appetizer this time.
Sorry everyone, but I was not impressed at Saul's. I ordered the turkey sandwich with a side order of potato latke and found both pretty ordinary. It seems very, very overpriced for its portion and quality. I think my bill came out to be $13 (without any drinks), and I don't think I was completely satisfied or full after.
Just to get this off my chest first, I have to say that this is not the place to go when you have a hangover. There, I feel better already.
Not that I was hung over or anything, but i needed a cup of coffee. It arrived, jet black and very mysterious. It taunted me. One sip and all my toenails came flying off. Whoa! Pass the cream and sugar.
I desperately searched the menu for anything that had gelatin in it to help restore and strengthen my nails. I landed on an eggplant with egg combo that was really pretty good. With a hint of cumin, it was quite tasty. It WAS a little weird getting a small salad for breakfast.
Service was quick and helpful.
What do you prefer in a sandwich - corned beef or pastrami? My lady was bringing home sandwiches from Saul's and I had a hankering for one or the other but I had not eaten either since 1998. I was worried about the quality of both the pastrami and the corned beef - if they're poorly prepared cuts, I find both almost inedible. When they're good, well, the meal is divine.
So I took a small poll. The polling went 3-2 in favor of pastrami, but the 2 corned beef votes were Jewish votes. I was distraught. I had no choice but split a Reuben (corned beef), a pastrami and rye, a potato latke, and a serving of matzo ball soup.
The cured meats were rich but not too salty or peculiarly flavored and 'fat' was never an issue - for me, fat is never an issue unless it is overwhelmingly excessive or tough like gristle, which is not fat at all but cartilage. The rye was delish and each sammy had an elegant balance of meat to condiments and toppings. Yes, the meats were 'stacked' in the middle, but they were tender and generous portions in (what I consider to be) the 'traditional' presentation.
I found the proportions of each sandwich just right. I know others have complained about the portion size, but having eaten what amounted to a whole sandwich, half a latke, a bite of cole slaw, a couple bites of a pickle spear, and half a serving of matzo ball soup, I was stuffed to the point of pain. Yes, the cole slaw (and I assume the potato salad too) was a pitiful portion, but really, the sandwich was very filling and twice as much cole slaw would have been eating to eat and not eating toward joy. Point being, I would have been sated by a sandwich, a small side of potato salad (the cole slaw was mediocre), and the pickle spear.
Though it was not hot by the time I ate it (take out), the latke was also good, with apple sauce and sour cream of course.
I've had better matzo ball soup; as others have noted, it wasn't seasoned enough - I added a pinch of kosher salt and a fresh grind of black pepper. But I am no expert; I think Manischewitz makes a decent matzo ball soup and that's out of a jar!
I do admit that everything is kind of pricey - but I cook more than I eat out and when I eat out I don't mind paying for quality. If I went somewhere else and paid $3 less for the same sandwich, so what? It's just $3. There was enough delight in the meal to let that $3 go.
Curiously enough, I was surprised to see that Yelpers were not belly aching about other Yelpers claiming to have eaten better Jewish deli food in NYC (and elsewhere). Yelpers love to belly ache about a 'regional' opinion, which only makes sense to the degree someone is insecure enough to take exception to an opinion in the first place. Jewish Yelpers, keep telling me you've had Katz's and the like - I value that opinion more. But then again, maybe something else is afoot here - I woke up this morning with old testament fury in my blood and I had to wonder if it was last night's Jewish feast reaching deep into my cells and explaining the curls of my hair to my subconscious. Speak to me Yahweh, speak to me.
Cost per person to do it right: $18
I like this place. Every ingredient that they put into everything is fresh and pretty good quality. The breakfast menu is a bit "heavy" (as in the way your stomach feels after, and not the number of breakfast items), but I find that I'm OK with this, being a food vacuum and all. I've settled into a normal routine: Deli hash, wheat toast, poached eggs, and large blood orange/orange juice. I then proceed to eat all of it and weigh 120 lbs. I don't get it either. Anyway, the service here is pretty damn good for how busy it gets. They are always helpful, never leave your cup empty and don't leave you hanging; no complaints.
The three things you must consume at least once: their pickles (free), fresh OJ (or BOJ), and their corned beef.
The downside: prices and designer ingredients. Saul's, unfortunately suffers from the slightly inflated prices that all Jewish Delis are known for. It's not Jerry's bad, but it does add a couple dollars to your meal. Frankly, I don't mind, because they do an excellent job with the dishes in the Jewish Deli wheelhouse, but at the same time, good corned beef doesn't have to come exclusively from Niman Ranch cuts.
Verdict: Crowd-pleaser and very consistent.
We could eat a lot of places. We eat here every Sunday. 'Nuff said.
Sorry Folks, I'm not at all impressed! I ordered Saul's famous Reuben sandwich and was extremely disappointed. I was born in New York City and enjoyed the 'real thing', and Saul's version was very much smaller in corned beef and sauerkraut, plus the bread was hard. When I moved to Georgia, the best Reuben was at Jason's Deli - for half the price of Saul's. Guess I will never return to Sauls!
I urge any and all reading this review to pipe up and put me in my place if their Jewish mother puts turmeric in her matzo ball soup. I know that if I had a Jewish mother, she would not do this. So what's the big idea, Saul?
Apart from the jaundiced matzo balls (which I'm not sure happens every time, just the last time I visited), most everything else I have tried at Saul's has sung the similar tune of being not quite what I know to be Middle Eastern, or reformed American Jewish, or even diner fare, for that matter. The brisket is more like a clear, brothy pot roast simmered aristocratically with baby root vegetables and served with a side of artisan bread. Home-brewed old-fashioned sodas and egg cremes lack bite of flavor and authenticity. The pastrami reuben, dear me, is of a size that is not too difficult to finish with paltry (relatively speaking) layers of meat that looks like it's been straight-up barbecued. And mayo on the sandwich strips the Reuben of its integrity much as the rhinoplasties described by Pynchon. Corned beef hash, though not without its highlights (silky, sexy perfectly-poached little eggs), is just too dry and devoid of the corned beef flavor as opposed to seared and nicely crispy, though that sort of problem can be forgotten for the most part with Tabasco or Tapatio.
I yearn for a beastly institution like Katz's or Langer's to thwart Saul's lacklaster efforts with their mountainous stacks of deli meat, but Saul's monopoly in our little part of town-- plus superb, insanely addicting chocolate-covered macaroon domes-- I suppose, merit three stars. Pick up your slack, old boy.
Thanks to my curiosity, a poor cow no longer has a tongue.
I'm always intrigued by interesting items, so when I saw the Niman Ranch Tongue Plate on the menu at Saul's, I was excited for a unique culinary experience. When I asked the waitress what tongue tasted like, she offered to bring me a complimentary piece to sample prior to ordering. The tongue is cured fresh at the restaurant, chilled, and sliced thin - perfect for sandwiches. The meat is accompanied by lettuce, tomatoes and organic acme rye bread, along with capers, horseradish, and olives for garnish. (http://static3.px.yelp...)
I had the choice of a pre-made sandwich, or assembling my own, and I opted for the latter, since I enjoy playing with my food. I asked for some bleu cheese dressing instead of disgusting mayo, and my request was happily honored.
To be honest, it tastes like chicken.
It was neither orgasmically delicious nor horribly unpleasant. It was a rather lean source of protein, and the flavor was fairly mild. I did enjoy the coleslaw that accompanied the sandwich - simple yet refreshing with not too much mayo.
I am still in shock that the meat was served in its original tongue shape. Once I recover from my surprise, I'll go to a farm and thank a cow for satiating my curiosity.
I've been craving a good corned beef lately, so my husband did some research and found Saul's on the internet. We decided to go there for lunch before heading to Amoeba for some music. I was encouraged because the place was packed, and the menu board above the deli promised yummy sounding (though pricy) sandwiches.
After a short wait we were seated and given menus, which apparently had little in common with the aforementioned board above the deli. The waitress was pleasant, but informed me they were sold out of corned beef and suggested the pastrami instead. I was amazed - how could they be out of corned beef? I decided to order the half sandwich and soup, getting their version (according to the menu) of beef filled wontons. I also upgraded to the latkes for my side and got a "home made" orange creme soda.
The soup came and I was surprised to find the carrots and celery in it were pretty much raw. The orange soda tasted like a small splash of orange juice in sparkling water - definitely not worth $2.95. When the sandwiches came my first thought was that they mistakenly gave my husband my half sandwich because the portions were so small! I quickly realized sandwiches were just about half the size we thought they should be based on the prices. I should have realized sooner when I read Saul's charges $2.00 extra per ounce of additional meat.
The best thing I can say is the pastrami was, indeed, excellent, and the waitress kindly remade my orange soda when asked, but there were too many shortcomings for me to think about returning anytime soon. It's really too bad, I had high hopes for finding a great jewish deli in the Bay Area.
Saul's is by far the worst and most overpriced restaurant I have been to on the west coast.
I am astonished at all the good reviews this place has on Yelp. I have been there twice, and each time the food was very mediocre, the portions were absurdly small, and the price absurdly high. One thing is for sure, though, there won't be a third time.
If you don't believe me, please feel free to go there for brunch and order the "Turkish Breakfast". Either people in Turkey don't eat much in the morning or that dish is a total rip-off.
If you want to have good Deli food go to Miller's East Coast West Coast on Polk Street in San Francisco. Saul's is a waste of time and money.
OK - maybe they are not as authentic as places in NY, but this is as close as you can get to NY deli in our neck of woods. I went to school in the East Coast and became addicted to NY style sandwiches and this place does do them well. I LOVE their chicken liver/egg sandwich (this is one of the few places, besides Max's, who still carry this item), and if you really want to be decadent, you can have patrami AND chicken liver/egg sandwich. I also like thier pickles.
This place is so overpriced and mediocre. Truly disappointing, as I'd love to take my family to a good deli when they're in town. I hope all the Berkeley goys out there don't think this junk is truly representative of Jewish cuisine. :/
Went for a birthday party with a HUGE group and the service was perfectly accommodating. Places like this are always good with huge groups as everyone can always find something to please on the menu.
Had the pastrami sandwich on rye and it was perfectly fine. Not the best thing ever, but no fat, which is usually my biggest annoyance, so yay for that! Shoestring fries were also pretty good. And the chocolate cake filled my chocolate quota for the week.
Most likely won't be back as there isn't anything too special about this place but rates solid if you are in the area and in the mood for this kind of thing.
It was so EXPENSIVE just coming here to eat a sandwich. Bill came out to about $13 for a really tiny beef sandwich (which I had to order because they didn't even have the Niman Ranch Steak that night)
fine soups and generous sandwiches. good latkes, knishes and kishka. The deli counter to go has just about anything you could have expected at the Carnegie
New York prices in Berkeley?
THe super saver special is a Soup and 1/2 sango for the price of a full sango minus a dollar?
Bread that seems to be chosen- not by quality, but by size... and they ain't size queens...
Hmmm.
I liked the choice of "Meh."
it seems to sum the place up pretty well.
OK- they have decent Matzo, but one in ten times it is salty like the dead sea.
OK- that sums it up for now...
Oh- avoid the house salad- only lettuce as far as I could tell.
The pastrami was not memorable and the sandwiches were very small. No comparison to New York Delis in terms of size or quality. The explanation I got was that the grass fed beef they use simply costs more and thats why the sandwiches are so lite...but the meat simply isnt that good, so this explanation doesn't really make sense to me. Its just not that good, and I'm not going back again.
Saul's appears to have gone through some makeovers in recent months, so I've checked it out a couple times lately, and was pleased by a lot of things.
The corned beef sandwich is where it's at. It may not exactly match or measure up to what you get at the big-name delis in NYC or LA (as many reviews have noted....I can't tell), but does it matter? It's tasty and just replicating the ingredients puts them a class apart from any local competitors.
Usually I think a big menu is a warning sign, but they seem to have a lot of interesting offerings. And the take-out counter staff were nice. I'd go back.
My only issue is with the portion sides.
Never a disappointing meal!!
Sometimes the service is a bit slow, but only when they're crazy busy, and then it's forgivable, right. All in all, I love it. The quality of the food is amazing. They use organic eggs, grass-fed beef, Niman Ranch Pork, environmentally-friendly paper straws, and they're open all the time.
If you're like me and for some reason you find yourself always looking for dinner around 9 PM, it's always nice to know that Saul's is open (until 10 PM) every night! It beats having to eat another burrito or order another "extreme" pizza. Anyway, I totally recommend you try it out.
They have a great menu; the burger/fries are delicious, the chocolate cake with vanilla ice-cream is well... do i have to say it? and their breakfasts kick ass (try adding a side of pastrami and tell me it's not the best). Hope you like it as much as i do.
Hands down best matzo ball soup! Great salads and sauteed veggies too. Tabbouleh is excellent as well. I actually think the service is good, a tad "New York style" direct but helpful and prompt. The prices aren't cheap considering they call themselves a deli, but the experience is easily good enough to command them.
I love this place because tehy have Thanksgiving style turkey dinner...even when it's not Thanksgiving : ). That makes me really happy. The turkey is super tender, and delcious. The pilaf is really really good as well! The atmosphere is great, and the people are super nice. I think that Saul's is just a great place to eat.
The root beer floats are good. The chocolate pudding is very very chocolatey!! So if you like chocolate, try it out!
MEH! ........ MEH! ....... totally MEH!
( I now know the definition of the phrase: "Bullshit $12 sandwich" )
Saul's used to have a reputation in Berkeley. "Best New York Style Deli" in the Bay Area. That might have been true in the past but it is currently sucking some serious Matzo Balls!
I arrived in the late afternoon, there was still a bit of a lunch rush on the deli side, and the restaurant side was doing brisk business. I ordered what this place is known for. Pastrami Sandwich and 1 Potato Latkes. The sandwich includes a side of coleslaw.
4 stars - Clean and quick service. The kitchen operation is fast and the cooks are very efficient with with getting the orders out. Got mine in 5 mins.
3 stars - The front of the house staff, they are friendly and quick on their feet. Taking orders and keeping the line moving. But they seem to prefer some customers over others.
2 stars - the Food. OK....... So they are famous for their Pastrami...... Why? Honestly it's pretty bland. Tender as hell and isn't greasy at all, but this is pastrami for crying out loud! It suppose to taste heavenly, not like roast beef. Where's that peppery goodness, plus the sandwich is TINY! There's a ball of meat in the middle of 2 slices of bread... some mustard and that's it. The free pickle is pretty tasty but the potato latkes.... seriously? Tastes like an assy-eggy fried hashbrown. The coleslaw is pretty good. Completely opposite from Bakesale Betty's bitter spicy slaw. It's slightly sweet with a bit of tang. NOW HERE'S THE KICKER. $15.30. Really? Saul .... you actually think a half slice of pickle, a puny sandwich with coleslaw in a little ketchup container, and a puck shaped piece of shredded potato is worth $16? Wow..... you smoke too much weed Saul.
1 star - The customers. Whoa. It's like the entire retired Jewish Mafia comes here to eat. I usually prep myself for rudeness before going to Chinatown but this was an entire new form of rudeness. I was waiting next up in line and this group of 4 decrepit toughs cut in front of me. I'm taken aback and say, "Um, excuse me, but I'm next." One of the geezers turns, looks me up and down. His face is so grizzled that somehow he manages to frown and smile at the same time. He grunts, "hmph!" and turns back around ignoring me. The couple behind me are looking away, and the counter girl doesn't say anything? I'm thinking WTF? Is this the lair of the Kosher Nostra or something?
Hopefully Saul's gets the message from the recent reviews and fixes the food and boots the 90 year old mobsters.
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If you need a mother's day/birthday/divorceverse…
Most couples make date night going out for dinner.…
When you travel within California, here are some…
Will throw down plenty for good breakfast. Will…
My favorite haunts in the 510, 925 area…
I lived in Berkeley near campus for a couple…
