Recommends

Epicuring.com C.

Joined 1 year ago

Best pastrami ever made with sustainable beef, a rare deli in the area.

Recommends

idfubar

Joined 5 years ago

Oy Vey!. Had an order of the No. 9 Portabella Melt (~$9): grilled portabella mushroom, swiss, saurkraut, russian dressing on an Acme roll. Food was delicious, staff was friendly, and the ambiance was ideal (sidewalk seating).

NOTE: The was a wait for a table indoors even towards the end of the lunch hour (2PM) so it might be best to plan ahead.

Recommends

RuthS

Joined 3 years ago

Authentic NY Deli. The first thing that strikes you about Saul's is the authentic feel of a classic New York deli. Interesting range of deli fare that will not leave you disappointed. And to top it off i found an awesome deal on Urban Spoils for Saul's.. Get the deal for yourself too.. its so worth it !

Doesn't Recommend

exTexasruby

Joined 5 years ago

how the mighty have fallen. saul's has been my favorite deli above l.a. for some time.

every time i'm in the bay area we head directly to saul's for the hot pastrami. alas the sandwich has shrunk to about the size of a grilled cheese but not in price. it breaks my heart to see an institution go down the drain, but if saul's keeps going in the direction it going it will be strictly for the unknowing.

also had to ask twice for the complimentary pickles and when they finaly arrived they were literally thrown at the table......sorry to be such a pain in the ass but i came for service as the food arrived before the pickles. also no doctor brown's sodas. who ever heard of no dr. brown's in a real jewish deli?

Recommends

marionjr

Joined 4 years ago

Best food away from home in Berkeley, CA: Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen. Saul's is in many ways, and to many in the East Bay of the San

Francisco Bay area, is "home away from home." It is so homey

and friendly that I once walked out and forgot to pay. They were

very nice and phoned me, and I rushed down to correct this.

People from all walks of life, all ethnic origins, all food tastes can

enjoy Saul's. Sure, it is sort of a New York style deli and restaurant,

but although the food is kosher, organic, natural, no one forces anything

on one.. The sky is the limit and the menu includes traditional foods

and dishes and also a range of Eastern Mediterranean foods as well.

The coffee is real; the half and half is real; the tea is real, and the beef

is divine, as is the fish. And the new manager is a true host; his name

is Kelan. The service is excellent, and if, heaven forbid, one might be

dissatisfied, a replacement is offered without cost! Saul's is my favorite

restaurant in the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Not if you want Thai

food, but otherwise just superb. The deserts are good, and there is a

bakery and a huge pickle barrel. What more could one ask? I specifically

recommend the Salmon on the special dinner menu and the Organic

Chicken as well, and there is always that old one from childhood: Liver,

with mashed potatoes, and all the vegetables are beautifully cooked.

They even offer fresh, cut fruit, and will rescue the diabetic in low glucose

crisis!

Marion Rojas

Doesn't Recommend

owlivia

Joined 7 years ago

I really WANT to like it, but ..... I've been here countless times, and lately, every time I leave, I wonder why I bothered. The "hostess" is almost invariably unpleasant -- sometimes downright hostile. The waitstaff are competent, generally, and most are pleasant. The food is just OK, and the prices continue to climb. Really, I don't remember the last good meal I had there. At my most recent visit, the Daily Special supposedly included ricotta cheese and a cherry and apricot compote. The cheese was a 1/2 tsp that had melted into the pancakes, and the "compote" was composed of a couple of "fruit cocktail" style cherries and GRAPEFRUIT. The concoction was so sour I couldn't eat it. Ick. Come on, you guys, I *know* you can do better! For the same price and MUCH better food, I recommend Cafe Gratitude, just a little bit south on Shattuck.

Recommends

jiltedjohn

Joined 5 years ago

Falafel better than the Middle East.. Having met the owner some 24 years ago, it was something of an ambition to see her restaurant and possibly get a surrepticious glance at the old girl.

She was nowhere to be seen, so I sat down and was quickly served my Espresso, which was so 'right' it was almost salty. Superb. This was followed by my order for Falafel, an order I was helped on; I'm used to conjuring up something with a bit of Hummous and some pickled Jalapenos as served back in Leeds(home to a large Jewish community-and their restaurants don't open Saturday), but was told they don't do Jalapenos. Not being bigoted about my food choices I took the guys advice and ordered the standard job off the menu.

While I was waiting, I was offered iced water, which I turned down for a beer.

The Falafel arrived quickly. Everybody was scrupulously polite and efficient, which is much better than dollar-chasing obsequiousness; this is why I gave a reasonable tip.

The plateful was beautifully presented, with rich, golden hummous, fresh pitta and three, large Falafel pieces. These were of such size and superlative quality that they were easily enough for lunch.

I ate the lot, smothered in the Hummous, down to the last piece of fresh, colourful and delicious salad.

The beer was refreshing, and to top it all the old lady came down and said hello, by which time I was trying to hide behind my credit card. Needn't have been that scared however, because the owner is equally polite, even friendly, which goes above and beyond the call of duty where rapscallious geezers such as me are concerned.

I've been things and seen places, but few of them put as big a smile on my face as this one, and frankly I'll go back every time I'm over, if they'll have me.

To the people who are complaining, I say with all politeness, you don't know you're born.

Recommends

jjlasne

Joined 6 years ago

Best delicatessen in the East Bay. I have been going to this place for 20 years. This is the best New York-style deli in the San Francisco Bay Area and the throngs on week ends will prove me right. Go and try it. You won' t be deceived. Everything is excellent.

Recommends

traunza

Joined 11 years ago

Food good, but service--oy vey!. I'd been to Masse's next door a couple of times but this time Masse's was closed so I dropped into Saul's instead. Although I was the only person there at 4:30 on a Monday afternoon and there were at least 3 people behind the counter, it somehow took them at least 15 minutes to take my order. After getting home I discovered that part of my order was missing (even though I had confirmed it twice with the person taking the order). Interestingly, they didn't forget to charge me for all the items though! So I got back in the car and returned to Saul's. When I explained what had happened, I got a weak apology but no attempt to compensate me for my trouble and their mistake. Apparently my potential return business was of no concern to them. Once I finally got around to eating the food, the sweet and sour cabbage soup was very good. So yes I might return for takeout, but with no expectation of being treated like a valued customer. Must be that authentic New York mentality?

Recommends

kevrunr

Joined 8 years ago

Good Jewish Deli. This a good Jewish style deli, which are hard to find. Our hostess and our waitress were extremeley friendly. Our waitress was really nice and she went out of her way to make us feel comfortable. When you sit down they have dill pickles at your table, which I couldn't stop eating. My grandmother had the stuffed gabages, she said were as good as she used to make. I had the half sandwich and the soup, which was planty of food. I picked the ruben and matza ball soup. Which were both very good. The matza ball could have been a little fluffier. Sauls, isn't quiet as good as Carnige Deli or Stars Deli in New York but it's is a great place to eat if you are in the area.