Ballston Place Gourmet

Great locally owned spot a short walk from the VA Square Metro. The owner is super friendly — he’ll probably chat you up at the register. Go for the bibimbap or bulgogi sub, you won’t be disappointed. Deli and breakfast sandwiches are spot on. Definitely one of the best local delis in the neighborhood if you’re looking for a quick bite.

Fun locally owned deli. Quite entertaining to order a sandwich & they have a good selection of drinks and snacks (as well as wine, beer, and some Asian grocery items!). My sandwich was very nice & made to order. Just what I wanted.

Wow. Weird experience. Ordered a breakfast burrito to eat there. I thought it was perfectly fine for the price. I’m not a big eater anymore, so I asked if I could have a plastic bag to take home the remaining portion. The women, who was perfectly fluent in English when I ordered, started barking at me in a language that was not English and pointed. When I couldn’t find a bag i politely asked again, and this time she was even more animated in an unpleasant way.
Sheesh. They have bags at the counter and I do not understand why she couldn’t have simply handed me a bag. I would have been inclined to return, but bad and stupid service is a deal breaker. Too many other choices in Arlington to put up with that nonsense.

We live very close to this convenience store and it has been just that — convenient. Great food, nice selection of candy (great for emergency chocolate cravings). Plus, the guys working there are very nice and friendly. Only downside is the groceries are a little pricey (especially the beer), but its still worth it to pay a little extra in a pinch.

Got the chicken salad melt… literally the worst sandwich i’ve ever had. there was maybe a tablespoon full of meat, and somehow it was so greasy i couldn’t even touch it. So gross.

I love the bibimbap and the kimchi bulgogi sub. They’re my favorites! The owners are also very friendly. Although the portion size is very good, my only gripe is that it feels a little pricey. The again maybe that’s coz I’m thinking about my long term strategy with this place… Like bulgogi every single day

Prices are hugely inflated and no products have price tags. Convenience isn’t worth a 50% mark up.

This little spot is a deli and convenience store, and it is at the bottom of my apartment building. Talk about convenient! I think it’s family owned. The dude who runs the place is SUPER nice. Gives me peppermint paddies sometimes. I’ve been going here for a few years. The highlights: bulgogi kimchi sub is so good. Oh man. The breakfast burritos are also real good. My favorite food item down there is the bibimbap. It’s like 7 bucks and BOY is it good.
The convenience store has most of the essentials, and a pretty decent wine selection. The wine is actually priced pretty decently BUT many of the other convenience store products have a pretty high markup. That is one of the only two negatives about this place I can think of. The other one is that the kitchen closes 30 minutes before the store shuts down, so make sure you keep that in mind if you’d like to order some delicious bibimbap.

Such a great mom&pop shop in Ballston/​VA Square. It’s inside the Avalon building so if you live there or within a few blocks, it is absolutely the most convenient store/​deli around. The family who runs it is so sweet and know regulars by name. The deli sandwiches and breakfast burritos are great and cheap! Try the kimchi bulgogi sub (they have some Korean cross-​over food). Only slight downside is that it’s a small space so they obviously won’t have everything you need… but for most staple items such as shampoo, deoderant, cereal, milk, and bread (and beer & wine too!) they’re convenient if you’re in a rush or don’t have time to go to the grocery store. Things are a little more expensive than they’d be at a big grocery store, but you’re paying for the convenience.
They’re open till 9pm all nights, except Sundays when they close at 6pm.

First off, the keys here are location and price. On a Saturday or Sunday morning, I don’t want to go to the ends of the earth for a warm breakfast. (Unless someone else is buying. In which case, I may go as far as Alexandria.) Honestly, I just want to sleep in, get up in whatever questionable attire I am wearing, and grab a bite.
I like Ballston Gourmet. I like the owners. I have been going there just enough to reach the point where asking me what I want is a courtesy. It’s almost always French toast and a veggie omelet. Because of the relative simplicity of the meals, they are good. It’s not like I am asking for banana-​stuffed French toast with a caramel glaze (mouth waters slightly) or Chesapeake style eggs benedict. No, it’s a weekend morning and I want to keep things simple. And affordable. I cannot ignore the fact that nothing on the menu is over 6 dollars. This makes me and my wallet happy.
If anything could be changed, maybe a little variety for the pancakes. My girlfriend likes blueberry pancakes and I like chocolate chip. Maybe add a slight charge, but it would nice to have those options. Granted it would mean I would eat less French toast (and fewer veggie omelets for her), but such is the nature of change. And hope. Hope and change. And French toast.
So why four stars? Service is friendly and helpful, food hits the spot, and on the occasions where I make a special request or just want to sit down and read the paper, again, they are helpful and accommodating. You really can’t ask for much more than that. (And if you’re looking for more, there’s always places like IHOP or Silver Diner.)

Love the kimchi bulgogi. Chicken curry croissant also very good. California wrap also. The owners are some of the friendliest people I have ever met.

This place is right around the corner from my condo and my fiancée and I love the bulgogi. The menu has it on a sub, but if you ask they will give it to you as an entrée with rice and kimchi. The family that runs the place is sooo friendly and the gentleman gives me a York peppermint patty every time I come in; I love giving them my business!

This is a family business as others have mentioned, so I do my best to support it as I live in the building. The owners are nice and helpful. I have never had a bad experience with this place.
Their bulgogi sub is delicious.

I am leaving another review for this place after trying out a couple of their new subs. One word… WOW.
They have a new korean infused Bulgogi? and Kimchi Bulgogi sub and I will be bringing my coworkers for this very soon. The meat was tender, the bread they put it in was great and the flavor was so good. It’s one of those types of foods that gets you hooked. I’ve had my chipotle phase, my gyro phase, burger phase and now I will be having a bulgogi sub phase for sure. Craving it as I type this… ITS A MUST TRY!

I want to like this place. I really do as the owner/​operators are really, really friendly and work hard. But as a deli, it’s just not good and their are must better options in the area for far cheaper.
I’ve gotten their chicken twice and it’s not real meat, it has no flavor in fact. And it’s pricey. A small sandwich with chips was over $ 8. They also charge extra for any bread switch.
So use it as a quick grocery run prehaps, but I won’t be back to eat. Also, they closed their hot bar again.

I really want to like this place because it is on my way to work and they have a large variety. The sandwiches at lunch are decent. Breakfast is atrocious. The breakfast burrito is completely inedible, the grease soaks the tortillas and the wax paper. Nasty. Also, because they make you wait for your food to be ready to pay and because the coffee cups are behind the counter, you can’t prep your coffee while you are waiting.

Was staying in Arlington with my friend from college and I needed some coffee, stat! No need to panic, all I had to do is go downstairs in her apartment and stop by the insanely convenient Ballston Place Gourmet. I was greeted heartily when I walked in and thanked profusely when I purchased my coffee cup. I had a large hazelnut and it did the trick. This place looks clean and well-​stocked and like I said, it was super friendly.
Wish the deli by my apartment in Brooklyn was this friendly. And also that it didn’t smell so much like urine outside.

Good, clean, consistent and cheap breakfast/​lunch for a convenience store that’s located in middle of Ballston. I always get various sandwiches which are decent, but if you’re trying to get a four course meal I’d go somewhere else. Their fresh made to order breakfast is what sets them a part if you can make it before 10:30am.

Actually located on N Fairfax between Pollard and Oakland, not as the map appears. $ 5 minimum credit card purchase.
This is my go-​to emergency grocery location. Need some milk on a weekend morning for cereal, and Marvelous Market is sold out (like always)? Ballston Place Gourmet. Need more bread at 8:30pm to make sandwiches for lunch the next day? Ballston Place Gourmet. Spring cleaning and suddenly run out of trash bags? Ballston Place Gourmet.
I can’t vouch for any of the prepared food. But they’re never out of my emergency grocery supplies, so I appreciate that.

I came back and had the steak and cheese w/​fries special for $ 3.95!!!
That was very awesome for $ 3.95. The steak was nice and tender, and the bread was soft and great. It comes with only lettuce, tomato, onion, and lettuce — no peppers/​mushrooms, but the value was definitely good.
The fries that came with it sucked.
I’m still giving this place 2 stars though because this sandwich alone is not enough to redeem this place of its terrible buffet.