Halsted Street Deli

Ordered a roast beef with cheddar, over $ 7 for a sandwich that had two small slices of roast beef and tons of lettuce! Barely worth the price for a VERY mediocre sandwich! If you’re going to charge that much, you’d better have a decent amount of meat on it! Rip off! I’ll never go back!

Sandwich with mostly lettuce and bread. It’s not good and I won’t be back. $ 7 for a sandwich with next to no meat.

Gross. Sandwich soggy. Had to ask to melt the cheese on Italian beef. Disgusting!

Ordered a corn beef sandwich and was severly disappointed. First, I came in early when no one was around, must have waited 20 minutes for a sandwich. I got the sandwich, it was slopped together, looked like something I made when I was 8. Very little meat and it wasn’t the cheapest. So many better places to get a better sandwich.

While the Chicago Style Hot dog was a vortex of color and detactment, I found abstract expressionism in the presentation of my food to be unappetitizing.

I’ve been to this deli before, and it was average… mostly not my first choice. But today I have to rate it «WTF?»
Normally I would leave well enough alone, but I feel like a joke was played on me. I got the corned beef sandwich, and was asked what kind of mustard I wanted: spicy or yellow. The lady behind the counter asked me if I was sure that I wanted the spicy mustard… «yes, I like spicy.» Whoops– what I got was tough corned beef between two pieces of bread, both absolutely saturated with super horseradishy mustard. It was a miserable pile that fell apart instantly and was barely edible, due to the amount of mustard. While I could’ve brought this to the manager’s attention, I’d really rather just avoid this place from now on.

Really nice staff, and even though there was a long line it moved fast. Unfortunately I ordered a pastrami sandwich that was so fatty. It reminded me of bacon in that I could have pulled off the strips of fat.

I just ate a pastrami sandwich that was almost entirely Dijon mustard and beef fat with some debris of lean meat. I had big hopes after a pretty good Italian sandwich last week, but this thing was barely edible. Worse yet, I couldn’t get any relief in the corn chowder, which was basically creamed canned corn mixed with reduced heavy cream with the consistency of a chunky flan.
Maybe this is all because I went after the lunch rush, but the meal overall was disgusting, which is a word I don’t think I have ever used in a Unilocal review.

This place is awesome. The service was amazing. I had never been here before but the owner/​manager acted as if he’d known me forever. I got the French toast breakfast with bacon– so good. Coffee is great, not terribly busy and great cozy atmosphere.
I am from DC and only come to Chicago every 3 — 4 weeks. I will make an effort to get here for breakfast. Try it out… even if the only thing you need is a small cup of joe and a smile.

Awesome awesome place! I called ahead to ask when they stopped serving breakfast (because I had a free sandwich from belly) and they immediately said that breakfast ended at 11 but if I came after the lunch rush they would be more then happy to make it for me. I went in around 1:30 and Ed the manager was extremely nice and accommodating. The sandwich was fresh, hot and delicious! I will def tell everyone about this place and I will be coming back

Yes, I am a fan of this place. The line is out the door between 12 – 12:30pm, but they are like Jimmy Johns — freaky fast, the line moves and there are only two-​three guys working behind the bar and a friendly lady at the register! I’ve never had a bad experience here, I typically get their soups and I keep going back because it reminds of home.

Usually the food is alright here. Luckily for me I’m hungry, otherwise I’d have to go get lunch elsewhere today. I walked in, was the only person in there, and ordered a southwest chicken salad. It took over 5 minutes to make and here’s the result…
What I received was greens, black beans, onions, cilantro, and sliced chicken lunch meat. No not cubed chicken, as is pictured and standard in every southwest salad recipe in the world, but the salty kind you would use to make a sandwich. No tortilla strips, literally 3 grains of corn (and I asked for no tomatoes). I’m about halfway through it right now and it’s so salty I don’t know if I can finish it, and it tastes primarily like cilantro and lettuce… unfortunately for me I’m super hungry!
They tried to convince me that the sliced chicken is the same as cubed chicken as well, which is kind of insulting because any idiot knows it’s different in both texture (I need substance!) and taste (sliced is way saltier). After I kind of stood there awkwardly for a minute and swallowed the insult and spit back out an explanation of how it’s NOT the same and suggested a discount or something, they did promptly refund me. I mentioned I didn’t want a free lunch, just to pay a fair price for the compromised dish but they did it anyway, so cheers for the effort. I assumed the rest of it was fine, which is why I felt a little bad, but after getting back to my office and seeing how much they shafted me (they let me walk out without multiple ingredients) I don’t feel bad at all.
The only reason you guys didn’t get 1 star is because I happen to have fond memories of the original owner (before it was the chain it is today) who was a very sweet Mexican lady that treated me with open arms when this place was originally open on Washington and Morgan (it didn’t actually originate on Halsted), and some of the remaining sandwiches are still decent to good.
Little advice:
Next time you forget to order enough chicken, and are too lazy to make the other 50% of an entrée, just say you don’t have the ingredients to make it. Don’t try to pull a fast one on your customers, it’s not an honorable business practice!!!

This location has been open for over two years now and it still feels like an empty box. Granted it’s in Illinois Center, so it’s not really a place for ambiance. But still, if you like eating in a cardboard box, this is the place for you.
Aside from that, the food is really good. But it’s pricey. I couldn’t believe when i ordered just one sandwich. No drink. No side. No soup. Just one sandwich, and it came up to be over eight dollars. Huh?
I also came at 1:30pm, and I was the first person in line and it still took a while to get my sandwich — Al’s Special with Manny’s Corn beef.
End story: If you are really looking for one of Halsted Street Deli’s great sandwiches, go to another of their locations. This one has less character than a milk crate.

Good food, quick and at a decent price. Nice people too!
What more do you need to know?

Despite the meat having been microwaved… the hot pastrami sandwich was pretty tasty. I’ve lowered my standards for good pastrami since New York set them so high, but even still… it’s a decent sandwich here. Spicy mustard helped quite a bit, but the meat was juicy and plentiful, the bread spongy yet a little crusty. None of the ingredients are special to where you’d come here exclusively for them. In fact, as others have commented, it’s likely they got the bread right from Jewel. But you know what? If I wanted to make my own sandwich, I would do just that. I don’t care where it’s from as long as it’s tasty and I don’t have to do the prep or cleanup.
Staff was a bit chatty and absent-​minded, but at least one of them was keeping order and chiding the others into getting orders out quickly.
Despite being directly connected to Johnny Rockets next door, it’s not loud or hamburger-​smelly at all. In fact, the dining area is rather nice, and the wide window countertops afford a fun people watching view of the ABC 7 streetfront studio.

Staff is friendly and fast. Food was average and not too pricey. Solid spot to grab a quick lunch. REAL turkey breast meat, fresh bread and pretty darn good chicken noodle soup.
Think of this place as subway without Jared and sans questionable meat.
They get the $ 10 or less for lunch seal of approval.

Once again, Halsted Street Deli does not disappoint.
It has occurred to me that I may be its biggest fan, which is fine by me.
I go in & the guys kid me about my always ordering «no peppers.» «Extra peppers?!» they tease.
Well, I threw them for a loop the other day & ordered the BMT (basil, mozz, tom) instead of my usual Baja. My boss (who recommended I try it) was right: the focaccia was just the right consistency & flavored splendidly. The mozzarella was fresh & delicious, the basil almost too fresh, & the balsamic v. was just enough to give flavor but not too much to make the bread soggy.
I don’t know how they do it, but they rock.

Not very vegetarian-​friendly — none of their soups are ever vegetarian and their salads are very average. Given all the options in this building, I don’t really think it meets up to the competition.
Their veg sandwich is fine — but I prefer hot sandwiches and Potbelly’s across from it.

Been here a few times…
Their sandwiches are quite good…
Their Italian Beef (BIg «E») is a little different than others I’ve had, not exactly traditional… It’s quiteeeee good though. They pile Italian Beef on, then giardinare, melted cheese, and marinara sauce… If you preferred the traditional way you can have it that way too… But this version is really delish.
Their Italian sub (The big Tony I think they call it??) is one of the better ones I’ve had in the loop area… (It’s not quite Bari though!!!). They put a dressing on it that is good.
The breads they use are really good… not cheap crap that other sandwich shops insist on using. IMO one of the better parts of their sandwich was their Italian bread…
The manager who works the register is super friendly and keeps things moving…

Halsted Street Deli has reaffirmed my faith in the fast food humanity of Illinois Center. Finally there’s a clean, well lit sandwich shop offering plenty of seating, a refillable drink machine and low cost food served in a friendly and expedient manner. The huge lines during the first few weeks attest to the area’s need for this kind of place. Just a couple qualms with the name/​concept: this isn’t a delicatessen, at least a traditional deli, and it certainly doesn’t keep Kosher. Also, what’s with the name? There isn’t even a Halsted Street Deli on Halsted!
Sample prices:
$ 3.99 chef’s salad
$ 5.49 two hot dogs, chips & soda
$ 4.99 tuna sandwich
$ 4.49 egg salad sandwich
$ 2.69 bowl of soup
99¢ donuts
Yummy sandwiches and great attitudes from the workers that keep the long lunch lines rolling along. This place is no frills, but for the past few days they’ve run unlimited viewings of «Ferris Bueller’s Day Off» on their flat panel. They close around 2 pm which is a bit early, especially since their food is so good. My hope is they’ll eventually expand their hours.