Fred & Gari’s

This is a solid sandwich shop. Very minimalist in the décor but Fred and Geri will sit there and shoot the breeze with you while making your sandwich. They’re good hearted friendly guys. The Reuben is delicious, and I love their Mac salad. I was staying at the hotel right next to them and stopped by twice for lunch. So good!

4.5 but rounding up because the service was so friendly. If you are downtown and looking for something quick and inexpensive to take back to the office this is exactly where you want to be. It is a small shop with a counter. No tables. Service is very quick. We got hot sandwiches and were in and out in about 10 min. Also the sandwiches are pretty cheap and include 2 sides. Get the Italian. It was so delicious! They bake it with some seasoning on the bread. Yum! I wasn’t crazy about the Ruben but the Italian more than made up for it. It even held up well after a bit of walk back to the office. Also their Oatmeal Raisin Cookie was possibly the best I’ve ever had. Plus they give you a free cookie if it is your first visit. Not I know know where to go every time I need to run errands at lunch and bring something delicious back.

If you work downtown and even just eat out on occasion, you must go to this place… Carryout only, fairly priced (around median for DT lunches), and really outstanding food. There seems to be a focus on ingredients, freshness, and simplicity, making it simultaneously decadent and healthy. It’s just good food, and it’s my absolute favorite lunch!

Carry out only. Awesome soups (get the jalapeño cornbread), salads, sandwiches, and the pizzas are great too! Everything is fresh made daily. Fast service… quick in/​out. Get you some today!

I’ve been working in downtown for a while and have neglected to patronize this fine local establishment. Not only are their prices reasonable by downtown standards, the food is delicious and the service is incredibly friendly and attentive. They roast /​bake all their meats utilized on their sandwiches in house and their cookies are made fresh daily. In addition, most sides are scratch made. I can’t believe I thumbed my nose up at this place for so long, especially given how centrally located it is. Fred & Gari’s should be in the rotation if you are in or frequent downtown regularly!

The five star rating from Unilocal is reserved for «as good as it gets!» and let me tell you, Fred & Gari are making the best deli sandwiches in Cincinnati. They are old school, doing it right, down to earth people who make classics the right way, along with quirky and innovative options to keep everyone on their toes. After today’s visit, I can say I’ve had the best Reuben in Cincinnati. While I have definitely had better pure corned beef outside the region, This is DEFINITELY as good as it gets in Cincinnati. And for that I am definitely giving it 5 stars. In addition to making a range of other amazing sandwiches.

Very good pizza there and they need to add the three cheese pizza to the menu. My co-​worker and I walked in on a whim because we needed something quick and with the help of the Unilocal App, we came to Fred and Gari’s. Man I wished I knew about this place when I worked in downtown Cincy. We ordered the pepperoni pizza but as we waited they provided samples of the three cheese pizza that was not on the menu… they need to add it to the menu. The pizza there is classic thin crust and just delicious. I would probably be eating there all the time. Customer service was great as well. Try the pizza, you wont regret it.

Fast Friendly Service! Ordered the Italian Hoagie and it was delicious! The building could use a little face lift but overall great value and the ingredient quality is excellent! They take credit card which is great since I never have cash. Definitely a refreshing change from the typical downtown lunch offerings.

Best hidden lunch spot! These guys she everything fresh daily. They don’t use Subway «meat,» they slow cook their meats every morning and carve it for lunch time. Soups are all home made and come with crackers, cornbread, or my favorite Jalapeño cornbread. Thursday is the best Soup day, but check Facebook for their daily and weekly specials. Their hot sandwiches and pizzas require a call ahead or else you’ll wait for 10 minutes. All sandwiches also come with 2 home made sides. Grab a cookie and you’ve got yourself the best lunch in downtown Cincy!

Great place for a quality lunch downtown at a reasonable price. I had a pork tenderloin sandwich with smoke gouda that was very tasty. Its difficult to find a unique, well made sandwich downtown. This is one of the few doing it right!

It’s disappointing how few people have heard of this delicious lunch place tucked away around the corner from Fountain Sq!
I’ve had it twice now in a few weeks (and I rarely dine out for lunch).
My first visit choice was «The Gourmet Touch» Turkey Breast sandwich with two sides. Definitely recommend this– thought it may be too simple of a choice to try, but it was one of the best hot sandwiches I’ve had in Cinci. Along with the free cookie for my first visit of course! I’ve sampled most of their cookies now, and you can’t go wrong with any of these giant fresh baked cookies.
For my second visit, I chose the 2 meat-​3 cheese pizza, as Gari had recommended my first time. It ranks in the top 10 (maybe #7?) pizzas in Cincinnati. SO delicious. It ranks in my top 2 or 3 I’ve ever tried– overall ranking because it isn’t thin or super thick crust– it’s traditional. 2 meat– 3 cheese is «a sauce less pizza brushed with garlic and extra virgin olive oil, topped with pepperoni, bacon, spinach, smoked gouda, mozzarella, gruyère and special spices». Now that has some special love put into it.
The owners, Fred, Gari, and Gary, are the perfect small restaurant owners. So friendly and personable. Definitely adds to why nearly every customer that came in while we were waiting for our food, was a regular that they knew by name. That speaks volumes about a business.
Hours are 10:30 –2 pm Monday through Friday

Great small, local sandwich shop with most items made in the shop. I ordered a honey mustard chicken sandwich that was awesome. For $ 7.95 it also came with 2 sides (I chose fruit salad and Greek pasta salad). Because it was my first time in the store (apparently Fred and/​or Gari is great with faces) I got to choose a free cookie. I chose double chocolate chip and it was delicious. I will definitely be back and I will have no problem paying for my cookie this time.

Love this place! I always get their pizza so I can only wax poetic about that and not their other offerings… But the pizza is wonderful… I have tried several but always come back to the meat lovers which is jammed with a variety of sausages and pepperoni and bacon. The small costs $ 10 which seems steep but honestly it is enough for 2 people or 2 meals because there are so many toppings. As a plus, the guys who work there are really friendly and fun. Highly recommended

This place is super friendly. The guys behind the counter (who I understand own the place) are very welcoming. The pizza was prett good, and my reuben sandwich was totally bomb. Also, the sides were good.
Bottom Line: I’ll be back for lunch as soon as I’ve got an excuse.

I have heard rave reviews about this place from lots of people in my building. It’s in my building so it gets a lot of business kind of by default I’m guessing. Anyway, I tried a steak hoagie. I would say, I would have probably liked it better than I did had I not grown up with Pasquales. Nothing has come close to a Pasquales steak hoagie and Fred & Gari’s is no exception. It is ok at best. Fred & Gari both seem like fun guys, but the food there was just ok. It’ll do on a inclement weather day when I can’t get to Pasquales and I’m craving a steak hoagie, but only if I’ve forgotten my umbrella or the roads are covered with ice!

This one of my favorite lunch places downtown. The pizza is great and I love the roast pork and roast beef sandwiches (and they are always made to order). I love the macaroni salad as a side with the sandwiches.
The cookies are good but the pie is amazing, actually made from scratch. You are more likely to get pie on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Great, friendly place to pick up lunch! One of my personal favorites is their potato soup. Not a lot of time for lunch, no problem. Usually in and out in about 5 minutes with delicious food and this is at noon. One of my favorite lunch time places.

My husband and I have been eating our way through the Cincinnati Magazine «Best Pizza» list for the last few months (expanding waistline, be damned). I noted Fred & Gari’s as a downtown option on the list, but then became perplexed because, as someone who lives and works downtown, I had never heard of the place. Say what? To make matters worse, turns out, we had walked past the Vine Street deli a billion times. It is tucked near Skyline just around the corner from my husband’s workplace and Fountain Square.
The hours are weird (read: very limited) and it’s carry-​out only, so we planned a lunch date on a sunny day and headed there.
If you read no further, let me just stress that we were totally missing out not going here before. Fed & Gari’s is awesome in a plethora of ways, and you should go there for lunch… now.
For those still reading, let me explain.
First, the staff (Fred, Gari, and some other guy who danced and sang when he said «wild rice») is great. They are all about friendly and fast service. While we waited for our food, we watched them fly threw lunch orders all while making chit chat with every customer and smiling. When we got our food, they also made sure we had plates and plenty of napkins to eat on the go.
Second, the price here is extremely affordable. Our 12″ pizza, 2 mammoth cookies, and drinks was just over $ 15. For two people at a downtown lunch spot, that’s not too bad at all!
Third, it’s quaint. Some might call it shabby, but the plain, yet bright décor isn’t far from what you’d see at a NY deli. I kind of like it.
And last (but certainly not least), the food… it’s actually good. Our hand-​tossed style pizza was obviously homemade, fresh from the oven, and tasted great. It was loaded with brown, bubbly cheese, and the crust had a nice soft chew to it. There might have been a bit too much sauce on it for me (the cheese slid some), but it wasn’t overpowering at all. The chocolate chip cookies we also tried were huge pillows with awesome slightly undercooked, gooey centers. As good as these were, the fresh cream pies in the display case looked spectacular too. I might have to go back just for a slice of one of them. Fred & Gari’s also has sandwiches, soups, and salads on the menu, which most of the lunch crowd seemed to be opting for.
Overall, our first, long overdue lunch at Fred & Gari’s was great. It’s totally a hidden-​right-​in-​front-​of-​your-​face gem. I have a feeling we’ll be back again really soon!

Since recently moving to a job downtown, i was on the hunt for a great sandwich place. I believe i found it with Fred and Garis. They prepare the food super fast and everything is frsh. I believe they flavor and roast their meats, which is has a great flavor. For $ 7.50, you get a good portioned sandwich and two sides. There is usually a line, and many people rave about their soup, but i have yet to try it. They guys are really nice, and its a shame you cant eat in to talk to them more. I would recommend trying their macaroni salad as a side. So far, i havent had anything there i didnt like, and im a picky eater!