McAlister’s Deli

WOW. First time here this week. Pecanberry salad excellent as was BLT. Tried the New Yorker, and Turkey sandwiches. All were good. I originally ordered wrong and Carlos the manager was quick to correct my mistake. Will was offering refills and Jazzy stopped by several times and asked if everything was ok. Broccolli cheddar was good but could have been hotter. $ 21 for 3 meals and the sandwiches are piled high with meat, unlike Panera. This is replacing Panera in our world. Food was good and excellent employees. It has ample seating inside and you never have to wait for a table. Wish they had a few tables outside. This will be out twice a week lunch spot. I am very picky and this location did everything right.

Love the Banh Mi — awesome flavors! A better alternative to the same old deli places in my opinion!

I am definitely a fan of McAlister’s lemonade and sandwiches!
Not only do they have great flavored lemonade, but they also have a killer french dip sandwich! The massive potatoes they offer to are pretty delicious. Prepare to share with a friend, they are really 2 potatoes and really good.
Each time I’ve been we’ve had great customer service at the counter and the food comes to the table out fresh and hot.
Worth a stop in, and don’t forget the wildberry lemonade!

We had quick accurate ordering, prompt delivery to our table, & a friendly clean environment. The food was good. I had a tuna salad which was average, broccoli cheddar soup that was very good, & unsweetened iced tea that I might drive out of my way to order. The staff was very friendly. Our dirty plates were removed from the table pretty quickly & we were asked if we needed refills on our tea. Overall we had a good experience, & will go back to try other food from the menu.

Growing up in Chicago in a Jewish neighborhood my ears perk up at the mere mention of a deli. Thick corn beef sandwichs, pastrami and large juicy dill pickle spears tantalize my fantasies… Forget it, it ain’t happening here. This place is a fast food version of a lower class Panera. Wait in line, order from a gigantic menu board and they bring to your table. I ordered the grilled chicken with lettuce, tomato and Swiss cheese with honey mustard sauce on a croissant. Served with a pickle spear that was a dried out pretender of a pickle and chips. The «chicken breast» was a small 3 inch square and ¹⁄₈ inch thick piece of chicken. Mixed in with rectangular pieces of chicken. Poor would be a compliment. And no Swiss cheese. I guess they forgot that. The croissant seemed to be day old the way it fell apart. The wive had half a tuna fish salad sandwich and a cup of tortilla soup. Yea, the tuna was very good. Small as could be but tasty. The soup was not a soup but a thick gravy that was really tangy with very little taste except hot. Her pickled pear was about 3inches long and dry as a bone. A large ice tea (which was good) and a dry raisin oatmeal cookie finished it off. That meal was $ 19.00. It wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t impressed at all. This place is ten miles away from being a deli. Overpriced for what you get… If you’re really hungry… keep driving past this place.

We really like it here. The place is very clean, orders are simple and the food comes out fast for both dine-​in and to-​go. The menu is large for a deli and they have tons of baked potatoes too… always yummy.
I love the wildberry lemon-​aid and you get HUGE cups for a drink with free refills. The sandwiches and salads are both good, i would rate it as a step up from Panera and less money so a win-​win.

Very hit or miss. Either the portions are too big or too small. Got soup and sandwich and the portions were very small. Left still hungry ;(.
Great ice tea though. If you are hungry get a large salad.

I was so excited when I heard there was a mcalisters opening up nearby! Everything I’ve had is amazing from their sweet tea, soups, sandwiches, pasta, and desserts. The restaurant is very nicely done, the staff is amazing, and they even refilled my drinks as soon as I needed it! I will be back!

I am saddened to see all of the poor reviews on here. We visited last Saturday at lunchtime. While crowded, we had no trouble finding a table. I ordered the pick two– cheese spud and chicken salad croissant. I asked for sour cream on the side. I was very pleased that they give you a generous amount! Usually it is such a small plop and is never enough for me! I thought it was VERY GOOD and would definitely order it all again. My husband had the New Yorker. He also likes it. Lots of meat piled high. I had the wild berry sweet tea. It was also very good! So good in fact, that I went online and found the berry flavoring and ordered some for at home! The service did seem a tad bit like they still were unsure of themselves, but all were very friendly and pleasant.
We will definitely be back again!

Hoping to improve on my previous experience with McAlister’s new location, I stopped by for a second time with the family. Unfortunately, I wish we’d stayed home and shared a box of saltines.
The food wasn’t terrible. I’ll give them that. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. Our big takeaway was that mostly everything tasted wet. My second-​shot at the Four Cheese Griller was served on a different bread than the first time around, and although I’m not sure how that happened — the first bread turned out to have been better. We ordered some veggie nachos to share but the nachos turned out to be not-​so-​veggie so I can’t comment on those. I did actually get my side of mac and cheese this time, and it was both mac and cheesy.
Once again, the biggest issue we had with McAlister’s was the service. We ordered a gallon of sweet tea to go at the register, and all three of us heard the girl behind the counter instruct another worker to go get the tea. Somehow, it didn’t seem to register with him (even though she said it twice). Still, we had to wait for our food anyway so I didn’t really see it being an issue. Spoiler alert: I was wrong.
Fast forward to picking up our lunch and there’s still no tea to be seen. We stood at the counter waiting with our bags for a few minutes and no one seemed to notice. It felt like the giant plastic bags in our hands were acting as some sort of super-​powered invisibility cloak to the staff. I spotted a random tea-​jug up at the ordering station and watched as a couple of people ordered and left it behind. Eureka! Our tea! I finally called down to the person working behind the register and asked him if it was ours. He shrugged and carried it down to us, and this is where things get weird.
He plopped (yeah, plopped. I don’t think I’ve ever used that word but it’s totally accurate here) our jug down on the counter and walked away without saying a word. Normally, whatever. Plop my tea. I was waiting for it anyway and my food is getting cold.
However, I felt like this jug could have used some instruction and/​or an apology/​basic acknowledgement of the fact that this tea varied somewhat from the menu photo. Apparently, they’d run out of lids for the gallon bottles, so someone had taken a piece of plastic wrap and put it over the top, wrapping it with a rubber band to «secure» the liquid. If you know anything about transporting liquids, this is obviously not a strategy for success. Since we were driving a Jeep home, it definitely made for a memorable experience.
We stared at it for a minute, then back to the staff (who were once again oblivious to our presence), and then collectively gave up on McAlister’s. It was like our will to want them to try just eased out of us like a sigh. We still drive by every so often and discuss how we wish we could just eat at McAlister’s already, but at this point I’d honestly rather make the 6-​hour drive to Missouri for the same food with some decent service.
Sorry, McAlister’s. I really wanted to love you, but I don’t think you feel the same.

This was one of the worst experiences i have ever had. second time there. First time the had just opened and learning. So I cut them some slack. Today, I go in with my kids. We order 4 items. One was a salad. All 3 non salad orders were wrong. I repeated my order 3 times to the cashier and he repeated the right order back. When I get home and look at the food it’s all wrong. I call and the manager is rude. He says I’ll give you a vip card. Why would I want that and to come back. You wait 15 minutes for your food at a deli. That in and of itself is wrong. By taking so long you would think the order would be right.
These people are rude and dont care about your food or.orders. why be rudrto a customer when you messed up. I will never eat or spend money at this place again

We went this past weekend during lunchtime. It was busy but not crowded, the service was fine and the food was really good. I used to visit all the time down south so I am excited to have one close to home.
We will be going often!

Went this past Sunday and while the restaurant was crowded the service showed some signs of stress.
First off I was served my food on a dirty plate hat did not appear to have been washed.
The portion sizes are relatively small. I had their signature black Angus club sandwich which was a disappointment.
Not a real alternative to Panera.

I give it three with a note that the rating should be described just as ‘OK’. Fist time there and it was busy but line wasn’t long to order. I’m of course a fussy guy so I order my pastrami on rye cheese only heated. So when I saw it brought to my table with lettuce and tomato I said no biggie I;ll just remove but turns out it had mustard too eek!!!
They were good about correcting it but the OK comes from the portion being small compared to other pastrami I’ve had from other deli. It was like half of what I would consider a good size portion, but being it’s a franchise, one should expect small portions I guess.
The pastrami was tasty enough though that if I really had a yearning for a pastrami and was passing by.

I was a bit nervous stopping in here with some of the reviews, but my college love of McAlister’s Deli down in Blormal would not stop me from giving it a try– and I was not disappointed. I took my order to go, but did not call in advance– so walked up to the counter and ordered like everyone else. I came around dinner time on a weekday, and there was only a short line. I had my food in hand only 10 minutes after I ordered, which I thought was reasonable. I had the McAlister’s Club– which is a fairly typical sandwich– and it was delicious. I also liked the cole slaw and potato salad we had as sides. My husband had a spicy chicken hot sandwich– and he said his was good too (fairly typical deli fair). My favorite thing at McAlister’s is the cheesecake– and I was so glad to see that this location had it on the menu. The serving is fairly large, so my hubby and I split a piece– it was just as delicious as I remembered from college years ago!
My sandwich was also large enough that I had leftovers for lunch today– my husbands was not and he was able to finish his in one serving.
We will definitely be back in the future– friendly staff, efficient, good food, great dessert– and decent price. I’d say give it a try– and if you are worried about it being new– wait a couple weeks and give it a try!

So… I couldn’t believe that we have one now in town. Love this place in Indy!
Blown away at the slow service. We ordered a salad and soup and were still sitting here without food 20 minutes later.
There are about 10 people in here with us, we were also told that they are out of multiple food items when we ordered. How can this even happen? Wouldn’t you cover the kitchen to impress when your new?
Can I add… Still sitting here without food!!!

My first impression… «I was having a scary nightmare and was reminded of one of many imposter deli’s in Naperville». You know… the healthy choice, watered down soup, loaded baked potato and salad establishments that have no idea how to make an authentic Rueben kind of place?
The Rueben Sandwich at McAlister’s really needs to be reconstituted to enjoy, or at least offer a complimentary quart of sweet tea to wash down a dry sandwich with no flavor. «Yep» it sucks.
Ohhh, damn, I just read that a McAlister’s is «coming soon» to Naperville to join the competitive ranks of other deli establishments that have no clue as well. McAllister’s will fit right in!
«Told Ya».

I was curious about this place opening. I’ve had never heard of them and didn’t know it was a chain from the south.
First impression walking in. .it was busy, they had only been open about a week or so. They really looked like they were trying to be a more modern version of Papers Bread. There was modern music on the speakers, which Panera is more like a library.
Pretty straight forward menu. I am still unaware that its a chain mind you. I liked the options on the baked potatoes and the pasta selections.
After a pretty long in line I started to get that chain store feeling. Ok our turn at the register… I’m ready.
I go for the Memphis. turkey, ham, roast beef and provolone on a wheat roll. I opt for the potato salad side and a bowl of chili. My wife goes for the Reuben sandwich and a cup of chicken dumpling soup quick is an extra $ 3.50. My son gets the four cheese grilled cheese with chips. The drinks are 32 oz and they get it for you, which adds to your time at the register. The offer free refills on the sweet tea, which I got but who’s getting a refill after the 32 oz bucket of tea?
You them take your drinks to a table if you can find one and wait for the servers to bring your food. We found a nice high top table in the front. Service was a bit slow and disjointed, but they are new and probably still working out the bugs. We kept getting a server asking us if we ordered the cup of extra mayo. We had no food on our table yet!
The good finally was dropped off and looked good. The meat seemed to be a decent quality, you gEt a decent amount of meat on thevsandwiches (unlike Panera, where you have to search for the meat) the sandwichesv actually looked like the pictures! lthe bread wasn’t artisan as Panera but good. Soft and fresh. Here’s where the chain store feel comes into light.
The soup. .plain and very tasteless with huge noodles taking up most of the small cup. The chili… definitely bought in a huge can and warmed up. The quality and taste is more like you’d find in a hospital cafeteria. Certainly industrial grade. Disappointing. The chips my son as his side were plain Jay’s chips. No options here. Just plain Jay’s. At least at Subway you get a choice.
The potato salad was the highlight! You get a nice size scoop, not to big, not to little. Great taste and texture.
Don’t get me wrong.. Sandwiches were good. almost very good but at $ 11.00 per person, I’m expecting very good.
I decided to take the chili home so I had to go up and wait in the line and asked for a take home container for a bowl of chili. The young server said yes they have a container and then stared at me. After an awkward couple of seconds she asked if I wanted one. .yes I do, I replied. She turned to the people in the kitchen to get the bowl. The guy said ok do I want a lid. Yes I do I replied. A lot of work for just ok chili.
Dont get me wrong, they do a nice job and things will get better as they are trained and open for a bit. The food is good and I will be back to try the potato options. They can get rid of the take home Styrofoam containers. Don’t be like everyone else.
They do a good job for what they do but because they are a chain they they aren’t striving to be great or different. I was hoping for great. They came around and asked we needed anything and took empty plates away. That was nice. I’d go back.

Oh gosh, I think I’m being generous here because I hope the kinks are going to be worked out. I’m calling this 3.5 stars, for now.
Let’s start positive… the Horseradish Roast Beef and cheddar was great. I subbed wheat bread and it was delish, great sauce. The broccoli cheddar soup was good. Heavy, but good, especially in cool weather. The McAlister’s Club is really good too. The meat was sliced perfectly and piled high with crispy bacon. I wonder if I could add avocado to this sandwich, it would then be perfect. Also on the plus side, the very nice food runner offered me a cookie since my order got confused and took a long, long time.
Okay, the not so good stuff… the wait for two pick two orders was oddly long. There were seven people at the front counter when I arrived and only one taking orders. Huh? One girl was standing at a register but said she didn’t have a drawer yet… well, after five minutes of standing there, Go Get Your Manager! The other kids were maybe running food??? The order taker was making here own drinks while the others stood. Odd. Which brings up, why is the soda fountain behind the counter? Come on, that’s so out of date and a waste of time. The franchise needs to fix that. Also, the to go containers are mostly styrofoam. Also, come on! It’s 2015, your carbon footprint counts. One sandwich came with a pickle, shouldn’t all of them? Anyway, the pickle sucked. I mean, it was really bad. I took one bite and tossed it. I would think a deli would have better pickles. My final complaint is that they have no system to remember who placed what to go order. No buzzer. No number. It’s strange.
Alright, it seems like my complaints are franchise issues and things that this location will work out with time and more training. That is a plus. The food was definitely good enough for me to go back. Hopefully I can up my rating after next time.

Omg… So many great choices. I had the French dip, hubby had the Rueben and Mark had the Big Nasty. All were really yummy. The Big Nasty was huge, and the gravy was pretty tasty. Mark only could eat half. My side of Mac and cheese was really good. Usually restaurant Mac and cheese requires a bit of salt but this one was spot on. Had their famous sweet tea which was ok I guess for tea, Fernando thought it was really good. I never drink tea so not a good judge. Next time I will stick with my diet coke, my favorite. Can’t wait to come again.