The San Benito Deli

Basic rule if thumb, if there is alive out the door it must be good. And it is. So good. Bread is super fresh and delicious. As witches are generous (ended up being 2 meals for my kids). Egg & Avocado is super yummy.

Nice spot when you can avoid the crowds, the weather is warm, and you can enjoy live music and the outdoor seating.
Hefty sandwiches… always look forward to stopping here when we drive through.

Spent the morning at the beach at Half Moon Bay and then my friends recommended going to the Garden Deli Café. Not being very good with directions, I tried to Unilocal it and got a little scared as nothing was coming up. Worried I was going to get lost, they said to look up the San Benito Hotel. I was thinking what did one have to do with the other? As I found the hotel, the sign for the deli is for the Garden Deli Café, but Unilocal has it as The San Benito Deli. They make fresh bread and the line is out the door. Being a newbie, it can get confusing as they had 3 employees making the sandwiches and one cashier. So, get in line on the right hand side to order your sandwich and then get back in the line on the left hand side to pay. Nice outdoor seating and they had people playing music on Saturday afternoon. Nice place to eat and hang out.

I would’ve totally missed this cute place if it wasn’t for the crazy line coming out of it! It did move pretty fast and gave me a chance to glance at all the other delicious sandwiches coming from the counter. I ended up picking up an egg and avocado sandwich on wheat bread even though I wanted to be adventurous and try the olive and walnut bread. (Looked delicious!) Super fresh ingredients and the egg salad was amazingly fluffy and light. Didn’t get a any chips bc it was more then enough food but ended up with a ginger soda. Wish I would’ve seen the pomegranate ginger soda first but didn’t see it until we were on our way out. There is tons of sitting space outside, a large fireplace to keep yo I warm and we see lucky enough to have some great live music while we ate our sandwiches in the sun.

Holy moly these sandwiches are so flippin delicious! The bread is beyond perfect and ever so soft. Every bite is pure heaven!!! The cookies are delicious as well!

Apparently there’s a separate Unilocal entry for San Benito’s deli now so I have an opportunity to write another review!
Everything I said in my previous reviews under San Benito House still stands. THE BEST sandwich in the Bay Area hands down! Homemade bread baked daily, perfectly crisp/​fresh produce, and excellent, simple flavors! The absolute tops.

Just grabbed another sandwich and it was just as great as last time. The homemade wheat bread is thick and moist and is like two delicious pillows hugging the meat and cheese and telling it a bed time story.

I’ve always loved there sandwiches, so when family was visiting from Spain, it was a must that we have sandwiches from here. A variety of sandwiches were ordered on the whole wheat (my favorite), olive walnut and white breads.
The bread is thick for the bread lovers and the fillings are plentiful for those who love that. Sandwiches are big enough to share, but I always end up eating the entire thing because they’re so good.
I wish I could give extra stars. My mother-​in-​law enjoyed the olive walnut bread so much, I decided to surprise her with a loaf. I went in and asked, they took down my number and I had the loaf by the next day. It’s pricey, but it was worth it.
Will always come back here. Lines may be long sometimes, but food and staff are wonderful.

love the mom and pop feel if this place. They have good sandwich selection (especially vegetarian)…the prices are great for the size of the sandwiches.

Great patio. Fun place to eat on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Have not been here in 20 years. The sandwiches are still hearty and tasty. Just like I remembered. Also the prices are reasonable for what you get. Worth the wait in line.

This deli is wonderful! Stopped in Saturday before an event across the street for Mavericks & the most kind/​friendly lady made the best sandwich, the homemade bread is un real!!! She went above & beyond thank you.
Also we stayed above at the hotel. It was so charming. Not for everyone as the bar downstairs is busy & bustling. But perfect as we are a fairly young couple & appreciate the historic hotel and we’re not needing a phone or tv. The claw foot tub is adorable even though water temp is varied & takes time to fill. Great hard working people & fabulous property. Thank you Carlos we will be recommending to friends.

This place was fun. Great, expansive garden. Paul Simon lookalike playing appropriate tunes. Nice bar attached, spicy bloody mary served. The guys at the counter were a little dazzled — might have had something to do with the pre-#sb50 line. Expensive, yes — but then, it’s the Valley.

This place is solid. My brother and I made a quick day-​trip down from San Francisco, and we asked our pal who grew up in Half Moon Bay for any advice. He informed us, that the San Benito House makes the best sandwich in town. He did not let us down! The sandwiches are gigantic, and come with the classic toppings. I added sprouts and cheddar cheese for an additional dollar or two which was well worth it. The homemade bread is as fresh as can be, and the outdoor seating is delightful. We sat out on the deck beside a nice toasty fireplace, and there was plenty of seating. When we got back to the city, my one regret was not buying a loaf of their bread to bring home! I guess I’ll have to make the trip again soon!

Great sandwiches. Long wait at prime time. Less than friendly staff. Kicker… off leash dog nearly took my leg off and nobody, including dog owner and kitchen staff, gave a rats a**. And I’m a long time dog owner. Not going back.

Great value, and the fresh walnut olive bread is very nice. Best sandwich shop in HMB. Sometimes there’s a line, so you need to time it right, but even if there is a line, it doesn’t normally take long.
In the warmer months, you can sit outside and listen to live music.

Great sandwich shop. My wife doesn’t really like sandwiches and she liked this place a lot. Their bead is especially good.

Excellent bread and high quality ingredients in all three sandwiches we picked up here today. It’s hard to eat healthy on the road so hearty whole wheat bread and tasty hummus was a welcome sight.

I have never had someone actually argue with me about the ingredients of a sandwich and refuse to make it until today.
I requested a Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Cream Cheese sandwich. Despite the fact that the store had all three ingredients, the gentleman behind the counter complained that it would be too difficult to add cream cheese since they usually put peanut butter on one slice and jelly on the other. In short, he was literally unwilling or unintelligent enough to even try. They were willing to give me cream cheese on the side, which was laughable, but let me educate this individual with some sandwiching chemistry tips:
Fact: Peanut Butter and Cream Cheese are both semi-​viscous ingredients (aka they’re thick) while Jelly is gelatinous. By simply applying peanut butter to one side of the sandwich cream cheese to the other, the result would be an extremely easy base to add the gelatinous jelly.
There was a line behind me so I finally told the owner if he wasn’t going to make it how I wanted, I would take a regular PBJ. I shudder to think what might happen if an individual asks for mustard, mayo, and relish! What’s he going to do??? Not enough surface area apparently… far too messy.
Two stars: One for the Peanut Butter, One for the Jelly.

One of my favorite places to have a turkey avocado on the most delicious home made bread right in my home town. Not only do I get a nice juicy fresh sandwich I get all the things I like on it. Been coming here since I was a kid. This little sandwich shop is always so busy. This place never gets old. 2^nd favorite sandwich tuna on wheat!

This is always my go-​to stop after a long bike ride along the coast. My favorite item on the menu is the hummus sandwich on olive walnut bread. The lovely patio and deck space is perfect take the helmet off, watch the bikes, and enjoy the beautiful weather and relax with delicious food.
The thing that sets this deli apart from any other is the customer service. Marie, the beautiful, hard-​working woman who is behind the counter, always makes sure the customer is satisfied with their order, and does everything she can to make your dining experience a positive one. It’s the little things that make a huge difference. She even filled up our water bottles with a smile, and asked about my bike ride. When you’re dehydrated and hungry, Marie’s delightful conversation and helpfulness is like finding an oasis in the desert. So, good sandwiches and excellent customer service make this deli a must-​visit when in HMB!

This Place Is Delicious. Try It Yourself! All Of The Soup Is Homemade, As Well As The Bread They Use For The Sandwiches. Just Delicious. Can’t Say Enough.

We came early enough to miss the worst of the line (11:30 or so I think). Awkwardly crammed ourselves up to the counter between waiting guests and bellowed out our order. It was wrong, but not by much, so we rolled with it. Two sandwiches, two chips, one drink — nearly $ 30.
Squished ourselves back out and onto the patio.
Prepared to be amazed.
Huh.
Well, the patio is lovely and the sandwiches are good, but I wouldn’t make a special trip or even stand in a long line for one, especially with Cunha’s a block or so away.

OMGoodness this was super yummy. We arrived just before 1230, and we were so lucky because the line was out the door when we got our food.
Great meal, reasonable prices for lunch (though I thought the avocado was overpriced).
The patio area is super cute and had live music on Friday when we went by. We were happy we made it here, and it the spot.

Good and fresh sandwiches. What makes this place different from any other deli is that it bakes its own bread. You can choose from a variety of flavors incl. Walnut & Olive, Cranberry or French.
Too bad it takes ~30-​min to order it. My review would definitely have been 5-​stars. Also, $ 3 for a small bottle of Coke is excessive, but you don’t have to buy it from here.

Pretty much the best tuna sandwich ever, for me (and I am 97% vegetarian with fish thrown in occasionally for other nutrition). I crave this place SO hard sometimes, and this is one of the only things motivating me to get over to Half Moon Bay other than the ocean. I even will come into Santa Cruz, then drive up Highway 1 to get to HMB for this sandwich, trying to pack a whole day into getting my few bites of this sandwich.
The olive walnut bread is totally amazing. It has all the items in a bread that I love: a dense chewy texture to offset the soft ingredients in the sandwich, a firmer crust to chew on after and enough flavor to add to the sandwich overall.
The tomato and lettuce are also fabulous, just freshly crip and juicy. I honestly cannot get enough of this place. I don’t care about the wait time, or any other hiccups at all, its worth it to me.
I have also tried the egg & avocado and the cheese & avocado sandwich, add in that fabulous olive walnut bread and its very much worth all the driving.
I also like the variety of drinks and chips offered, it makes everything fun and new when I go.
The service is good too. Its a pay at the counter affair, and you do have to stand in line to put your order in. They take your order and make your sandwich, so its not a number system or you waiting, there isn’t enough room in the little sandwich shop to accommodate that. So a lot of waiting in the line is to place your order, get your sandwich & pay for it.
Occasionally their credit card machine will go down, so its always handy to bring back up cash to this place also.
The seating options are outside on the communal deck (that is shared with the hotel) or take it to go for the car or beach.
I encourage everyone who loves great fresh bread and a good sandwich to drop into this place and check it out. Even with the line, its so good!!! I can’t wait to return !!

Fresh ingredients. Was craving a tuna sandwich (on wheat) and also split a turkey and avocado on olive walnut with my friend. It was yummy and filling And the bread was sooo good!
Kind of hard for us to find in the beginning– didn’t realize it was right next to a bar. Lovely outdoor seating and close to beaches if you want to take the sandwiches to go.

Great lunch option for a large group of people since there is a lovely patio with tons of seating. My standby is turkey on olive walnut bread with everything. It’s $ 7 for a full sandwich, but this is Half Moon Bay and you can’t beat the fresh ingredients and homemade bread. You can also get a half size for $ 4. That said, sometimes the wait can be a bit long and disorganized. On one Saturday afternoon the line had split into two — one for ordering and one for paying and when I finally got close to the front of the paying line, the staff asked some of the customers why there were 2 lines. Hilarious to see how angry everyone got. And note, the deli is tiny, so be prepared to feel a bit crammed in. It’s worth it though :)

The best tuna sandwich I have ever had!
The bread is amazing. I will definitely go back.

If u like deli sandwiches. this is d place. I had turkey sandwich which was yummy. Their bread was fresh. Home baked and extermly yummy.

Came here on a Saturday and this place was crazy busy… I think we ended up waiting upwards of 30 minutes for a sandwich.
I appreciated that they make their own bread (which was definitely the highlight). I also appreciated the owner (?)‘s lovely blue eye shadow. Other than that, the sandwiches weren’t terribly special. The meats and cheeses were pretty standard. I found it sort of off putting that they charge extra for sprouts… A good sandwich, mostly for the freshly baked bread. I wouldn’t say it’s worth a long wait though… Prices are on the higher side, but this ain’t Subway.

One of THE best sandwiches I’ve had, ever.
I got turkey & avocado on olive walnut bread with all the fixings. It was the perfect bite EVERY DAMN TIME! I was in sandwich heaven the entire time I ate. The extremely fresh & homemade bread had that yeasty, fresh texture that everyone craves. That combined with the turkey, creamy avocado & salty, crisp pickles made it one if the most amazing sandwiches I’ve ever had. I’m drooling just describing & thinking about the sandwich now.
If you are ever in Half Moon Bay — you must stop & try this place!

Great little place!
I walked around downtown Half Moon Bay yesterday looking for something lite to eat, and after a few places that really didn’t drag me in, I entered the San Benito Deli. To be quite honest, the most appealing part of the place is the adorable little courtyard to eat your sandwiches.
I ordered a half Turkey & Avocado sandwich (we were eating a full dinner a few short hours later and I didn’t want to fill up too much). By the time I finished paying, my sandwich was already ready. It was huge! Bonus!
The turkey was fresh, and the ingredients were as well. They did not skimp on the avocado which is an automatic point deduction for me. The ONLY advice I would give is that they overload the mayo & mustard, I had a huge glob dripping off. It was a little bit of a turnoff. Other than that though, the sandwich was excellent. The bread was fresh and soft as well, which really made it great.
Overall, we will definitely be back!