Savory Deli & Market

So far, everything I’ve had at Savory beats my expectations of a deli, and not just any old American style deli no, Savory has an international thang going on with Italia, France, and Espana flavors.
One of my favorites is the tuna sandwich and the lentil soup combo. I’m digging the food here and I’ll become a regular.

I was amazed by the flavors this place had to offer. It reminded us of an amazing dinnfer we had last year in Nice. The service was great and we were never rushed on our 2 – 3 hour nibbling experience.
Our choices:
Avocado anchovy canapé. One of the simplest, yet most amazing combinations I have be lucky enough to enjoy
Lentil soup. It was delicious, but I noticed they were also serving gazpacho, and regretted not ordering that. The staff was nice enough to bring out a tasting of it and it was AMAZING! (order the gazpacho)
Mahi Mahi in white wine. Delicious!!!
Mussels in saffron. Fantastic and extremely well prepared. Perfectly cooked and amazing.
The prosciutto and garlic piadina. Salty, creamy, amazing! Exactly what I hoped for.
Roasted veggie sandwich. Great, but a bit oily. Not my cup of tea, but the wife raved.
My only negatives were the overall cost. It seemed a bit on the high side. ($ 75 for dinner for two including a bottle of wine… in university heights). They also did not have the first two bottles of wine we wanted. We will definitely be back, but it may be for lunch were their pricing fits the neighborhood much better.

My impression as I left this place was it had bursts of greatness with small faults. My dining companion said, «cute, savory, and delicious.»
They have a great tapas menu and pretty cheap. $ 2 to $ 6. We started with the goat cheese wrapped in Serrano Ham. This goat cheese was divine! Smooth, elegant and full of flavor! I had only wished that it was wrapped with thicker Serrano or perhaps prosciutto, because the saltiness just didn’t come through quite enough.
Next we had the Skewered Caprese. Again, delightful! We got 4 pieces even though the menu says 2. The mozzarella was very fresh, tomatoes perfectly ripe and just the right amount of fresh basil to round it out. Drizzled with Balsamic, it gave you just enough tang to balance the smoothness of the mozzarella. Left me wanting more balsamic.
Next we had the OMG subwich and the Socca Turkey. Both sandwiches were executed very well. The OMG is only $ 3.50 which made me ask if it was small. No, it was a perfect lunch size. I was told that they had demand for a cheap sandwich so they put one on the menu. Fellow Unilocalers, the Gruyère cheese was such a great touch with the dry salami and ham. A sandwich with Gruyère cheese and under $ 4??? Im there all day long! The Socca Turkey was also very good, love the addition of sprouts and the bread… O M G the bread. I likened it to a cross between a pita and flatbread but either way, it was right on point!
So, what was bad? Well… besides the little points I mentioned above, our server was brand. spanking. new. But, it must have been her first serving job as well. Enough said. We were happy to put up with the minor inconvenience for the great food and atmosphere.
*in my list of walking around normal heights even though it isnt quite walking distance.

For someone who likes to cook paella, they really have a good selection of Spanish sausage. The Pamplona chorizo was buttery and mouthwatering. I had their Euro Sandwich and it was perfect!
Need to check out their Paella saturdays there.

finally had the chance to stop in and try the saturday seafood paella here and am sad to say that i was pretty disappointed.
we got a whole spread of things — spinach salad and the goat cheese & tapenade appetizer — both of which were just okay for me but i won’t use that as my measuring stick since i’m really not big on olives.
we got small orders of the spaghetti and pasta carbonara — my 2 favorite dishes. i’d be glad to come back for the pasta and also to try some of their italian sandwiches.
the paella. i’ve gone by this place so many times, telling myself that i have to come and try the paella. so perhaps i did myself in by hyping it up. the seafood didn’t taste fresh at all and it certainly seemed like they threw some seafood onto the rice and just microwaved it. the rice pretty bland and the whole dish just left something to be desired.
will probably come back for pasta takeout or some deli sandwiches but isn’t at the top of the list.

Special thanks to Savory Deli & Market for serving me the worst meal I’ve had in a while. My friend and I shared the following tapas: Potato Croquetas (couldn’t taste the Gorgonzola), Skewered Caprese, Spinach & Garbanzo Beans Sauté (oily, soggy, overcooked spinach), Fried Mushrooms. We had the Tiramisu for dessert. The food was pretty bland; nothin’ special at all. The presentation might be the worst I’d ever seen at a restaurant. Served on crowded white plates with a dollop of mayo on the side. Here’s an idea: drizzle aioli over the entire dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley to make the dish look more appetizing.
So as if the crappy presentation wasn’t enough, the service was also slooooow. The plates came out one at a time, 10 min apart even though there was no one else in the whole restaurant! I’d hate to have been there on a somewhat busy night!
Only wine is offered (no beer).

I went Savory for the dinner with
coupon. Maybe it was not good choice for the dinner. Savory opens for lunch and dinner, but it should be better to visit for lunch or brunch during weekend. The interior is family owned deli place, so it’s not fancy or decorated.
Good thing: they have very affordable price tapas from $ 2 to $ 6. Even $ 2 potato tapas was very good. We tried 3 tapas, 2 pasta, one dessert, and few drinks. Everything fits within $ 35 price range. Sweet!
Their homemade chocolate dessert cake was very impressive, but the other plates are around average taste… Not bad but not that good either. I guess we should come back here for the weekend brunch, not for the dinner.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a sandwich from this place. The sandwiches are flat out amazing!
I ordered the Socca Turkey on Piadina. It comes with turkey, gruyère, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumber and some spicy aioli. The flavors were amazing. Nothing short of amazing. The turkey is fresh and clean and the amount of food for the price was perfect. I was not too full and not left feeling hungry either.
The owner was pleasant and he whipped up the sandwiches nice and quick. This place also offers pasta dishes, salads and other lunch type fare.
Swing by here and have a fantastic meal!

We went for dinner, nobody in there, at 8 pm Saturday night. Well, the one owner was. On his laptop. WE greeted him! We sat ourselveves as he was on his laptop. We asked him and were told they had squash blossoms so we ordered 2 orders to start. The other owner tells the him they don’t have any so they yell it over from the cash register instead of coming over to tell us. The original owner disappears around the corner to continue on his lap top. The «server» comes over takes the order. (No wine or beer.)
Love that the food comes in a small and large portion. Great selection of vegetarrian food. The food was great. I would go for take out. Service is non exsistent. as far as the «retail selection» you’d be better off going to the World Market or to Little Italy.
* I enjoy a «mixed Paella, seafood and meat together. they have either meat or seafood.
Paella with Seafood $ 14.50 Paella rice imported from Spain with mussels, shrimp, calamari, mahi-​mahi fish, peas, imported Spanish paprika and freshly ground spices.
Paella w/​Chicken & Chorizo $ 10.50 with chicken, Spanish chorizo sausage, wide green beans (seasonal), imported jumbo butter beans, red bell pepper, imported Spanish paprika and freshly ground spices.
I asked if they could add one to the other and a simple «NO» was the response.
The three of us ordered the Cabonara, Pasta Pancetta, and Grilled Pesto/​Formaggio Sandwich.
As I said the food was very good and although normally very rich, the cabonara was lighter and not overlly creamed and heavy.
I would get take out. The food is good.
It’s like that Chinese resturanta or Pizza place down the block that you order food from on the fly to take home but never eat at.

I’m so glad to see so many positive reviews for this gem. It’s tiny and functions as both a market and a deli, so I was confused the first few times I walked by and probably would never have tried it. That is, until a group of friends wanted to go for dinner and one had a
coupon for here. The deal was that if we (a group of 10) get $ 200 worth of food, we only pay $ 100. Awesome.
Anyway, my friend called to talk details and the people here were extremely accommodating. They suggested on the phone that we come and order from their catering menu since we had a big group and were looking to order a lot. Once we arrived, they had a long table ready for us, we basically took up the whole place.
We were given menus, but after a quick glance and talk with the owner/​chef? we decided to just let him choose. He took a quick survey of our likes and dislikes (most of us don’t like olives which were in many of their dishes, so he suggested other sauces and options, etc), but the rest was to be a total surprise. We got started on some wine (which we brought in from the liquor store down the street on the owner/chef’s suggestion — they don’t have a liquor license but let us bring our own in and didn’t charge a corkage fee!) and the food started coming. And it didn’t stop for about a dozen courses.
We basically tried everything on the menu — two different salads, a few appetizers, three types of pasta (the gnocchi and pasta carbonara were delicious), meats and cheeses, etc etc. Each time we thought we thought we were done, they brought more! The dessert at the end was phenomenal — I was so stuffed but couldn’t stop myself from diving in to the tiramisu and nutella cake (!!!)
The whole dinner was one of the most fun and pleasant experiences I’ve had in a while — it felt like we were at someone’s home and they were treating us like queens. I know my experience was pretty different from the typical couple or group looking to dine here, but I would definitely come back for a more normal meal. I’ve tasted tons of the food they have to offer, had a major taste of their great service, and almost feel like family. I loved my experience at Savory.

I was sooooooooo looking forward to trying this place out. I am familiar w all the other eateries on the block and after reading the reviews and checking out the website me and my sweetheart went for lunch. Everything started out ok. Prosciutto piadino for her, lentil soup for me to start. Delish, we where drinking a bood orange italian soda and i must admit sitting outside on a sunny nice day i was impressed. Then disaster… i received my pasta carbonara. (BTW up till this point everything was way better than i could have hoped for. The Small is huge, makes me wonder how big the large is). one bite delish, two bites even better… then…THE HAIR… a big long hair in my spagetti dangling on the fork. I thought this only happened on bad sitcoms and made up Unilocal reviews… it no urban legend the hair in the food does exist, and its alive and well at Savory!
My stomach turned over, then i went told the dude (you remember me dont lie… lol) at the computer what happened, i refused to have it remade. At this point my stomach was turning over and i was second guessing every delicious bite that was in my stomach.
He said he would take it off the ticket… whatever…
I was embarrased for them and i was really trying to like this place…
It seemed nobody cared…
what a joke… a bad one…
i didnt order dessert and coffee. went down the street to lestats… paid for the other food that by now was turning over at the thought of that nasty ass pasta…
never will be back…

Maybe he was a new guy, maybe I’m just really stupid. Not sure which yet. But, I was given the tapas menu at lunch time. Not the regular menu. Any how I said OK, that’s odd, and ordered from it anyways. I got the Spinach & Garbanzo Bean Sauté (which resulted in a plate barely larger then my fist) and The Canapé — which is Pamplona, Chorizo & Manchego Cheese on a baguette, except it’s on two circular very thinly slices of baguette, what looked like to slices of pepperoni and some savory cheese (hey hence the same!).
Aside from the let down in size, the food tasted really, really good (either that or I was starving and eating a very miniscule amount of food). I turned to my left thinking I’m about to give this place one star because the ONLY good thing was the taste. And to my astonishment a full menu was tapped up next to me! Crepes, Paella, Appetizers w/​goat cheese, Salads, sandwiches, soups, pastas! Well, that would have been helpful.
I asked the waiter for one for my next visit, and I think he realized his mistake in handing the wrong thing. The staff was attentive, everything aside.
So one star for the taste, one star for the service, and one star for the new found interesting and healthy menu options.

Having a craving for paella, I decided to visit my friendly neighborhood google page and type in «paella in san diego». Needless to say a number of catering places popped up. Now, I’m sure they were all good but let’s be honest, I wasn’t looking to feed 30 or so people but only 3.
I found a listing for a few places but unfortunately they weren’t kid friendly so onward I scrolled. I happened upon a listing for the Savory Deli and Market and lo and behold they had Paella Saturdays and guess what today was? Yup you guessed it, it was Saturday, yay for me.
So I shuffle my husband and daughter in the car and we make the trek down to University Heights. At first glance one might think huh, not sure about this place but take my word for it, this place is superb. From it’s cleanliness, to it’s excellent and friendly service and delicious food, my family and I fell in love with this place.
For appetizers we had a small order of pasta Iunghe with mussells and socca with goat chees and tapenade, both very yummy. For the main course I had the paella with chicken and chorizo, since they sadly ran out of the seafood paella, hubby had the piadina prosciutto, and my daughter had the spaghetti alla carbonara, all were wow. For dessert my daughter and I split their homemade leche flan and the hubby had tiramisu, can I just say both were heavenly. Everything was so yummy and I must say it’s the best tiramisu I’ve ever had since I had to try everything, lol.
All in all a great experience and we’re definitely coming back especially after the hubby found out that they can make him a true italian beef combo sandwich reminiscent of the ones he had back when we lived in Chicago. I highly recommend this place, you won’t be disappointed.

we’ve walked passed this place more than a few times after parking and walking either to parkhouse eatery, el zarape or muzita. after one friday for lunch we had el zarape since it was lent and i’m not sure if i’m giving up much since a lobster burrito from el zarape is not really fasting. anyway, after we were done and walked back to the car i saw a picture of a sandwich that looked killer which also made us look at their menu. it took about two weeks for us to finally try savory deli and holy $hit.
when we walked in the first thing i noticed was all the salumis which just made my mouth water, also it smelled fantas-​tic inside. here’s another type of food that’s difficult to find in socal, a real meat cured shop, but more so finding a good one is even harder. i only got to try their Pladina which when i bit into it made me shake my head. it was beautiful prosciutto and also great moozarel. every bite i would press that cured ham to the roof of my mouth and all the cured saltiness just exploded along with fresh moozarel, tomato and basil. absolute Killerrrrrrrr!
the only small thing i would change is the use of the flat bread for an italian roll which has a nice dense crispy crust but with a soft inside. the dense crispy crust would prevent the sandwich from getting soggy from the fresh tomatoes and moozarel but would also add more taste to the sandwich and would cut down the saltiness for some. this italian roll is not the ones you see in subways or quiznos. only true italian bakeries and italian delis would have them.
we also tried their nutella crêpe which to was killer. they got the thickness, weight and the flavor of a crêpe down pat. from what i remember they had only a few savory and sweet crepes in their menu which is a good thing. less things to me means that the stuff they have are given more attention to detail.
what a killer place and a great find that may get lost in foodie blvd of university heights. SDM you have found yourself a repeat customer for life…

By far my FAVORITE Deli in San Diego. The people are very nice. You can dine in or take out. And they have outdoor sitting. They also do catering. Their specialty in French and Spanish country cuisine put them on the map!
TAPAS Nights! (Tuesdays and Fridays after 5pm). Price $ 3-​$ 6.
PAELLA Saturdays! (Chicken, Seafood and Vegetarian paella. Authentic and Delicious!)
Other specialty items includes:
PLT (Pancetta Lettuce and Tomatoes) – simply incredible.
French Chicken Soup – make from scratch with fresh herb, a must try!
Pumpkin Empanadas – These are out-​out-​the-​world good. We ordered a dozen for X’mas to bring over to friends’ house, they baked it half way and gave us instruction to bake right before serving them. (How thoughtful!)
And by the way, Gabriella is an amazing chef! She catered for us and made something that’s not even on the menu. My husband is half Italian and so we wanted ITALIAN food. But we didn’t expect how well the food turned out. She made «Chicken Marsala» and «Vegetable Primevera» as requested. And the food blew us away! So if you don’t see something on the menu, just ask!
In any case, this place is awesome. You can taste and feel the love in the food!!!

Fantastic little deli/​specialty food store! Super friendly staff and owners! Here are some of my favorite menu items:
Stuffed Zucchini/​Squash Blossoms: stuffed with ricotta cheese and breaded with panko crumbs — absolutely decadent and to die for!
PLT: pancetta lettuce and tomato on toasted bread — so fresh and crispy, with just the right amount of saltiness balanced by lettuce and tomato
Salad Nicoise: The best nicoise I have had in San Diego! Plenty of delicious tuna from Spain, and the fragrant, tangy tarragon dressing is made in house from all the freshest ingredients.
Paella: Chicken and seafood are both amazing, but I prefer the seafood which is just a tad bit more decadent
Tapas Tuesday: toasted baguette with avocado and anchovy is a great starter, and any of their cheesy tapas are divine! The menu is nicely seasonal, so when melons were out, they served prosciutto wrapped apples, mmmmm!!!
I was only able to devour about a dozen tapas on my latest visit, but each one was so delectable and such a tease, I kept wanting more!
Atmosphere: very casual and cozy — euro-​delicatessen style
Alcohol: BYOB
Beverages: Love the orangina and other european seltzer drinks.
Dessert: Chocolates from heaven! Pistachio and more!
Their ingredients and stock items are either super fresh from local farmers, or imported delicacies from Spain, France or Italy.
Catering services are also available and the food is just as fresh and elaborate!

This lil place is a one big gem. Thanks to Roger and Larah’s Tapa Tuesday, I finally made it in. And, then I had to go back!
The calm, casual atmosphere of this place is a nice change for Park Blvd. They’ve got tons of simple, well made, delicious little treats here. So glad it’s only blocks from the pad. The service is speedy, the people are friendly and everything smells great. I’ve tried a handful of dishes on the menu, so far. My goal is to taste everything eventually.
It’s a BYOB kinda place. dude. that rules!!!
Things I’ve tried:
Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
Vegetarian Spanish Lentil Stew w/​Spinach. super yummers!
Nutella Cake
Garlic Patatas Bravas. mmmmmm
Canapé — Avocado Anchovy
Melon Wrapped in Serrano Ham. i only had the melon though.
Potato Croquetas
Skewered Caprese
Mussels in White Wine and Saffron — i’m a fan!
Mushrooms in olive oil
and I’m sure there are more but, I don’t remember
GO! Order a bunch of things and knock yourself out.

Heard about Tapas Tuesday and decided to round some folks up to go. My lovely company and I sampled several tapas dishes. It was all good.
Highlights:
–muscles in saffron & white wine sauce
–crispy potatoes and garlic aioli
–stuffed zucchini blossoms
–polenta gorgonzola muffin
–anchovy avacado on baguette
–potato croquettes
also tried
–nutella cake
–prosciutto wrapped melon
–mozz/​tomato/​olive oil skewers
no beer or liquor license yet, but you can byob/​wine with no charge
nice cozy little place. tables are a little close. cool décor though.
deli counter stocked with nice european meats and cheeses.
staff is friendly.
were nice enough to split our check 3 ways on card :)
looking forward to paella saturday

After having an especially trying day, I wandered in here in search of some kind of ham product. Bad Jew!
Serrano ham? Yeah, definitely. The deli master man let me try the expensive imported one. I guess I led him on a little bit before I ordered the cheap domestic. But I can’t tell the difference anyway!
I can’t WAIT to try the stuffed zucchini blossoms. If I hadn’t been stuffed already from Gulf Coast grill (haha or not with boyfriend who’d make me feel guilty…) I would have ordered some. Next time!
They have truffle salt! But were out at the time. Can’t wait to try the deli sandwiches with my stuffed awesomestan.
I’m drunk. Back to beer.

Their tagline is «Specializing in regional foods of Spain, France, Italy».
I was riding my bike to the HiIllcrest farmer’s market when I spotted this place and decided to check it out. I ended up eating here instead of Hillcrest. Savory is basically right across the street from the original El Zarape in University Heights.
I tried the piadina with mozzarella, tomato, olive oil, prosciutto, and basil (or you can get arugula). Seriously, those ingredients together are probably the most magical, wonderful, delicious mixture of ingredients that exists. There is nothing quite like biting into a slightly springy circle of mozzarel and salty prosciutto and then the basil just makes it the holy trinity. I used to eat stuff like this when I lived in NY all the time… It’s very common, so to taste it here was wonderful. The sandwich was $ 7.50 and you get quality ingredients. I actually didn’t totally love the piadina bread (it’s a thin Italian flatbread — I had to look it up too) and thought it would have been better on a crusty Italian or french bread. However, that was the ONLY thing about this sandwich that wasn’t totally perfectly awesome.
I also had the gnocchi with olives and tomato sauce. It seemed like it was all homemade — no storebought sauce here (or if it was, it was chunky and fresh tasting). A small portion was around $ 5. It came with a tiny little cup of fresh basil and shredded cheese. It wasn’t the best gnocchi I’ve ever had (that honor belongs to a place on Arthur Ave in the Bronx), but by San Diego standards, it was very, very good. Maybe they could serve it with a small piece of crusty bread — that would have been perfect.
Other than their eat-​in menu, they offer meats, olives, cheeses, and even take custom orders (my bf was looking for salchichon). They have a small selection of packaged pastas, sauces, spices, and other things you might expect to find in a market like this.
The guy working there was very friendly (not sure if he is the owner) and said they’ve been open since around Thanksgiving.
I really like this place, I hope they do well, and look forward to going back!