Rudi’s Delicatessens

One of my favourite sandwich shops and it gets a visit every time I am in town for work. I have been coming here for years, 2000’ish I think, and the prices really have not changed much.
NOTE — The place its self is a tiny wee shop, so make sure you get in before lunch as the schoolies, students and Uni staff tend to pack the shop out. massive queues out the shop onto the street.
I haven’t seen him in there in a while but the owner is one of the most genuinely friendly people I have met. My reason for mentioning this is that it is reflected on his staff. They are really helpful, friendly and polite.
The sandwiches are great — inexpensive but packed with ingredients. You choose from one of about 20 or so options of pre made rolls. I have sampled most of these over the years and all were approved of. Veggies are also well catered for, example would be the roasted veg and hummus or their take on a caprassee sandwich. My favourites are the parisian or mafaleta. Both are meat and cheese based but the mafaleta is on a massive piece focaccia style bread and the parisian on a baguette.
I have had better sandwiches/​coffee etc but balancing the cost versus quality argument this place wins hands down.

With Baguette Express up opposite, Greggs up the road alongside subway Rudis is competing for lunch time trade but always wins for me!
You can get the usual combinations on a selection of different breads but I’m always drawn to the pre-​made gourmet sandwiches at the counter. Options are more diverse than in the other chain sandwich shops and my personal favourite was jarlsberg, ham, salad and basil mayo on a rosemary and thyme foccacia. Completely pretentious sounding I’ll give you that but I’ll take one of those over a limp ham salad baguette from across the road any day! And despite the premium products you don’t have to pay premium prices.

From my experience of Rudi’s I’ve always found it to be pleasant inside with a great range of food and, in particular, breads. The queues are usually painful around lunchtime and they could easily do with some more staff in there. The vast majority of people come for their excellent sandwiches which are sold cheaply and do for a great lunch. I usually go for one of their seeded brown baguettes with some smoked ham and salad.
They have a great range of cooked meats, cheeses, olives and fresh salad. The service isn’t the quickest, but they’re always friendly make your sandwich exactly as you ask for it.

I don’t know if I have been in this little café at a better time than the reviewers, but I loved it!
Rudi’s is as delightful on the inside as it is on its outside. It has a cute, appealing signage and even more appealing light bites on the menu. It is very much Italian snacky, with ciabatta and focaccia being the food of choice. But that’ll sort you out if you’re starving, since it’s a healthy carb fest filled with delicious topping options.
There are a load of deli’s littered around Edinburgh, but this little business is, in my opinion, one of the better ones. It’s affordable and fresh. And if you’re unlucky enough to miss the sandwiches after the lunchtime rush, at least you can still grab a cup of lip lickingly good coffee. Lovely.

There’s a reason this place runs out of sandwiches by late lunch time– sometimes earlier if the day is sunny! I have been there early enough to see that they do make a lot of them in the morning.
It’s a takeaway sandwich bar with really fresh and tasty sandwiches.. Its Italian so don’t expect complicated sauces etc, just pure fresh ingredients and good combinations of salamis, tomatoes, mozzarella salads etc. The Meadows are a stone’s throw away so when the sun is out, grab your food and head there for a picnic.
Unlike other Unilocalers I actually really like Rudi’s and his sandwiches.
It reminds me a bit of home: the sandwiches are there and ready if you want something with a million sauces and fillings then there is a subway down the street for you. If you want small changes or some particular combination with the ingredients on offer, the guy is always happy to make it so long as it is not panic time in the shop.

I hate to jump on the Rudi hating bandwagon, but being an incredibly fussy sandwich filler, Rudi’s just didn’t cut the mustard for me (note: I hate mustard too)
I must have missed the infamous queues, but when I went into the shop, I waited for a good few minutes for anyone to say anything to me, which wasn’t impressive at all.
Once I was graciously noticed, I looked down to see that there wasn’t much that I actually liked in the fridge. I am probably a sandwich makers worst nightmare, as I don’t like mayonnaise or onions, or really any sort of salad, so my choice of tasty fillings is usually limited to cheese, and maybe even a little ham. However, Rudi’s didn’t even have any ham! I was stuck with a late afternoon cheese sandwich, on some bread which hadn’t been buttered as I had asked for. Gutting. It isn’t the cheapest either.
Maybe I just got there a bit late, but a simple cheese and ham sandwich are staples that most places should have in their fridges at all times, and this place seriously fell short of the mark.

Although the ‘Rudi’ logo is worthy of being printed on a t-​shirt, their deli selection is not as attractive.
There’s nothing particularly bad about Rudi deli: the sandwiches/​baguettes are all freshly made and taste ok, and they do a particularly good foccacia, but on the whole it’s nothing special.
Ridiculous queues due to sluggish service is a factor that taints my overall picture of Rudi, and the prices wont leave you satisfied either. As a result I often rule out Rudi for a lunchtime snack.
Simply A-​OK. (only just though)

I’m never quite sure why I have walked past this place and seen queues out the door — I really dont like Rudi’s.
Not only does the whole queue thing allude to how slow the service really is — I think snails can be trained to do it quicker — but it is generally an off putting experience of being crammed into such a small deli with so many people.
Having waited for so long, once you have reached the front of the queue you will be starving — but there is a problem. There is such a small choice of sandwich fillings/​other options that it wouldnt suprise me if you didnt see anything you fancied at all. Really, other places around here have so many more things on offer. Prices are also shamelessly expensive, and overall, the food really isnt that great at all.
As I said, I really dont understand this place doing so well.

I found that there was not alot of a variety to select from for sandwiches, however my friends love this place!
sometimes a bit of a queue at lunchtime so its quite popular.

For a cheap, tasty bite to eat you can’t beat this place. Everything’s freshly made and they don’t seem to go for that old trick of wrapping croissants in clingfilm so they can sell them the next day.
The sandwiches are always excellent and the coffee is too — they always have a filter pot on the go.