Route 58 Delicatessen

For me, this is the restaurant of bests. It had the best egg cream I've ever had, best Reuben sandwich I've ever had, and the best strawberry cheesecake I've ever had. My wife ordered the BLT and, other than the one I make at home myself, it is also the best. The perfectly well done crinkle cut fries rank up there in the top three. The service and atmosphere are perfect. The restaurant location is easy to get to and there is ample parking. Pricing seems a little high at first but once you realize how much food will be going home with you for later, you realize it's a deal! This was my first time visiting this restaurant and I will be making many more visits. I'm going to try some of the other items on the menu to see if there are any more "bests" 😁.

This establishment had awesome food and service 30 minutes before closing. The waiter pretty much made my order for me and was spot on. I was disappointed with the desert. Don't come here unless you have some money to spend because it's not cheap. I had a potato based appetizer with spinach tomatoe & cheese its was different but not bad. The sandwich was amazing along with the sides n drinks. And they offered samples which was all delicious 😋.

Let me start off by writing I am a New Yorker to my core. I have lived in VA Beach for 10 years, and was told by a New Yorker friend about this place. WOW!! What an awesome experience. Food was authentic. It was the first place I have eaten at in a long time that I felt was a true "experience". It's one of the things I miss about New York the most...Eating out in NY is always an experience. As I am writing this, I am smiling b/c there is not one thing about this place that I would change. Shout out to our server Brian - he was great!! This is more then a hidden gem. Whether you are New Yorker or you just like a good Reuben, I STRONGLY recommend this restaurant. Oh wait did I mention that they have Matzo ball soup!!! Go check them out, you will NOT be disappointed.

Today, 09 June, 2021, was my third visit to the Route 58 Delicatessen. While I have enjoyed the food on all three (3) visits, today's was not quite up to the level of the first two (2). Now I have factored in that several businesses in the food service area have had to adapt after the pandemic in order to stay open by doing things like shortening business hours, reducing the menu, etc., but the below par experience this afternoon led to a four (4) star rating instead of five (5). Let's start with the hotdog, which was ordered with mustard, chili, & slaw. As you can see in the attached photo, other than a little bit of mustard appearing on each end of an undersized hotdog, the only other topping you see is the slaw (which cost an additional 50¢ btw). In fact, after the first bite I had to actually examine it to see if they even put chili on it as I had ordered. They had, but it was such a tiny amount that it was virtually undetectable as the quantity of slaw piled on the top simply overpowered the other flavors. Then there's the "T.B.C." (turkey, bacon, & cheese) that was ordered with lettuce, tomato, & mayo on challah bread. While there was a generous portion of turkey on the sandwich and it was flavorful, the amount of cheese & bacon was not proportional to the turkey so their flavors got lost in the mix. While the sandwich was brought to the table with lettuce & tomato, I was given two (2) small plastic cups of mayo for me to put on myself. So not only was the portion size reduced from previous visits plus being charged extra for the lettuce & tomato, it's a 'do it yourself' when it comes to completing the sandwich as ordered. When you're paying $20 for the base "T.B.C." before any upcharges it could at least come fully assembled as ordered, imho. I completed the visit with a slice of 'Brooklyn Crumble Cheesecake'. I wasn't familiar with this item and was told that it was essentially coffeecake on top of cheesecake. While it was different from the other kinds of cheesecake that I've had at the Route 58 Delicatessen, it was only average when compared to some of their other varieties, plus the portion being reduced by about 25-30% from previous visits while still charging $10/slice. Again, I get it that times are still somewhat tough for lots of businesses, including the food service industry, but these are things that make me consider taking my money elsewhere when I'm visiting this area. (Note- the pic of the Reese's Cheesecake was taken on a pre-pandemic visit and included for portion comparison.)

A friend suggested this place and all I can say is WOW!! This place most certainly knows how to pile it high. No way did I have a prayer finishing the Ruben they served up. The carrot cake is totally delectable... The ONLY downside is the beer menu could be a little longer. And hats of to Annie, our waitress. Great sense of humor, quick wit and a really pleasant smile. Super attentive. Ask for her, you'll be glad you did!! Don't waste your time going to other places for this style of food. No more searching needed...this place is the bomb!!!