Delray Beach, Deli.
Neighborhood Deli.
Re-reviewed in April 2017. Dramatic difference. Seems like a different management. Less caring. Loud. Very slow service. Older crowd. We dined on a Sunday evening, arriving at 6:50pm, short wait for a table. Sat down at 6:59pm. Received soup in about 5 min. Dinner followed about 35 minutes later. Wasn’t crowded. Perhaps 45 diners in the restaurant with 6 wait staff. Seemed disorganized. Food quality not so good. We had Matzo Ball Soup … broth cold and watered down; and pea soup … incredibly salty! Moses could walk on it. Dinners included “Smorgasbord Plate” & “Broiled Chopped Steak.” Smorgasbord costs $16.00 and consisted of multiple sweet items including stuffed cabbage, potted meat balls and goulash. Nothing special. Too much sugar. Broiled Chopped Steak was okay. Waitress usually hard to find … never refills water. Our water glasses were literally bone dry. Thank goodness coffee gets refills. Perhaps the watered-down soup is supposed to count for a water refill. Noticed that our table wasn’t special … every other table also had poor wait staff service.
Another table had what I think may be the perfect dinner at Ruven’s. Each person had their own knish, and the group shared an order of “Stuffed Derma” with brown gravy. Simple. Low expectations. And the guests seemed to enjoy it. If we go again, we’ll skip the rather expensive for what you get dinners, and go for the knish! And since each table gets a rather large portion of sweetened coleslaw, knish and coleslaw with a side of derma for less than $10 per person seems like a good deal.
Originally reviewed in October 2011. 3-star Rating. Yet another Delray deli. There are many, however this one is unique in that they are very friendly and accommodating. Nice trait. They greet you like they care, and the wait staff is experienced to serve your every need. Due to location, they cater to seniors, which means that if you don’t specify, food preparation is assumed to be spiceless. I ordered their brisket hot sandwich ($12.75) and it was served with a mixed vegetable medley, 2 slices of bread and brown gravy, and a choice of potato, I chose sweet potato. For a guy on meds, this sandwich would be great as it is since it was spiceless! When I mentioned that fact to the waitress, she quickly knew what to do and brought out sauteed onions and some spices for the vegetable medley, and wha la, the dish improved immensely. Our waitress informed us that most of their clients are unable to work well with spices, so they assume bland for the benefit of their regulars. Like other similar delis, they serve unlimited pickles and coleslaw, and their coleslaw is a step above the rest. I think the prices are right, amount of food is good, and it is a place I’ll be returning to in the future, however the key to a good experience is a good (caring) waitress.
Re-reviewed April 2017
