Centre Street Deli Express — Restaurant in Toronto

I really, really wanted this to be good. I had no idea a Jewish deli existed so close to where I lived. I was really craving a cheese blintz so went on over. Nearly drove all the way up to United Bakers today but thought this might be okay.

First, it’s like a deli convenience store. They have very expensive frozen items for sale and a few things in the open refrigerator case you can grab. It isn’t exactly a very impressive selection which may reflect the numbers of people who go through here.

In any case, at the counter, I asked if they had cheese blintzes available. He said no since they don’t have anyone there who knows how to cook them but he suggested something else, their “bagelach”, one piece. I said sure. Then, I figured I’d get a egg salad sandwich - got it as a combo. All said and done, without a drink, the bill was over $33, which found funny since there’s a sign up in the restaurant saying you won’t be paying out the nose.

I didn’t take photos of the food but I should have. The egg salad sandwich was very small but it wasn’t bad. The cole slaw wasn’t my favourite but it wasn’t bad. The fries were just not good - soggy, almost stale.

The guy at the cash was very nice, though, but not enough to get me to come back. If I paid literally half the amount I did for what I got, maybe I would, but this is silly. I don’t expect a place like this to be able to survive…...

We have been to the Thornhill location a million times , but since moving downtown and have no car, it's difficult to get to. I was overjoyed , as were my kids, that they decided to open one downtown on Bay Street just north of Wellesley. We didn't often dine in in Thornhill , but would pick up everything and bring home and reheat what needed to be. And that is what we did today, except we walked to get up there from the Lake and back down again. First of all, the bread was sooooooo fresh and delicious. The chopped liver was just as I remembered it, as were the knishes and the latkes...And the old fashioned meat ,, hot and cut be hand was incredible and lovely slices...no chunks....although we asked for medium fat and it was missing some of that fatty layer. The staff seemed eager to please and must have been trained very well...everything was dealt with just as in the Thornhill store. Now we must curb our trips over there to get more....Did you know that the original owners came from the Snowden Deli in Montreal ...and it's still there...when we visit Montreal we go for breakfast sometimes and dinner especially after seeing Theatre at the Segal Centre almost...

What a horrible experience! Centre Street Deli has been my go to place for deli since moving to Toronto from Montreal more than 40 years ago. So I thought — very wrongly —the Bay St would be a similar eating opportunity close to downtown shopping and theatre. To be served a paper cup for soup and an aluminum container for a sandwich, capped off with plastic cutlery for a “dine-in” experience was a new low for a restaurant eating experience. The old fashioned smoked meat sandwich was horrible, lacking in meat, foil-wrapped (for an eat-in experience???) and the cole slaw was more like shredded unmarinated cabbage. Again, horrible! The advertised availability of kishke I discovered was only available in refrigerated form for takeout. Oh the partners grilled cheese sandwich which was served as two open faced slices of rye bread each topped with a single Kraft slice that has been microwaved. Gross!

If something very dramatic is not done soon (or sooner) this place is deservedly gonna be another here today gone tomorrow. What a shame (sort of).

What a complete and utter disappointment that has me seriously rethinking patronizing Centre Streets northern...