The Black Sheep — Restaurant in Amherst

The Black Sheep is a longtime favorite. I went there many times pre-pandemic and always thought their sandwiches were great. Fast-forward to 2023 — I don’t know why, but their sandwich game has collapsed. My most recent experience is unfortunately typical now. They always seem to be training someone new at the register: this trainee somehow sold us three sandwiches even though we only ordered two. We thought the sandwiches were pricey but found out why when a third sandwich came along with the order. And it always takes them forever to make a sandwich. The notion of working quickly is not a thing here.

The ingredients themselves are fresh and good. Where they fall down is preparation. I asked if I could have my sandwich hot and they said yes. I thought they would toast it but I think they might have microwaved it. The bread was barely warm and not toasted and the meat inside was ice cold. Also, the meat and cheese weren’t arranged on the sandwich for a pleasant experience - placed in slices for some airiness and texture — they literally just grabbed a gob of meat and a gob of cheese with the slices all still stuck together in a brick and put it in that way. Meanwhile, the tapenade has been processed until it has the consistency of wet espresso grounds; not a fresh tapenade in the slightest. It was a really gross sandwich. A huge hunk of meat does not automatically make a good sandwich. There is an art to building a delicious sandwich, but they seem to have given up trying to do what they once did.

The last few times I’ve been there the sandwiches have been similarly awful and that’s a pity, because the sandwiches used to be beautiful. I don’t know what happened. So I’ve given up on sandwiches at the black sheep.

Now the good news: the service is always friendly (if inept) and the baked goods and desserts are still fabulous, and it’s still a nice place to sit and visit. So it is still a place I would be happy to go for sweets and coffee. That’s why the three stars: if this review were only about the sandwiches it would be one star.

The prices aren’t bad and the hours are standard, and parking is generally easy.

I really hope they bring their sandwich game back...

Really disappointing experience. I drove off the highway 20 minutes just to check this place out. Small deli in a small town sounded great. Their hours are listed 8am to 2pm. I got into the restaurant at 1:40pm. I took a few minutes to look over the menu and stood behind the other people I thought were waiting in line to order. After realizing everyone was waiting for their orders, I went over to the counter to order 5 minutes later. The girl at the counter (dyed red hair) told me they stop taking orders at 145pm. I explained I had just driven 20 minutes to get there and entered the shop at 140pm. It was exactly 1:45 at that point. She seemed annoyed I even asked for an exception and pushed back on me several times before finally sayingok. I was very hungry and I really wanted to try the sandwhiches. I tipped 25% after our exchange as a kind gesture because she did make an exception for me. I waited and then took my sandwhich over to eat at one of the tables.

The sandwhich itself was a Southern Comfort. Supposedly buffalo chicken on a long ciabatta roll....There was 1 slice of chicken in it. 15$ for 1 deli slice of chicken is ridiculous. The bread was great but there was a very sad amount of ingredients inside. I ate it anyway, just happy to get some food. On the way out I said thank you again and the girl said "You're Welcome" paused and then said "Actually you're not" loud enough so I could hear. This really pissed me off. I don't understand the attitude given that I ate my sandwhich promptly, tipped heavily and didnt do anything out of the ordinary. I was very kind, smiled and said thank you a million times. I get that its the end of the day but really immature and rude customer service like that is unacceptable. I work in a restaurant and deal with a-holes all the time, having to stay past close frequently. Its just the nature of the business.

Based on the poor quality of the food alone I wouldn't go back but the terrible service was beyond what I was expecting. I...

I decided to try the Black Sheep because they advertised selling Challah Bread. What i got however was not Challah, but a generic white Italian style bread braided to look like Challah bread. Now, don't get me wrong, it was good bread, a very nice Italian loaf but it was not what I ordered and paid for. I also ordered a side of their tortellini salad which was decent though when the description described it as being pesto tortellini salad I wasn't expecting it to have a mayonnaise based dressing. The garlic and mayo completely overwhelmed the pesto to the point that I couldn't taste it at all. Both disappointing items were ordered for curbside pickup. The instructions for curbside (park in the "correct location", call this phone # and someone will bring it out to you) did not match reality. There is no designated area for curbside pick up, and calling the number got me nothing other than a persistent busy signal. I then got out of the car and went to the pickup area, which was devoid of anyone working, but had my order sitting out in the heat on a table where literally anyone could have taken it. Luckily it wasn't too long after the pickup time I was given that I arrived so I didn't worry about the mayo going bad, but if I'd been delayed I would have not been able to eat the salad due to it's being left out in 90 degree heat for an indeterminate amount of time. I will not be ordering from here again, as overall everything from the pick up process to the food was...