Old World Deli — Restaurant in Bellingham

OMG how it is possible I haven't reviewed the Old World Deli yet?! I've been going there for almost 20 years and have loved every visit!

We started going when they were in their smaller space down the street from their current location, and followed them to their current swanky, brick-walled, high-ceilinged space just a block away. Billed as a European-style deli, the OWD does everything right. Their soups are freshly prepared from scratch; their sandwiches use the best bread, best cheese, and best meat to be found in town. And their wine selection is one of the best in town - and surprisingly affordable. And, of course, don't miss their specialty grocery shelves, which are a great place to look for stocking stuffers for the foodie in your life. They even have a food/wine club where you can indulge monthly in an amazing dinner experience not open to the public.

Old World Deli has other special events, like their 10-for-$10 monthly wine tasting nights that I get to as often as possible. The most recent one also featured impossibly fresh, delicious raw oysters on the half shell. Oysters AND wine? Two of my favorites in one place - yum!

The Old World Deli is way more than just a "deli" - it's an experience, and a business that I consider quintessential to downtown Bellingham. They...

Updated to 5 stars because the manager/owner reached out to me, offered a $20 credit and validated my experience. They may have sent me an email a while ago and it went to my junk folder. Excellent customer service!

I don’t like to leave bad reviews, especially for businesses that I love, but after sending an email to the owner and receiving no reply, here I am. I’ve been coming here for close to 10 years, and normally the food is reliably good. I Ordered a caprese salad and got this (see photo). Cheese was burrata, so maybe they intended to give me their salad special? Either way, it was a huge bummer to get home and open my food to see this. This is not what a $16 salad should look like.

Would love to keep going here, but this isn’t the first time I’ve received bad customer service. I’ve noticed that sometimes the staff almost act like they’re bothered by your presence. Seems like on this day they weren’t in the mood to make a salad, but were more than willing to accept my money.

Also, what happened to the panini options? Those were my favorite thing...

I'm originally from New York, and I know this: the Pastrami and Corned Beef sandwiches here are as good as you can get north of Hollywood and West of New York City! The place is much like the Deli's of my childhood in an older building with exposed pipes on the ceiling and show windows of the street from some prior incarnation, but now, as a restaurant it's filled with lots of wines for sale and a counter properly displaying good stuff to eat in and/or take home. We've never been let down by any of the items posted, and all kinds of folks come in, most to eat in, it seems, but many for take-out. Great meats, breads, cheeses, sides (good slaw), etc., you will be glad you stopped in...even the pickles are the way they should be! One reason it's good: The proprietor is on the scene, and the staff has little turnover; it feels like they're a crew that knows how to work together. We've only been a few times in the late afternoon; on some evenings,...