River Street Deli — Restaurant in Chattanooga

Went to visit in February of 2022. Opinion: Decent food with a huge caveat. Would recommend for a one-time visit. Would not go back except if I could not find another place in the city that I liked. First things first: the food. The menu is decent for a sandwich place, most sandwiches are 3 ingredients only however. The ingredients used seem to be of good quality, as well as the bread, even though it's miles away from what I could get at my local bakeries... I myself am not overly enthusiastic about the sandwich variety (so that's why I went with the Rare Roast Beef) and especially the choice of cheese, but it is the USA after all so can't really expect to get much in that department. Price: $10 per sandwich is quite expensive as far as I'm concerned, but I'm willing to ignore that if the food is good, which it was.

The place itself has a charm to it, very small place but good atmosphere - it does get a bit loud if the queue is long, which is the case often, if the reviews here are to be believed.

The cashier was friendly, the person waiting tables and putting food in the takeout orders was quite stressed but that is understandable. There were quite a lot of people sitting at tables and there were lots of takeout orders. They should hire a second person to help.

And now to the "bad" part: I know it's your place, I know you have your reputation and your personality, but having an owner being such a scornful pr*ck he was when we ordered is a disgrace. I will not let that take over the fact that the food was good so that's why I'm giving it a 4 stars, but it is baffling to me that this guy is so full of himself even though he wouldn't make it in a bigger market.

Got instantly snippy at us and ranted about how he's missing the 80's and there aren't real interactions anymore and he prefers to write orders on his pad instead of having machines cause it's easier to make mistakes with them. Was incredibly rude with my gf cause she read the item she wanted on the menu instead of asking for it "looking in the eyes". He refused to take the order unless we did that. Then, what do you know, he messed up our order... Way to boast you're the best and make easy mistakes. You're not a 4 stars Michelin cook who's making it big time in Paris or Tokyo, you have a (admittedly quite decent) deli in Chattanooga, so stop the attitude and try and make us want to come back. Honestly I would gladly go back for the food, but if I find another place that I like even slightly less, I'd go there to not have to deal with that person again.

Only giving 4 stars because I recognize the food is good (not excellent though, I've had way better elsewhere for half the price) and I'm not as petty as this person seems to be. Otherwise would easily be a 2 stars. I've always despised "The customer is always right" motto, but as a respectful customer who always treats people working at restaurants correctly, I also expect the same respect from them, and clearly we didn't get it...

This is the second time my husband and I have visited this deli and we plan on making it a tradition every time we visit Chattanooga. The first time around, we were in town with friends and we had just finished up at the zoo and we were hungry. Not "I need a big meal" hungry, but "I need a sandwich" hungry. I went on Google and this place popped up. Looking at the photos, our friends were unsure because of the interior but my husband shut them down real quick because he knows a good hole in the wall when he sees it. We drove over and walked into the lower level and man, does this place smell amazing and we were greeted by the kindest man (the owner) and awesome staff. I think it's completely family owned but I don't want to make claims. We all ordered from the specials menu except for my friend who is very particular about their food but that man behind the counter walked them through the choices and had them commiting to a sandwich in 20 seconds. It was incredible to watch. Like a nature documentary. We have been thinking of River Street Deli ever since and that happened in 2019. Fast forward to today, our last day of our Chattanooga vacation and I ordered the Black Forest Ham and Brie on Ciabatta and holy hell it was amazing. The bread was so crispy and the brie was melty and oozy and the hammmmmmm. These sandwiches are pretty tall too and the meat to bread ratio is perfect. Pretty sure my jaw unhinged like a snake. The hubs got the Brooklyn Brisket sandwich and he devoured the thing. We finished up but I saw that they had a homemade loaded potato soup on the specials menu and I had to take some home but I couldn't wait that long so I had to take a few bites in the car. Hands down, the BEST potato soup I have ever had. Gloriously seasoned and everything was blended together just right so you could literally taste every ingredient together. Do not question me. You need to visit this place if you are from out of town. Do it or the sandwich gods will...

I have never been more uncomfortable and disrespected at an establishment than this one, let alone from the owner himself…

There is a menu posted on the door of the deli and then a stack of them at the counter, right? (We couldn’t see this until we were up to order) My husband and I were in line waiting to order and were looking at the menu on my phone. As we approached to order he immediately started speaking to me in a condescending/“getting onto” me tone for looking at my phone. I explained I was looking at the menu and not trying to be rude and he continued to tell me that I was wrong for that because “you have menus right here and the owner to answer your questions. It’s such a disconnect between the two people” Then as I went to order my sandwich I ordered one of his normal sandwich options, but then requested no cheese or mayonnaise. He immediately got irritated and asked “you don’t want my food how I make it?” I got even more uncomfortable and was honestly shocked by the rudeness I was at a loss for words. I explained I don’t like cheese or Mayo. At that point he wanted to “redirect me to the menu” to pick something else instead of accommodating my request. He went through the specials and his recommendation and I replied with “Maybe next time” to be met with the immediate response of “there won’t be a next time.” I was so frustrated with the entire encounter that I told him to make whatever and walked away. Honestly, I’m frustrated with myself that I responded each time respectfully instead of matching his energy. I wasted my money and time by not canceling my order right then and there, but my husband had already placed his ordered and was heading down to pay during the encounter. Would not recommend this restaurant to anyone and I definitely wouldn’t recommend having someone that disrespectful to customers run a business because many other reviews showed this was a...