The Brick Deli & Tavern — Restaurant in Decatur

Well, I've been to this location twice now and it seems I really do just feel "meh" about it. I wanted to try it again after the first mediocre experience since the reviews were so great, but I think I stand by my opinion.

This deli is in downtown Decatur. Despite being downtown, I think parking is fairly plentiful and accessible, though ymmv. It's a fairly large restaurant with a pretty heavy bar/tavern feel. Menu items are mostly soups and sandwiches, with a few exceptions. The decorations are kind of cute, with some Decatur-themed things (like a poster-sized Monopoly space advertising the deli itself). I've found the clean level acceptable but not astonishing on my visits.

Service is okay. Despite a fairly long delay between my visits, I think I had the same waitress twice. She was nicer the second time -- first time I felt sort of like I was burdening her. You seat yourself and it can take several minutes before someone comes by to check on you, even when not terribly busy. Once you're noticed, I felt both times a little rushed to place my order and pay, though that could be because I arrived around 1:45 and they close at 3. Still plenty of time to eat and scoot imo but I get it.

Both times, I got the half sandwich and soup option because I like that portion size for lunch. I also got the chicken "la la" (enchilada) soup as my soup, and I will say this is the best thing I've tried there. A little spicy, a little creamy, lots of beans and corn. It's solid!

The soup comes with a square of jalapeño cornbread, which on both visits was quite cold and very dry. Crumbling it on the soup helps if you're into that but I kind of like the soup on its own.

For sandwiches, I've tried their take on a grilled cheese as well as the "Smokey Joe," which has smoked turkey, cheese, thousand island, lettuce, and bacon. No tomatoes for me.

Both sandwiches were FINE, but not any better than what you could make at home quite comfortably. I get that sometimes you want something simple fairly quickly, but I was just a little disappointed. The turkey sandwich in particular had decent flavor but was constructed such that the sourdough bread was sopping wet and disintegrating by about bite two, which made it very hard to eat. The bacon was also very disappointing, thin and not very crispy.

Again, nothing particularly bad here, but not a place I'd really go out of my way to return to. If I come back, I'll continue trying different sandwiches to find one...

With the few people I like. there It's just ok...u Bartenders= rude...not all as yo can read carefully what I say.. Owner??? Just playing darts. Big. Fun. and can be happy anywhere at anytime..m myself.. because of choice. And because I try to treat others with the upmost respect. I believe in one way that it comes back no matter what. Last no one there really knows what happened to cause someone else's to get upset but I do personally and believe me I think that's where it will stay.People love drama so much until it turns ugly like in the shootings we experience in our great country...I never want to see that happen or be around anything like it.That's why I try to be nice to people. I could say more about my fine time being badgered at the BRICK,by a staff member, not all just the one who thought he could get a fighting response out of me.which was unsuccessful to say the least....But he and maybe one more....plus a few simpletons acting like they would choose sides WHICH WAS AGAIN not a bother to me...on a rather boring night except with a few good friends...Watching the final game of a great series. In which the Astros took the World Series. Kinda of a nice thing forTEXAS for sure..oh and I did at. The end act like a gentleman as I had been when leaving and spoke to the guy and told him something like see you man., Nicely. I meant it sincerely also don't want any harm to come to him or their club ....or anyone else There..! Lastly I have had things in my past where I do not live ...be something that May have brought shame. But not last night.. I love all the people who go there, and will continue to. My...

You know, some places, you want to love them. They've got the bones, the history, that feeling that tells you there's a good meal, an honest time, just waiting to be had. The Brick, in its past life, was one of those joints. It was a place you could count on for a proper sandwich, something built to last, something that told you the person in the kitchen gave a damn. But something's changed. The ghost of a good meal is still in the air, but what lands on the table is an exercise in disappointment. We're talking about a Ruben and a "Blue Cow" that are, to put it plainly, a ripoff. These sandwiches, these glorious monuments to stacked meat and cheese and everything that is right with the world, arrived looking like they’d just been through a bad divorce. Barren. Sad. For fourteen dollars, you expect to get something that's not just a gesture. You expect a sandwich, not a half-hearted suggestion of one. This isn't just about a meal. It's about a pact. You pay for something, you expect a fair shake. When you're charging a full-boat price for a half-assed product, you’re not just shorting the customer, you're insulting them. It's a kind of culinary arrogance, a belief that people won't notice, won't care. The one flicker of grace? The banana pudding. It was the only thing that tasted like it was made with a soul. It was a brief, beautiful moment of redemption in a meal that was otherwise a flat-out disaster. So here we are. A good memory, now soured. The Brick has become a place that sells a sandwich for five bucks and charges you fourteen for the privilege. And that, my friends, is...