Nardelli's Grinder Shoppe — Restaurant in Meriden

Whoa!! I'm so excited to be the first person to review this place. (Can you sense my sarcasm?)

I had an incredibly long and tiring day at work today. However, my mom called me on my way home and asked me to grab dinner for herself and I. To my disappointment, she wanted a sandwich ... but being the nice daughter that I am I obliged. I pulled into the driveway at Nardellis at 8:58 tonight, and sat on the phone for about a minute while my mother told me what she wanted to eat.

As I climbed out of the car, the employees hurriedly turned off the lights. I continued on to the door, and realized that the shop closed at 9pm ... I then turned to walk to my car and called my mother to let her know what had happened. We came up with a second plan and as I hung up I noted that the time stamp on my ENDED call was 9:02pm.

I would think that folks who work for a professional business would have the 'training' to actually be hospitable enough to politely say "I'm sorry, we're closed" instead of passive aggressively turning off the lights when someone is CLEARLY walking towards their door. Further, it's worthy of mentioning that the restaurant was ... technically ... closed 2 minutes before 9pm. I would think that restaurant employees, realized that they rely on customers for their job security and would therefore attempt to achieve a basal level of maturity and professionalism.... because at the end of the day, poorly treated customers will not return ... and without business they end up unemployed.

I WAS curious about trying this place for the first time (at some point) ... but even if their sandwiches are the BEST-in-town, I think i'd pass and go to other places where the basics of customer service are adhered.

(BTW ... I decide to grab fried food at Royal Fish and Chips up the street. When I arrived there, the door was unlocked ... despite the fact that hours posted clearly showed that closing time was 9pm. I walked in, asked if they were open ... and the woman welcomed me and said "don't worry, i'll make you're food". I ordered, and 5 minutes later my food was cooked and I was on my way home. (I gave her a few extra dollars for being soo polite, welcoming and being willing to make my grub despite the fact that I arrived 4 minutes after the restaurant...

We got the vegan combo grilled wrap with roasted red peppers and without the special veggie mix, but we asked for some on the side when we went in to pick it up. (I’m not a fan of green peppers, and my husband can’t eat raw onions, so this way we could pick and choose. Turns out the green peppers were perfectly fine! They must have mellowed while marinating.). We chose the whole wheat wrap. It had a nice nutty flavor to it.

The “carpaccio” and/or “prosciutto” was quite nice! It was way more tender than most other vegan deli slices I’ve had. (Apparently they import it from Italy). The flavors were excellent!

We waited a few hours before eating it, since we got it for a later lunch as soon as they opened at 10:00 and kept it in a cooler. It was a little soggy in places, but still quite tasty. I definitely recommend it. It’s packed with so much “meat” I’m glad the two of us...

What a fantastic place to eat! I work in Meriden and eat there atleast 3 times a week. There are many Nardelli's throughout the state these days but this one is so good it shouldnt even be called a Nardellis! Dont get me wrong, they are awesome sub shops and I have eatin at many of them but this one is special! There isnt a single person there that does not great you with a smile and everyone is very happy to help with suggestions. When was the last time you heard that about any place? Now a days you go into any resturant and the staff makes you feel like they are doing you the favor! Not here! They can make you pretty much any sandwich you want. My recommendation if you are in the area, stop in here, ask for Jess and have her make you a ham and turkey Panini ! She is a sandwich master and I guarantee you will be back...