Roger's Deli & Donuts — Restaurant in Mountain View

10/27/2024

Roger's Deli & Donuts 295 E Middlefield Rd Mountain View, CA 94043

I went there for a mid-afternoon takeout on a Sunday. It's on the corner of Middlefield and Whisman, with the best entry from Whisman Rd. There is parking around the building and more in the adjacent shopping plaza area. I ordered a Reuben sandwich and apple fritter at the main order counter, paid (less than a Jackson) and given a numbered receipt and waited for my number to be called. Service was helpful and was asked if I wanted the pineapple included, which I did. There is not a lot of inside seating and all the chairs were upside down on the tables, so not available when I was there. There is seating outside the place with some gas heaters around the tables.

My order was ready shortly and I took it home for the unveiling. The Reuben had a good quantity of corned beef on kraut and melted Swiss cheese on light Rye. The sandwich was moist but not messy and with minimal pineapple taste. It was very good. The apple fritter was not overly sweet with some apple bits, again very good.

This appears to be mainly a take and go place and since they open at 5 AM, would be a good place for an early AM breakfast. It's an okay value...

Where do I begin? I had an onion bagel with garden veggie cream cheese, tomatoes and bacon. The bagel was toasted to perfection, crispy without stabbing you in the gums.

The garden veggie cream cheese had actual garden veggies mixed into it. They were cut up into just the right size to make the cream cheese interesting without being too messy.

The tomato was the kind where you can bite through it without having it slide around all over the place.

And the bacon was little pieces, rather than long strips that pull out of the sandwich and plop down onto your shirt.

This is what you are looking for in a deli sandwich experience. The attention to detail is something all restaurants could benefit from emulating.

And the blueberry cake donut I had was lighter and fluffier, and much less greasy, than you normally see in a donut shop.

14 out of 10 good breakfast. Would recommend.

I didn't have any coffee, so I cannot comment on its quality, but if the rest is any indication, I would definitely like to try that as well.

This is definitely my new must-stop if I get anywhere near here...

Convenient location with good sandwiches, but multiple weird process issues. A couple suggestions to improve: In person ordering is a clunky multi-step ordering and payment process. Does not work well. Just have 1 clear ordering/payment area and 1 clear food pickup area. Their online ordering also does not work, I showed up a half-hour after confirmed-order and they had not even started making the sandwiches yet. If they are concerned about making food without payment, suggest they just collect payment upfront online, instead of a useless online system. Another odd thing is while the new outdoor tables are helpful, they have multiple fire pits burning during the daytime when it is already very warm outside. But in the late afternoons, when a fire pit would be nice, the store is closed.

In general it is a local convenient spot with good sandwiches, but does not seem well organized.

[edit 9 months later] Updated my rating to 5 stars as the ordering process has improved. Food continues to be good and also...