East Bay Deli - Dorchester — Restaurant in North Charleston

Well once again another issue with another East Bay Deli. This will be the 2nd time within one week for me. Not sure what is going on lately. These use to be the best delis around in my opinion but here as of late the customer service and the employee’s attitudes are just piss poor. Went with my significant other to this one on the corner of Dorchester Rd and Leads Ave. I ordered a kids meal. The menu board says includes a free drink. The female employee wearing glasses, a red shirt, and black shorts, and a bandanna rung it up on the cash register along with my girlfriend’s food and then once she tenders the transaction tells me mine doesn’t come with a drink even though the menu says differently and over charged us for an adult drink. When we asked her about it She then catches an attitude with us and was extremely rude and then proceeds to go to the kitchen and start trash talking us. We got another employee near the register who was very nice and helped us and told us that she would let the owner know of what was going on. While talking with her the rude employee comes back up and interrupts flashing a paper menu in front of us that does say “12 and Under”. I said I don’t need a paper menu and it doesn’t matter what the paper one says because the menu on the wall says differently and that’s what I’m going by. If the rule is 12 and Under then the employee should have stopped when I first ordered the meal and said it was for a kid and she doesn’t need to be rude with customers and trash talking them either no flashing a paper menu in their face while they are trying to talk to a much calmer and nicer employee. If then paper menu had touched me in anyway then it would have been considered an assault. We never did get a refund for the extra drink charge. Absolutely insane and uncalled for.

As we were leaving the rude employee was sitting outside in a black car with another employee with dreads smoking and...

This place seems to have decided to test its customers’ resilience right at the entrance – how else to explain the bulging floor that lies in wait like a mischievous greeter for every new customer? But instead of a friendly welcome, it offers the very real risk of breaking your neck. Apparently, they think a warning sign solves all problems: ‘Watch your step and good luck reacting in time.’ And if you don’t – well, that’s your own fault.

I thought I’d start my day with a nice breakfast here, believing good food is the key to a successful day. Oh, how wrong I was! The taste of the food clearly took a backseat in the preparation process. If you’re looking for a way to ruin your mood for the whole day, they’ve got you covered – the dish they served was fresh out of the kitchen and fresh out of flavor too.

The only thing that slightly softened the blow was the polite cashier who genuinely tried to make my morning pleasant. But that, unfortunately, is where the positives end. As I approached the counter, I noticed an older woman who seemed to hold some authority in the establishment. Her smile was more of a grimace, and her greeting was rushed, as if I should just be thankful she even bothered to acknowledge my existence. And I have to say, I didn’t feel particularly welcome. As someone who’s lived here long enough, I could sense the difference in tone and courtesy when dealing with other customers who didn’t seem to be immigrants. The contrast was noticeable, and it left a bad taste in my mouth – worse than the breakfast itself.

In summary: a bulging floor at the entrance, overpriced meals, tasteless food, and hints that you might not be as welcome here as others. A 4.2-star rating on Google? Maybe that’s for the ability to walk away from this...

Whenever I am in the Lowcountry I order takeout from the North Charleston/Dorchester Rd. East Bay Deli, as it is close to my Dad's house. And while the food has been consistently good, I can honestly say the staff are even better! On one of my first visits, April (who's father is retired Air Force) asked if I was a veteran (I am also a retired U.S. Air Force veteran), and since that time I have sincerely appreciated the 10% discount East Bay Deli offers to veterans and active duty military. On my most recent visit to East Bay Deli (9/6/22), I mentioned to April that I was volunteering to clean headstones at the Ft. Jackson National Cemetery as part of the VA National Cemeteries' National Day of Service on September 9th, to mark the 21st anniversary of 9/11 attacks. I needed a 5-gallon bucket for this day of service, and I asked her if I could have one of their pickle buckets I had seen in their recycling bin out back? She checked with her manager (Tara?) and returned with a clean bucket for me to use, again showing that East Bay Deli supports veterans! I encourage everyone, no matter their status to, in-turn, support East Bay Deli! Attached are a couple of photos taken at the Ft. Jackson National Cemetery, which is the final resting place of 9,000 veterans from all the military services, some of whom made the ultimate sacrifice...