R.T. Smith's Deli — Restaurant in Roanoke

I should have known-every eatery in downtown was packed but this place, but being hungry and hoping...we went in.

Nice lady at counter. HORRIBLE food. Cold roast beef with fake theater-butter on it and ONE of the thinnest slices of cheese I've ever seen in 50+ years of living and eating.

Sandwich One: Cold roast beef, no mayo, stone ground mustard, onion, lettuce, nothing but a bare pile of unseasoned meat on a stale role and one translucent thin piece of cheese. The bread was tough (not crusty), there were no chips or pickle (what deli doesn't include those?)

Sandwich Two: UNtoasted grilled cheese with no golden warmth, cold, stale bread.

ALL I could think of was the TV show Restaurant Impossible: CLEAN the place up. CLEAN, PAINT, GET CHAIRS OUT OF WINDOW, CLEAN WINDOWS, DUST THE STUPID PINBALL...CLEAN IT PEOPLE! Paint, get old, discarded chairs our of the window (valuable real estate to advertise). Take curled, faded menu taped to window off. Serve decent sandwiches with fountain drinks, a cookie, chips, SOMETHING. It was really, really...

I’ve been to R.T. Smith’s a few times, and my most recent visit was the best. I ordered the Reuben sandwich and a side of pasta salad. Instead of getting the typical sauerkraut on my sandwich, I substituted coleslaw – so I might have actually ordered a Rachel, but whatever. The sandwich came on toasted rye bread and consisted of corned beef (all of the meats are Boar’s Head), swiss cheese, coleslaw, and thousand island dressing. There was a generous portion of corned beef, which had a good salty, smoky flavor, but didn’t overpower the other ingredients. The cheese provided a tang, coleslaw added sweetness, and the dressing made it creamy and rich. There’s a reason so many restaurants serve their own variation of a Reuben or Rachel, and the version at R.T. Smith’s is a winner. My pasta salad was also very good, but they appeared to be going with a “less is more” approach with the serving size. The sandwich, side, & drink combo was...

Ok, this is my favorite place to go downtown to eat. I've had almost every sandwich and will one day have all of them. Personal favs are the Reuben, The Madison, and The Bostonian. I started going here when they opened and I'd go in there every once in a while. I started eating there almost once a week in High School, my gosh it's great. All the meats are of a higher quality than the competition which is impressive for their commitment. The staff is incredible, they are all kind of nerds but I'd say in a positive way, they know lots of references and they sure know how to sell a sandwich along with it. My only real complaint is that sometimes there are a few flies which is a simple fix. The other little thing I have is that the bread isn't fresh everyday which isn't necessarily a bad thing by any stretch, I just think I can make better bread(call me). Overall, I'd...