Billy's Meats, Seafood & Deli — Restaurant in San Clemente

I would strongly encourage the reader NOT to get suckered into going to corporate business like Subway, w/o trying this place out first. Billy's is a 'hidden gem' of deli/sandwich shops in San Clemente. The ONLY thing that kinda hurts this place is it's location: in the sandwich alley of businesses off of Del Mar. They have FRESH breads, pies, meats, beers/wines, and pretty much everything that you can think of. You go here for the sandwiches and pies. It's truly a one stop place. Haven't purchased the raw meats but you can easily see that they have beautiful color and have marblelized streaks of fat between the muscle sinews. Nice presentation if you're a meat lover. They serve Boar's Head meat which is priced REALLY well.

I usually get the vegetarian sandwich which is VERY filling, along with a slice of blueberry pie. The THICK veggie sandwich will run approx $6-$7, and a slice of pie will run approx $2. Trust me it's money well spent. This ESPECIALLY if you don't have the time or ingredients to create these types of sandwiches at home.

Final word: Go here. You won't be disappointed.

One note: There's a special way in which to order that consists of 7 steps. The person taking your order will blurt out 5-8 different types of breads to choose from, 8-12 types of cheeses to choose from, a list the condiments, etc. It will help if you observe locals ordering first and/or read the list and know what you're in the mood for before ordering. I say this b/c when there's a long line of hungry customers and you're up to bat and the person taking your order blurts out 5-8 types of bread in approx 10 seconds. You may feel as if you need a minute or two to decide what type of bread you want. However the staff IS very helpful, for example they'll explain to you that Munster cheese is harder and has a sharper flavor than Havarti cheese, which is has a more creamer...

The sandwichs are quite good but stay away from the teriyaki kabobs because you cant see how old or bad the meat is. I once bought the filet kabobs and had food poisoning so bad i was hospitalized and they had to pump the bad steak out of my stomach before it killed me. When I brought it to the attention of the owner (not taking legal action just to inform him so he was aware) he argued the fact it was his meat (for the record I believe the DRs at mission hospital more than him) yhe owner and the butcher with the moustache we very arrogant and rude. Talk about horrible service. They ladies that work there are all sweethearts and give fantastic service with a smile. Ive had alot of food here and 99percent of it is great and this was the only negative experience I have encountered. As a result just stay away from the steaks with marinade. And it wasnt the fact the the meat was so bad why I was hospitalized its the fact that is was steak and it takes a long time to digest so bad food you can ussualy pass through your bowls or vomit and recover but if its steak or a meat that take a long time to digest it cant be DEADLY. Intel curteous of the mission...

Quaint little deli and meat market.... This was my first occasion visiting Billy's I was not disappointed.... we went to pick up something for the grill after visiting the beach. I chose a few different things not knowing what to expect. Beef was my first choice, a bone in Ribeye, a Porterhouse, a New York Strip and even some Halibut. Let me tell you it was a bit more expensive than you would find in the grocery stores but the quality well outweighed the price difference. The steaks were extremely tender and each with their own flavor profile, the Halibut was firm and moist, I highly recommend stopping in for a look around. Oh yea one more thing the cannolis...