Carnivore Sandwich — Restaurant in San Diego

This delicious deli is a spot I’d recommend you have to try! With a beautiful mix of tradition and culinary evolution, the owner & operator Cameron is working every day to ensure a delicious experience for everyone. It was very hard for me to decide what to try because all of it looked, and smelled, out of this world! But after I asked Cameron what he would suggest for a one and only opportunity to eat, he knew immediately what to start frying.. House cut French fries! Which he then stacked with corned beef, pastrami, cheese, and house made Russian dressing. And.. It. Was. Phenomenal!!

Not only are the potatoes cut fresh every day and lightly seasoned to perfection, but he does a special frying process of taking them in and out of the oil while they cook. This process creates the perfect crispy & crunchy outside layer, but helps keep them soft and fluffy on the inside. These stacked French fries are a personal recipe of his because they stem from a childhood favorite meal, and you can tell he makes it today with the same love he felt back then. After hearing this back story, I wouldn’t have wanted to try anything else while I was there!

I also got a small sample of their homemade chili which was classically simple but packed with flavor in every bite! Another recipe that Cameron takes the time to perfect every day, which definitely shows with a great balance of flavor and heat from the spices. It’s not too spicy though, just enough for you to feel!

I actually picked up two deliveries from Carnivore to deliver to others before I got the chance to try it myself. But both times I was inside, Cameron made a point to be kind and welcoming which made me want to come back even more to try his spot! Good food is the baseline, great business culture & history brings it up a step, but genuine humans will always take the top spot on what makes a restaurant somewhere I want to go over and over again!

Unfortunately for me, I was only in San Diego for a small amount of time and I didn’t try Carnivore until the end of my trip. However, I can guarantee that I will swing by every time I am in the city to get some amazing food and to see my new friend, Cameron! I highly encourage you to stop by and give this deli a try! And if my review here was the encouragement you needed to stop by, please tell them that The Nomadic Guide sent you! I would greatly...

Updated review to reflect new management:

Good deli. New management is incredibly friendly. Ties hasn't changed the fact that the sandwiches are expensive, but quite large. This is neither a fast nor cheap lunch, but it's a tasty and filling meal and the menu includes some deli classics that aren't available at ever sandwich place.

Previous review under prior management:

The food is fine. The serving sizes are larger than expected, but that at least partially explains the higher than expected prices. It is slow.

All other details are below average. There is always something broken, missing, or out of order. It's not always the same thing, but each thing seems to take longer than expected to fix. Credit card readers go out - cash only for two weeks. Power goes out for two days - they'll still sell deli meat from unpowered refrigerators. Two or three soft drinks out of syrup - check back in two weeks. Yeah, things don't always work perfectly, but this is far beyond anything found at similar restaurants.

Beyond that, there's a general apathy towards customers and the concept of anticipating needs. They ordered new coffee cups that don't fit the lids. They don't order matching lids, they just wait for you to try the lids and then declare "they don't fit." No advance notice, no apology, no effort to find some alternative.

Although the food tastes fine, I always leave wondering if the food meats the quality standards I expect. With so many corners cut in operating the business, I can't help but think maybe there are similarly low standards with health and quality standards...

Okay I am not gonna lie, I did not like the guy’s style of speaking to the patrons. Annoying rubbish small talk questions, addressing me with “young man” (meaning that I am super old), but most importantly that he messed up the order. The cheeseburger that was promised within 10 min did not know of its existence. While in the meantime, I had downed the rather dry and underwhelming potato salad, no burger was conceived yet. Come into the picture the other staff folks who upon questioning did not even care about saying something like “how can I help you?” or “oh no, let me check for you” or so but only walked away and whispered something to the cashier. Only after some time, that annoying first guy realized that my order had not gone through (great: he at least remembered), and the thing was finally moving towards being born. And that was prolly the worst, 9 months or so waiting in anticipation of expecting something good from a 4.5 rated place, that thing was slippery, greasy, and flat in taste! Good thing it did not start screaming ’cause internally I did, full of regrets. Would not recommend! Overrated!

(Originally posted by...