Elijah's Restaurant, Delicatessen and Catering — Restaurant in San Diego

I was excited to go here based on a friend's recommendation and a great looking deli and comfort food menu.

Despite only a couple tables with guests at 6:30pm we waited patiently for several minutes at the hostess podium. Multiple employees could be seen but no one seemed to be watching for guests.

Once we were seated, we were promptly asked if we'd like something to drink. That was good. Our drinks were brought to the table quickly.

And then we waited. And waited. And waited. At least 15 minutes. Other guests were seated next to us and their food order was taken. And we waited. Finally I looked at my watch and told my husband that if no one came by to take our order in 2 minutes that we were leaving. One of the waitresses must have noticed our concern and walked right by to tell another waitress to go to our table.

She asked if we were ready and I said yes I'd like to order the chicken Kiev and to add a cup of mushroom barley soup. She asked if we wanted appetizers and I said no thanks, just our meal. Which I then had to repeat. Then my husband ordered and asked to substitute a house salad. She asked what kind of potatoes he wanted so he pointed to the menu and repeated that he wanted to substitute a salad. No potatoes.

My soup came and it was good. My husband's salad came and it was large for a side salad. But so far so good.

Then my chicken Kiev came. Small serving. And the mashed potatoes was a small scoop. Both were lukewarm and bland. My husband's patty melt looked really good and came with fries and pasta salad. So much for substituting the salad! We figured we'd get charged for his extras but didn't. Which is good because my "add-on" cup of soup was $6.25 rather than the $2.95 we expected.

Bottomline, based on poor service and lackluster food, I'm pretty sure we won't return. Which is too bad because I was wanting to try more of their great looking menu. Sorry, can't give more...

Disappointing! My husband and I had dinner there. He ordered off their new Russian menu. My husband is Russian and said the meat turnover he ordered tasted different than anything he was accustomed to eating. So he was non committal about the the food. He also ordered the Herring and Onion appetizer and judged it to be "ok". We shared the soup of the day, Tomato basil. It was the best thing I received from the kitchen! It was a cream soup and flavorful. My entree was the turkey dinner with the twice baked potato and steamed veggies. The turkey was DRY and tasteless. Very dry, and was crispy brown on the edges like it had been under the heat lamp for too long. The twice baked potato had no visible cheese. It was also DRY and tasteless with the same crispy brown edges as the turkey. I tried dipping the turkey in the small serving of gravy provided on the side. The gravy tasted like it was reconstituted on demand from a powder. You can buy gravy in can that tasted better than what was served. I couldn't eat the food on my plate. We didn't complain because we were attending a service group meeting. It didn't seem appropriate for the situation. I remember them as being a long time fixture in coastal San Diego, now they are in a strip mall in Claremont. Sad....

Birthday brunch date! The deli sandwiches we’re great! My husband ordered “the Statue of Liberty” & I ordered the “hot pastrami” both were yummy! They’re Rye bread they make for the sandwiches tasted fresh & Soft ,the meat is tender and juicy. The sides that come with sandwiches I would say are bland ,but you don’t mind it too much cause the sandwiches have a good amount of sodium. Of course they serve the sandwiches with a side pickle spear which is always nice. We also shared a stack of pancakes, they were good. Nice and fluffy and had a small crust on the edge of the flapjacks. I forgot what my niece ordered, her BF ordered the Belgian waffle and loved it! He said that was absolutely delicious. I believe he just got it plain (no toppings or fruit.) Now for drinks my nice ordered a root bear float, she liked it (standard float.) My husband ordered us the “New York Egg Cream,” no one else at the table liked it, I will say I think it’s an acquired taste. My husband described it as a carbonated chocolate Yoo-hoo. So take from that what you may. Me personally I liked the drink.

Our servers were kind and did a great job of customer service. Asking if we would like refills , coming by to see how everything was going and if we needed...