Rubicon Deli — Restaurant in San Diego

We stopped in Saturday evening to grab sandwiches since we were visiting La Jolla for the day. The whole area was really quiet. It must just get busy with students during the week because there really weren't too many here on the weekend. We were actually the only people parked in the entire parking lot. We came inside and ordered two sandwiches and soup. When we finished ordering, several other groups came in and also ordered. I would say it took a good 20 minutes to get our sandwiches even though we were the first people to order. I could see multiple people working in the kitchen and prepping food, but it wasn't coming out. I don't know what else was going on in the kitchen but everybody's food came out at the exact same time. You would think the food will be coming out in the order it was made.

Onto the food though. That's the more important part. All the food was good. It's definitely better quality ingredients and many sandwich shops but not like a high-end deli. The star of the show really is the bread. They have many different types to choose from. Although for whatever reason they didn't have the Dutch crunch that was advertised. We tried the pesto and I forget which one was the other one. They were both really good though. We got a cold sandwich and a hot sandwich. They were the Super Mario and the Rubicon Special. The Super Mario was far from hot. I would call it lukewarm at best. My girlfriend said it's more of a room temperature sandwich. It was definitely the better of the two sandwiches though. We will probably give this place another try. I would just hope that the service and speed of prep would be...

Rubicon Deli in La Jolla is a standout spot for anyone who appreciates bold sandwiches and fresh, quality ingredients. I recently stopped in for lunch and ordered the Super Mario sandwich, customized without cheese, but with added avocado and flank steak—a combination that turned out to be absolutely delicious. The sandwich was packed with flavor, and the bread, while slightly too toasted for my personal preference, held everything together without falling apart. Next time, I’ll ask for it lightly toasted to spare the roof of my mouth—it’s a big sandwich, and that crunch can be a little aggressive if you’re not ready for it.

Beyond the sandwich, what really impressed me were the cookies. These aren’t your standard, pre-packaged afterthoughts. Rubicon’s cookies are the perfect blend of a crisp, golden-brown exterior and a soft, chewy center, almost like they were baked just moments before. They’re easily one of the best bakery-style cookies I’ve had from a deli.

The vibe of the La Jolla location is casual but hip, with friendly staff and a solid selection of menu items for all preferences. Overall, Rubicon Deli delivers on flavor, portion, and that little extra something—like a cookie you’ll be dreaming...

Honestly, I found the sandwiches here to be pretty average. Maybe my girlfriend and I both made bad choices, but the Rich Boy (my order) and the Rubicon Special (her order) were both very standard sandwiches. They weren't bad sandwiches, just nothing special. Maybe it's my fault for expecting more based on the pretty steep price for a sandwich. The topping on the sandwich just didn't seem to create enough flavour or even surpass something I could make at home.

With that said, I do have to give credit to the bread as their bread was absolutely delicious. Also, the portion size is massive - especially when ordering the large size. The portion being this large actually helped ease my initial complaints about the cost a bit as I realize that ordering a large sandwich meant I was ordering a 2-3 serving meal. $13.49 seemed really expensive for a sandwich until I realize that was going to cover my food needs for the entire day.

It's not a bad place and the staff are friendly and restaurant very clean and modern. I'd say give it a try and see if some of the other sandwiches are better, however based on my experience with the Rich Boy and Rubicon Special, I wouldn't...