St Elmo Deli

I never leave reviews but I just need to for this place. I was in the area and remembered there was a Quiznos nearby. I discovered it was closed and decided to try St Elmo Deli. It’s a plain looking store but don’t let that stop you. I ordered the Reuben and was blown away. It was the last thing I expected, and they completely outdid every other sandwich place I’ve been to. It was so good I ended ordering a different sandwich and was again amazed. Whenever I’m in the area again I will definitely be going here.

I’m amazed by this place. Stumbled upon it not knowing what to expect and left with a great lunch. The sandwiches are well prepared and they offer just about everything. The hot sandwiches is where it’s at. The Santa Fe with added avocado is delicious and even the veggie panini leaves you with a very happy belly. Don’t sleep on this deli.

Great food. Always quick and never have a problem paying separately, etc. and CHEAP for this area. In a good way :)

Solid food, friendly staff, and great prices. What more could you ask for in downtown Bethesda? The sandwiches are great, and at about half the price of those at Jetties, you can’t go wrong. I most recently had the Greek chicken sandwich, which was excellent. Everything is fresh and tasty, and there’s a huge variety. I highly recommend it!

This review is only of the turkey stuffing sandwich (because it’s all I had). It was a generous portion for the price (5 and some change). They have an extensive menu and a variety of drinks. Next time I’ll go earlier and try some of their burritos.

My go to place for a sandwich if I don’t pack a lunch. There’s an overwhelming number of options but I’ve been pleased with mostly everything I’ve had here.

I stopped by because it is directly next to my barber (Jim’s Barber Shop, best in town!) for a late lunch, figuring it would be quick and easy. It was quick enough, just know its not much more than a sandwich and a pickle you could get anywhere. I got the #34, roast beef & provolone on kaiser, and it was tasty, but like I said, dime a dozen. If you’re in the neighborhood and need a quick lunch, it’s great, and they definitely have a huge menu, but no need to go out of your way.

Last time I came I reviewed the turkey club add onions. I still come here all the time but I tried something new. I got to work a bit early so i decided to get a breakfast burrito. I got there at 10:35, breakfast ends at 10:30 they were still willing to make me a breakfast burrito. My friends who were with me also got breakfast burritos. I had the sausage burrito, and it took a few minutes to get. It was full of sausage, cheeses, and bits of green peppers. We got 2 sides of hot sauce and that really made the meal! The burritos are under $ 4 and very filling.
They also have lots of different flavor chips not your typical dorritos/​lays. They have premade salads, fruit sides to go as well if your in a rush

I had a carved turkey sandwich with avocado on marbled rye. It didn’t take too long for them to bring my order over to me and it was tasty. I look forward to trying more of their sandwiches! The bread was the best part.

Located in the Landow building along St Elmo Ave. $ 6.00 minimum to pay with plastic. I got shortchanged by a penny. Out of practicality I don’t mind but my principle on the matter is that you might as well round to the nearest 5 if that’s how you’re gonna roll.
Light variety of beverage options (coconut water, aloe, energy drinks, juices, coffee, tea, soda), three flavors of Chobani singles, solid array of chips to choose from (yay Popchips). Menu says breakfast starts at 7 but the hours on the door now say 7:30. Asian owner is friendlier to regulars; not docking on service since everyone’s a zombie in mornings unless you’re a freak of nature. Short order cook may catch an error, gracias– or burn your bagel.
Prices are reasonably suburban for modest portioning. Foil wrapper a little greasy from the hand-​off, but nothing outrageous. Flour tortilla griddled gently, just enough salsa for taste without sogginess. Sausage wasn’t too greasy, eggs scrambled creamy. I wish the cheese was distributed more evenly. Two-​thirds of it was more than enough for my breakfast appetite. Country edition almost as good with the hearty inclusion of potatoes. Not bad, SED is reigning as the local breakfast burrito champion for value ($ 3.59) and execution. I’ll have to try their smoothies.
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Egg & cheese sandwich with steak used chopped Philly-​style beef. I should’ve stuck to traditional breakfast meats. Nova platter is decent, though the capers need to be drained a little better.
Grilled salmon & avocado salad was a disappointment. Wild Alaskan salmon was cooked dry, though half a fresh avocado was wedged between the two small fillets and the thick bed of mixed greens. Shaved carrot, thinly sliced red onion, and capers barely broke up the monotony. Two accompanying tubs of balsamic vinaigrette were necessary to dress the generous salad fixings.
Prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich had its namesakes loaded towards the mouth of the sandwich. For food volume they beat out the local Euro eateries, but that edge is lost in terms of quality. Lettuce, coarsely sliced red onion, hot peppers, and canned black olives make the crusty sandwich roll moist. The olives in particular tasted out of place, and overwhelmed the delicate flavors that should be dominant.
NY style corned beef sandwich is surprisingly delicious, even if its accompanying pickle wedge was only passable. Protein is perfectly sliced and cooked, and the nicely toasted rye broke my resolve to save half for dinner. Uptown definitely wins on volume but SED offers a reasonable meal portion for a dollar less, with the admirable default of toasting.
Seaweed, fruit snacks, aloe water, Naked juice, Red Bull. Salmon spread bagel has some fish layered onto the cream cheese, and while toasted well, my sesame bagel was on the smaller side. Turkey stuffing sandwich special is a shadow of Jetties’ Nobadeer, with three generous slices of deli turkey, a moist stuffing patty with flecks of celery, generous layer of cranberry sauce, and a drizzle of chunky country gravy on toasted multigrain.
Route 21 kettle chip flavors include dill pickle. Eggplant and portobello panini was nicely toasted, including spring greens, grilled shallots and red peppers. I might’ve liked it if not for the grainy hummus. Tried another salad only to find that while the turkey is moist and tasty, their pesto is diluted with ranch and my avocado had been forgotten.
They occasionally receive a batch of small bagels. You’re more likely to get a better salmon spread bagel if they’re busy multitasking, otherwise the fish cooks all the way through when applied immediately to just-​toasted bagel.

A decent place to get a sandwich. It is fairly priced and you can get intriguing sandwiches outside of «turkey, lettuce, mayo» or «ham and cheese». I recommend the chicken pesto and Greek sandwich.
As someone else stated, when they get busy they tend to screw up orders. One time, I ordered the Chicken Pesto sandwich and was confused when my mouth was on fire. I then realized they mistakenly put some sort of Wasabi paste on it instead of pesto. Oops!
Sometimes the owner can be very friendly and sometimes he can be downright rude. I believe he and his wife own this place and the Café Xpress a few blocks over. She is much friendlier FWIW.

This review is just for the BLT.
Great sandwich, not too much mayo. Served quickly, and with a generous amount of bacon. Would definitely recommend.

Surprisingly detailed and tasteful food. Its a small place that is great for carryout. It won’t break your budget and is quick and delicious.

RATS!!! RATS!!! RATS!!! RATS!!! RATS!!! I was partaking in lunch one fine day and the owner was screaming about the fact that there are lots of RATS!!! RATS!!! RATS!!! on the street!!!
The other fine businesses on the street… don’t seem to have any problems must just be at ST. ELMO DELI!!! :)

A decent little deli worthy of a spot on my every-​other-​week Bethesda lunch rotation. Pluses and minuses as follows:
+ Their «fresh» turkey sub daily lunch special is my go-​to. $ 6.19 + tax for 9-​inches of customizable turkey goodness on a warm sub roll and a 16 oz. fountain soda. Not bad at all. I like to dress up the meat and tasty bread with some light mayo, lettuce, tomato, raw onions and cheddar cheese (cheese is 60 cents extra, I believe).
+ The chicken rice soup is nothing to write home about, but does the trick on a cold winter day. I believe a cup will run you $ 2.99.
+ Quite an extensive selection of beverages and potato chips — I like to go with an Honest Tea and a bag of Kettle brand’s New York Cheddar with Herbs chips.
— CASH ONLY! There’s a generic (i.e. non-​major bank) ATM right in the store, but it always annoys me a bit to get hit with convenience fees that are half the cost of your lunch.
— When it gets busy right around noon, I’ve had a few orders go awry — missing cheese, random veggies, a wrong sandwich entirely. Not a bad idea to check your order before you leave the store.
— Along the same vein, I’ve had one or two sandwiches come out a little off — stale bread, over-​ripened tomatoes, chewy chunks of «what the heck is this» in the turkey. Nothing catastrophic, but you lose a few points.
One final aside: This is a little silly, but the the owner, who is generally a very nice and pleasant Japanese man, always seems very reluctant to hand me my cup for my fountain drink. After I pay him, we always stare at each other uncomfortably for a few seconds until he hesitantly and somewhat begrudgingly asks me, «Oh, you want your drink?» ?!? I’m always tempted to sarcastically reply: «No, I just paid you extra money because I only want the sandwich,» but I’m afraid he might just take it at face value. This probably has something to do with the fact that I’m a serial-​sip-​stealer at the fountain (a ninja-​like technique mastered over a childhood spent covertly consuming 40 ounces of Cherry Coke Slurpee while only paying for a 20 oz. cup at my local 7 – 11), but hey, who doesn’t engage in a little sippage-​thievery from time to time?
In any case, if you work in Bethesda, especially in the Landow Building (the deli is literally right downstairs), this is not a bad spot to grab a quick sandwich and a bag of your favorite chips.

I would get lunch from this place all the time, when I worked near-​by. The first time I went, I knew what I wanted, but didn’t see it on the menu. I wanted basically an avocado and cheese sandwich. So I started to order their turkey sandwich, and leave off the turkey. They listened to what I wanted, and said that I could get a cheese sandwich and add avocado. So that’s what I did. And I got the SAME sandwich, like twice a week, for MONTHS. The sandwich was simple: wheat bread, a little mayo, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and a little swiss. That and a bag of Baked Lays, and I was good to go. In and out. I don’t work down the street anymore, but when I recently went back to the office to show everyone my new baby, what did I do afterwards? That’s right. :) Stopped by for an avocado sandwich. Still as good as ever.