Gateway Deli Cafe

This place is great! Everything is good here! One of my favorite things here are there potato pancake sandwiches. Everything is fresh They can get you in and out with ease during the crazy lunch rush! One of my favorites!

Frequent patron during lunch break. Delicious deli sandwiches. Patio seating available during the summer months. Good place to stop with co workers.

I had the Potato Pancake corned beef and pastrami sandwich. That’s right, replace the bread with potato pancakes! It was awesome!
The staff was friendly and professional.
The only thing holding me back from 5 stars was the price. $ 16 for a sandwich, chips and a soda.
The menu is extensive, and I would frequent this place if they were more in line with the restaurants (like the coneys right up the street) around the Downtown Detroit area. Until then, it will remain a treat, instead of making it a regular stop.

Authentic deli in Detroit! One of the best matzo ball soup in a deli anywhere! I absolutely love the potato pancakes sandwiches, that’s right it’s a deli sandwich on two potato pancakes.

Ripping off customers on race day. Special menu: $ 4 coffee, no refills, pre-​made foil wrapped food at exorbitant prices. Pulled the chair out to sit down, chair broke.
Just on principle I would stay away. They saw an opportunity for a quick buck and took it. Certainly this isn’t their normal way of doing business, they would go bankrupt.

Always always amazing. Petes famous Russian dressing. Wow. Best deli in detroit hands down. Need to try maccabees. Same owner its in midtown Detroit! Amazon beautiful bistro! Nothing but nothing but. Good food and service here people!!!

Great place for a quick lunch. Service is always quick for carry-​out. Very much the traditional deli food like sandwiches, potato pancakes, matzoball soup and more. If you’re looking for the traditional Jewish deli, this is one of Detroit’s best.

I don’t really know how to rate and review Gateway Deli. It’s a step above a greasy spoon, and if you know what you’re getting in to, it’s a pretty decent choice. The food is heavy on the fats and oils, and the portions are decently sized. I guess it might be overpriced? But I’m a big-​city boy and am immune to sticker shock.
Bottom-​line: If you’re staying downtown, this is a good breakfast option.
Absolute rating: 2 stars; the food is «okay» but there are much better options — especially for lunch — downtown.
Relative rating: 4 stars; the food is very good for a low-​end diner and it’s a tasty, quiet option for breakfast if you’re downtown.

Convenient spot to eat while I waited for my Passport to process at the Detroit Passport Agency. Nice staff. Good food.

The deli gets pretty packed around lunch time with people dining in and picking up food order. I usually call ahead to place my order and pick up my food. If I order at the deli, then the wait time could be up to 10 minutes for a sandwich.
The menu is great, offering tons of sandwiches, burgers, wraps, and salads. I’ve tried quite a few sandwiches from here and liked them all (corned beef, tuna melt, philly steak and cheese, etc.). The sandwiches are packed with meat and fresh ingredients. You can add fries (make it a deluxe) for $ 1.75 more. You can also do half soup and sandwich (on most sandwiches) for about $ 8.
The soups are okay ($ 3.25). I think they use the same base for most of their soup, so they taste very similar: chicken noodle, chicken rice, mushroom barley, and matzo ball.
Hours: Weekdays 7am — 4pm, Saturday 9am — 3pm

I went to Gateway Deli for the first time on my lunch today and I wanted to leave a review while it’s fresh in my mind. I’ll keep this one pretty short and simple, because there really isn’t a whole lot to say.
* FOOD *
Glancing at the menu, I echo other reviewers, in that the menu overall is a bit steep. Especially for Detroit, but I guess they have the corporate lunch crowd who don’t mind overpaying. I would never seek this place out or eat here again if it wasn’t within walking distance from my office.
I ordered a rebuen sandwich ($ 8.50) and a bag of Sun Chips ($ 1.25) to go, which came to $ 9.75 total. To me, that is a bit pricey for the quality of the food, although the quantity was more than the average. That being said, would you want more of a bad sandwich or less of a good one? I’d prefer the latter, which is why Gateway is only getting 2 stars from me. The corned beef was pretty lean, but a bit on the dry side, meaning it probably was not cooked fresh today.
* ATMOSPHERE *
I got my food to go, so I didn’t have time to take in the atmosphere that much, but the pictures on the wall and the crappily hand painted murals were a turn off to me. One thing I did not like about my to go order, was that it was served on a cheap little 5×5 inch styrofoam tray, wrapped in plastic wrap. I’m sure it’s a cheap to go system for them, but it makes for quite a mess back at the desk. Not too pleased about that one.
* SERVICE *
Finally, the service was a little slow, but they were pretty friendly, which can always make up for the cost and quality to an extent. They struck up conversations with people whom I assume to be regulars. Always nice to have a place that knows your name and usual. Personally, I will not become one of those regulars. It’s just another overpriced deli in a city with a much better lunch scene. If I was really craving a reuben again, I might give it a second chance, but I think I’ll Unilocal around for other deli options in the area.

Food is average, portions are pretty average, hardly anything is flavored in any way, closed at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Prices are completely ridiculous for the portions and quality of the food. Food always put together sloppily also, and they seem to always screw up my order, and by screw up I mean leave out things that I paid for or overcharge me a dollar or two and I have to correct them. Everytime. Pretty blah, no reason to eat here unless you work in the building.

The variety on the menu and the quality of the food is consistently good. This is a perfect place for a deli sandwich or salad
I eat here a lot because I work nearby, but I’ve had pleasant, fast service as a sit down customer, though I never do get carry out.

I go here often because I work nearby, but I can’t say I love the place. Good menu selection but the (carry out) service is pretty poor, on several occasions my order has been sitting at the counter ready but the cashier didn’t tell me, and I had to go up and ask them if that happened to be my order. Makes what should be a quick pickup turn into a twenty minute ordeal.
As for the food, sometimes my sandwiches are delicious, sometimes the ingredients are barely on the bread. I think their pickles are too briny (it’s like biting into sort crunchy salt water) and gross, but their soup is very good and their cup size it ginormous!
If you want a deli meal, this place gets the job done but don’t expect to be wowed.

This is my favorite stop for lunch in downtown. Order to go or sit down and eat either way is good. They have some kosher and great non-​kosher selections. Don’t leave without trying an original sandwich. My favorite is the Red Wing Special

I’ve walked past the Gateway hundereds of tomes and always wanted to go in, but for some reason, never did. About 2 weeks ago my husband and I were out walking and he sugested we give it a shot. I am so glad we did. He got a Corned Beef with Swiss andI got a Club sandwich. They were huge, quite tasty too! We were full for the rest of the day.
We will be back for sure!

So i followed Lynn H. advice based on her list, of «places to eat in downtown Detroit» …Since i work in the downtown area and I’m always looking for something better than the usual Mexican fare i decided to follow her advice… So off we go to see the wizard.
I arrive at the deli, based on Liz suggestion i try the Pastrami sandwich with cole slaw and russian dressing on potato pancakes…
The sandwich is very large, probably enough for two…
I cant really say that this sandwich is my favorite only because i feel like the potato pancakes were just a little too dense for my liking. I feel that the pancake should of be one that’s thin, airy and just a todge of crisp to provide a lil texture to the sandwich, minus the russian dressing, add a honey or maybe a spicy mustard!!! vola ;o)
Not dissing the sandwich it just needs a lil bit of adjustments…
(But i always make adjustments, so don’t mind me)
By the overall look at the place tho, i was thoroughly impressed. From the outside it looks small but its enough space to sit down enjoy your food without someone «bunz» bumping your table. If you want to opt out of sitting at the table there is an area set up with high stools that have an wonderful outside view. They also have outside patio tables, which is nice if weather permits.
The staff there were very nice even kinda flirted and asked me «Where do you get your good looks from, your mom or your dad?» i replied with «Both and Jesus“lol, i didn’t mind it tho i hadn’t smiled the whole day (unlike me, very unlike me), but any who’s… They open at 7A. M for breakfast and close @ 5 i think :^/​
The place is very nice everything was clean they even offered Zingerman’s products, another place which i absolutely love!!!
So if you wondered if i would go back the answer is Yes… I can people watch, have an awesome meal and get a compliment all in one whop!!! Try it out…

I was reallllly looking for a new place to try in the downtown area for lunch. Since a lot of the littler places that are around the fnancial district area are closed during the weekend, i was SUPER pumped when i had the day off last week and was able to venture to Gateway Deli.
The menu is pretty simple, but you can tell that it’s quality. They have a range of sandwiches, some speciatly, and a few breakfast items plus homemade soups.
They have a small area where you can sit in and dine as well as carry out.
Now, on to my favorite topic. The actual food. I admit i got a little flustered when ordering as i was creating my own sandwich and I asked for hard salami (as opposed to regular). I was kind of surprised that it came sliced about ½ inch thick! i mean… i know hard salami is a little bit harder to work with… but i thought i was about to crack my jaw when biting into this thing! Don’t get me wrong, the flavor was good, i was just a little annoyed that they didn’t slice it thinner for me. My sandwich also cost almost $ 10 which is kindof pricey in my book!
Also, i’m pissed at myself because after ordering i realized they had matzah ball soup… which is one of my FAVE’S and i can never find it around the D. Sigh, guess i’ll have to go back again!
I’m willing to give this place another try after my jaw has healed from the hard salami incident and maybe i will get my act together this time and order properly. I would def. check it out if you work in the area and are looking for a cute and fast lil lunch spot.

Gateway is three steps down from street level at Fort and Washington. This makes it look cramped when viewed from the street, but don’t be fooled. Once you enter, the dining area feels airy and spacious.
Everything here is good, from the soups, to the salads (try the fattoush), to the sandwiches, to dessert. One of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten was their potato pancake pastrami. Deliciously spiced pastrami is piled high on crispy latkes, then topped with creamy coleslaw and swiss. YUM!