North Village Deli Emporium

This morning, I entered this deli for a breakfast sandwich before work. The rude woman at the counter also happens to be the owner of the store. As i paid nearly $ 5 dollars for this sandwich, I accidentally spilled my iced coffee on her counter top, which spilled into a few of her products. She visibly showed frustration about this, which made me feel uncomfortable, after explaining to her that it was an accident. I asked the cook to stop making my sandwich, and asked her for a refund, as i no longer wanted to be in the store. This turned into a huge dispute between myself and the owner, as she yelled in my face, «i’m not giving you a refund, leave,» «how about I make you pay for what you ruined,» and even called me a «fucking idiot» as i was leaving. I told her «you know what, Happy New Year,» and I left the store without a sandwich or refund. A donation for terrible service. Never coming back, and also informing my colleagues about this terrible experience.

I was going to this place 16 years ago when I had my place on Jane Street. I used to stop by here and get a sandwich on Rye. The sandwich was always good and this store always had a lot of selection for water, soda, etc.
I was recently here about 2 months ago and surprised to see it was still in business. Not surprised in a bad way, but just generally surprised regarding the consistency. I crash at my place in the Flatiron District when in town and never have a chance to go to the village, until my recent visit. The place was still in business and busy as usual! I didn’t experience any shady behavior/​service, but, I was here at an off-​time. Maybe it’s different during the rush times.
I was never brave enough to try the hot food buffet… still not, but the sandwiches are still really good. I always get the corned beef on rye with swiss (grilled) and deli mustard. So good! Man, I recall coming here back in 1996!

Always get my breakfast here. Good spot. The cooks are fast and friendly. There’s usually a line building up but always goes by quick. I have tried some of the lunch offerings. Nothing to complain about. Great spot.

I have many issues with this place. I have been here many times over the years, and while it is good in certain ways, there are things about it that are very unpleasant.
The bathroom situation is ridiculous. To use the bathroom you have to go upstairs and then enter a filthy stairwell. It is like something out of Mad Max.
The food is okay I guess… a little overpriced. If you get coffee or tea I suppose it is all right.
They have some odd signage. A basket of apples is marked «UNWASHED.» On the steam table there is a strict order not to cut the tofu. There is a sign saying that you can’t drink alcohol on the premises, but there are always people sitting there drinking beer.
The weird thing is that the upstairs is only opened for two hours a day or so… it seems like a tremendous waste of real estate considering the foot traffic.

I was here yesterday after some post church imbibing. I decided to come here and check out the hot food selection so I wouldn’t have to wait for hot food. I got some of their roasted halved red potatoes and some of their fried chicken wing pieces with just a bit of corn kernels for a bit of vegetables.

If you’re not wearing a bright yellow construction vest, do not even try to get breakfast at this place. They will ask for your order 5 times and still not get it right and you’ll wait 25 minutes for an egg sandwich. It is the worst!

Standard deli sandwich, you’ll just pay about 50% more than anywhere else.
Rude counter girl– she literally shooed me away.

Good old Deli Emporium. There for me with an egg sandwich in the morning, a hot food bar for my lunch break, and a variety of munchies for when I end my late shifts down the street.
The staff is fine — in the morning, they’re usually a bit more rushed or cranky, but as somebody who also works early hours, it’s a total «whatever» kinda thing. And the dudes who work the night shift are perfectly friendly. No complaints.
And as far as clientele, it’s like any other place in the city. I think it’s funny that somebody would go on about the «shadiness» and the «riff raff;» I mean, it’s the border between Chelsea and the Village, on a block with a bunch of bars. If you check out any deli late at night, it’s unfortunately likely that you’ll get cat-​called, hit up for money, or just generally creeped out by the drunk, the homeless, etc., but I’ve had pretty minimal negative experiences at this place in particular. I’m here 4 – 5 times a week and the bulk of what I have to say is thank god it’s always open when I have a craving for mashed potatoes with sesame chicken.

Very disappointed !
For a NYC deli this was horrible. Everything from a simple burnt grilled cheese, to a Rueben served with no rye bread
Horrible, save your money and go to subway!

Like all «upscale» delis, this one smells funny due to the food bar with various cuisines marinating next to each other. I came in for a musclemilk and left thinking about the customer service industry. Get it together — the cashier seemed so sad and burdened when I handed her my card to pay. Ma’am! What is the deal? Whatever, just go to CVS and save yourself from this weird wafting chasm in the village.

Recently I noticed their Health Department rating has been upgraded to an «A».

I had the hot/​cold salad bar — very fresh and tasty. Plus, they carry kombucha here!!!

This place was clean, the employees were friendly, the food on the buffet looked great, and the burger I got was really good. I didn’t get a chance to try anything on the hot/​cold buffet but it looked so good that I plan on going back to try it out.
I didn’t see any shadiness at all. Maybe it’s because I went on my lunch break in the middle of a work day, but this place is nice and clean and roomy. It might become my new lunch spot.

That part of the beach I’m thinking about is the part at the beginning of Fletch where Chevy Chase is writing a story about the junkies on the beach and the drugs. It’s like that

As another reviewer put it, this place (mostly its buffet) is shady. I never want to try it.
However, they make a decent late-​night egg sandwich that’s worth walking half a block.

I’m not one to speak ill of local businesses ever, but something needs to be said about North Village Deli Emporium: it is THE shadiest deli in the history of delis ever, on 14^th street, and eighth avenue.
I can understand the possible draw of a place with deli, hot/​cold buffet, and fast food all-​in-​one, really, i can; but you should know that this is my ‘hood and I’ve seen what goes on in and around that place at all hours of day and night, no matter the season, everyday for the past 12 years… and let me tell you it ain’t pretty.
I have in fact been inside against my better judgment but in my defense, at least HALF of those times was to avoid its clientele pooling around the other exit and spilling onto the corner a.k.a. the angry riff-​raff standing between me and my way home.
There used to be a pool hall upstairs. That was even shadier. I think it was the satellite office of crack spot up on the other end of the block. *reminiscing about the 14^th street of lore*
Anyway, listen, just be careful with that place, ok?

This was my first – and possibly most profound – «Why don’t they have this in Chicago» moment. There is fast food, there are delis, there are buffets. But for some reason, this combination and the quality of the food really struck me. I enjoyed a delicious cold curried chicken salad, some fruit and salad and some homemade (seeming) mac and cheese. Yum. In and out, lickety split.

If I get one of the jobs I’m angling for, this might become my morning deli on the way to work. It’s not far from the 8^th Avenue stop on the L, and it’s a block-​plus away from where I might be working. Convenient!
It’s your basic deli, only a little more spacious than many — there’s table seating, and it looks like there might be more upstairs (it was blocked off this morning). In the middle of the deli is the salad bar and steam trays, and along the back wall is a row of refrigerated cases full of beverages.
But the deli along the side is where most of the action happens, I’d wager. I ordered an egg and cheese on a toasted roll with butter, and even though it came sans butter, you really have to try to screw up an egg and cheese, so they passed the breakfast staple test with flying colors.
It wasn’t overly crowded at 8:30 a.m., and order traffic seemed to flow pretty smoothly. An egg and cheese and a Tropicana orange juice will set you back under $ 4.