SC Deli

Wow, it took me a few years to notice there was a banh mi shop on Ocean Avenue even though I’ve driven by so many times. It’s tiny, almost closet size (which seemed like a good sign) without any indoor seating and a few tables outside. The Vietnamese sandwiches are about $ 4 (single size) and $ 4.95 (double size). Varieties include pâté, tofu, BBQ pork, BBQ chicken, meatball, etc. They also have American sandwiches, breakfast items, tapioca drinks, spring rolls and homemade puddings. One woman runs the deli.
I had the single meatball sandwich ($ 4). The meatballs were actually good but it was hard to taste them because (1) the sourness of the carrots (?) and the abundance of cilantro stems overwhelmed the other flavors, (2) hardly any meat in the sandwich. The roll was the cheap kind, toasted, but not that many crumbs fell off when I bit into it. For $ 4 (expensive for banh mi), the sandwich should come with a little more meat. I’ve never had such a sour banh mi before.
On this side of town if I have a banh mi craving, I recommend Irving Café & Deli. I think I may have tried the banh mi at every possible place in the Sunset, Richmond and Parkside (with the exception of Java Source on Clement and restaurants).
Cash only.

Drive 5 mins to Irving for much better Viet sandwiches. From what I heard is that this place changed management. So I guess I got the short end of the stick.
Drove past this place a dozen times and always told myself to give it a shot. A blind shot without going on to Unilocal first. For some reason I want to give this little shop a pre-​Yelp chance to prove itself. I thought that the location was pretty weird, and the shop is very very small.
With all the respect due to the lady that served me. She was nice. But on to the food: the sandwiches are not even close to the other spots in SF. I can’t even call it mediocre. The bread was cold and the ham was minimal. The Viet iced coffee I ordered is barely coffee. All I taste is water and sugar. Its just like brown sugar water.
Sometimes, giving a shop a blindshot is not worth it. But oh well. Live and learn.

as my gf would say this place is booboo… we always drive by and they never seem to be open… One day before we leaving for a trip to San Diego i thought it would be great to have some vietnamese sandwiches and coffee before leave… wow was i wrong…, the sandwich was bad… the coffee was bad… and i had to walk to walgreens to get change because they could not break my 50… so all together i spent more than ½hr trying to get sandwiches and coffee… seriously…what a was of time… ooh yeah i hate places that sell vietnamese food but can’t take my order in vietnamese… annoying…why bother… its like going to a taqueria and they dont speak spanish???

i cannot explain how dissapointed i am with this place.
it is obvious the management has changed.
they used to be well stocked, and super clean.
i used to order my sandwiches from there about once a week, now i dont even think about it.
they are soggy! and while i ordered my bbq pork sandwich i noticed a trail of ants on the wall right next to the dirty cutting board the girl cut my sandwich on.
thats not all. i ordered a honeydew milk tea (the fridge had no drinks) and it took her 5 min to prepare it, i watched her look around scrambling to find the cups and lids and stuff, and as i left i just watched her go right back to her laptop. when i finally drank my milk tea, there was a crushed bug in between my cup and lid! and it tasted like medicine. i was disgusted.

On a budget? Check
Poor College student? Check
Hungry? Check
In a hurry? Check
If you have time, there’s other places that are better, but this will do for those in a hurry.

considering we’re not in san jose,
SC deli is the best spot this far south in SF to get a vietnamese baguette sandwich.
SC deli doesn’t exactly adhere to «traditional» standards of making those delectable-​yet-​roof-​of-​the-​mouth-​scraping sandwiches. their meats are cut rather irregularly, and their vegetables are somewhat sporadic in quality and cut, but all in all is good for the price ($ 3.75 for standard bbq pork sandwich).
i have no idea what’s going on with the other things on their menu (halo halo dessert? american sandwiches?), as SC deli apparently caters to all types of to-​go quick meals,
but for the most part SC deli is great when you’re on the run.
just don’t try to order your vietnamese sandwich in vietnamese.
the deli girl apparently is some flavour of asian i’m not familiar with, because i couldn’t identify her accent, and she looked at me like i was crazy when i ordered my sandwich in my mother tongue.

This establishment is the best dining option on the small Lakeside block I work on. That’s not necessarily saying much because the other options are truly on the suckier side of things but it’s still good. The service is pleasant but slow and you can’t beat the $ 5 Vietnamese sandwich deal that includes chips or a cookie and a soda. No tax. Cash only. The wonton soup is okay but a little salty for my tastes. Haven’t had the boba teas yet but I will definitely be sampling them in the future cuz I love me some tapioca balls.
Tip: Ask for the pâté on your sandwich because they don’t automatically put that goodness on for you.

froyo dude here.
It was hot like hell slow driving on FXXXin’ 19^th Avenue around 4 pm was a mistake.
I DO hate 19^th Avenue. I feel like… get a HUGE Spatula width same as 19^th Avenue and scrape all cars from Ocean up tp Golden Gate Park. and dump them all right into the Oakland Mayor’s office.
The Oakland Mayor is a problem.
Get rid of the guy ASAP.
But The Oakland Mayor is nothing to do with the traffic on 19^th Avenue. I know that.
I’m just sayin’ that the traffic on 19^th Avenue is SO FXXXed up.
So,
I got off into Ocean lookin’ for a froyo or Ice cream.
I thought the small corner place has froyo or ice cream.
instead, Viet-​sandwich.
I usually «love» small corner store like this but the place has …
THE MOST RIDICULOUS Wonton Soup EVER!
It’s $ 2.25.
4 small frozen wonton microwaved with instant soup into 7oz container.
I’ve NEVER thrown away take out food before but I did the wonton soup.
If you have been to Hon’s on Kearny, you will agree with me that the wonton soup is a joke.
BBQ pork sandwich was OK, A-​OK.
They have cold drinks that I don’t follow.
HongKong Style BOBA Ice Tea?
What the FXXX?
Well, guess what I had for a drink?
Grass Jelly Drink.
Yup, you heard me right.
Grass Jelly Drink.
XiNH XAO MAT ONG, product from Taiwan.
Product from Taiwan!
That’s the reason why I got.
I don’t trust product from China anymore.
I try NOT to buy made in China as much as I can.
I know it is impossible but at least I can do some small thing.
Anyway,
the funky lookin’ grass jelly drink was pretty good.
I still wish the place has froyo or ice cream instead of wonton soup.
You know I love you, YoYo froyo dude.

I went here today while waiting for my niece at her doctor’s appointment, and the food was great! We ordered the fresh shrimp roll, a chicken bbq sandwich, and a Vietnamese iced coffee. Everything was delicious, the only thing is that there is only one person working there, and our order took a little while to prepare. I felt bad for the guy waiting in line behind me.
All-​in-​all, I had a great experience at SC Deli. For sure try their fresh shrimp rolls.

It is hole in the wall, for sure. i had to stop by three times before I could go in and get a menu. (–1) But they are damn close and convenient to school! (+1)
Do NOT order the iced coffee. (–1) Friend ordered the Coconut Tapioca and wouldn’t recommend it. (–1)
Combination Pork (cold) with extra meat and extra cilantro. Meat was fatty, but still tasty. Don’t expect fancy meat cuts. Look at the prices! Come on. Still the bread was huge! (–1)
BBQ Pork, extra meat and extra cilantro. On both, he gave a lot of meat, but the taste was nothing spectacular.
The dude running the joint was on the money, though. We spit an order of 7 sandwiches at him. We ordered 2. Then another. Then two more. Then two more. He kept our orders separate and made them quickly. (+1)
Oh, and no dine in!

SC Deli is a hole in the wall — just enough to fit 3 people standing — that serves vietnamese sandwiches and coffee. A great addition to an otherwise unspectacular retail strip.
But how do the sandwiches stack up to the city’s other mainstays (Saigon Sandwiches, for example)? Eh, don’t get too excited. The BBQ pork was fine, but the ratios were all whacked out: way too much bread, way too skimpy on the veggies (no daikon? a sliver of a chili pepper?), and way too much fat on the bbq pork for my american palate. Total tab: $ 3.50 (vs the standard $ 2.50 in little saigon).
Again, it’s a welcome newcomer — who is really going to scoff at having a vietnamese sandwich place in their hood? — but it’s got a ways to go to measure up to its competition elsewhere in the city.