Vista’s Icebox

Food = Great (gotta try the pastrami on rye)
Parking = Good (plenty of spaces if you don’t come right at 12:00 pm.
Service = With smile and prompt.
Probably a good idea to order your food ahead of time because they do get busy.
Will be coming here again.

This is the second time I’ve visited this deli because I bought a Groupon’s discount voucher. I’ve gone there now twice.
Today, I ordered the California Turk and I was disappointed.
I’ve gone here twice now and the food is just ok. Since I have one more visit to make, I’ll finish that off but I won’t be returning, unless I am in the neighborhood and there’s NOTHING else open!

Best turkey, bacon, avocado sandwich, wonderful bread options, and all the ugly veggies!

Superb. It’s like a sandwich I would make at home, only better. The staff are the best as they are friendly, helpful, and kind. I tried Icebox through a Groupon deal and so glad I did. It also has that «family» style feel instead of the typical chain sandwich shop. I usually get mine to go and they always wrap it up very neat. I will definitely be a regular here. Prices are reasonable.
Bonus tips: Accepts credit card and no additional charge. Outdoor patio dining available. Indoor seating too.

Great shop feels like ur ar mom’s ordering a sandwich had the California and it was great. Big sandwich as well 2 servings. Great bread and sweet hot sauce bar

First time in I had the CA split with turkey on Squaw bread and it was amazing !!! Today I am having the Hero on the heated French roll and it is incredible! And have to have a nice cold Sprecher Cream soda to wash it down!

I walked in with $ 100 and had no change. When I asked if they had change the owner (I believe) came over and asked for my name and asked me what I wanted. He said to pay him back next time. I found that very generous, he could have let me walk out.
As far as the sandwich I got a BLT with avo. The bacon was perfect and the sandwich itself was really good! Will be coming again. Phenomenal customer service skills :)

Great service with a smile… BUT, chincy on meat slices, tomato slice all paper thin. No condiments on sandwich i.e. mustard, mayo, etc. Bread was nice and fresh. Tea was great… Expensive for what you get. Have been to much better deli places… I don’t get these 5* opinions. These people must not get out much… Sorry, I really wanted to come back but probably won’t…

I love the Reuben sandwich. I’ve been eating them for years here at Ice Box Jr.
Friendly staff and good service.
I recommend this deli to anyone in the area. You won’t be disappointed.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I love me a good sammich. What I love even more is when they have sweet, delicious squaw bread and this spot has the best I’ve ever tasted. I order from here quite regularly so I’m surprised I haven’t written a review before. My regular order is a turkey, cheese, and avocado on aforementioned squaw bread. I’ve also had the Egg salad which was also superb and not too Mayo-​ey as some places can be. The other star here are the soups, which change daily but are always spot on and delicious. Always friendly when ordering over the phone
and/​or in person. I heart this place!

The sandwiches are by far the best in Vista! There are quite a few I route between. The California turkey and avocado is my husband favorite! I like the chicken salad sandwich, a traditional ham and cheese or the turkey bacon avocado. The bread on all of these sandwiches are my favorite part. It tastes so fresh!
They also carry soups and salads here! I have tried their Cobb salad and their clam chowder both good! You can do half sandwich half soup/​salad which for me is perfect! I enjoy being able to mix and match the options I want for that day.
The staff is always very friendly. Makes it a true joy to come into this whole in the wall lunch spot.
My only complaint is this place can be a bit dirty. Especially when they have a large lunch crowd.

My go to spot for lunch as this place is spitting distance from work. Hell, I’d even drive a distance to come here as well. Jerry, the owner, is friendly and is always welcoming. Their staff is also great.
My default sandwich is the CA split with turkey, lettuce and sprouts and all the above. It comes with a pickle spear and I add on chips and an iced tea just for good measure. They have cards that they initial so you can get the 10^th sandwich free.
I’ve gone through many, many cards. I’m not ashamed.
They steam the bread, so it comes out nice and warm and soft as a down pillow. Their bacon is crunchy but not crispy. Everything is fresh and delicious.
Their soups and salads are also on point. Lunch hour is a mad house so get there 11:30 or so to skip the lines.
Call in your order to skip the wait!

Good deli behind home depot. Would have never found it if not for groupon.
Good selection with quality ingredients. I have been back a couple times

My first time here. Decided to stop by after reading a friends review. For starters, it’s not close to anything. I can’t imagine coming here unless you work in the area.
I must have come at an off time because there was plenty of parking and not a single person inside. I imagine they are quite busy in the morning and at the peak of lunch. Again, I’m sure I came right in between both.
Very clean inside and quite a bit of variety on the menu. Up to this point it had been a pleasant experience. But when I started talking to the person at the counter it seemed to go downhill. They have a lot of delicious sounding sandwiches, but I was in the mood for a simple turkey and cheese sandwich. I let the person taking my order this and he seemed a bit put out. He finally told me I could order a California Turkey and just to hold the avocado. I noticed on the menu the cheese is melted and I told him I wanted a «cold» sandwich. I didn’t want the cheese melted. The counter person took a deep sigh and asked me what kind of cheese I wanted. Then he asked about what I wanted on the sandwich and I just wanted simple: lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard. He asked if I wanted Italian dressing and I said yes. BEWARE: the Italian dressing should be called garlic dressing. All I could taste was garlic and more or less ruined the sandwich. I’ve had Italian dressing on a turkey sandwich before and it never tasted like this. Avoid the Italian dressing!
I paid using Apple Pay (bonus points for having this). But was disappointed when the server was asking for a tip! I’ve been dining out for a LONG time and never tip before I’ve even had a bite of my food. And it seems really odd to me to tip at a deli.
I sat down at one of the tables and within a couple of minutes my sandwich was brought to my table. It was a bit comical because the guy told me to make sure I take my table number. The place was empty! It was like a scene from a comedy movie.
So, the sandwich: It came on the freshest bread I’ve ever tasted. Seriously, the bread was amazing. If I were to ever go back I would like to find out where they get their bread because it’s incredibly fresh. The turkey was just processed meat, so nothing special. I’ve already addressed the ‘Italian dressing’ so I won’t go over that again. NO mayo or mustard. And I don’t mean like a small amount. I mean absolutely NO mayo or mustard even though the guy taking my order asked and I told him. It’s really not acceptable when ordering a sandwich and the place is off the hook crazy busy. But I was the only person! Totally inexcusable. I didn’t bother mentioning it to them. I don’t see the point in doing that in a situation like this. If you can’t get an order right when I’m the sole customer… what’s the point. Pretty much speaks volumes about the quality of service.
Pros:
— Fresh brewed iced tea
— Apple Pay
— They have their own phone app you can use to place your order
— Incredibly fresh bread
Cons:
— unfriendly customer service. The person who waited on me clearly was not happy that I didn’t just order straight from the menu but honestly, a turkey and cheese sandwich is not complicated
— incredibly horrible Italian dressing; tasted like straight garlic and overpowered the taste of the sandwich
— despite asking for mayo and mustard, nothing was put on sandwich and I was the only customer in the store. Not even a dab of either
— require you to tip when paying. I’ve never heard of this! If I want to tip, I’ll do so AFTER I’ve had my meal. Frankly I don’t understand tipping for a deli, but if it’s that great and I’m inclined, I’ll do so, but DO NOT put it in front of me before I’ve even received my meal. Furthermore, tell your counter people not to make faces and get all bent because I didn’t give a tip. Really makes me want to avoid places like this that make you feel bad.
Bottom line, I would seek out other places to have lunch and I wouldn’t recommend this place. I was very mixed in giving the stars and honestly wanted to give 2 stars but I added one more for the use of Apple Pay and the fresh brewed iced tea. But leaving off the mayo/​mustard, putting garlic dressing that kills the whole sandwich and being rude because I didn’t tip… well, again, I don’t recommend this place.

One of the best places to get fresh sandwiches in Vista. Love their Egg Salad on Sqaw, the bread is so soft.
Reasonably priced for the quality and not quantity. If you want a quick bite and in mood for a sandwich this is the place to go. They have great selection and most of them I’ve tried are delicious.
The staff is friendly and they often run coupons for you to save couple of bucks too.

A+ all around. It feels so good knowing that you are spending money on not only a really good lunch, but that you are supporting a local business like Icebox. Gerry and the entire staff are so welcoming and make you feel like family. I am not a big sandwich person so I usually opt for the salads, but if they are anything like their sandwiches, I know they are awesome. The place has character and you can really feel the local vibe that they provide. Stop here for lunch the next time you are wondering where to go!

Great deli with fantastic sandwiches in an odd industrial location. You can tell this place is strategically located to take advantage of the 12 o’clock lunch time of the 9−5ers located in the adjacent industrial parks. That by no means discounts the fact that they provide an awesome sandwich and provide great service! Got a groupon so i figured I’d check it out… My go to sandwich at this place is the Rueben minus the sauerkraut and add coleslaw to the mix, so freaking good!
Pros–
Good food
Service
Menu
Price
Cons–
Location (for me)
Hours
Sometimes run out of supplies

I don’t typically do sandwiches, as I’m more of an ethnic food kind of gal… but this place is one of the few exceptions to that for me. Every single time I eat here (which has been enough times to be working on my third «buy 9 get one free» card), I am again surprised at how delicious a sandwich can be. It has a pretty typical deli sandwich menu with quite a few creative twists thrown in. My favorites are the «Shrimply Delicious» and the Turkey Bacon Avocado. They use high quality fresh, delicious bread and pile it high with a ton of veggies and sprouts and top it off with the perfect amount of dressing.
The have a constantly-​rotating menu of soups as well (usually 3 per day — but go early because they do run out!) — again representing the classics with some more unique creative options. My favorites of those I’ve tried include the Chicken Enchilada and Split Pea with Ham.
I usually get the cup of soup and half-​sandwich «always the big half» special, and it’s the perfect amount of food to fill you up without weighing you down too much. It’s usually around $ 8, depending on what sandwich I get.
Located in a commercial business park and directly beneath one of the commercial businesses, it has a cozy and quaint atmosphere inside. Given that most of its clientele are lunch-​breakers from said businesses, it does get packed during that 11:30 to 1:30ish office lunch time window, but I’ve never had an issue with getting in-​and-​out within the span of my lunch hour. You can order ahead by phone or online if you’re in a hurry — and they will also deliver to the local businesses for a minimum order (I think $ 30?). Staff are always friendly and accommodating — you can tell everyone likes where they work and take pride in the delicious quality they put out. The owners have been present every time I have been, either serving or in the back preparing food and making sure that everything that goes out is perfect.
All-​in-​all, I love their food and service and recommend it to anyone in the area looking for a new healthy lunch spot.

This is a great lunch spot for anyone working in this area. It’s always busy, you can sit indoor, outside, you can get orders to go and they’ll do large orders for a big group or companies as well.
They offer soups, sandwiches and salads and they’re very reasonably priced. You can order sandwiches whole or half and one great thing for me is that they state «we love substitutions!»
I typically bring my lunch everyday but today we had ordered a team lunch, being a person that doesn’t eat meat or dairy I didn’t know what to get. They were very accommodating and made me a salad with lettuce, sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers and shrimp and it was good.
I also noticed that they have plenty of sodas, chips, cookies and other treats and accept cash and credit cards.

this is now the go-​to spot near the office.
Just switched offices, and had a great deli by the last one, and have been searching for its replacement for the last 2 weeks.
Haven’t ventured out much in the physical world, just been trolling to try to find the spot.
Today was the day… I had made the decision to try a deli. and Icebox was it.
Partially due to proximity to the office, partially due to other Unilocal reviews, but mainly because I hit snooze one too many times, and didn’t make myself anything for lunch.
Cruised over at about 11:30 and there was absolutely no wait. I took a minute to scope out the menu, made my selection, and less than 8 mins and $ 10 later was on my way to enjoying one of the most solid club sandwiches I’ve gotten.
I chose this as it seemed to be a good benchmark for what the deli had to offer. If they screwed up a club, probably not going back, but if it was something to write home, or Unilocal about, they had something going.
Took it to go, and am literally finishing my pickle as I write this.
The guy behind the counter was awesome, making just enough small talk to pass the time, but not enough to make me feel awkward – a seasoned sandwich pro here folks.
Would I go back… yes! Would I recommend that you try it… yes…Would I write in the owner of the shop on my absentee ballot for congress… maybe. with a strong lean towards the yes column.
Thanks for the awesome experience. see you next week!