Village Deli Grill - Middletown

The food at this restaurant is quite good, but the customer service leaves much to be desired. Whenever I call to place an order, I'm put on hold for about five minutes, only to overhear the staff gossiping instead of taking orders. It feels like they completely forget that I'm even waiting on the line. Additionally, they often make mistakes with my orders when I do finally get through. If they could address these issues, the restaurant would be fantastic.

I ordered a roast beef sandwich and was disappointed to find that the roast beef was nearly black and seemed very old.

The first time, I got an egg and cheese on a roll while the deli was busy. I stood to the side and patiently waited. After about 10 minutes, I saw a sandwich wrapped in tin foil set aside by the register. The cashier completely ignored it for another 15 minutes. When I finally pointed it out, she had to unwrap the now-cold sandwich to see that it was mine and handed it to me. So, 15 minutes wasted just to receive a cold, congealed sandwich—gross. The next time, I decided to call ahead for the same egg sandwich, thinking it would be more efficient. To my surprise, it was $6 more than the previous week. I was baffled but in a hurry, so I paid and left. On my third attempt, I called ahead again. It was a quiet Sunday morning, and the cashier told me to come in five minutes. I generously gave them ten minutes before heading in. I paid, and she then informed me that the cook was still preparing my sandwich. It’s just an egg sandwich! I peeked into the kitchen, and there was absolutely no one there! For another five minutes, the kitchen remained empty. What was going on? Where was the cook making the sandwich? Finally, after a long wait, a guy strolled out of the bathroom, gave me a casual greeting, and went into the kitchen to start making my sandwich. So he spent 20 minutes in the bathroom, and now he's making my food? First off, that’s disgusting. Second, why was the cashier lying? The kitchen is visible to everyone! She could have just said it would take a bit longer and to have a seat. Instead, she claimed he was already preparing it when clearly he was not! At this point, I'm completely disgusted with the place. I have no idea if there's some kind of secret code to receive decent service that I’m unaware of. But honestly, how do you mess up such a simple order as an egg sandwich every single time?

On my first visit, I ordered an egg and cheese sandwich on a roll, but the deli was packed. I patiently waited to the side. After about ten minutes, I noticed a sandwich wrapped in tin foil being set aside at the register. The cashier completely ignored it for another fifteen minutes. When I finally said something, she had to open the now-cold sandwich to see that it was mine before handing it to me. I ended up wasting fifteen minutes for a cold and congealed sandwich. Disgusting. The second time, I thought I’d be smart and called ahead for the same sandwich. To my surprise, it was $6 more expensive than the week before. I was confused but in a hurry, so I paid and left. On my third attempt, I again called ahead. It was a quiet Sunday morning, and the cashier told me to come in five minutes. I decided to give it ten. When I arrived, paid, and asked for my sandwich, she said the cook was still preparing it. But when I looked into the kitchen, there was no one there! For the next five minutes, the kitchen remained empty. Where was the cook “making” my sandwich? If he’s not there, I’ll just go pick it up wherever he is! Eventually, the guy came out of the bathroom, greeted me, and then went into the kitchen to actually start making the sandwich. He had spent twenty minutes in the restroom, and now he was finally making my food? First of all, that's gross. Secondly, why was the cashier lying? It’s obvious there was no one in the kitchen! Just be honest and say it will take longer—have a seat, don't say he's making it when clearly there's no one there! At this point, I’m so put off by the whole situation that I can't tell if there's some secret code to getting decent service that I don't know about. For an egg sandwich, how can they mess it up every single time?

Their phone service is terrible; they leave you on hold while you can hear them taking orders from other customers in the deli. Not acceptable!