Saul's Restaurant and Deli

1475 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 848-3354
www.saulsdeli.com
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I have been wanting to try Saul's Restaurant and Deli in Berkeley ever since seeing the video in the Video Restaurant Reviews section of the East Bay section of my site. I don't make it out to Berkeley all that often, but was on a 1 week project for UC Berkeley so I made sure to go. First thing I noticed when I walked in was that there were a lot of Jews both eating, and working there. Always a good sign of a good Kosher deli. The place was packed. Also a good sign. I was expecting a long wait but we actually got seated within just a few minutes. We were seated in a little 2 person booth over by the deli counter which had a lot of really good looking things I wish I had ordered to go. I started looking over the menu and was torn between the pastrami, or the corned beef. After a few minutes the waitress came by to take our order so I asked he which she recommended. She said definitely the pastrami, on rye with some cole slaw. I told her that sounded perfect and ordered the regular ($11.25) which is technically their large. As we waited I looked around at what other people were eating. The thing that really stood out was this huge bowl of chicken and matzo ball soup this lady was eating. She had a bowl, and there was a big pot that she would ladle from. This must have been the Chicken In a Pot for two ($11.95). After a few minutes our food came out. I have to admit, when I saw the sandwich I was a little dissapointed. This was nowhere near the size of what they show in their video, which looked like something comparable to what you would get at 2nd Avenue Deli in New York. For $11.25 I really was expecting something larger. For what they lacked in quantity though, they definitely made up for in quality. The pastrami was delicious. Nice and thick cut, with great flavor. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful, but I will admit that the hostess was a bit rude. After we had ordered my colleague and I realized we had forgotten to ask them to split the check so he tried to get the hostesses attention for a while. One time he said she looked right at him, he asked, and she turned away. He finally tracked her down and asked if we could split the check and she said yes, just tell our waitress. It doesn't sound rude, it was just the way she said it. I think my response to him was, "yah, just tell your waitress, stupid". All in all the food was really good, the atmosphere cool, and I really would like to get a try of some of those things they had in their deli counter. If you are in Berkeley and looking for some good authentic Kosher style food then go check out Saul's Deli. Just don't expect to get out for cheap.

Quality of food = 8
Service = 7
Value = 6
Cleanliness = 8

Avg cost per person - $15 with tip