Elijah's Restaurant, Delicatessen and Catering

Excellent service, great iced tea (frequent refills), great house salad. Beef tongue 1/2 sandwich was excellent though hardly “overstuffed” (as other reviewers have mentioned). Still, will give 5 stars since everything else was great including the atmosphere.

My dad asked me where to get a great pastrami sandwich. I chose Elijah's after looking at pictures online. I had tried theirs years ago and remember it was good. The menu calls it an overstuffed sandwich. What we got was anemic (see pics) not overstuffed and it was some pastrami folded in half and slapped between two pieces of bread. The meat was really chewy. I told the waitress and showed her the online pictures compared to our anemic sandwiches. She literally said nothing and walked away. They also never brought out water that we ordered and we had to ask the waitress for it. The restaurant was mostly empty so they were not busy. Paid $20 each, overpriced for my anemic sandwiches and will not be going back again. Strange thing is on my way out I saw a patron with an actual overstuffed pastrami sandwich which made me wonder if they are racist (we asian) and made us crap sandwiches on purpose or if the cook was on a break and someone who is not a chef made the sandwiches. Also quite annoted that the waitress basically ignored me when I asked why the sandwiches we received were nothing like the pictures. So I gave them a chance to fix it and was ignored. Awesome.

Nice spacious and clean shop. Full bar wine selection. Food is well prepared and tasty. Ordered an eggplant wrap and an egg white omelette delish. Just the right amount of food.

Stopped for the Filet and Egg special. Steak was cooked and seasoned to perfection. Top notch customer service as well. Exceeded our expectations!

This is my most-visited deli in San Diego! Something seems to be going on in the small though, like a complete renovation, so maybe they'll be moving at some point? Love the over-stuffed sandwiches!

We had Thanksgiving Dinner brought into work from this place. It was really good. The Yams with Pecan topping were delicious. The food was all fresh and tasty. Would like to go there someday and try some Sandwiches from the Delicatessen.

It's hard to decide what to eat here; everything's good! We ordered chicken Caesar salad, Empire State tall sandwich and a plate of lox & bagel. Great friendly service.

The pastrami rueben was top notch. Juice and flavorful Served on a very good rye.

Food: 4/5 Service: 4/5 Ambiance: 4/5 Late breakfast. Good food as always. Returning customer to local Delicatessen.

Elijah's Deli Overdue review for Elijah's. Last year the usual deli/bakery places had run out of some specialty baked goods. After a quick search on Yelp, Elijah's in Kearny Mesa was featured. Still not familiar with lots of areas around San Diego, but manage to drive there easily. Located in a hugh plaza with plenty of free parking. Outdoor seating with umbrellas for shade was nice. Elijah's is a restaurant, deli, caterer and bakery. I was primarily interested in picking up some bakery goods for gifting. Specifically the challah and honey breads and was glad they had plenty. Service by the staffers and waitress was Accommodating, Helpful and Nice. The restaurant looked clean with simple decor and brightly lit surrounded by glass windows. From observation, most of the diners looked be octogenarians. Sitting outside to enjoy the sunshine beneath the umbrella shade, feeling youthful, made my dining visit better than expected. While I was there, my baby Fendi and I decided to sit out in their patio and try the Empire State Building sky high sandwich of pastrami and corned beef on marbled rye, french fries and a knish. The sandwich was really good but not impressively sky high as I expected. So, I stacked the sandwiches and took pics to make it look more appealing to me :) The French fries, Knish and Latke were all really good. I had to ask for apple sauce and sour cream for the potato latke which should have been included. I'm guilty of always over ordering; I couldn't finish it all, and had it All boxed togo. Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda ordered a half portions, but glad I got the Challah and that's Holla!! Worth a visit. Recommend

3.5 stars Came for lunch and got the Empire state building, a double decker sandwich with corned beef, pastrami, swiss cheese and russian dressing. I added fries for $3 more. Service was quick and efficient, we were seated immediately. Ive had the Pastrami in the past and I thought it wasn't such a thick pastrami sandwich as i'd liked so this time i got one of their Sky High (double decker) sandwiches. Yes its $6 more than the regular sandwiches but you get double the meat, so id say the Sky High Sandwiches are the way to go. The pastrami was made in house but wasn't as special as what you'd find in a New York deli. But at least they make their own Unlike the other popular Jewish deli which uses a pre packaged product. The sandwich was cut in half so I switched the top and bottom of each sandwich so instead of a corned beef and pastrami sandwich, i had one pastrami sandwich and one corned beef sandwich. The bread was soft and fresh, though i omitted the middle slice and only ate the top and bottom bread. The place is rather large as it used to be a sports bar. Theres lots of parking in the lot that it shares with what used to be Souplantation. The are located between Walmart and Food for less. The sandwiches are a bit on the pricey side but the pastrami is made in house. It doesnt compare to a New York Jewish deli but what place in San Diego does?

Always a pleasure to dine here. The staff has not turned over in decades. Plenty of good parking, Hugh menu and friendly to your wallet.

Elijah's is very good! I really love their sandwiches. My sister adores their soup. You can tell they make items fresh and put love into what they make. I have done orders for delivery and pick up and have never had an issue with my orders. My sister's company has had their company holiday events here and they do have a space for that. My only thing is that they can be quite overpriced. A basic sandwich can be around $15 and if you want a stacked sandwich you are looking upwards of $20 that still doesn't feel like some other delis I have been to. Overall, I like Elijah's they are good and the food is good.

Tried this place for dinner today and really enjoyed everything. Lots of tables and a nice atmosphere to enjoy the food. Service was wonderful with them checking in our drinks and if we needed anything. Food was very delicious, as I had ordered a cheese/cherry blintzes, as well as the soup (the matzo ball chicken noodle one) and half sandwich (roast beef) were such large portions and well made. Would love to come back and try more of the menu, thank you!

Best breakfast I've had in a while , new favorite . Great service , quality is outstanding and price wow can't beat it . Their filet mignon special is the way to go and they give you real steakhouse filet not some weird cut and it's its only $18 for the whole thing with eggs , hash , toast . Everything else I saw looked great too .

Went in for a quick lunch with friends. Not crowded. Service was very attentive and quick. Sandwiches were very good with good portion sizes. Typical diner style interior with outside seating as well.

We were on the hunt for a jewish deli and came across the offerings at this location. Although not truly jewish deli, they had a lot of the options you would find (including the pickle). Service was great.. prices a little on the high side but they did have decent portions.. and the space was well lit, friendly, and clean. We had a great pastrami on rye and corned beef. Potato salad was decent and we had a good lunch with the kiddos. The plaza is a little heart breaking to see so many businesses that closed. Definitely a family owned joint worth the local support! Might come back if i have a hankering for pastrami and rye. Nice options for throughout the day!

I've never been here before, so I wanted to try it. I only ate one piece on the French Toast-it was undercooked inside (doughy). The Turkey Bacon was pretty good. Otherwise, it's hard to mess up scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. The service was pretty good. Although was breakfast was mediocre, I would come back to try other items.

Came in for lunch on Saturday. Parking was plentiful. No wait for a table either, seemed like the place was less than 50% capacity. A pretty chill place to have a relatively quiet group lunch. There's a bar if you're into watching the game or just having a drink. Food - Had the Statue of Liberty sandwich. It was good, but nothing outstanding. Service - Pretty good. My order was taken and food was made pretty quickly. The waitress checked in every now and then. It was also easy to flag her down once I needed my check.

This place has good breakfasts! It's a great place for big parties, too. They set up quickly to accommodate you asap. Elijah's is open early and serves breakfast or lunch. It looks like a favorite for groups meeting up for breakfast. Service was great. Free parking!

Kerry mesa San Diego Sandwiches Sports bar Parking available Restrooms inside Indoor seating Chose spice Bar area Friendly service Known for pastrami Amex accepted To go available Catering available Kosher and Jewish Not vegan friendly inside Vegetarian options Bagels

Tried three cakes: napoleon, carrot and Black Forest. 1. Napoleon would have been better without the frosted top and a little less sweet. Appreciated that they had this in the menu as it can be difficult to find. 2. Carrot cake was decent. On the sweet side for me, very good for the hubs. 3. Black Forest was dry, didn't have the traditional maraschino cherries and lacked flavor. Would not recommend. Overall very mediocre cake experience.

Rediscovered an old favorite! It's literally been years since I've been to Elijah's. Was in the mood for a great deli sandwich. Got the 1/2 sandwich and soup combo: Hot pastrami and matzo ball soup & chicken salad with mushroom barley soup. The soups were hearty, and delicious. A huge matzo ball in chicken noodle soup served piping hot - the ultimate comfort food. Mushroom barley soup is earthy filled with mushrooms and hearty. Soup portions are full size bowls and are a meal by themselves. The sandwiches are served on fresh, soft rye bread - simple and delicious. The restaurant is large and the servers are very attentive. I'll definitely be back whenever I'm craving east coast deli food.

We came here by happenstance, and I'm sure glad we did! Tony and the rest of the servers were so nice, welcoming, and attentive. I had the Chicken Ceasar wrap and it was creamy and yummy. My fiancé had the Philly cheesesteak and he enjoyed it as well, they do not skimp on the meat! Will deff recommend and return again!

If you're looking for a cozy small-town breakfast and lunch spot, this is the place! I brought my kids along, and the staff couldn't have been kinder--so patient, helpful, and genuinely welcoming. It wasn't too busy when we visited, but it absolutely deserves to be! The food was delicious, portions were just right, and the prices were perfect. Definitely worth stopping in!

What a gem I found in San Diego!! I grew up on the east coast where there's a lot of Polish, Italian, Irish, Jewish, and other European influences on food. California has a lot to offer for food in terms of Asian and Hispanic cuisine, but occasionally I miss food such as pierogis. Elijah's has a huge menu and so much unique food to offer. My favorite is definitely the Knish because I love carbs. I've also tried the cheese blintze and the apple blintze, and prefer the cheese blintze. I've never seen or heard of a New York Egg Cream so obviously I had to try that. Apparently there's no egg, and it's similar to a root beer float. But instead of root beer, it's chocolate, which is perfect for me because I don't like root beer but I do like floats! I have to be careful with this place, because everything is so delicious but I gotta watch my diet. I've only ever ordered takeout from them, and one day would like to try dining in for fresher food. Knish/ 9/10 Blintze: 8/10 New York Egg Cream: 8/10

Food was so good I went two days in a row. It was pretty busy so the waitress seemed to be spread a bit thin, but she was very friendly and helpful. Prices were very fair, especially for the quality. Clean. Easy parking. Central location. Big with a nice ambiance and a bar area. Large banquet space in the back.

We discovered Elijah's from Restaurant.com. They have a nice, outdoor patio, or indoor dining area to choose from. You can also use their banquet room for events. The employees here have always been very attentive and professional. Their menu offers a wide variety of items and almost everything I've ordered has been above average (I'd just recommend not getting the bland coleslaw). They have several beers to choose from and the environment is comfortable.

I'm saddened to share that this place took a wrong turn after the move. Used to come here every year for my birthday with my team when they were in UTC. After many years hiatus we came to the new location. Ambience is OK. Staff was just not the most friendly. But, the food itself had very little quality control. Three of us got the same large sandwich. One of us had a toasted bread. Another got halfway toasted on one 1/2 of their bread and the rest raw. And my bread was completely raw on both sides. Overall, a rather big letdown given how much I used to love this place.

DOG FRIENDLY patio so plus for us. Nice inside. Good friendly service. Writing 2 reviews here since we went here 2x just days apart. BREAKFAST: Ok mimosas. My wife got the cheese blintzes and they were good. She added eggs & bacon, but the bacon was over salty. I got the eggs benedict and it was good. The eggs were cooked perfectly. LUNCH: We tried the sandwiches. I got the Statue of Liberty - it was a big sandwich but expected it to be bigger for $22.95 and the potato salad was just ok. And for this price, the sides are literally a little sized plastic condiment container. My wife got the $14.95 egg salad sandwich and the little condiment sized cole slaw. Both were ok. So we were disappointed. For the price and size, will try other foods here instead of sandwiches.

They had a nice menu...many choices. We ordered several items on the menu....food was ok...not great. Service was great.....the server was very nice and helpful....she answered all of our questions....seating was nice...we had ample room for our group. It was clean. I had leftovers to take with me.

fun place to go w a group; good food and large portions. Can get breakfast to dinner all day long.

I had a great meal today at Elijah's. My tongue and chopped liver sandwich was savory, fresh and delicious. The homemade cole slaw was moist and tasty. The food was on a different level than DZ Akins and Milton's, both of which have gone downhill in my opinion. On top of that, my waitress was wonderful and took pride in the quality of their food.

Elijah's is a hybrid, or maybe, a chameleon: breakfast spot, cafe, diner, Jewish deli, coffee shop. I've never had a bad bite of food there, but there's something missing... heart, maybe, or attitude, or a clear sense of the purpose they mean to serve, which would, if better defined, help me understand when and why I'm supposed to go there. As it stands, Elijah's is where I eat if I'm nearby, hungry and unwilling to ask myself what I really want. I guess that's not nothing.

Nice juicy pastrami in an unassuming location. Onion rings were nice and crispy and service was efficient.

Walked in here today to get a meal before getting my car serviced nearby. There was a sign that said "please wait to be seated." So I stood there, for several minutes. At one point, one of the servers made eye contact with me for a good 5 seconds or longer. He did not greet me whatsoever and he walked away. Another couple of minutes passed by when a lady with her children walked in and stood next to me. Almost immediately, the server who curiously looked at me several minutes ago, greeted this party and sat them right away and served them drinks. I stood there awkwardly for another several minutes. Another server who was looking bored by the bar started curiously looking at me, but took no action. I walked out and will never come back. Thanks for making me feel unwelcome.

They've smile employees fast services also store was super clean. The prices was a little bit high but that's fine

Dined on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone at our table ordered the soup and half sandwich combo. The sandwiches were all reviewed with the rye bread being particularly fresh. The mish mosh soup was just okay and we all agreed we wish we would have just done full sandwiches. Service was speedy and friendly. Prices were a tad high. One thing to note is that this a restaurant that serves deli food not a traditional New York/Jewish deli

This was ok deli. Question mark on good deli. The service was great. The corned beef was good. The prices are high and the mishmosh soup is ok. I was disappointed there was very very small selection of pastries like brown and white cookies. Maybe I went in with expectations that were unreasonable based on their competition. Go and try it for yourself.

The best service and delicious meal . Extensive menu even for vegetarians Definitely worth coming.

Ordered a few items from GrubHub for delivery. I had the mish-mosh soup bowl ($8.95), full hot corned beef sandwich ($16.95), and the smoked Turkey club ($16.95). Pros: -everything was flavorful and delicious -the portion sizes were extremely generous. You definitely get your moneys worth and have left overs for later Cons: -n/a Overall, a solid choice for soups and sandwiches.

This restaurant is a good place to have deli sandwiches and breakfasts. They have a variety of items on their menu. The atmosphere here is very comfortable and relaxing in the spacious dining room. Service is prompt and polite. For breakfast, I've had their Leo's Special and a Matzo Brie on two separate occasions. The Leo's Special is three eggs scrambled with lox and onions. I had the home fries and an everything bagel with cream cheese. The lox and onions went well with the eggs and the home fries were crispy. The bagel was very fresh. Matzo Brie here is buttery tasting and very delicious. The portion size is huge and it comes with sour cream and applesauce. Sandwiches here are very large and generous. I've had their Veggie Reuben with a pasta salad for a lighter meal. It consists of eggplant, tomato, avocado and sauerkraut on grilled rye bread. It was a good vegetarian sandwich. The pasta salad was lightly dressed and tasted good as well. The Empire State Building sandwich is hot corned beef and pastrami with Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. I had mine made without cheese. It was a substantial sandwich served on rye. I almost could not finish it. The potato salad tasted freshly made. For dinner one night, I came here to try the turkey meatloaf. It was seasoned well with herbs and had diced carrots in it. It was a big slice served on a piece of toast. A cranberry sauce accompanied the meatloaf. The meatloaf came with a scoop of mashed potato and gravy. I enjoyed the turkey meatloaf very much. Elijah's menu is worth exploring again. There are just so many items. Specials are indicated on a board outside of the restaurant. Parking is plentiful in the shopping plaza.

Okay. I cannot say the corned beef was great nor is it on par with a NYC deli. It is not a KOSHER deli it is "kosher style" they say.

Great. Fantastic and good. Yummy motzaball soup. Kreplach delish. Cookies and baked stuff good too. No notes. Always stop by when in town

Visited 9/5/2023 This place has been on my list for some time now. I wasn't Disappointed. Very Large place with lots of seating inside and on the patio. Also a very large Banquet Room with a stage for large gatherings. I tried The Empire State Building Hot Pastrami & Hot Corned Beef on Rye Sandwich. It was Excellent and I'll have it again. Service was Super Friendly and Nice. Can't wait to return to try more of the menu.

Decide to try this place out since we were in the area. Came on Thursday evening around 6:00. Walked in and not busy at all. There was a party of about 8-10 people and two other couples dining. Two servers. The decor was modern, there's a bar right when you walk in, but we didn't see a bartender. We were greeted and sat right away. But then things got a bit slow. The drinks and food came out really slow which made us think maybe there's only one cook? And perhaps short-staffed. We almost started to regret coming but once we tried the food, it made up for it. The grilled chicken wrap was delicious! The chicken was moist and well-seasoned, the Reuben sandwich was exactly how we expected it to be, the potato salad & coleslaw were full-flavored and to our liking and the blackout cake we had for dessert was delicious & moist. It's a nice, quiet restaurant with a vast menu and the prices are fair. Side note: We were hoping to book an event there and called a week prior to us coming, and spoke to Alex (the catering manager?). He said he'd get back to me but he never did. I tried to follow-up and left a voicemail but still no response. If the date that we needed to book wasn't available, he could've just called us back to let us know instead of leaving us hanging. So we decided to book elsewhere. Apparently they don't need the business.

We used the banquet room for our Volunteer Appreciation event. Arranging everything was so easy with the help of Alex and his team. The banquet room was great for our small group of 18, but could also accommodate a much larger group. They even have a projector set up for a slideshow.

We shared some plates to try some of my favorites. We had the latkes, challah french toast and eggs. Everything was delicious. I miss this food!

I ordered via delivery app. I ordered a monte cristo sandwich and a piece of cake. The meat and cheese in the sandwich was like rubber. They ignored the special instructions to eliminate the ham (I prefer just turkey). Monte Cristo should come with raspberry preserves but there was none. That at least may have made the sandwich edible. The potato salad that was on the order (even on the printed receipt attached to the bag) was not included. The $9 slice of cake was dry and the frosting was hard. Very disappointing.

Great, good, fresh!!!! Hollandaise sauce was homemade. Freshly cut fruit was Not sitting around for days.

I don't know why the rating is not higher. I thoroughly enjoyed the reuben sandwich with pastrami and beef. It was awesome.

Excellent great food ! Soup was amazing ! Awwwww pick to go service but ample seating if eating at rvs restaurant! Parking is easy! Can't wait to try more items! Loved it!

Like some other reviewers, I recall back in the day when Elijah's was where Nordstrom Rack is now situated at The Shops at La Jolla Village. The setup felt more like a traditional deli at that location. When the owners decided to move the business to Kearny Mesa, they inherited a space that was formerly a sports bar. Consequently, the ambiance did not match a delicatessen. I am used to visiting delis in which the meats, cheeses, bread, salads, etc are all laid out on display which you won't find here. Nonetheless, Elijah's is still highly rated by the local Jewish community for its authentic products. It was very quiet when I came for dinner recently. I was surprised that they keep evening hours as I don't think there is enough business past mid-afternoon. The entire left side of the dining area was blocked off by tables that served as the pickup area for third party delivery orders. My seat was at a table to the right of the central bar area. The menu ran the gamut from breakfast to lunch to dinner as you would expect from a typical diner. The difference was the presence of Jewish items like blintzes, matzo ball soup, and potato knishes. I chose a Stuffed Cabbage Roll to start my meal. The roll was filled with fresh herbs and ground beef served in a sweet and sour sauce. My only disappointment was the $8.95 cost for one piece. A Hot Pastrami sandwich was my other selection. It was made with rye bread and came with a side. I picked the pasta salad over the cole slaw and potato salad. The menu category was 'Overstuffed Deli Sandwiches', however 6 oz of meat is hardly considered overstuffed by any definition. The meat was woefully inadequate for the price as double the amount would match what I have seen at Jewish delis in NYC. I do give credit for the kitchen using homemade pastrami versus sourcing it from an outside vendor.

Brought my mom, after her Dr appt. and my son Elijah in on a Monday around 3:30, in between lunch & dinner, so it was very quiet inside. Tony our waiter was very friendly and patient with us. We had breakfast items = Elijah loved his pancakes, eggs and sausage. My mom and I split the crab cake Benedict = SO delicious! When I go up to Anaheim, I look forward to eating crabcake Benedict at Flappy Jack's, now I'm so happy I found a place close by that I can enjoy it. The crabcakes were crispy, there was spinach and avocado on top and of course the egg was cooked nicely and the Benedict sauce brought it all together perfectly. The hash browns weren't greasy and they had crispy parts that I like. We're going to try to go every time after my mom's regular appointments in the area.

I thoroughly enjoyed Elijah's. I had never been there before, and was hungry for a late breakfast. I had the Rueben Omelette, and it was delicious. The house coffee was great, and my cup was never empty. I'll be back for some deli!

Really good food and coffee will definitely be back! Just a note, this meal is probably for two people. I couldn't even finish half, but why not eat it again for lunch right!? Definitely worth 15 bucks!

My dad asked me where to get a great pastrami sandwich. I chose Elijah's after looking at pictures online. I had tried theirs years ago and remember it was good. The menu calls it an overstuffed sandwich. What we got was anemic (see pics) not overstuffed and it was some pastrami folded in half and slapped between two pieces of bread. The meat was really chewy. I told the waitress and showed her the online pictures compared to our anemic sandwiches. She literally said nothing and walked away. They also never brought out water that we ordered and we had to ask the waitress for it. The restaurant was mostly empty so they were not busy. Paid $20 each, overpriced for my anemic sandwiches and will not be going back again. Strange thing is on my way out I saw a patron with an actual overstuffed pastrami sandwich which made me wonder if they are racist (we asian) and made us crap sandwiches on purpose or if the cook was on a break and someone who is not a chef made the sandwiches. Also quite annoted that the waitress basically ignored me when I asked why the sandwiches we received were nothing like the pictures. So I gave them a chance to fix it and was ignored. Awesome.