City Bistro

Our favorite sandwich place in the whole world… IS NOW CLOSED?! All those years we took it for granted. =(WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. Please… just…one…moree…

Ate here a few weeks back. Came back to write a review and saw it was closed. Can imagine why. On a Sunday the place was empty! Panda Express next door had more foot traffic.
No fresh juice, so I stuck to coffee. Bad coffee.
We tried the Rudy Guilliani– decent sandwich was the strong smoky taste was a totally off putting. I liked that they got kosher meat shipped from NY
The grilled cheese sandwich was just ok. much to mess here. But nothing spectacular either. Something that I could make and I am a pathetic cook. The fixings consisted of potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw and tomato bisque– all good, especially the soup

CLOSED PERMANENTLY — I have been here on three separate occasions and have always enjoyed the food. To my chagrin, I went there for lunch today, only to find out that they have closed permanently. They were clearing out the inside of the restaurant and we were able to speak to one of the owners. Sorry to see them go. I only discovered them a few months ago, and was looking forward to making it a regular eating spot! Goodbye and good luck in your future endeavors. If those chefs have moved on, I would love to know where they went. ;-)

This place never fails me. I have never been disappointed with anything I’ve ordered. I love how the owner remembers my husband and I. He always remembers our order too. Great guy, great food, and I admire the art inside.

Who would have guessed that the best Jewish deli in the Bay Area is in a strip mall… And in Hayward? Not me. And for the record, I’ve visited seven other local delis including the much touted Wise Sons.
If you look at the pictures on the walls long enough at City Bistro you notice that 3 or 4 of them are repeated in different sizes around the restaurants. There are 4 pictures alone of Yonah Schimmel’s (pssst… overrated) Knishery on the Lower East Side.
The latkes at City Bistro were excellent and cooked just right — crispy yet a little thick, too. They came with sour cream and, instead of apple sauce, a homemade berry compote. I wasn’t sure what I thought of the matzoh ball soup at first, but the broth flavor and the herbaceous balls grew on me. Overall I prefer the balls of Second Ave. Deli in New York and D.Z. Akin’s in San Diego, but City Bistro’s soup is the best I’ve had among the places currently open in the Bay Area.
The husband got the corned beef, which was pretty good. There were no free pickles at the table (blasphemy) but one did come with the sandwich. The only miss of our meal was the knish. It was WAY too bland. (Odd for a place with 4 pictures of a knishery on its walls.) The server didn’t have my favorite mustard (Beaver sweet hot) but brought a Brooklyn deli mustard he touted called Ba-​Tampte.
The dessert menu included an egg cream and homemade bread pudding. I was very tempted but resisted because I had a morning bun from La Farine in Rockridge was in my future. I hope to try City Bistro’s desserts next time.
Kathleen’s International (okay, just the U.S. and Canada) Jewish Deli Rankings
1) Russ & Daughters Café, New York City
2) D.Z. Akin’s, San Diego
3) Centre Street Deli, Thornhill, Ontario
4) Second Avenue Deli, New York City
5) California Street Delicatessen & Café, San Francisco (closed)
6) Ben’s Kosher Deli, New York City
7) CITY BISTRO, HAYWARD
8) Katz’s Deli, New York City
9) Yonah Schimmel’s Knishes Bakery, New York City
10) Carnegie Deli, New York City
11) Miller’s East Coast Deli, San Francisco
12) Stage Deli, Las Vegas (closed)
13) Wise Sons, San Francisco
14) The Kitchen Table, Mountain View (closed)
15) Saul’s, Berkeley
16) Brother’s Deli, Burlingame (closed)
17) Gunther’s, San Jose (should be closed)

I recall having a positive experience at this place. I’ve wanted to return but on literally 5 separate occasions I’ve tried to go here and its been closed. Because there are hundreds of other choices months go by and I forget they have bizarre hours. 11 — 6pm? Really? This review is mainly to plead with the owner to expand your hours. Especially on the weekend. That awful Country Waffles place 2 doors down has a long wait on the weekends, you could be cleaning up.

It’s been a year, but the last time I ate here, we both got sick. Haven’t gone back. I wonder if the health department’s been by. When two people eat different meals and then both spend all night in the bathroom!!!
Just glad we had 2 bathrooms or it would have been ugly. Er.

My wife and I have been here multiple times and have tried breakfast and lunch here and we have never been disappointed. I will be going back soon to try something else because I want to try everything on that menu. So far my favorite thing is potato pancakes with this great jam and some cream stuff like soar cream but way better.

I had been meaning to try City Bistro for a while as it’s close to my workplace. I heard great things about it but feel as if I could have spent my money and time elsewhere. Perhaps it’s what I ordered (tuna melt with tomato bisque) but I didn’t enjoy how it was lathered with mayonnaise (wasn’t given the option of light) and the tomato bisque tasted more like soup from a can.
My cousin had the chicken salad (also probably not the best thing to be getting from this place) and literally had to scrape mayonnaise off her bread. There was a glob on her plate by the end of it.
Service was slow because it’s a one person show.
I won’t be rushing back here anytime soon.

Star bumpage. The sandwiches here are just too solid to be under 4 stars. They are large and filling and cleanly put together. No pimply faced teenager slopping crap together here.
Just tried their «Coney Island Shrimp» Sandwich ($ ¹²⁄₁₃) and boy was it massive. Even though they are tiny little critters, they pack it to the gills. Nice toasty French roll and a film of some sort of flavored mayo, kept things simple yet good. Needs hot sauce though, not sure if they had any, forgot to ask. Fries even though probably frozen were thin, light and decent. Parsley sprinkle was a nice touch.
Their Pastrami is not bad. It is a «deli» version so there is a good dose of that nitrate sensation. It is sliced super thin but they stack it nice. Felt like it was steamed, which is proper, but never sensed any pepper/​smoke from the exterior of the pastrami, everything was just pink. There are much better pastramis out there (The Refuge, Harry’s Hofbrau) but this is also better than most sandwich chains, ie Togo’s.
Their rye bread is super legit and their kosher mustard that they bring out is incredibly compatible with their meat sandwiches. I’m kicking myself for often forgetting about this place. Time to up my status to regular status.

Truly a gem. Passed this place by a million times, wish I would have tried it sooner. I had a NY cheesesteak sandwich. Delicious!

HAIR IN MY FOOD!
I don’t write too many reviews but I just had to this time because of my horrible experience! Half way through my shrimp sandwich I found a piece of hair. Disgusting! But even worse was how the rude and unprofessional food server treated us. She’s not a friendly lady to begin with.
After showing her the hair she takes my plate then comes back with the bill only taking off 20%! Are you kidding me? I told her that was not ok with me. She said «well what do you want to take it off?» I said yes! She said «Don’t raise your voice at me!»
She comes back and slams the bill on our table with the sandwich taken off. I could not believe how rude she was!
I’m making it a point to never ever eat there and tell everyone to do the same!
Poor customer service and uncleanliness!!!

City Bistro is located in a small strip mall on the same parking lot of the Hayward/​Union City Target. I’ve always seen it, but never had to change to try it since they close early at 6pm on MTWTh, and at 8:30 on Fri-​Sat and 5pm on Sundays. I stopped in for lunch on a Friday and there were a few tables, but plenty of open tables. Dining room is decorated with various photos of New York and the menu offerings are named with various things associated with the big apple and the politicians.
We tried the fried artichoke hearts for appetizer. Yum. panko-​crusted and fried crispy. Served on top of lettuce and generously topped with shredded parmesan cheese. I could have eaten the whole thing as an entrée.
The special that day was the deli melt — corned beef with pastrami with caramelized onions and melted cheddar, on a sesame roll with fries. This sandwich was way larger than expected and it was savory, sweet, and very filling. This sandwich is totally worth being a daily special.
Also tried their panko-​crusted chicken sandwich with tomato-​lobster bisque. The bisque was rich and flavorful, and not over powered by the lobster flavoring. To me, nothing really special about it. The chicken sandwich was a large breast cut in half and piled up high with green leaf lettuce, tomato, and pesto-​mayo. The sandwich was juicy and moist and not greasy for being fried. This sandwich was served with coleslaw, potato salad, and bowtie pasta salad as well.
Prices here are a little high, but the portions are large so I see the value in it. The only grip I have is I asked for hot water as a beverage (in lieu of ice water) and was charged $ 1. Really, what’s the difference between ice vs hot water?
Overall, good lunch experience. They serve breakfast all day, and there are other entrees besides their extensive salad and sandwich menu. I just wished they stayed open longer so I could come here for dinner.

City Bistro offered up some really friendly service and delicious food. I had the «Unbelievable French Toast» and it was absolutely scrumptious! The atmosphere is really relaxed, though the interior could clearly use an update/​refresh as it looks fairly dated. Long story short, I came here for brunch with a friend and we both left fully satisfied with our meals. I’d come back if I was in the area.

Nothing more to say then: This is the best. The food is outstanding. The service is even better. The «owner waitress» is both sweet and attentive.
I swear by this place. I love the food. Love the service. Wish I could convince the owner cook to open a place in San Diego.

A fine choice if you have a thing for tasty sandwiches and servers who don’t give a hot shit about you. 3.5 stars
City Bistro is a NY style deli that boasts an extensive menu of sandwiches, burgers, breakfast items, and a few deli-​ish drinks (e.g. egg cream). I was contemplating ordering from the breakfast menu – which happens to be served all day– but decided to go with the Rudy Giuliani sandwich. So happy I did. It’s a corned beef and pastrami sandwich with swiss cheese, claw, and russian dressing on rye and it comes with three sides (pasta salad, potato salad, and more slaw).
The pastrami and corned beef were sliced super thin and I prefer thicker slices, but the flavor was pretty good. The bread was toasted nicely. As for the sides, they were solid but not stellar. That tomato/​pasta salad was tasty and the potato salad was too. I prefer a more vinegary slaw but this one was adequate. Also, portions were generous.
As for the service… yeah… That woman was straight up cold. Furthermore, I could hear her sneezing and I’m pretty sure she didn’t cover her mouth with her elbow…
Anyway, the food was great. Wish I could say the same about the service. Not sure if I’ll be back.

Definitely a hole in the wall, if that phrase applies to suburban settings. Came here on a Saturday morning and my man and I were the only customers! We thought to give this place a shot anyways.
I got the French toast and maaan, check out my photo bc the description says «laced with chocolate» and it was NOT laced with chocolate. I felt like I was slowly eating to my death with that piece of chocolate french toast. I feel like I would love it if I was 12 years old, but I’m not… and the sweet richness of the chocolate can get overwhelming at bite number 3. If I came back, I don’t think I’d get this again.
My man got the Pastrami sandwich. Again… he beats me on who got the best order. It was sooo delicious especially with mustard! They also give you some cute sides which compliment the sandwich.
Overall, the service was subpar. It’s literally a couple running the place. I think the husband runs the restaurant and the wife makes all the food. It took about 20 minutes for my man and I to get our food despite being the only customers in the place. We also had to ask for water which is a bit odd. But the guy was really nice.
Not sure if I would come back bc there’s nothing really fantastic about this place but give it a shot if you’re in the area. You might like it!

I’ve tried and I’ve tried to find a more local shrimp sandwich that is better than the one here. No luck.
The shrimp sandwich here is better than the one’s I’ve had at the most fancy shmancy fine dining establishments. This restaurant is the place to go for the best shrimp sandwich. Possibly in the world.

Okay, its great if you want to spend $ 15 on a sandwhich… Considering the BIG SIZE of the sandwich and the top quality of the Ingredients (thick amazing Bacon, perfect deliTurkey and great bread it was ALMOST worth it. but not economical enough to make me visit a 2^nd time.
MAJOR CONS FOR ME:
I DID NOT LIKE the extra charge for fries with your meal! Its like $ 1.50 extra on top of a $ 12 – 15 sandwhich and $ 2.50 for unsweetened ice tea is Astronomical… btw when will the west coast adopt sweet tea !!! Just melt the damn sugar in the hot pot of steeped tea already! At least McDonalds has caught on to the one of best things the east coast has ever offered me — Sweet tea!
But I digress, City Bistro is good quality but charging restaurant dinner prices for lunch food is not smart!
I MISS LOS ANGELES! Where are the best local places to eat up here in Bay town??? I’m in union city and people are way too kind on Unilocal.the search continues.

It’s that time of the year again folks! It’s an election year and I’m voting for Rudy Giuliani! The sandwich served here, that is!
I’ve been looking for a place that serves deli styled sandwiches besides the well known chains. City Bistro had been undetected by my sights for a very long time. Until, I did some research with the trusty Unilocal app. My craving for a patty melt was strong, but until I saw a picture of the Rudy Giuliani sandwich, I decided to pass on the patty melt for another day.
I called and placed a to go order and the phone was answered in a couple rings. While ordering the sandwich, I also added an order of the sweet potato fries. I was quoted that the order will be ready within 10 to 15 minutes.
I arrived at the restaurant at the quoted time and the restaurant was empty. This was around the 4pm time frame. I was nicely greeted and I announced that I had a to go order. I paid for my order and headed home.
The sandwich and fries were packaged in a clear plastic container. Unfortunately, during my drive home my container slid off my passenger car seat. Although my fries and sandwich were re-​arranged, the container was still intact. The make up of the Rudy Giuliani sandwich consisted of: corn beef, pastrami, cole slaw, and swiss cheese. All this goodness was all embedded in between two slices of toasted rye bread. The sweet potato fries had a glaze of lightly harden syrup coating each fry.
Although, I slightly damaged my entrée on my drive home, everything tasted great. The tenderness of the pastrami and corn beef. The cole slaw was just as crunchy as a side dish alone. The bread was nicely toasted and crispy. As for the fries, sweet and tasty!
I will for sure will be back! Patty melt, your next on my list!