Regale Gourmet Deli

This place shut down last week!

The customer service in this THE WORSE, the people who answer the phone are rude INCLUDING the Manager! The PRICES ARE RIDICULOUS and change everyday. They never say thank you or good morning. Their RULE is they can’t answer the phone between 8:30am and 9;30am (during morning breakfast delivery). SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! They will never get my business again and I am going to tell my
co-​workers to stop ordering.

I do NOT get the low rating on this place! The salads are HUGE, cheap, delicious, and fresh! Plus you get a free drink with it. And the people that work there are fabulous– they are super fast and no BS. The iced coffee is great and they offer vanilla, hazelnut, or regular. They have a little hot plate section as well, along with a deli for sandwiches, and a fruit selection. It literally has something for every one. Want something quick for lunch? GO.

Unclean and unfriendly. Don’t buy anything packaged unless you want to dust it off. The folks that work here are unwilling to make any attempt for repeat business as you are treated more like human cattle in a numbers game to stay in business. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of this dump.

My favorite part about this deli is how cheap they are. After getting used to dishing out nothing less than like $ 7 to eat somewhere, this deli is refreshingly cheap for an egg sandwich, and I always appreciated that.
It is across the street from where I used to work, so if that wasn’t the case, I certainly would never have gone there. Their egg sandwiches were sometimes great, sometimes good, and sometimes a bit on the iffy side. However everyone inside was super nice, and I never had a problem.
They also accept credit card for an egg sandwich that costs around 3 bucks! That’s awesome considering how many places are coming up with 10 dollar minimums and crap like that. Overall, they made it easy, their quality was not the most consistent, but it gets the job done at a good price.

I’m going to be honest with you. If I’m at work, this is basically the closest spot to buy food. As a result, I end up grabbing lunch from them when it’s raining, when it’s cold, when I’m feeling lazy, when I hate people, when I’m poor and can’t afford delivery… if you drew a Venn diagram of all of those, you would be able to conclude that I go to Regale a lot.
The hot food bar skeeves me out for whatever reason,* I get salads down the block at Valentino’s, I get soups up the block at Medina, so what’s left for Regale is sandwiches.
Regale’s sandwiches are A-​OK. The deli meat isn’t usually fresh sliced, but what you sacrifice in taste you make up in speed. Since I discovered it though, I bypass the regular deli sandwiches and opt for Today’s Special.
Judging by the name, you might think this is a sandwich that changes daily. Nope. Today’s Special is the same every day.** It’s a chicken cutlet on a roll with melted muenster, bacon, and Russian dressing. It’s not healthy, but it can’t be bad. Even when it’s pretty bad, it’s still good, and it’s definitely way better than the salads everyone else got. Unfortunately, that’s why they hate you. Just give them a bite. They’ll stop hating you, even if you just ruined their diet.
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*My money is on, «hot food bars are skeevy.»
** I mean, the sign for it is fucking laminated.

Attempted to boycott this deli… but thought… Let me give it another chance…
So I got a sandwich and they OVERCHARGED ME AGAIN~!
I will never be going to this deli again.

Nice folks and all, but my morning bacon egg n’ cheese was a disgrace. How do you manage to screw a staple like that up? By being cheap with how much egg, bacon, and cheese you put on the sandwich. I also saw them wrapping everyone else’s sandwiches in the exact same way, so I know this wasn’t a fluke– all bread, no meat/​eggs/​bacon.
C’mon, step up your game people. This is New York, if I wanted to get ripped off for a crappy sandwich I’d move back to DC.

I stopped in back in March on a rainy day. The self serve deli has many items but I decided on a hot a roast beef sandwich. The sandwich came with a can of soda at no extra charge. As far as delis go, this one is above average because the sandwich was excellent, actually more than I could eat and the free can of soda made the meal a good value. Oh BTW, the cashiers were pleasant and friendly the day I was there.

The cashier blew me a kiss. If this is attitude, I don’t wanna be… nonattitudinalized. It’s in Webster’s. Look it up.
Deli counter, robust convenience store, sidewalk florist and hot buffet in one catch-​all locale. Flash brekkie, fresh from the griddle to your grill, will be met with options on the cheese in your egg and turkey bacon bagel. Pepper Jack? Why certainly, you fiery bastardo you. Fifth in line and still out the door in 11 minutes, bagging a pair of piping hot sandos for under eight bucks.
Only ding comes from the ubiquitous yet misleading «Any Style» found peppered throughout the dirt cheap menu. In some instances, it only applies to scrambled/​fried/​obliterated chicks-​interrupted. For others, howe’er, the Egg and Cheese Any Style really means Ova and Swiss On A Roll Any Substitutions Subject To A Surcharge As We See Fit, Blown Kiss Not Guaranteed.
Spinach wraps available, in case you’re a run-​down Popeye or Jane K looking to cheat on counting veggie servings.

Only slightly better New Valentino’s down the street. Cashiers have attitude by the pound.

Love this place. I used to go to Sunac on 18^th St, which is waaaaaay closer to where I work, but I go here every time now. Listen up: their credit card minimum is THREE DOLLARS. Amazing! Sunac’s is EIGHT. That’s game-​changing.
The sandwiches at the counter come with a can of soda, awesome; they have turkey bacon, awesome. Avocado costs an extra dollar per sandwich, not awesome but I’m not sure it’s outside the norm (although I’d bet that’s not the case at East Village Finest Deli at 4^th St & Avenue B). The buffet is good to very good, but the pricing is your typical $ 7/​lb. The salad counter always seems a little deserted, and not as cheap as Sunac’s. All in all, the $ 3 credit card minimum is absolutely lovely, and crucial. Their iced tea isn’t amazing and it’s $ 2.50, too much for what’s often burnt and bland tea. Everything else is typical for a bodega, outside of the few tables they have there for sitting and eating. Thumbs up to this place, my go-​to for breakfast and lunch on workdays.
Another critical point is that the guys behind the counter are fantastic. They almost never mess up any of my orders, which isn’t the case at most places I go, because I can be somewhat of a picky, demanding piece of sh*t.
PS…a soup selection would put this place into the bodega hall of fame.

So, not every haunt in NYC has to be a Michelin Star Rated gustatory experience or a descendent of the Fatty empire… sometimes, you just need a no frills destination for a quick bite or an effortless cup of watery coffee in the morning, and that place is Regale.
I doubt anyone will ever write home about this place unless they just really like writing on stationary paper, but that’s OK, calligraphy began its slow descent downward after that Hancock fellow **got shot by Tupac Shakur. What you’ll find here is a super quick salad and sandwich bar, a help yourself buffet, too many refreshments to choose from, and lightning quick service with a caveat that they’re not responsible for counting your change. That’s how fast they move through the line. If you’re missing a dollar, tough shit, hombre… there’s someone in line behind you that needs to hit Skype for an overseas pow wow with the Boss Man.
**If memory serves me correctly, I’m almost certain John Hancock was in a gang in South Central Los Angeles. If I’m wrong, I don’t want to know. Thanks.

I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THIS PLACE! I work right by it but will never go back, not for breakfast, not for lunch, not for coffee. This morning the cashier, an old Indian woman, gave me the biggest attitude, including a full exhale, because she was holding my change and it took me a second to get to the change part of my wallet.
I flipped, I said «Really? Really? Did you just give me an attitude for taking a second to get my change? I WILL NEVER COME BACK! That really is something. Wow!» and I walked out.
I AM SO GLAD I AM NOT THAT LADY… thank god I am not that miserable lol.

I stopped in today for a quick bite to eat before an interview. $ 3.50 for a small coffee, chips, and a banana. Clean, quick service, a full buffett and many salad/​sandwich options. This place is A-​ok with me. The hazelnut iced coffee is weak though. You’ve been warned.

I love this place! I got every morning and pick out a small breakfast of fresh fruit (mango, kiwi, strawberry, grapes, watermelon, you name it) and a couple hard-​boiled eggs. Then, I pack a small case of variety of healthy salads. My favorites are the lite pasta salad, brocolli/​mozzarella/​tomato salad and greek salad. Everything is light and fresh and delicious. Then I top it off with a large iced coffee. I have my meals for the day and it comes out to about $ 13. Good deal for me!

Interesting food bar — mostly random hot food and few salad options which is not my preference. But the price is right and they have an epic chip selection. Also have make your own salad and sandwiches area.
Good, cheap work lunch — I’ll be back.

Don’t judge a book by its cover. That’s probably what you will tell you self if you’ve decided to eat here. But then again you have tricked yourself into eating yet another mediocre at best lunch. Life is to short for mediocre lunch. pass on this one.

I’m really just rating some of their sandwiches. I like their Italian Hero (comes with proscuitto and other meats) — and they give you a decent helping, much better than the skimpy meat on a Subway sub, but a couple dollars more. Also their Philly Cheesesteak is decent. Again, not a real dining establishment, though there is patchwork seating in the back. They have a hot buffet where you pay by the pound — I’ve had it and it’s okay, nothing great — only for the variety — i.e. if you want 3 dumplings, a bit of spagetti, a chicken wing and a piece of teriyaki chicken for lunch.

The food isn’t particularly good, but if I want a buffet fast, it’s the only real option in the area. The buffet is a lot cheaper than Whole Foods, with a much shorter line, and more meat options.
And you get a free drink with one of their mediocre sandwiches.