Rosemary and Thyme Deli & Catering

Try the borscht!
mmmmmm beets for all you Doug fans…

The place itself is a dive. So much so that I almost walked out as soon as I walked in. The lights were off, the walls were half painted, they use the very small dining area as storage for their left over canned goods and the deli case was lack luster and showcasing their again their left over items that wouldn’t fit in the back fridge.
But I was there so I tried the Chipotle Chicken Sandwich with Brie on Fococcia bread with Roasted Red Pepper and Baby Greans. My order was To-​go so when I was handed my brown bag I wasn’t expecting it to be warm and heavy! Hmmm — 1 star for that.
I got home and the bag was still warm and I could smell the bread and the herbs baked in. Hmmm — 1 star. As I unwrapped it and looked inside I was pleasantly surprised. The filling was picture perfect. Okay … my mouth was watering so I quickly took a picture to post on here and took my first bite. YUM O! 1 Star. It was by far the best sandwich I’ve had in along time. The bread was soft, the chicken jucey, the cheese gooey and the chipotle aioli evenly touching all of it. Yes, I ate the whole darn thing and I’d do it again. Next time I might even try their Pastrami.
The only disappointment was the restaurant itself.

Sounds like this place has up and down days but I definitely came on an up day. Chipotle chicken sandwich rocks!
Was in an adventurous mood for sandwiches and I had tried most places around already. Saw this place on Unilocal and decided to check out this sleepy lil Russian deli/​sandwich shop which is an extension of their catering business.
As I was a newbie, the nice lady behind the counter walked me through various suggestions. Went for the chipotle chicken and brie sandwich and it was a hit! Everything worked together awesomely — fresh focaccia bread, very tasty roasted peppers, delicious chipotle aioli sauce, and moist chicken. Was a bit hesitant about brie as I’m not a fancy cheese person but that complemented well.
Small cozy shop, 3 outdoor tables.
Bottom line: Chipotle chicken and brie sandwich… yum… And support this little local Russian business. As you know, I’m a sucker for small businesses. 4.5 stars.

HEADLINE: What a disappointment my Pastrami on Rye was … pastrami was fatty and terribly over salted /​cured … tasted more like a sliced hot dog than pastrami.
Another lunch adventure based upon massive Unilocalitude … another set of dashed hopes based on Unilocal-​whipped high expectations.
Jeeeesh, I won’t even go into all the NYC trash talking about having worked in Manhattan for ten years and delighting in all the pastrami /​corned beef /​tongue /​smoked turkey breast devoured at Stage or Carnegie Deli on 7^th when working in midtown or Katz’s Delicatessen on Houston when working downtown at the WTC … these Jewish temples to cured meats /​marbled ryes /​garlic pickles /​cole slaw & potato salads shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same review as this little hole in the wall.
Nice people here at this little hole in the wall … you can tell from their interaction with customers … all four of them during my entire eat-​in lunch today.
My Pastrami on Rye sandwich looked oh so great when it was served up to me … beautifully toasted rye bread housing nicely warmed pastrami, melted Swiss, mit kraut and Thousand Island dressing … absolutely outstanding preparation and presentation.
I should have known something was terribly awry however when, in picking up my first half to dig in, I noticed my hands were covered in a clear liquid … this liquid being grease from the heated pastrami.
The rye bread was wonderfully toasted and chewy and all the contents magnificently warmed through … kudos here for sure … but the meat itself was simply over salted /​over cured and quite fatty … to the point that I thought I was eating thinly sliced tube steaks … UGH!!!
Further, I was about to complain a bit about the paucity of the meat serving in the sandwich for $ 8.99, but then again, I wouldn’t want any more meat given the sodium level and its imbalance against the other ingredients in the sammy.
Indeed, all afternoon, this sandwich has been repeating on me and I can only think of Oscar Meyer with every belch.
I have to say that my Pastrami on Dutch Crunch over at Lettuce was better … markedly so.
I soooooooo wanted to like this place … alas, it appears I’ll have to travel 3,000 miles to indulge in this cured meat extravagance again …
… or, perhaps, The Refuge will come through for me when I make that briefer, brined brisket pilgrimage up to San Carlos.
Disappointing.

One of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life.
I had the chipotle chicken sandwich with brie and roasted peppers. Bread was fresh, toasty and hot. Chicken was flavored perfectly and the brie was gooey and perfectly melted.
AMAZING.
I found a new lunch spot. I know i’ll be here at least once a week.

5 stars for killer Pastrami Reuben. For me, on par with Saul’s in Berkeley.
I’ve been there or had sandwiches catered from there probably 6 times in the last few months (including twice in the last month) and I get consistent quality from them.
They make their own Pastrami, and it’s excellent. I’ve had other sandwiches there as well, and my experiences jive with the folks who rated «high», not for some of the recent posts on turkey staleness.
They get 5 stars for the reuben and the other stuff I’ve had is 4 stars, still great… but the reuben is over the top delicious.
Definitely give it a try, and if you like pastrami, then don’t worry about your diet: go for it.

I’ve only had catered sandwiches, but they were fricking amazing. The pastrami was delicious. It wasn’t traditional in flavor, but it had fat and juice. Oh man. The chipotle chicken with brie was pretty good, but I didn’t notice the chipotle and would never have guessed it was supposed to be chipotle. Great oatmeal raisin cookies. Okay chocolate chip.
So, not everything being equal, but you only need to do one thing perfectly to get 5 stars from me.

I’ve passed this place many times driving home… so I decided to check it out one day with my significant other…
We weren’t sure what to expect but we went anyways. There aren’t many selections to chose from and the menu is a bit confusing. This is mostly attributed to the fact that the place is a Georgian/​Russian catering service primarily. The sandwich shop aspect feels more like an afterthought then the centerpiece of their business.
However I must say that the woman who helped us order was awesome. She gave us free Piroshkis! They are basically like a bread stick with filling. The ones we got were a ground beef one and a mushroom one… both were soft and tasty.
We ordered to-​go… I got the Chipotle Chicken and Brie sandwich, my partner got the Turkey Pesto… both were very good in my opinion. The Chipotle Chicken and Brie sandwich is kinda messy but if you love Brie cheese. then this is the sandwich for you because they give you a nice helping of it. Chicken is moist and the Chipotle Sauce is a perfect compliment to that Brie. I didn’t personally taste the Turkey Pesto but my partner said it was tasty as well. We also ordered some Shortbread Cookies that were filled with blackberries and raspberries… just yum.
Overall I’d come back for the sandwiches… but this is more of a take-​out establishment.
Oh and they also have deli-​freezers/​regrigerators that have various European/​Russian/​Georgian specialty foods that you can go and cook at home. I got an Orange Fanta out of this and to my surprise the nutritional information was all in Russian or Georgian. The taste of it was also different from American Orange Fanta… it had more of a real Valencia Orange taste to it… instead of tasting like it is being flavored like Orange, it actually tasted orange-​y (if that makes sense!)
I’d come back most def.

This place is small. Almost all of their space is dedicated to the kitchen, with only two tables inside and two on the patio. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The food is why this place is here, and why they get my business.
First, let me say I’m combining two events into this review. These folks catered a party I hosted a few months ago, and I had lunch here today (as I have in the past).
I had the «Steve O» Sub today for lunch. It’s named for the chef, not the reality TV star. It’s a pretty standard sub sandwich. The meats are great, the roll it’s served on is nice and crunchy. The pickle that gets served with it is not exactly my favorite style, but it was ok. The service was a little slow for a sandwich, but that gave me time to try to pick my way through the free Russian weekly newspaper while sitting on the patio (I took two semesters of Russian in college), enjoying a beautiful San Jose January afternoon. Their selection of Eastern European food items is also an unique draw.
Now, the party. After another caterer bailed on me, Steve and crew were able to put together a nice menu for my 30 or 40 person party with just a few days notice. We had a great Mexican lunch buffet. Everyone was very satisfied with the food, and there was a lot left over. Steve’s team were very professional, everything was ready on time, and they came in under the budget I was going to spend at the other place. I was very pleased, and would recommend them to anyone.
In summery, this is a good, relaxing lunch deli, and a fantastic caterer for your party needs.

Yup the pastrami sandwich is dope (except that it is a bit on the salty side)! But the chipotle chicken and brie sandwich is a close second… sooo tasty. After a couple of days, my husband is already craving the pastrami again.
We also discovered their Khinkali. If you love xiao long baos like I do, you will appreciate these Georgian dumplings as well. They are 2 or 3 times bigger in size and also full of tasty soup. Per the owner’s recommendation, we picked them up by hand to enhance the soup-​slurping experience.

Rosemary and Thyme catered our Thanksgiving dinner of 7 people this year.
Dinner was excellent, especially the vegetarian stuffing made with delicious pruntes.
I not only recommend them for their fantastic sandwhiches but also for their catering.

I only sampled their Russian cheese bread thingies but they were REALLY good. Their peroshkis tasted pretty average. I definitely need to come here, get that cheesy bread thingy (2 diff types) and more. I hear the pastrami sandwiches for $ 7 are amazing.

Their sandwiches are wonderful, they cure their own meats in house. My favorite is the Turkey and Pesto. The turkey is not that pressed slimy stuff you get at a regular deli, this is real sliced turkey meat and seasoned just perfectly!
The staff is always very helpful and pleasant, they always offer samples and give descriptons of the different foods. You’ve got to try the cheese filled pastry, it is delicous! It is a square flaky pastry filled with a salty cheese curd, my favorite item they carry! I will defintely come back to this deli!

When I went for my first visit, I saw a menu on a chalkboard board, which shows you a few different salads and sandwiches, and then there’s another board showing more specials (pilmeni and another dish).
I was hoping to come home with pastrami, pilmeni, stogonoff, stuffed cabbage, and a few other items to try out like the peroshkis and cheese pastries. I was willing to go hog wild and just try out a ton of different things so I can pick my favorites for next time.
Unfortunately they didn’t seem to have most of those items in the deli case, and when I asked about several of the items, they weren’t available. I was disappointed, but I still ordered some of the georgian dumplings, pilmeni, stuffed cabbage, and a pastrami sandwich.
Turns out that the georgian dumplings, pilmeni, and stuffed cabbage were all just different variations on the same concept of spiced meat stuffed in dough. While they were all very tasty, I basically ordered three of the same dish, just prepared slightly different. However I kind of felt like I ordered one of everything that was currently available, and nothing that my wife requested from the online menu. My order took about 20 minutes to finish.
The pastrami was awesome, as everyone here has already said. Just the right size for the price. A little heavy on the mustard but excellent. Next time I’ll probably get the same sandwich minus the mustard so I can taste more of the pastrami.
Apparently, the online menu (which is identical to the paper menu that you pick up at the deli) doesn’t seem to be accurate, because it didn’t match what was listed on the chalk boards.
As a newbie to Russian food, I was confused and slightly intimidated by the ordering process and I didn’t understand why the majority of the items listed on the menu weren’t available for me to purchase. Maybe it was because I was there at 5PM for an early dinner instead for lunch? Maybe the menu was a «catering only» menu? I never did figure it out.

I was just there yesterday and didn’t check Unilocal.AAH I could have had a free piroshki. I don’t know what a piroshki is but I want one…
Instead I got a lb of pastrami to go. I love me some good pastrami and Unilocal did not lead me wrong. It was so perfectly peppery with a nice thick border of cured fat. It was a bit pricey though at $ 10.99/lb. I would have loved to sample some of the other items but I wasn’t really sure what everything was. I really have to brush up on my Russian cuisine.

Service here was well above average. We were assisted by 2 Russian women. The first one took the time to talk about the Russian specials and sandwiches they offered. She brought us over a sample of there red potato salad to try. I thought the gesture was really kind. The second lady took the time to ask us how we liked our sandwiches. The focaccia bread my turkey and pesto sandwich was made in-​house she explained and wanted to know how I liked it. I was honest and told her that the bread was spongy.
My pesto and turkey sandwich was nothing too spectacular. I did appreciate the fresh ingredients, everything from the freshly made turkey, crisp vibrant lettuce, and the garnishes on the side. The only thing that ruined the experience was the texture of the focaccia bread. The turkey was a little bit on the dry side and the pesto didn’t really shine through. There also wasn’t any cheese int the sandwich, being a cheese fanatic this is kind of appalling.
My boyfriend is big on pastrami, I got to take a bite of his sandwich. I definitely enjoyed the rye bread better, and I thought it was rather tasty based on the bite I took. He felt that there was too much fat on the pastrami, I definitely agreed when I saw the pile of fat on the corner of his plate which was kind of disturbing, being a skin/​fat-​a-​phobe that I am.
The potato salad we got to try was pretty tasty, not super creamy like most of the potato salads I have tried in my day. I loved the fresh herbs they put in and the capers gave it more flavor.
The atmosphere felt really at home, really tidy. My only criticism was the flies inside as of the result of the main doors being open.
So all in all since the location is quite a trip from San Jose, I am not sure if I will be back to give it another shot.

I came here for lunch today and it was rad! Lots of cultural Russian and Georgian food and the women working the front was very polite, fun and helpful. She even gave us free samples of the potato salad and couscous which were both fabulous. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t like potato salad.
I ended up ordering the Pastrami sandwich which was excellent. You can tell that they cure all the meat there. It was very rich, very tender and filled me up quite nice. I also had what she referred to as «Russian root beer» which ended up being very close to nonalcoholic Guinness.
I will be back for more!

The sandwiches here are great. Chipotle Chicken, Turkey and Pesto, both are quite good. And the other food here looks delish as well. One of the things we ordered here, one of these things that was not a sandwich, and shall remain nameless had a hair in it. But I will forgive that as long as it doesn’t happen again…

Just got back from this place. This place is good. DH and I shared two sandwiches: Pastrami on Rye (which is really a Reuben because it has sauerkraut, cheese and dressing), and a Steve O’s Special of salami, mortadella, ham and provolone on crispy French roll.
We started with the Pastrami and devoured them in mere minutes. These were the best pastrami sandwiches we’ve ever had. We felt sad for the Steve O’s Special because it was following a tough act! Well, that Steve O’s Special was an act of its own! Yum!
Their pastrami and turkey are smoked/​cured on site. Wow. Yummy, yummy. We ended up getting 3 lbs of pastrami to go.
We had a side of potato salad which, ultimately, did not live up to the greatness of the other items. The salad was not freshly prepared, as the oils in the mayo dressing had already begun to leach out. The red skinned potatoes had a yellowish hue, which is indicative of refrigeration and age. *sigh* I love red potato salad with fresh dill. This had all the hallmarks of such a salad, it just wasn’t freshly prepared. I won’t give up on the salad, I’ll just have to inquire as to when it was made. The flavor was good, but the texture was just off due because it had been around a while.
All in all, this is a great deli and we are already planning our next visit. Because it is a deli, you can get their meats sliced to go. Steve gave us a sample of the turkey and we’ll be hitting him up regularly for lunch meats.
The pastrami is their signature meat — and it is not to be missed. Rich, deep, wonderful, spicy flavor. If not for the fact that I am so stuffed at the moment, I might would consider ripping into one of those packages and snaring a slice! Alas — I’ll wait till dinner.
Rosemary and Thyme is located at the corner of Lawrence Expressway at the intersection where Bollinger and Moorpark merge. The inside seating and retail area is quite small, but you have a nice view of their enormous catering operation in the back. They have three or four tables outside under umbrellas and a canopy.
They also have freezer and refrigeration cases in the front so that you can stock up on some of your Russian favorites. We purchased a few bags of uncooked cheese pastries that fellow reviewers seem to be raving about. Too full to cook any up right now, but will so later.
Nice place. Nice people. Outstanding pastrami!

Hot pastrami on rye is probably one of my favorite hot sandwiches ever! The best thing about Rosemary and Thyme is that they cure their own meats! Bomb dot com!
I ordered the hot pastrami sandwich, tomato soup and this fresh cheese pastry. The cheese pastry was amazing! It was still warm and gooey too. My favorite part of the meal. The tomato soup was extremely fresh, hot and delicious! I love me a bowl of good tomato soup. My hot pastrami sandwich on rye was great! The pastrami was flavorful and the rye bread was soft. Complete with sauerkraut and stone ground mustard, pastrami has never tasted better! Yum! I have to come back here to try more of their sandwiches.