Deli Unique

Authentic Detroit style Jewish deli. Great corned beef. Wonderful matzah ball soup. Waiters who are pleasant when the customers send everything back (waiter my water is too wet). The only reason this treasure doesn’t get 5 stars is because it hasn’t been redecorated since the Sinai Peninsula was still part of Israel.

Older place but some of the best deli food around. Prices are good and they give you a lot of food. The corned beef hash is great and I can only eat about ¹⁄₃ of it

Okay I would just like to get this out of my system. If you are going to put something like borscht on the menu make sure it’s authentic and not just cabbage soup. Because frankly, cabbage soup is not the same thing as borscht. With that being said, the décor as mentioned in previous reviews is kind of funky but that’s okay, it’s a deli, right?! Our waitress was great. I have to say my corned beef sandwich was very good with lean meat and good bread. All in all though I’ve had better.

Solid place with good food. It was VERY busy, but the place was getting people in and out in a hurry. I was a little upset they did not have matza ball soup, but it’s fine because the Bada Bing Bada Boom sandwich (or something like that was awesome). The waitress was a little rude, which is why I am giving it four stars, but the food was for the most part very good (some of the eggs were ordered over easy and were given over medium or over hard – that happens when a place is so busy, though).

I like this place, but the experience today could have been better. It was not our server. She did a fantastic job and minimized the hassles for us. But service was off in the kitchen and the waitress kind of warned us that they were having some issues when we finally got seated. Let me explain what went down there today.
First there was the wait. There were some free tables and the place emptied out pretty quickly while we waited to be seated. But somehow, I think they were already backed up in the kitchen or maybe in getting orders served and I am thinking that because of that they weren’t seating folks right away. After we were finally seated, the waitress did a fine job.
When I ordered a bowl of chicken Noodle soup, she suggested that I ask for lots of noodles. Sure I said. She must have known that people do this and when the soup arrived I was glad she made that suggestion. When I ordered one of their signature sandwiches, a corned beef and pastrami on rye with Swiss Cheese and Cole Slaw, she asked me if I wanted 4 ounces of extra meat for $ 1 more. Sure I said. When that sandwich came, it was so overstuffed, I couldn’t even tell it was a sandwich. And the bread was cut so haphazardly, it really wasn’t not possible to pick anything up. The top piece of rye bread was cut at a different angle than the bottom. And it looked as if the chef didn’t know what to do, so he/​she just made a big pile of meat and put it on top of random cut bread, cheese and Cole Slaw. I was tempted to send it all back, but instead, I used rye bread from the basket to remake the mess into a sandwich instead. And my wife and I ate most of the remaining meat as a platter. If I was the owner of Deli Unique, I would have been embarrassed to see that mess served to a customer.
My wife ordered a sandwich made from meatloaf and she left most of it over because it was terrible. The meat load certainly looked pretty terrible. Fortunately, we had the meat form my sandwich mess to eat.
All in all the food quality was pretty good or maybe I should say not all bad, but the presentation wasn’t good at all and the wait to be seated was unnecessarily long.
Based on the explanation by our server, I think we just hot them on a bad day. The waitress had mentioned that the regular manager was not in that day and that his substitute was not up to speed yet. It showed. We will likely give this place another try and report back.

The Matt Prentice Restaurant Group gets the food right every time. They’ve been spot on since my first visit in 1987. Soups are always hot, plentiful and delicious. I did notice that the soup bowl is smaller than the soup bowl they used to have some 5 or 6 years. However, the price is still the same. Sy Ginsberg is the name you trust in Jewish style deli corned beef and pastrami and Deli Unique brings it. They stack it high and wide. Yes, reviews say that Stage serves it higher and bigger. Perhaps, but not enough to get me to come across the street. You want way-​to-​big deli go to Wheat and Rye or Mudgies downtown.
Entrees come with nosh, breakfasts overflowith and «don’t get me started» on the Yiddish Cheeseburger. Try any of the soups but I do recommend the Russian Borscht served cold. Most of the time I stick with the sandwiches: Matt’s Mess, Turkey Club, the Double Deli or Bubbi’s Favorite. Great deli style slow roasted brisket BTW all for around $ 9.99. You’ll pay $ 16.99 at Zingermans in A2 for exactly the same thing.
They décor is funky (even after renovations) but I come to eat. Service was at it’s peek 15 – 20 years ago and it’s noticeable; it can be hit or miss. You’ll probably never see Woody Allen or Robert DeNiro eat here but you can count on classic, consistent deli.

I haven’t lived in Michigan for nearly a decade, but every time I visit home, its been a litle family tradition to have lunch at out local jewish-​style deli. Yeah I loved my matzo-​ball soup and brisket.
Fond memories.
Flash forward to 2011, I noticed the interior has had a bit of a makeover and changed names, and now proudly advertises as being part of the ‘Michael Prentiss’ group. Now I don’t really keep close track of the Detroit area food scene but I’ve heard this deli has changed ownership a couple different times since I left the area and I don’t know what this says about the food, but compared to the deli fare I’ve had in the others places I’ve lived (chicago, Philly, LA, Indianapolis even) I’ve found this a bit lacking.
Now thankfully they’ve retained the Matzo-​ball/​kreplach/​noodle soup called the ‘Mish Mash’ that I’ve always loved, My sides of bacon and oatmeal however were a bit less than pleasing. Bacon overcooked and the oatmeal, frankly served in a monstrous portion that went beyond value and was just ridiculous. Nobody loves oatmeal that much. What especially dissapointed were the potato latkes. While they did bring the sour cream and applesauce on the side, my latkes looked nothing like the flat potato pancakes I was used to but balled up hash brown looking things that was also overcooked and hard and unweildly to cut & eat.
For shame.
I think next time I come home, it’s off to the pancake house.

Deli unique
An interesting color palette on the inside… yellow and purple walls, chartreuse and purple booths. I needed some chicken soup for my soul… so I skipped right by the typically awesome Prentice salads and sandwhichs. I received my soup less than a minute from when I ordered. It was a huge bowl with lots of noodles and big chunks of carrots… just like mom’s. The chicken was mainly white meat which made me a happy little camper. With my soup, I got two pieces of the homemade bread made fresh nightly. The crust was the kind of crispy that rocked my world. For less than 7.00 incl tip I was ready to face the rest of the day.

I am a tuna connoisseur. In my list of top tuna sandwiches, Deli Unique ranks toward the top. Some of the best deli sandwiches in town. Super speedy carry-​out, too!

Where the stage has larger sandwiches, Deli Unique has the taste. Nothing says childhood memories like getting the family together for trip to deli unique. Order the matza ball soup, blintzes with extra apple sauce and a nice turkey sandwich on rye with lettuce, tomato and a touch of mayo. While waiting, snack on some of that oh mouth watering, crunch inducing rye bread and double dip the carrots and celery into the tasty (homemade i believe) ranch dressing. Prices are a little much for what I would like to pay, but there is nothing I can do about that.
If anyone has any problems with the Unique, they will have to answer to me. Keep the stage, I have something better.

I grew up around the corner from this place. It was, and remains, a family favorite. It has massive portions, and everything I can remember having was delicious.
Try the mish mosh, for those soup lovers out there. Also, they have a hearty lox and bagels plate. For some reason I also remember them having really tasty potato latkas.
Enjoy!

I got carryout from here today because I agree that the ambiance stinks. But they have some great basics. Good tuna salad, awesome rye bread, and nice corned beef — lean and regular. We also got that matzah ball soup but I haven’t tried it yet. My mother said she liked it and it was better than Stage.
P. S. What’s a vegetarian (Aaron K.) doing reviewing a Jewish deli? Jewish cuisine is about chicken liver, tongue, corned beef, and smoked fish.

Why, oh, why, Matt Prentice? This deli is located directly across Orchard Lake from the Stage. It seems to do alright business, but the food is sooooo mediocre. The sandwiches are all average, and the ambiance would perfectly suit a cemetery. Only try Deli Unique if the stage is over-​packed, or because your grandparents are hypnotized by Prentice and still swear by this place after all these years.