The Village Deli

Really great place. Pretty much American style lunch and breakfast style food. Pancakes are huge and hot chips are fresh. It gets busy for Sunday brunch. You can’t go wrong.

A same-​size group of friends was at the Village Deli yesterday and the special eggs were just as good if not better! I am already looking forward to my next visit — wish I lived closer!

Place is totally decent. Food is good. Service is totally adequate. Place is bright and petty clean. Prices are reasonable. Most of these things aren’t true for other btown brunch places. Most reasonable brunch place in Bloomington?

Food is delicious. Scrumptious. Just outstanding. BUTT the service is NO BWAYNO if u kno what i mean. Talking no good. I’ll take my business somewhere else thank u v much. Hello Denny’s. Go to Denny’s. The Grand Slam deal is amazing. You get free food if you pay for it. Go to Denny’s. I do not work at Denny’s.

Food isn’t even good.
I don’t know why all my fellow hoosiers like this place.
I think it is misleading that there is a single ‘$’ under the name, if you order anything but the daily specials during the week it gets to be over 12 dollars.
The food is really bad.
Then we get into the absolute worst part. The service. They aren’t just rude, they are downright awful. The staff avoids the customers, and the wait, THE WAIT!!! You wait 45 minutes for crappy breakfast food and there is a good chance they will get your order wrong.
Avoid this place, there are better places for breakfast, like your home, or mcdonalds, or even the Runcible Spoon directly behind it.
I would choose eating chinese take out left overs for breakfast before forking over the cash to be ignored by a terrible waitstaff at Village Deli.

I just don’t understand the rage for this place. I have never once had a good experience here. Starting with seating — They make you have at least half your party there before they’ll seat you. I was meeting a group of people for a breakfast meeting for work. There were 5 people attending, but only 2 were there on time. The place was completely empty, but I had to stand awkwardly in the lobby until the rest of the party showed up.
Once you finally get seated, you’ll notice the wait staff’s shirts subtly allude to the service you’re about to get. They read «Eat and Get Out!» Yeah, that’s exactly the kind of service we got too. Our waiter came over to take our order and skipped me — I had to specifically ask him to take my order when he came back with coffee for everyone else. Okay, fine, maybe he’s got a lot on his mind or something. the place wasn’t busy, so that couldn’t be his excuse. But when he comes back with the food I ordered, he puts it down in front of the person across from me… Yikes.
If the food was amazingly delicious, it would make up for the terrible service. However, the food is just plain disgusting. If I wanted burnt Wonderbread toast, dry overcooked eggs, and some frozen potatoes, I would have asked my 10 year old cousin to hit up Walmart for ingredients and cook breakfast. And that’s what the food is made of — frozen, pre-​prepared ingredients. Even the eggs taste like egg beaters. The coffee is also gross diner coffee, which I guess you’re to expect from a gross diner. On top of all that, the music is so loud, I couldn’t even hear what the other people in my party were saying. I literally cannot think of anything I like about this place.

First off, let me give you my Unfabricated opinion. I had a great experience here this Easter getting breakfast with my son. It was one my most enjoyed meals in recent memory, the one I had at Village Deli this Easter accompanied by my child, my only son. I had strawberry waffles with coffee and home fries. A classic American breakfast that any father could enjoy with his son upon an Easter morn’.
So that’s it, Cody? Review over? 5 kitchen fires out of 5?
God bless ya’, No! There is more to this than meets the eye.
Let’s start with a story I dug up from the Cody B. Gazette dated approximately two weeks ago. «CHIPPED CUP CAUSES CRACKS IN FRIENDSHIP: VILLAGE DELI SCREWS UP BIG TIME!» reads the headline. Yes, um, more or less the thing here is that I ate at Village Deli a couple weeks ago with my friends, and the coffee cup I was given had a Big Ol’ Chip in it. It was located kind of where you put your mouth on the edge of the cup; I hated it. This made me Jealous and Resentful towards my friends and their pristine cups. Ain’t that just the way?
Right, yes. Also, during that same visit I think my serving of whipped butter may have been «Dipped». This is to say, it appeared to me that an unknown party scooped a taste of my butter from the cup with the small of their finger. I will attach a photo for reference and Evidence. Maybe one of you guys can sleuth it out? Was my server responsible for this? I don’t know. I am not here to make accusations, just to state the Facts.
Two-​weeks-​ago visit was not a great visit. On top of all that confusing, inane stuff I just wrote, the food was a little soggy and aesthetically horrendous. The visuals of a breakfast platter are an unforgiving beast; you either nail it, or it easily ventures into slop-​pile territory. More of the latter that time.
So yeah, that last visit kind of tempers the impression of my perfect father-​son Easter breakfast. But I mean, there were other factors too.
To fully understand where my heart was at on Easter, let me take you back in time a little bit, all the way back to Cody B’s Good Friday 2016. I ate an enormous amount of trash food on Good Friday: Bagel Bites, Pizza Rolls, «chicken» Bagel Bites, popsicles? A mountain of recently un-​frozen garbage. I literally melted a bag of chocolate chips, covered the chocolate puddle in sprinkles, and ate it. I had a tremendous feeling of shame on Saturday morning, and in response, chose to not eat anything for 24 hours. FOOLISHLY, I also chose to continue to drink liquids that day. Nuff’ said.
I was Extremely hungry on Easter morning. I could have been served a partially heated Eggo™ waffle with a side of like, live bugs, and the joyful tears I cried in front of my son would still have fallen. It was impossible for anyone or anything to mess that meal up for me. Great meal.
Still, The Village Deli served it. They got me (and my son) seated pretty quickly on an Easter morning. It was good service and acceptable food. I don’t know, I mean, jury’s still out on this one a little, but I think 4 Dips out of 5 sounds about right? Hope so. We can all hope and pray my son will grow up and be proud of this fine Unilocal review his father penned.
Happy Easter, everybody.

There are so many good options on the menu that (unlike most places) I have not «settled» on just one like my friends. I have breakfasted here for years, once upon a time I was meeting here weekly for years. I lunch here sometimes, though less recently. But I still love a chance to go in when business contacts nominate it for a meeting. I don’t think I have ever been disappointed with food or service, or the coffee.
I come by going to church on Sundays and marvel at the lines for brunch. This is solid popularity which you have to EARN. Village deli continues to «pay their dues» with good food and good service.
In a town full of good food they still draw a crowd. On weekends expect it to be busy. I have never failed to get in for breakfast or lunch on a weekday.

The best and cheapest breakfast in Bloomington, undoubtedly. The pancakes, potatoes and meat are always great, and the service is always exactly what I want; always attentive, but never overbearing. My only two complaints: 1. The coffee; I understand restaurant coffee isn’t great, but this stuff is just flat-​out bad. 2. If you get scrambled eggs as a part of a meal (village special, power breakfast) they are always extremely dry and string-​ey. Other than that, I love this place. It’s my go-​to in Bloomington for breakfast!

We stopped here for breakfast on a recent trip to Bloomington. I was initially really impressed with the efficient system they set up to seat people. Even with a wait, we were seated quickly. I also have to say the food was decent breakfast food. My husband had a sizable combo platter that he enjoyed and I had the biscuits and gravy. The gravy made my dish look like it had sat for a bit on the counter — it had that «cooling off» film that sausage gravy gets as it sits. With that said, it was still hot enough and tasted good. A very large portion, but I don’t think biscuits and gravy comes in any portion size other than «your day, though it has just barely begun, is now over.»
The problem was the wait for our food. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine how on earth they made breakfast take so long. I kind of thought maybe it was just a one-​off problem or a slightly less than competent server, but after speaking with an IU native and frequenter of the Village Deli she corroborated that this is a known problem here. We seriously waited at least a half hour for our food with at least two promises of «it will be right up» from our server. He went by with food, went back to the kitchen, re-​emerged many minutes later with more food that still wasn’t for us, and then disappeared again. It was torturous.
For a restaurant where the servers don shirts that say «Eat and get out,» I say this: Gladly, but you need to bring it to me first.

Do not order the Eggs Benedict. The «hollandaise» had no acidity and tasted like egg whipped with butter. The spinach and mushrooms it came with were raw. The home fries were okay — if you like your fries as chunky potatoes with some crunch. Orange juice was watery as hell and the coffee isn’t worth mentioning.
The table across ordered pancakes and they looked pretty appealing though, so in retrospect, should have gone for those. Overall, highly overrated (I mean how hard is it to get hollandaise right, people!), especially when there’s a rush of people and the kitchen’s in a hurry to get food out.

This is by far the worst brunch restaurant in the history of breakfast. The food is shitty, service is bad, and I was served raw sausage in the biscuits and gravy.
When we complained about the raw, pink, bleeding sausage in the biscuits and gravy the manager said they couldn’t make another batch. Meaning that they were going to continue serving this to all of the other patrons. If you are trying to get salmonella poisoning to avoid class, this is your spot.
I spent four years down in Bloomington and always avoided this place. Haven’t been back but despise this place so much I had to write a review four years later. Hit up Runcible Spoon ALL DAY over this place (located behind).

I assume this place has something other than breakfast, but that is all I have had here. They have a very good omelet. But their claim to fame is their pancakes. They are very good, and you can get almost anything in them. They are very large, but I feel you get the same here as you would elsewhere, But most places do not give you the versatility to you pancakes.
Depending on when you come there may be quite a wait. IF you come in a group it seems you will get seated quicker then if there is only a couple of you. Do not come here if you are in a rush. The service can be slow, and wait times to be seated. But the food is good for the price.

My wife graduated from IU in 1995 and we go to Bloomington every year for Lotus Festival. The village deli is always on our list of restaurants, but this is the first time I have reviewed it.
The wife introduced me to this restaurant and I have to agree with her that it is excellent. The pancakes are the best item on the menu. I ordered a massive pancake with granola and blueberries. The wife ordered one with blueberries, banana and granola.
My only complaint was the side of bacon, which was mostly fat and limp. The wife says the coffee was historically good, but has failed in recent years.
Service is always good and mostly provided by IU students. They are friendly and appreciative when you leave a tip. The restaurant is always busy and there is often a wait, but it is worth it.

Village Deli is one of those places that everyone RAVES about, but I haven’t had that experience there. While I do think the pancakes are delicious and giant, I can find great pancakes other places in town.
Service is generally very slow. Today was the slowest yet, waiting for our bill, waiting for change… we spent 20 minutes waiting to leave — new employees, I get it, but this has been recurring.
Avocado was brown and so hard that I couldn’t break through it with the side of my fork. I would have asked for fresh avocado, but we didn’t see our waitress for the majority of the meal.
Worth checking out and judging for yourself based on my numerous friends that swear by it. my recommendations are: go for breakfast or brunch and be prepared to wait for a table and slow service.

So this place is definitely a good breakfast spot. The village deli is known for their pancakes, because they are HUGE and fantastic. . They really do taste great but eating pancakes isn’t satisfying to me, I personally always go for the Hoosier scramble *nom nom* (I’m always on the hunt for the best version of biscuits and gravy).
The only reason I give four instead of five stars is the service … HIT & MISS every time ! It’s dead even on how many times I’ve had a great experience, to how many times I’ve dealt with immature, inexperienced service. (Eye rolls and all). The hit & miss service wouldn’t stop me from coming back though, with students coming and going, the staff turnover is constant. *side note– service this morning was great !
For breakfast on the weekends, go right at opening to beat the morning rush. Or you will be waiting.

I’m beginning to think I’ll never have potatoes in Bloomington for breakfast. All of these «home fries» and I can’t get a taste!
Anyway, in accordance with my attempt to eat at as many Bloomington establishments during my one week stay — or at least as many as I can eat at due to my wonderful vegetarian status… with no onion or garlic (even in powder form) — I decided to stop by. Breakfast joints tend to have something I can try out at the very least. I hoped.
I came in a little after 8 AM and was the first one in; I needed to work so I needed to make sure my stomach was satiated first. You seat yourself — the right side is set up more like a diner and the left side has booths reminiscent of the ones I see at chain breakfast places like IHOP or Denny’s. I decided I wanted a nice bench all to myself so I went to the left. Within a minute or two of settling myself on a bench, I was greeted by my waiter who was friendly and all smiles. Perhaps a little too happy for such an early hour of the morning, but it was a good thing. Smiles and happiness are contagious so I quite like that attribute. I personally was happy despite the early hour because I was excited to see what I could have… and if I could finally get potatoes for breakfast.
I can’t.
I ended up getting the Run Through the Garden Scrambler (because I want color and veggies in my first meal of the day) with two slices of lightly buttered and halved toasts and a «monkey» of plain yogurt (according to the receipt). The monkey is essentially a small bowl. It would be awesome if an actual monkey came with my yogurt. Is it local lingo for «small bowl»? I didn’t take advantage of the meal deal of the day (Monday) and essentially had the scrambler and add-​ons since they don’t do substitutions and I couldn’t enjoy the home fries. It was pretty good, but I was once again spudless. Maybe I’ll just make my own french fries when I get back into my kitchen.
I may make another trip back for these huge pancakes I keep on hearing about, but all in all, the place was nice and clean (or maybe it was because I was the first one in). Service was really helpful and I didn’t feel like I was too much trouble even with all my questions. Location was great and business is good (I may have been the first one in, but there were more shortly after me and it only got busier). Food was breakfast food and how can you do that wrong? You can only do it better. The portion was good for one person, but I ended up taking home the remaining toast because it was too many carbs in the morning. PLEASE, SOMEONE MAKE AMAZING VEGETARIAN FOOD HERE WITHOUT ONION OR GARLIC.
UPDATE: Came back again to get their pancakes. I heard about how crazy huge they were. I ended up getting their summer special (Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed). It wasn’t their signature but it was pretty large and were fluffy. I couldn’t really taste any lemon (was it named for the lemon it was topped with?) and the blueberries weren’t even, but they were still good.

The wait time is really ridiculous. It’s such a staple for Bloomington and I would absolutely go more often, but I can’t stand waiting for SOOO long. You wait for a table then you wait for your food then you wait for your check. They should consider getting the app Dash to get things moving!

If you went to IU or you come to Bloomington with friends and its breakfast time you’ll likely end up here. This place has been a landmark for the community as long as Ive been alive. You’ll find a laid back atmosphere, friendly service and a family friendly scene.
The food is one grade up from a Dennys or IHOP. Its slightly above average but not by much. Still you cant go wrong for breakfast here. They do a good job cooking normal breakfast dishes and a few they put a twist on but nothing ground breaking. This is the kind of place friends and families come to eat and enjoy time together, not a spot for foodies.
The biggest challenge is there’s no free parking in the vicinity which makes the average food tougher to swallow but when in Bloomington this is what you come to expect.

Breakfast served all day. Pancakes bigger than the plate (with 5+ mix in options). Diner style layout, good spot to eat on Kirkwood, especially after a late night on the town. They get very crowded, especially on the weekends, so come early.
The service hasn’t been bad, hasn’t been exceptional. Very average. I’ve never when lunch here, but the breakfast options are great, despite no oatmeal. I love the pancakes. Omlets and the scramblers. The biscuits and gravy are just ok. Single bathrooms, no place to park, and small booths (or tables). But come on, you can’t beat a local joint on Kirkwood Ave.

The Village Deli es un famoso bar de Bloomington en el que desayunar algunas cosas que nunca antes habías desayunado ¿Por ejemplo? Burritos ¿Un burrito para desayunar? Pues sí, y bien bueno que está.
Es un local bastante chulo, con coloridas típicas mesas de picnic con bancos acoplados en el exterior, un perfecto lugar en el que desayunar una buena mañana «hoosier» (si el tiempo lo permite). No solo puedes desayunar burritos, el local también ofrece una amplia y extensa carta de platos con los que empezar la mañana (o tomar como brunch): riquísimo chocolate caliente, zumos naturales, tortillas y revueltos… y sus fantásticas y gigantes tortitas, en las que puedes añadir hasta tres ingredientes para hacer la masa, además de muchos acompañamientos y toppings.
Los precios están bastante bien para la cantidad y la calidad que ofrecen, y además el servicio (aunque un poco lento porque hacen todo al momento) es realmente bueno, atento y simpático. Cabe destacar que para grupos mayores de 6 personas se «toman la libertad» de cobrar una propia obligatoria del 18%, y que aceptan Campus Access.
En definitiva, un perfecto lugar para tener un típico desayuno americano, ya sea con un burrito por delante o saboreando una tortita más grande que tu cabeza ¡Tenéis que ir!