The Real Deal

Brighton, United States

3.5

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 617-566-0555
Website:
www.realdealdeli.net
Address:
1936 Beacon St, Brighton, MA, 02135
at Pendergast Ave
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
230 ftCleveland Circle Platform - Inbound
280 ftCleveland Circle
350 ftChestnut Hill Ave @ Beacon St
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Brighton) 12:23 Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm

Description

Specialties

What’s Real? Real is knowing your neighbors, creating a friendly environment where smiling faces are the norm, not just a pleasant surprise. Real is giving your customers more than what they’ve come to expect. Real is using only the freshest ingredients from local sources to create genuine food at affordable prices for your family. So what’s the deal? It’s real simple, real fresh and real good!

The Real Deal Cleveland Circle adds unique twists to classic sandwiches and everyday favorites. Our diverse menu offers something to please everyone’s palette. Try our fries & wings, salads, signature sandwiches, monster burgers, seasonal specials, thin crust pizza and much more! Not sure what to have first? Customers love our grown up grilled cheese and delicious ½ pound burgers made with fresh baked bread every day. We even have smokers for House Smoked Brisket and BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches. See our website for the full menu, online ordering options and to keep up with exclusive deals!

History

Established in 2013.

The Real Deal started from humble beginnings as a small deli in Brookline. The owners strived to create a sandwich shop different from ordinary delis in the area. Soon, customers were coming from all over to try the unique items being offered at The Real Deal. The owners began looking for an opportunity to expand to a larger space to better accommodate their rapidly growing deli. The shop moved to a funky, old building in Roxbury that was completely renovated in 2005. Three years later, in 2008, with business thriving, a second location was opened in Jamaica Plains. In 2013, the owners took over a building in Brighton that was previously a pizza joint for over 30 years. This shop was redone, maintaining many of the original charm, and transformed into the Cleveland Circle location. Though much has changed since our first store nearly 10 years ago, our commitment to high quality cuisine and excellent customer service has remained the same throughout the years.

Meet the Business Owner

Mike B.

Business Owner

Owner Mike Black loves interacting with customers who come into The Real Deal Cleveland Circle. He strives to ensure that every customer leaves the restaurant completely satisfied from the delicious food and outstanding service from the entire staff. Whether you are a long time resident of Brighton or new visitor to the area, we invite you to visit The Real Deal Cleveland Circle for a truly unique deli experience!

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Nearby

Near this location:
50
ft
Supercuts
1930 Beacon St Cleveland Circle
60
ft
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1944-1948 Beacon St
100
ft
Josh Rivers - Greenline Realty
1956 Beacon St
120
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Chipotle Mexican Grill
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Cvs Pharmacy
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CitySide
1960 Beacon St

20 reviews of The Real Deal

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Brookline, MA
Messed up by calling my order into the wrong location. Instead of having to drive to the other location, they said «No problem» and made my order. Also the food is amazing.
Place rating: 4
Brighton, MA
Probably the best pizza in Cleveland circle! The only place with real blue cheese as a topping… Absolutely deliscious !!!
Place rating: 2
Stamford, CT
Food is honestly pretty good.
However, and this is the deal breaker, THEY ARE SLOW AS HECK! A simple buffalo chicken salad takes FOREVER to make, and its usually because the staff is backed up, confused, etc. I tried ordering again tonight after a hiatus, and its STILL JUST AS BAD. They told me delivery would take an hour. 30 minutes later I got a notice saying my order was ready for pick up by zoomer. another 45 minutes later, zoomer says it’ll be 30 minutes and they give a half hour window. That means my food was sitting, chicken getting cold and salad getting wilted and gross, for 45 minutes! The staff didn’t help much, or offer to do something to make it right like refund the delivery charge, give me a credit for my next order or to make a fresh salad, they just said, «its up to you, cancel it or not.» Oh, and I am literally under a mile from the place… no excuse. Just not well run.
I’m sorry to say, I wont be ordering there any more.
Place rating: 2
Allston, MA
Ordered the R.D. club which consisted of turkey, avocado, bacon, Munster cheese, lettuce and tomato.
Sounded good and was looking forward to it. Unfortunely when I got the sandwiches it was kind of skimpy for the price. One slice of bacon through out the sandwich and miniscule amount of avocado. The only thing plenty was the two cheapest items the braided roll and huge amount of lettuce. Paying $ 9.75 for this is a real turnoff and recommend not to bother.
The only reason for the 2 stars is for the staff who are very friendly.
Place rating: 1
Brighton, MA
They outsource their delivery now. Ordered and it took over an hour to arrive. Prepaid the tip, and the driver called me to meet them downstairs. Get the food and realize it’s the wrong order. Call the store and they have to call the service to call the driver to bring the food. So basically 1.5 hours for a basic sandwich delivery. Got my money refunded but whoever didn’t get their order, don’t worry, fries were soggy as heck and the sandwich was cold.
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
This place has delicious food, friendly staff and good service. This is not your typical fast food joint. It’s got relatively healthy and creative options (think spicy aiolis and spreads to jazz up your average sandwich). It also happens to be a bit more expensive than your typical fast food restaurant. The quality of food is well above average. I ordered a side of truffle fries which were admittedly delicious, I just wish they didn’t cost almost $ 7. The taste was there, but they got soggy by the time I got home to eat them. Overall, this would be my first choice fast food restaurant, I just think that its a bit pricey.
Place rating: 4
Brighton, MA
Most of their bad reviews are from terrible delivery experiences. Don’t be scared away from that. The fries are the best things here. Hand cut fries for the win. The burger I got was good too. I would recommend take out in the winter, it was feezing cold in there but delivery sounds like a nightmare.
Place rating: 5
Brighton, MA
Amazing sandwiches and salads, lots of variety, and high quality ingredients. The Grown Up Grilled Cheese is epic.
I am shocked by the relatively low average rating. It can be a little bit slow for fast food, but the food is superb. It’s by far the best lunch spot in the neighborhood.
Place rating: 1
Boston, MA
I’ve been a customer of the real deal for two years now. When I go into the store I have fantastic service but ordering delivery is a nightmare. The food is alway delivered soggy. The worst part is the delivery person calls from inside the car and waves you down to walk and get your food. That’s right, they don’t deliver food to your door, but instead call constantly until you walk to their car door to pick up the food.
Place rating: 3
Plainville, MA
Never been hear before so I didnt know what to expect. It was quiet, small but neat and clean, staff was friendly. I like buffalo wings so I ordered the plate of 6 tenders and fries. Wings were good but pricey since it doesn’t come with fries. The fries were a little over done and way to salty. Drinks are expensive. I did like the fact that they give you celery with the wings.
If they drop the price and included the fries then it could be much better.
The other thing is that the takeout menu has different prices than the board so they need to keep up with that in the future.
Over all not bad but not my go to place.
Place rating: 4
Westborough, MA
I’ve come here a couple of times for quick, cheap meals. The sandwiches are really good. Service is quick and friendly.
Place rating: 5
Quincy, MA
Parmesan Truffle Fries and the Grownup Grilled Cheese. ‘Nuff Said.
Deliciously Consistent Quality, Food, and Service.
So yummy, I’m usually speechless.
Delivery is quick and the guy is very friendly.
Food is always delivered hot and always huge portions.
Place rating: 5
Brookline, MA
Just had another awesome sandwhich from this place called the Eggplant Peperonata. From their menu: «breaded eggplant, house made peperonata (Italian pepper & onion relish) smoked mozzarella, arugula, truffle aioli on our braided roll.» The thing that seals it for me is the smoked mozzarella and the truffle aioli. It’s a seasonal menu item so check it out while it’s still around.
Place rating: 4
Brookline, MA
I am rating them for their pizza, which is a nice thin crust pie you can customize the way you want. A great alternative to Pino’s down the block.
Sandwiches are OK, nothing to write home (or a review) about
Place rating: 4
Boston, MA
I don’t consider this place to be a «fast food» joint like its neighbors, Chipotle or Boloco, but almost like a specialty burger/​sandwich joint. Thus, they take some time making their food and let me tell you… it’s most certainly worth the wait. It seems like a lot of people take their orders to-​go… completely boggles my mind because the layout of this place is awesome and the open window concept is a major plus on a nice, sunny saturday afternoon.
I ordered the «Angry Super Beef» because who doesn’t love a nice roast beef sandwich with spicy BBQ sauce? My friend ordered «The Wolf Man» (seriously, I’m such a sucker for witty names). Both really, really delicious. My sandwich was more like meat with a topping of a bun. The roast beef was at LEAST 3−4″ in height and I was freaking ecstatic. Was it messy? yes. Did it satisfy the carnivore in me? uh, duh. This place is awesome and I definitely plan on coming here again to try out all the different sandwiches/​burgers because they all sound amazing. Another plus? It’s right next to the chestnut hill reservoir, so it’s a nice way to fill up your stomach after a scenic run.
PS. I’m reserving that last star for when I come here again. First impressions aren’t everything, but I sure hope it was for this place because if you couldn’t tell… I was thoroughly impressed.
Place rating: 4
Lynnfield, MA
I ordered a steak and cheese sub and onion rings from here.
The onion rings had an amazing «boom boom» spicy sauce which I really liked and would definitely order again and again.
The steak and cheese left a bit to be desired. The bread wasn’t fantastic but the steak was decent quality. Just wasn’t quite as good as some of the other places around.
The delivery is always very quick however and they usually make it to me within a half hour or so which is nice.
The sandwiches sound really good and the burgers too so I’ll definitely be trying this place out again soon.
Place rating: 1
Quincy, MA
Okay this is a fast food joint — pizza, burgers and sandwiches– but nothing is fast about this place. I ordered an Italian sub and it took 15 minutes to get it. It’s a sandwich. It should not take more than 5 minutes. It wasn’t that busy and there seems to be a lot of staff who doesn’t have a clue to what is happening.
Place rating: 4
Brighton, MA
This place is super small but very hip and trendy on the inside.
Both times I’ve gone here I’ve gotten the Sicilian: mozzarella, tomato, basil, olive oil, and balsamic glaze on a braided roll. The roll is always soft and fluffy, and the mozzarella fresh and delicious.
Typically I can get two meals out of one sandwich as they’re a decent size.
The staff has always been very courteous and helpful.
Would come again!
Place rating: 5
Brighton, MA
This is literally the Real Deal. The burger is fantastic. I get the wolf man every time. It has a fried egg, bacon, cheese, and a delicious siracha mayo that I get in the side so I can dip my fries into it. The fries are homemade and sooo good. And the onion rings are thin and crispy and so good.
They have a reward program – spend $ 100 get $ 5, 200 points get $ 10 and 300 points get $ 15 off. They remember you by your phone number.
They have a seasonal menu that looks good but I always go with the same burger because it’s the best burger I’ve had in Boston!
The seating is limited but I’ve never had a problem eating here.
The staff is friendly and the service is always pretty fast. Highly, highly recommended!!!
Place rating: 2
San Diego, CA
Ugh.
I’ve tried the fries from this spot before and they were soooooo good, so I figured I’d try some other items off the menu. My friend came over and we ordered the chicken ranch sub, parmesan truffle fries and the Vinny Gorgeous wrap. Three simple things, right? Ehhh wrong.
First off, the woman on the phone seemed very confused when I asked if we could put the orders on separate cards… she had to speak with some people and I was just sitting on the other line for a couple minutes listening to them discuss what they should do.
We ordered our food at 8:30…didn’t get the food until 9:40. Yikes. For two sandwiches (one WITHOUT meat)??? Please… when we got it, we weren’t that interested in eating but we were starving and that was our only option. Since it was probably sitting in the car for a while, the cheese on the fries was basically a blob of hardened goo and the fries were moosh. Our subs were just ‘ok’.
Not eating here again…