Lemon Grove Deli & Grill

The food is amazing. My boyfriend and I have ordered something different every time and we love it. The pride in ownership is evident, and the owner knows every one of his customers by name. The sandwich fixings are always fresh and we’ve always left with full, happy tummy’s.

Just had a surprisingly good pastrami on rye sandwich here. I say surprised because this is a unicorn here in SD. I’m only mildly impressed with proclaimed Jewish delis here, namely D.Z. Akins and Miltons. Meh.
While this sando did not have the amount of pastrami on it that you would find at a Jewish Deli (which this does not claim to be) what was there was quality. It had the fat and unctuous umami taste you want from quality pastrami and the rye was quite decent too. I wouldn’t normally have cheese on a pastrami, but again, this is not a traditional deli, so I went with how they make it and I was not disappointed. It was deeelish! Rye was nicely grilled and the cheese oozed perfectly all over my plate. I only wish they had the hot sweet mustard I love on my pastrami, but hey, I’ll just being my own with me next time! The steak fries were cooked perfectly too.
I love some of the offerings on their menu, They have this pastrami combined with roast beef and it looks like enough to share with someone. They have 6 different versions of loaded fries too! Pastrami, Cheesesteak, Rueben, BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, Gyros and chili fries… WOW!
They seem to be known for their breakfasts and that time of day is usually pretty crowded here. You’ll see they have a lot of law enforcement officers as fans too.
One breakfast is called the Ultimate Hungry Man. One pound of either bacon, sausage or ham!!! Along with 3 eggs, hash browns and choice of waffles or pancaked AND toast! OY VEY! All for only $ 12.95.
They also serve meatball sub with homemade red Italian sauce by owner, Lynne who has written a book on Italian cooking!
I sat and talked with the owners, Tom and Lynne and they were so pleasant to talk to. Really good and friendly people. I didn’t catch my server’s name, but he was also wonderful.
28 sandwiches, 6 different salads, Mexican food, 6 types of loaded fries and onion rings, 17 types of breakfasts… dare you to not be able to find SOMETHING on this list you will like!

Really great sandwiches… large portions & very fresh. Today I had a club sandwich with onion rings & it was delicious. Sitting on the porch out front was really relaxing. I’ve been here 6 or 7 times & am always happy with everything I’ve tried :) ! Friendly staff & quick service make this a great lunch hour place.

I really like the open view of the kitchen and overall small deli feel of the place. Food tastes great and the only reason I’m not giving it five stars is that they over cooked my steak. But I love that they serve steak fries and the staff is very friendly.
Oh and the pastrami roast beef sandwich did not disappoint!

Highly recomended, great food, great service, husband and i love eating breakfast in here…

My club sandwich was okay, nothing special to make this place a go to deli for me. Nothing really wrong with the sandwich just nothing that stands out, the bread isn’t toasted maybe you have to ask for toasted bread but the sandwich seemed a little dry and bland. Maybe their other sandwiches are better. I will give another chance to impress my taste buds

My boyfriend and i came here for lunch today. I’ve always enjoyed this deli but today we had an amazing server that made all of the difference. My turkey club was perfect and my boyfriend enjoyed his cheeseburger. Will always come back to this deli. Best mom and pop spot in lemon grove!

Trying the Tuna for the first time, smells awesome in here. Cashier is very friendly.
This is the kind of food I would want to make for people if I had a deli. The tuna was great, added a little sriracha to it to spice things up. Very good quality, it seems like most customers here are definitely regulars.

We had breakfast sandwiches with the bagel bread and they were delicious. the prices are decent and the staff is wonderful.
It was my first time and I will definitely return to try something new.

Great little diner with great food. Staff is friendly, prices are reasonable. Couple of TV’s with local news on. Very quiet for an open kitchen. Introduced my father in law to this place months ago and he’s now a regular! He’s kind of particular to good diners growing up in the Midwest and this place gets his thumbs up!

My sandwich (club) was decent and a large portion but nothing spectacular. The lettuce and tomatoes weren’t the greatest. Bread was fresh.
What stood out to me was the area surrounding the deli, bullet hole in front door (small, may be a pellet gun) and a few shady, rough looking people in and around the diner. This is no fault of the establishment, but is certainly a factor for enjoying your meal if you don’t feel safe!

Out for Breakfast again at our favorite place.
Coming here for many, many years.
Still love the food and the people here.

Good portions, friendly associates, solid food. What more can you ask for? Not trying to be anything but a deli that serves a mean breakfast that filling and tasty.
Been coming here for years and will continue to do so when I just want a classic breakfast and don’t want to travel out of my area too much.

First visit, first impression I must say I felt welcomed and the waitress was super friendly. This small size restaurant was clean and nicely decorated for the holiday season. We were greeted upon entering and the waitress was quite good at small talk. She was helpful and pleasant which made for a positive experience.
We found this restaurant on Unilocal when we were searching for the best Reuben Sandwiches in San Diego. Turns out according to my husband the sandwich was delicious. It was loaded with tender tasty corned beef and just the right amount of sauerkraut on sourdough bread. I ordered the «Greek Gyro» it was good but I have had better. Something about the pita bread I didn’t like so much.
Overall, I will be back because they had a delicious looking breakfast menu and many more sandwiches to try.

Great place to eat breakfast and lunch. This is my 5^th time here and I will continue to come and enjoy the wonderful food.

I ordered the Mike’s Pastrami and Roast Beef sandwich. As you can tell by the picture, it’s freaking huge and I could only eat half. I was also legitimately hungry. Glad we came in to try it. I will definitely be coming back.

My daughter and I have been getting our eyes examined next door, for years, and finally decided to have breakfast here a couple of weeks ago. I ordered The Works breakfast, and she ordered a chicken cheesesteak sandwich. The French toast was SO good, I forgot to take a picture! My daughter’s sandwich didn’t arrive as she ordered, but the staff was real good about correcting it, and even better… the «new» sandwich was on the house. The service and food was so good, we went back the next day with my sister and nephew. This time, I ordered the biscuits & gravy. YUM!
Today, was our 3^rd visit, and it was more of the same. Good food & good service. The beef cheesesteak & fries were delicious! If my daughter has anything to say about it, this will become a regular spot for breakfast and lunch. Good eats for sure!

We came here after church on Sunday. My husband wanted a sandwich. My son and I wanted breakfast foods. My son ordered a breakfast burrito. The portion was huge. I ordered the Denver scrambled. It was good. It was a bit bland in flavor but I didn’t mind that. Because I could just add my own salt according to taste. I rather have that than it being over salted.
My husband had a tuna sandwich and he really enjoyed it. I think I need to come again when I am eating carbs and try those fries and sandwiches everyone raves about. The employees were very friendly and I did like the customer service. The price is also very affordable. Don’t forget to check in for the Unilocal deal! 10% off your check!

I had a long expired Unilocal deal for this place and just never made it in until today. At least I still got to use my $ 5. It was super warm inside because the AC was broken but the greeting I got was so friendly it made me not sweat it as much. Pun.
I kinda knew I wanted pastrami and my mind didn’t change once I saw the bread choices and found out sub was an option. Something about sub bread makes me almost giddy. Fat.
I got grilled onions, provolone and mayo-​no mustard. The owner (you can always tell an owner, can’t you?) sorta talked me into sriracha mayo which was a great decision. That’s it. No fries. No drink. I’m here for the ‘strami.
I chatted up the owner while he rang me up and then went outside where it was cooler to wait for my order. A few minutes later, got that bad boy in the car and took a peek-​almost had to pull over so I could devour it right then! Fat. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to take a pic. Geez.
I snuck a piece of meat with cheese glued to it and knew the rest of the day, yes day would be amazing-​and it was. I ate half on the way home and the other half shortly after getting home and telling myself I would save it for dinner. Well, dinner ended up being at 2:30 yesterday and I didn’t eat anything but a bowl of popcorn the rest of the night! Discipline.
So yeah… I might go back for the ‘strami. Sarcasm. ;-)))

*breakfast review*
New ownership. Uh oh. Many questions that I may not want the answers. I hope the cranky lady I encountered at lunchtime is much cheerful now.
Was considering one of the three diner/​café spots, each within walking distance to the other. This one got the nod for today. I noticed the dry erase board mentioning new ownership instead of Today’s Menu Specials. Plenty of open seating today as we received a friendly greeting from our server and picked up a menu. Service was very good. A couple of table touches, drink refills, and pleasant all around.
After narrowing down some menu picks, I asked for some server recommendations. A neutral reply about what usually sells more, rather than a personal choice. I’m worried if the food isn’t much to rave about if that’s the standard answer. Foreshadowing.
Wifey gets a bacon and cheese omelette (the menu does include it with avocado, but she opted hers without) plus hash browns and a side of pancakes. I sampled bites of each. The hash browns are overdone on the outside and cold in the inside. The omelette was fluffy, although not very cheesy, and the bacon was ok. My 2 cents, but I would’ve liked some chopped bacon incorporated with the eggs, not just folded into the cheese omelette at the end. A short stack of two served up hot, making for melty butter goodness. We agreed this sweet plate won breakfast.
My breakfast: corned beef hash, a couple of over easy eggs, home fries, and a side of biscuit and gravy. Pass on the b&g. I haven’t had them before the ownership change, so I can’t compare, but if this is the original recipe, then it should be burned and y’all should take it off the menu. You don’t need to be from the South and fly a Confederate flag to tell the difference. History might have altered if the Rebels fired these biscuits at those damn Yankees. I also learned that both breakfast potato sides are not made in-​house. The home fries are precut into large chunks and knowing that they’re brought in is such a bummer, but there are a lot on the plate and when you cut them up, it works better to get a bit of a bit of everything on the fork. Eggs OE done perfectly and the hash had good bits of crunchy cooked edges.
I’m rooting for you guys, but with competitors each a block away, I hope my visit is just a one-​off and not a down trend, because this is a tough biz to crack let alone conquer. The locals are counting on you to deliver.