Ermin’s

Ermins was a staple for me after my downtown doctor appointments and when I
worked as a teacher on my way home from Meyzeek Middle. I loved all the tuna casserole, Debby’s (the owner) meat loaf with the delicious sauce –and the Greek salad I always got as my side. Hope Debby reads this and comes up with a COOKBOOK
of her delicious recipes!

This is not a review of Ermins, I loved Ermins and am very sad to see them go. Ermins was sold and renamed as Toonerville Deli. Ermins was one of my favorite quick spots to grab lunch. On their first day open The Toonerville however has proved to be anything but quick. They did not have the full menu available, appeared highly disorganized, and I waited 25 minutes for a grilled cheese sandwich, very disappointing. They clearly have lots of kinks to work out. I won’t be back anytime soon.

Really a great place all around. They had a lot more food options than I was expecting. I got a pimento cheese sandwich that was great and it went really well with the tomato soup. If you’re going that route, I’d recommend a half sandwich because it was pretty filling. It had a great atmosphere and my friend and I were comfortable just sitting and talking. The service was friendly too. I’m not sure if it’s local, but I’d suspect it is. The biggest downside was that the meal generated a lot of waste. Everything was on styrofoam plates and there was no hard-​cup option, just styrofoam. It was pretty wasteful. Overall very good.

I havent been to Ermins in a few years since I moved out of the neighborhood but I went yesterday to support them since it was there first day open since an ambulance drove thought the front door a few months ago. I used to get their black bean burrito all the time but I wasnt in the mood yesterday so I got a Turkey sandwich on sour dough. The bread was amazing and made the sandwich! The tomato basil soup is one of my favorites but they have other soup options that change. The employees were so supper nice and I was in and out in 5 minutes. I would recommend them to anyone for a quick lunch or dinner.

I hate to give a bad review. Especially considering the fact that I hate to shed negative light on a local small business. With that said let me explain. This spot used to be a Saturday morning staple for us. We would go every weekend for breakfast and sometimes a weekday lunch. But after several experiences with the staff that were negative we stopped going. We grew very tired of sitting and enjoying our food while listening to the staff behind the counter talk about each other and the owner. The conversations were so negative and unpleasant. The second thing was that I had a very unpleasant encounter with a woman who gave me attitude after I questioned the price of my sandwich. She told me that because I ordered it on a croissant it was a dollar more. That is fine and completely understandable. The problem was that she told me that the menu stated that croissants were listed on the menu as extra, When I let her know that it doesn’t explain that anywhere on either the written or chalk menu she came back and explained that all the regulars knew that the croissant was extra. I kindly let her know that I was infact a regular and I did not know that. It is not about the extra charge for the croissant, that is understandable. I was upset by her defensive and blame shifty attitude. I came to find out later that this woman was the owner! NO wonder the other staff are so rude. They have a perfect example to follow in the owner. To be honest the food is perfectly fine. But I will choose to take my family elsewhere and support businesses that value their customer’s satisfaction.

Very disappointing experience today. I ordered a Spicy Black Bean Burrito and coffee for lunch. When I was nearly finished with the burrito I discovered some sort of plastic wrapper crammed into the end of the burrito and mixed in with the burrito filling. When I showed it to the man working he seemed to not care. He said «I’m sorry» but there was really no offer to correct this gross and negligent error. I won’t be going back, which is dissapointing as I love to support and frequent local businesses.

I’ve been to Ermin’s twice now and I love it! Great dessert bars (hint: get the sin bar. Duh), great soup and sandwich lunches, really nice employees. It’s a cute little place and it’s close to where I live.

Ermin’s has my vote as a 5-​star lunch spot in the Old Louisville area. It hits the 4-​Ss that I like as options for a midday meal: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, and Sides.
I’ve been here twice now to meet a friend on a tight lunch schedule. We are able to go through the line quickly, particularly given that everything is made fresh to order. The lunch combo seems to be our favorite: ½ sandwich (which is about the size of a whole sandwich if I were to make one myself), one side, and a drink for just $ 7.50.
If you go and they have the loaded baked potato salad, you’re doing yourself a disservice not to order it. My friend got that when we went most recently, and I got the bowtie pasta salad. Don’t get me wrong, the pasta salad was great, but the loaded baked potato salad is like a side of crack. And who couldn’t use a side of that to get through the rest of a workday?

Ermin’s! Why didn’t I discover you earlier in life? I only found out about this place a few years ago, but I’ve been a fan since. There are some daily offerings, like sandwiches, but there are also specials in the display case which rotate. Conveniently, they have a Facebook profile you can add; they update it daily with the specials. The artichoke chicken (a check breast covered in artichokes and a brown sauce-​type thing) has become a personal favorite! You also get a piece of bread and a side with that (or any other specials if you do a meal-​type thing). The tomato basil (I believe that’s the technical name of it) is delicious and a favorite around my office! The chicken salad is also popular around here, and you can’t go wrong with any of the desserts.
There are tables to dine in, but it’s a fairly small seating area, so it may be busy during lunch hour. In all of my visits, the staff has been friendly. It does seem a tiiiny bit pricey, though nothing over the top. (It’s between $ and $$ depending on what you order.)
If you’re in the area and looking for lunch, I suggest trying it out if you haven’t been there before. Or check their Facebook first to see the specials. Or just drop by for a dessert. I think you’ll enjoy it!

I love the atmosphere and location– very cozy. I’ve heard the soups and pastas are good. I stopped in because it is a «bakery.» However it didnt seem like they really bake a whole lot. I was expecting doughnuts and pastrys and such, but what I saw was pastas, sandwiches, and soups. They do bake their own bread, but that hardly seems like it makes it a «bakery» in my book. So I am rating it as a bakery, not as a café, which may have brought a higher rating.

Very Good.
Went in on a Saturday to have breakfast & received fast courteous service. The food is good, & not too expensive. Also made cook to order in front of you which is something that’s rare to see. I had a soup I believe it was a cajun chicken soup or something along those lines. It was so good I will be trying to duplicate the recipe at home.
If I lived near there I would quickly become wider.

Very comfortabel little bistro on 1^st street. I like to go early and relax with the latest edition of LEO and a bowl of the tomato basil soup.
I go early because there is usually a good crowd by noon.

Warm and friendly atmosphere with a nice sfelection of soups, and pasta dishes. The curry chicken salad is great.

For a bakery, their bread is pretty so-​so, same with their deli cuts. Service is great, everyone there is very friendly, and particularly the cozy Old Louisville location feels very much like a tiny neighborhood café. The special entrees, like a pie crust topped quiche and sad looking chicken tettrazini, did not appeal to me. The tomato basil soup was really just warm cream with a couple of tomatoes thrown in. I had heard good things, but I was very disappointed.