The Deli Llama

San Diego, United States

4.5

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 619-295-4666
Website:
www.delillamasd.com
Address:
3702 5th Ave, San Diego, CA, 92103
b/t Pennsylvania Ave & Evans Pl
Hillcrest
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.2 miSan Diego Airport Loop Shuttle
1.2 miMiddletown
1.4 miWashington Street
Categories:
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Bussiness info

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

Today

Today 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (San Diego) 20:55 Saturday, 31 May 2025

Business hours

Monday 10:30 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 10:30 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 10:30 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 10:30 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 10:30 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We proudly offer a variety, and generous servings of, Boar’s Head meat and cheese. We also honor our vegetarian/​vegan friends with vegetarian sandwiches, salads, soups (also Vegan) and sweets! At the Deli Llama we delight in discovering new gourmet offerings for our customers, from sumptuous salads to award-​winning local wines to yummy desserts to handmade potato chips. We are committed to preparing our foods with fresh, local, and sustainable foods whenever and wherever we can. The Deli Llama’s recipe for success blends a delectable combination of fresh ingredients and friendly service with a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Meet the Business Owner

Laura S.

Business Owner

Hi everyone! Welcome to The Deli Llama, born out of me «reinventing my life» after divorce. I am a singer by trade. I alsonwrapped gifts, made jewelry, owned a chocolate business and worked with wild animals. Believe me, it’s easier to feed people than lions! I have a simple philosophy – try to give something to everyone you meet. Whether it’s friendship, compassion, encouragement or just a smile :) oh, and great food, of course! Our customers are our family, and we deliver top quality food along with friendly customer service. I love San Diego, and Hillcrest in particular. Please stop in and say hi!

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20 reviews of The Deli Llama

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Portland, OR
Always delicious. Sandwiches are huge. Could share one between two people for sure but I like to keep the other half for myself for later since it’s so good. The dude loves their chowder. Kiddo loves the heaping pbj.
I’m pretty sure the owner is always working when we stop by. Nice to see that kind of love.
Place rating: 5
Malibu, CA
AMAZING! Best little sandwich shop! Phenomenal service and super friendly staff! So many incredible sandwiches I couldn’t decide! (They also have soups and salads too) Thankfully, Jaimie was so nice and suggested I get half and half of two different ones! SOLD! The only problem was I still had to narrow it down to only two choices! I went with RingMaster and High Wire and my friend had Hells Chicken! I also tried their Gluten Free Sourdough toasted hiccups was great and they had Udis white too! All sooo good! The Service was super quick and they had each sandwich perfectly wrapped and labeled! I would absolutely return again in the future!!!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
By far the best sandwiches in San Diego! Each one is made with loving care and the finest ingredients. You can always tell when food is made with passion, you can taste it. You will find that passion at The Deli Llama.
I have had about everything on the menu and there wasn’t anything that wasn’t delicious.
The owner, Laura and staff, especially Natalie, are excellent.
The place is so popular at lunchtime that you need to call ahead or save extra time for lunch.
I am only sad that I don’t work by there anymore and can’t go as often as I used to.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Absolutely delish! So fresh and extremely fast and friendly service!
I had the fortune teller on toasted sourdough… Bomb!
Will definitely be coming back here again
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
The shop is small and quaint with a mom & pop charm to it. Inside, it is cutely decorated with an animal circus theme. I really liked their creativity with the menus as there seemed to be a lot of play on words — just my kinda humor. I tried the Sword Swallower and the Fire Eater, both of which were delicious. I highly, highly recommend the French roll with any of the sandwiches as the bread was buttery and soft even when toasted. The other breads I’ve tried tasted dry and fell apart when eating the sandwich.
The Sword Swallower had salami, ham, provolone, onions, tomato, lettuce, and the most delicious mustard dressing. The Fire Breather had a generous amount of turkey, sprouts, tomato, onions, avocado, and a spicy mayo dressing.
Both sandwiches were really great, but the reason why this place gets 4 stars instead of 5 is because it’s a little pricey. For 2 sandwiches, a bag of chips, and 1 can of soda, it came out to roughly $ 23. If the subs came with a small side of chips for the price, it would be understandable, but $ 10 for just a sandwich seems a little too steep for me.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
So friendly and welcoming! They recommended the Fire Eater and the Ring Master. Grabbed them to go, and they were delicious! And healthy!
Place rating: 4
Boston, MA
Deli-​cious! I had the Thin Man with turkey and he had the Strong Man. Both were great. The names of the sandwiches are super creative and there is a good balance of hot and cold options. The décor is circus themed. The only reason I didn’t give this place 5 stars was due to the lack of creative ingredients. I’d love to see some more great ingredients like arugula, sweet potatoes, beets, fresh mozzarella or maybe goat cheese added to the menu.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Seriously, the best sandwich I have had in a while. Having food intolerances can make finding places to eat difficult. The gluten-​free bread was delicious and I practically wanted to cry to eat something so delicious. I had the Lion Tamer with no cheese on GF bread. My husband got the same, but got the white cheddar and poblano pepper soup and he raved about it.
The décor was super adorable and the staff was so nice and called me by my first name the whole time. I would recommend this to everyone. I haven’t tried everything on the menu, but it all sounded good. Will be back for sure.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Always passed by this deli and finally tried it today. It’s like an old school circus theme with llamas everywhere! Very cute décor. Kept thinking of the scene in Napoleon Dynamite w/​the llama — «TINA! Come get some HAM!» Anyway, I got the Fire Eater on wheat. Sandwich was simple but delicious! Savored every bite. I will definitely be back!
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
I may come back and alter my review when I come back for a different sandwich.
Got a half plate spinner (egg salad) and a cup of chili that sad was scraped off the bottom of the pot. Over $ 8.00. Ouch.
Everyone raves about boars head, but chili still tasted like it came out of a can. The egg salad was good, but the portion was tiny for a half.
Staff was friendly but I didn’t really like my lunch. I’ll be back to try something else.
Place rating: 5
Liberty Station, San Diego, CA
I love this place! Everything is so delicious! My favorite is the Ring Master sandwich.
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
My boyfriend and i were disappointed in both sandwiches we got. The tuna was covered in a thick layer of mayo, had no salt and no pepper. It was soggy and bland.
The «thin man» was the same, underwhelming.
It is so disappointing that no one can make a decent vegetarian/​pescatarian sandwich. I am sure the sandwiches with meat are good (They are naturally salty because of the meat), but ours were not.
Place rating: 5
Bossier City, LA
FABULOUS!!!
It’s cute inside– love the décor and vibe. It’s a small place, but there was enough seating for my party of six, plus enough for maybe six more people. The women working were all enthusiastic and polite.
The menu is huge and has great sandwich combinations and fun names. I ordered the Sword Swallower. I was told my food would be prepared with an allergy kit (celiac). They also had two GF breads– an Udi bread and a sourdough. I chose the sourdough and it was VERY good! The whole sandwich was a delight! I grabbed a can of Pepsi and a bag of chips to make it a meal. They give you your sandwich with a Hershey miniature (not GF safe — I think due to the factory the miniatures are packaged at), but I love the little touch!
My big complaint? I was in San Diego twice the weekend after I ate there — once on a Saturday to do the puzzle room at 4, and then the next day (Sunday), for my flight back home. I had wanted to pick up a couple sandwiches to eat while traveling home, but they were closed both times! So sad :(
Anyway– definitely come here for your next sandwich!
Place rating: 5
Fresno, CA
Amazing sandwiches, wonderfully brisk and cheerful service, I tipped almost the cost of my Tattooed Lady (a treat for your tastebuds!). The owner is a sweetie and people that frequent this place make Portland look drab!
I will come back every time I’m in San Diego and my only regret was finding this on my last day!
Thanks to this place, I am enlightened in the loaf ahhhs :)
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Great little gem on 5th. This is definitely one of my favorite sandwich spots in the area. Seating is VERY limited and the place is a little cluttered, but for a quick lunch or grab and go, this is a must.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
I was in the mood for a salad but when I saw the menu that thought went out the door. I opted for the fire starter on wheat bread. As I almost finished my sandwich I said out loud this is the best sandwich I’ve had in a long time. It was very yummy. The only thing I would add next time is lettuce. I felt I was missing a bit of a crunch. It didn’t make the sandwich incomplete without. I just love lettuce.
They have free water and give you a small chocolate with your sandwich. They also use boars head lunch meat. Boars head meat does make a difference. The place is super cute and has the most unique décor. You have to find street parking which can be annoying but to be expected in this area of town. I paid $ 9 for my sandwich and a cold bottle of water. The price is right in my opinion. I love supporting local business and next time I’m trying the salad I promise. Unless something else catches my eye.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Just the customer service itself is a 5 star already. The sandwich I got was the fortune teller and I fell in love. Thats all I can say :)
Place rating: 1
San Diego, CA
Unpredictable. Excellent menus, and often very tasty. HOWEVER, last weekend I went over around lunch time and ended up throwing the sandwich away.
Have you ever left the bag of bread open, then come back a day later to bread that is better suited for turkey stuffing? That’s what my bread was like at the deli last weekend. The inside was great as usual, but stale, hard bread? How could they not have been aware of this when they constructed that sandwich?
There are too many choices for sandwiches in Hillcrest to return to this place.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
I had the Equality sandwich which was delicious the French roll was perfect not too hard not too soft just perfect. Great sandwich and the staff is so nice and friendly. They know your name… Kind of place definitely have repeat clients. The place is small but friendly a must
Place rating: 5
Escondido, CA
Ordered a bunch of sandwiches and salads for a birthday we were having at work. Ordering over the phone was fast and easy and THEY DELIVER woo! I got the. Lion tamer (I think) avocado, turkey, THICK slices of cheese and bacon. I chose squaw bread and it was moist and delicious. My coworker got something with pastrami and sour kraut and oh myyyyyy was it good.
The choices are fantastic and prices are fair, I can’t wait to try everything.