Tower Sundries & Deli

If you are looking for something quick and tasty, this is the place. A family run store which has its staples from teriyaki, sandwiches, Korean food, to their daily specials. The location is unassuming, but a great lunch find. Never mind the line if you see one, they will have you in and out in less than 5 min.

When I came to Seattle I was heartbroken that Intl Teriyaki had closed its doors! So, we asked around and heard about the tower deli. Probably some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet but their teriyaki falls way short sadly. Very salty and acidic… Almost sour! I’m leaving very hungry, but the trash can will be full… Something that was never an issue before. :-((UPDATE TO REVIEW) Been 3 hours since post… Been on the toilet for the last 1.5!!!

Super fast, super tasty lunch if you happen to work in the area.

On the first day I moved to the city I asked our building concierge for a recommendation for a place with sandwiches. Thankfully she told me about Tower Deli. I eat here pretty regularly and I love everything about this place. The owner is so nice and the service is extremely fast. It can get busy during the lunch hour, but don’t walk away if there is a line because they make sure everyone gets their food fast. I always get the pot stickers and rice because it is my favorite — the teriyaki sauce and salad dressing are out of this world. I sometimes have them add the hot sauce, but for me a little goes a long way. I’ve also gotten sandwiches for my husband and he is always happy with them. The portions are huge and their prices are reasonable. There is a large variety of hot food and sandwiches available daily and have seen spaghetti and taco salad that I will try one day — IF I ever get tired of their pot stickers! The most important thing to me is the food and the service is always good — and I mean always. Consistency is really a big deal for me and this place is consistently good.

I must have walked past this place several dozen times before finally giving it a chance, and boy do I regret just passing by for so long! The Tower deli is owned and operated by a very friendly Korean family and has various little snacks on the shelves and a variety of sandwiches that you’d expect at most little bodegas, nothing to which I’d give a second thought. The golden ticket here is their daily specials and hot food. I don’t frequent this place enough to know their rotating specials by heart, but I do know that they serve up a mean veggie bibimbap and some tasty udon. Their baked potato is no joke, giving you enough potato and toppings to feed a small family. Most importantly, other Unilocalers have it right– the hot sauce they put on their rice/​teriyaki/​pot stickers is MAGICAL. I could drink that stuff. I like getting the pot stickers and rice with extra hot sauce and no salad when the potato, meat loaf, or other specials don’t tickle my fancy, but there is really no way to go wrong with grabbing a hot lunch from this place. I’ve heard from some coworkers that their egg salad sandwich is great and I’ve still yet to try their tuna salad (which is a salad with tuna on it, not like tuna salad sandwich). I’m happy this place has been in business for so long and hope it stays that way. Love the service, the people, the food, and the convenient location from where I work. Long live the Tower Deli!

Food and general service, I give 4 stars. Minus a star for one reason. They always put TOO MUCH SAUCE. And don’t bother telling them, it’s always too late. They’re incapable of NOT putting too much sauce.
Normally that’s just slightly irritating. But today I asked for no rice and extra salad. Forgot to ask for sauce on the side, so what do they do? DRENCH the extra salad in teriyaki sauce! I mean really? No rice, and they still slathered on the sauce?

Small enough you have to get it to go, but they have great potstickers. My go-​to place, and I can even tolerate the «spicy» sauce they’ll drizzle over it. I also really like the creamy salad dressing, it’s vinegary and light.

Great lunch spot, real close to work. I have had their veg bibimbap a couple of times now and just love it. Tastes healthy with fresh ingredients, huge portions at great prices.

The Tower Deli has the BEST spicy teriyaki I’ve ever had! The spicy sauce is apparently a secret family recipe which I’ve begged them to share to no avail.
Ask for both the spicy sauce and extra teriyaki sauce. On Mondays and Wednesdays they offer a chicken and potstickers plate. It’s good to know that there is a half size available in case you can’t eat a plate bigger than your head.
Good people, good value, great Teriyaki!

They have everything from sandwiches and soups to chicken udon and gyoza. My turkey pesto sandwich was $ 6.99. I spied that the pesto was from Costco but whatever, it tasted fresh. The soup that I got came out scalding hot, so beware. That is how I like it though.
I have yet to try the other items but I think the baked potato and chicken udon are next up!
Super friendly folks, fresh food, fast service. Perfection!

nice mom and pop shop for their specialty sandwiches/​potstickers/​spaghetti/​curry it depends on the day.
they’re super nice and friendly, i feel like my mom just packed me a lunch when she rings me up!

This is a review for the spicy tofu — which I love.
I don’t know what all is in that huge jar of spicy sauce that they ladle over the tofu, but it’s wonderful and my mouth is watering as I write this review.
The tofu portion is huge and it comes with a lot of rice and a small salad. (Though I use the term ‘salad’ loosely, because it really only consists of iceberg lettuce slathered in what appears to be watered down mayonnaise.)
Also, the people are extremely friendly, particularly toward the regulars. They are also efficient, which is good because there tends to be a lot of foot traffic during the lunch hours.

I got the Reuben in a pinch and while high on calories it was wonderful. Neat tiny deli /​grocer and awesome owner.

I love love love love the Tower Deli. I stop in there regularly for my english muffin with egg «no meat»… they’re super friendly, they remember regulars’ names and are amazingly fast, even with the long lines out the door.
I rarely miss Spaghetti Thursday, and their French Dip is seriously amazing.
Couldn’t recommend this deli enough!

Fantastic lunch spot with yummy daily specials. My absolute favorite is the Mongolian Beef (Tuesday special), which is slightly spicy and served with rice and salad.
Also good is the Spicy Chicken with Potstickers (served with rice and salad). The potstickers are a nice addition (most places charge you extra if you want potstickers).
Usually with their daily specials, you have the option of ordering a half size or full size. I find the half size is plenty and is a great bargain (a little over $ 5). There is little seating (it’s just a quick mart/​deli) so I take it back to my office to eat.
I’ve never ordered their sandwiches, so can’t opine as to the sandwich quality. The specials always suck me in.
Oh, and they’re always super quick too. They’ve got the process down pat, so even if the line is long, the wait isn’t.

I work in the Tower Building so having this deli at the base of our building is conveinent. Food is average. Prices are somewhat high but not as high as other delis in the area. A good family owned business.

The people that own this place are super cool. They always smile and have my food ready to go if I call ahead. I work at the buttcrack of dawn and they have great inexpensive breakfast sandwiches that are nothing special but definitely do the trick. The eggs and bacon are microwaved, so don’t get your hopes up. I love their club sandwich for lunch.
It’s mosty great for the convenience factor and the fact that they offer sandwiches, teriyaki and baked goods along with the usual mini-​mart items.
And whoever wrote that review about no one eating mayonnaise… what? Get off your high horse. Anyone who laughs in the face of those friendly peeps doesn’t deserve the lettuce on their sandwich.

Ew.
So one thing about working downtown is that there aren’t a lot of places to grab lunch to go. You usually have to go, sit down, and have lunch properly if you want to frequent the establishments around the Olive Way area. And frankly, WHO HAS THE BLOODY TIME to do this?
(This reminds me of when I was young and I’d see all those Wall Street movies where everyone’d go out to «power lunches» and someone would always expense their stuff. Yeah, I can’t even expense my gas (I SHOULD, I drive enough between my office and client sites, but that’s a wholllleee nother story)
In any case, I prefer to have a place where I can pick up good food to go, and eat it in my depressing office in front of my computer, where I’m supposed to be working rather than typing this review.
BUT
BUT
If I do that, I’d PREFER to eat a half decent SANDWICH with good tasty dijon mustard and plenty of veggies (not just an ass load of lettuce?) and GOOD cheese (not limited to the «swiss/​cheddar and AMERICAN? (who still eats this crap) with a GOOD pickle (not something you got at the grocery AISLE at Costco (not even the refrigerator, ever heard of Klaussen?) and a ridiculously BAD potato salad laden with icky dressing. Yes, there is a reason I LAUGHED OUT LOUD when they asked me if «I wanted mayo on my sandwich». WHO THE HECK USES THIS LARD INFESTED ACCOUTREMENT? STILL???
Anyway, they don’t even sell good chips.
But they have a good assortment of refrigerated beverages (Although I prefer the MiniMart on the corner of Olive and 8^th), and they’re rather sweet people.
But yeah, Deli? NOT SO MUCH!!!

Great lunch staple next to my office. Super fast and cheap– in comparison to everything else in the neighborhood. Totally hidden on 7^th between Stewart and Olive. Blink and you’ll miss it.
I usually stick to the baked potato (with everything) or the taco salad. The rest of the neighborhood lines up out the door on Mondays and Wednesdays for the spicy chicken and potstickers– but I always kind of feel ill when I order that– I don’t like the sauces. My coworkers love the meatloaf and turkey cranberry sandwiches. Had a pretty good fried rice experience, but haven’t adventured much further than that.

Great little secret gem hiding in downtown Seattle.
These people have the best lunches, but you have to go early or else the daily specials will run out. These cool Koreans run this place, and while they have the typical deli stuff, they also have GREAT fried rice, gyoza, spicy chicken, etc. etc. etc. But things do run out…
They even have yummy rice krispy treats just the way you make them at home.
And the prices are great.
Lastly, they serve the regular business lunch crowd, so I know for sure they are not open on Sundays, maybe not even Saturdays.