John’s Famous Deli

“i love this place, roast beef sandwich with motor oil is always proper.”

“Been going there since sophomore year of high school and keep coming back long after i graduated.”

“It's all about the black tar motor oil-esque gravy.”

John’s Famous Deli

Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Caters: Yes

Price range.

$$ Price range $11-30

4 reviews

  1. Excellent sandwich shop
    Shrimp parmigiana, chicken parmigiana are outstanding
    The star of the show is the roast beef fresh mozzarella with gravy
    Best I have had….make sure you get an extra cup of gravy on the side
    Parking is tight and there are usually high school kids hanging around
    Cash only
    No seating
    Prices are different every time I go

  2. Just when I thought I was going to miss Brooklyn here is another Brooklyn great on Staten Island!!! This place happened to come up as a suggestion on my Yelp, and when I seen johns deli I wanted to scream! I immediately asked my husband if this is the same from Bensonhurst! Then looked at the pictures on Yelp, and seen the roast beef and brown gravy!!!! You have no idea how happy I was, and then when I went that same day my navigation said three minutes away! Which made it so much more better!!!

    There is also parking on the side, but I was so excited I illegally parked right in front, it's a small place, tables in the middle, and a long time, same signs on the wall, like the one in Brooklyn, I ordered my roast beef on a roll, with mozzarella, onions, and a LARGE brown gravy on the side. Rushed home (3 mins) and to my surprise it was the same!!!! Same great taste!!!! I must have demolished that sandwich in three minutes!

    A guy on line recommend the shrimp parm, one day I will try it, but I'm such a sucker for that roast beef!!!

  3. First time I gave them a tip they yelled at me. He looked at the amount and yelled to his dad/boss "Some Tip!" and his dad or boss mocked it with "Some Tip!" and I was ashamed. The next time I was there I decided it must be some type of slang in some other language. Then the final time I was there I found out they yell "Subway!" as a tradition because it notifies the rest of the staff that they're not stealing from the register, and that the tip is "subway money." Pretty cool, dudes.

    So this place is not at all vegetarian friendly, but it was the only restaurant within walking distance and quite literally across the street from where I was staying, so I had to come in here when I needed a quick bite or morning coffee. Their specialty is meat sandwiches, and I can't tell you anything about those. Useful, yeah? Go ahead and click the button now.

    But for vegetarians that are cool with not eating at all healthy, they do have some nifty options, and my favorite is this small side sandwich whose name escapes me (useful, yeah? You can log out and click "useful" again), but it's basically a fried cheese sandwich. If I had to describe it, I'd say it tastes like a mozzarella stick – but it's a sandwich. It's also cheap, and they give you some marinara dipping sauce to go with it. It might be the most artery clogging vegetarian sandwich possible, but it was still pretty excellent.

    They had a tomato and mozzarella not-fried sandwich also that was pretty good. Little heavy on the vinegar, but I think other people will like it. Their coffee was also some generic Colombian drip brand but it tasted excellent.

    I was really happy this place was nearby, and while I wish they had a few more things I could eat, it's a deli. So… you know. It's not like I'm mad at butchers because they don't slaughter enough vegetables.

  4. Line is long,  but worth the wait.
    I didn't try the roast beef, but instead had eggplant parmesan with broccoli rabe on top. The broccoli rabe was superb. Not bitter, garlicky and delicious.
    Free samples on line while you wait, which is sweet, because staring at all that delicious food is guaranteed to make you hungry (if you weren't already)
    No where much to sit down, the line snakes around the whole store.  More of a take your food to go place.

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Innis Street 15
10302 NY US
Get directions
Monday, 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
Tuesday, 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wednesday, 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
Thursday, 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
Friday, 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday, 6:00 am - 6:00 pm