Jason's Deli - Columbia, MD

We've tried some of the most amazing New York/New Jersey Delis such as Millburn Deli  so we were very excited when we heard Jason's Deli was coming to town.

When we walked into the restaurant, our first observation was that it looked like a cool, upscale cafeteria. The menu was promising with many different items including classic deli selections (some with organic choices), soups, pastas, specialty sandwiches and more.

The Club Royale -

Toasted croissant with smoked turkey breast, ham, bacon, Swiss, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, honey mustard (we substituted whole wheat bread for the croissant)

                                                                                                 




                                                                                           The Turkey Reuben:

                                    Turkey breast, sauerkraut, Swiss, organic stone ground mustard, grilled on rye

Because the restaurant had an open kitchen we could watch an assembly line of people constructing our food. Everyone had a different job, but a common goal ....to  get the food to the customer. Shortly after watching the "birth" of our food, it arrived at our table.

The Club Royale looked good, but didn't live up to our expectations. The whole wheat bread had no flavor. We eat whole wheat bread mostly for school lunch. Healthy bread doesn't have to taste bad, but this really did...... like a flavorless-loaf of air. The meat, although plentiful, was bland.  

The Turkey Reuben was also disappointing. The menu said it was grilled - which is the classic way a Reuben is served.  The bread seemed toasted not grilled because the meat and sauerkraut were not warm and fused together like it usually is when the sandwich is grilled. The turkey meat was bland like the Club Royale.

All sandwiches come with potato chips and a pickle that we really enjoyed!

While we didn't try the all-you-can-eat salad bar, it looked popular with various choices -some organic -  and  many customers coming back for second helpings. 

The deli also had a soft serve ice cream machine.  Sadly, we didn't get to try it.  But like the salad bar, it looked really good.


Pros: fun atmosphere with open kitchen, big sandwiches, tidy, healthy choices and good chips & pickles

Cons: poor choice in breads & bland turkey meat

Recommondation: Every restaurant deserves a second chance...we'd go back and try other menu items.  Btw, Jason's Deli has been around for 35 years with chains in 28 states....so it must be doing something right.