Delis, short for delicatessens, have a rich history that starts in Europe and travels all the way to America. The term “delicatessen” comes from Germany and it means ‘delicious things to eat’. These places were like small grocery stores where people could buy special food items not found elsewhere.
In Europe during the 1700s and 1800s, delis sold unique foods such as cured meats, cheeses, breads – even pickles! Immigrants brought this concept with them when they moved across the ocean to America. They wanted a place where they could find familiar tastes of home while living in their new country.
By opening up these shops here in the United States around the late 1800s (and early 1900s), immigrants began to share their cultural dishes with others. Deli culture grew popular especially among New Yorkers who enjoyed quick meals on-the-go or takeout options before those became common everywhere else!
Today you can still see European influence at American delis through sandwiches filled with corned beef or pastrami served on rye bread alongside kosher dill pickles and Oklahoma City boasts dozens of great delis to try.
9 OKC Delis You Must Try
Below we feature several of the best family-run delicatessens in OKC. Enjoy!
#1 Oil Center Deli
4.5-star rating (20+ reviews)
Location: 2601 NW Expressway # Gr4e, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Oil Center Deli, located in Oklahoma City, is known for its great food and exceptional service. It has become a favorite spot among office workers because of the friendly staff who make an effort to learn their names. Customers particularly love their chicken sandwich paired with fried green beans dipped in tangy sauce. The restaurant also offers breakfast combos including toast, eggs, bacon and sausage or omelets filled with fresh vegetables and cheese.
At the Oil Center Deli in Oklahoma City, popular menu items include their praised chicken sandwich and fried green beans. The deli also offers a morning combo consisting of toast, eggs, bacon and sausage for breakfast lovers. Other customer favorites are the omelet filled with fresh vegetables and cheese as well as homemade muffins.
Customers praise Oil Center Deli in Oklahoma City for its friendly staff, generous portions and reasonable prices. They enjoy the chicken sandwich and fried green beans with tangy sauce. Regulars appreciate that the employees remember their names. Some mentioned overcooked bacon or eggs but overall were satisfied with improvements made to food quality recently. The deli is also appreciated as a convenient option for workers within the building it’s housed in.
#2 Mediterranean Imports, Deli & Gastro Goods
4.6-star rating (650+ reviews)
Location: 5620 N May Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Mediterranean Imports, Deli & Gastro Goods is a restaurant in Oklahoma City that specializes in Mediterranean cuisine. The establishment has been serving the community for over 40 years and offers a variety of services including food and beverage service, hospitality, catering as well as imported groceries from around the Mediterranean region.
The most popular menu items at Mediterranean Imports, Deli & Gastro Goods include their signature sandwiches like the Turkey and Swiss or Ham and Swiss on a French baguette. They also have unique offerings such as Falafel Sandwiches and Gyros. Their Middle Eastern Platter is another customer favorite featuring Kibbi, grapeleaves, falafel balls, hummus, tabouli with pita bread.
Customers love Mediterranean Imports, Deli & Gastro Goods for its diverse selection of imported groceries and gourmet deli items. They appreciate the warm hospitality from Maggie, Chef Christine, Catherine and Atif’s family who have been serving Oklahoma City for over 40 years. The community enjoys discovering new flavors through their interesting food offerings while still finding familiar favorites on the menu.
#3 ND Foods
4.7-star rating (300+ reviews)
Location: 2632 W Britton Rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73120
ND Foods in Oklahoma City, a family-run deli and antique store hybrid, has been serving quality meals for years. They moved to their current location on Britton Road after 14 successful years at the intersection of 50th Street and Western Avenue. With an extensive menu featuring premium meats and homemade bakery items alongside unique antiques, it’s more than just a restaurant – it’s also shopping experience like no other!
ND Foods, a gem in Oklahoma City’s restaurant industry for over 14 years, offers an intriguing blend of deli and antique store. At its Britton Road location since 2008, they continue serving classics like premium quality meat sandwiches. Owned by mother-son duo Nicholas and Deloris Wade—hence the name ND—their unique collection of antiques draws customers as much as their food does.
The most popular items on their menu include Reuben, Cuban sandwiches made with top-line Boar’s Head meats sliced fresh in-store; stuffed bell peppers served traditionally; traditional egg salad available only Fridays & Saturdays; bakery delights such as cakes (strawberry cake being a favorite), pies or whoopie pies that are jaw-droppingly large! Bursting with flavor—and size—they’re worth every penny spent here.
#4 City Bites
4.3-star rating (280+ reviews)
Location: 3939 N MacArthur Blvd, Warr Acres, OK 73122
City Bites, nestled in Oklahoma City’s bustle, is a distinctive restaurant renowned for its fresh cold and hot sandwiches. With an array of options like the California Club or Southwest Turkey to tantalizing melts such as Veggie Melt and Ham Melt – each crafted with care using quality ingredients. They also serve flavorful stuffed baked potatoes, soups that warm your soul, refreshing salads along with kiddie meals making it a versatile eatery catering to diverse tastes.
City Bites, nestled in Oklahoma City’s heart, is renowned for its fresh cold and hot sandwiches. They have a diverse menu featuring the California Club with turkey breast and avocado to Italian ham delights. Also popular are their homemade salads and stuffed baked potatoes. The restaurant provides an inviting atmosphere where quality service meets tasteful food – this combination has earned them recognition as Oklahoma’s top deli.
City Bites, an Oklahoma City restaurant, is known for its variety of fresh sandwiches. Its most popular items include the California Club with turkey breast and avocado; Southwest Turkey featuring chipotle dressing; Italian sandwich filled with ham and salami; Veggie option boasting alfalfa sprouts and their signature ranch dressing. They also offer hot options like Mesquite Chicken or Beefeater steak sandwich. Beyond that: stuffed baked potatoes, soups, salads round out a menu sure to satisfy diverse palates.
#5 Lee’s Sandwiches
4.5-star rating (1,800+ reviews)
Location: 3300 N Classen Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Lee’s Sandwiches, nestled in Oklahoma City, is a unique restaurant. It sprouted from the vision of Chieu Le and his family who originally hailed from Vietnam. Their culinary journey began with serving banh mi on catering trucks around San Jose before expanding into an industrial catering powerhouse named Lee Bros Foodservices Inc., which catered to over 500 independent vehicles at its peak.
Influenced by their parents’ success selling banh mi sandwiches locally, they opened up the first-ever brick-and-mortar location for Lee’s Sandwiches in San Jose itself. The menu was later diversified when Minh Le joined hands with his father to introduce European-style sandwiches and pastries alongside traditional Vietnamese delicacies.
Today this vibrant eatery has spread across multiple states including Arizona, Texas as well as California – North & South! They specialize not only in Asian and Euro style sandwiches but also offer breakfast items along with appetizers; desserts are part of their vast menu too.
Their most popular menu items include Asian-inspired Banh Mi sandwiches as well as European influenced ones; breakfast offerings; appetizers like spring rolls; pastries such as croissants baked fresh daily plus desserts for those seeking something sweet after meals.
#6 Napoleon Deli
4.5-star rating (320+ reviews)
Location: 1700 S Douglas Blvd, Midwest City, OK 73130
Napoleon Deli, in Oklahoma City, serves delicious sandwiches. They offer a variety of sandwiches like the Country French or Italian sandwich and are known for their mortadella use and chewy bread. Their secret weapon? Each bite of garlic ranch dressing is explosive! They also serve Emperor Mortadella Bacon Turkey & Cheese and Roast Beef Turkey & Cheese. Residents who’ve moved away remember this restaurant and return when home.
Napoleon Deli in Oklahoma City’s heartland is famous for mortadella. The Country French and Italian sandwiches are its most popular. The former delights taste buds with mortadella, ham, and cheese, while the latter adds salami and mild peperoncini. Their secret weapon? Napoleon’s garlic ranch dressing pairs well with fresh bread’s smooth tops and chewy insides.
Napoleon Deli in Oklahoma City’s heartland amazes customers with its food. Their sandwiches are “the best on the planet,” made with a perfected French bread recipe baked daily and praised for flavor and texture. After years away, customers return to enjoy their favorite sandwich combinations like salami cheese bacon or mortadella ham cheese from Emperor Mortadella Bacon Turkey Cheese or Cannon Club Roast Beef Turkey Cheese.
#7 Cafe 7
4.6-star rating (900+ reviews)
Location: 14101 N May Ave #117, Oklahoma City, OK 73134
Cafe 7 in Oklahoma City is a quick-service restaurant. They offer easy ordering with paper slips and speedy service. Their menu includes various pizzas, sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes and seasonal specials. Customers especially love their thin-crust pizza varieties like the BBQ chicken or ultimate supreme.
Cafe 7 in Oklahoma City is known for quick, friendly service. They offer a unique ordering system with paper slips and fill-in dots that adds to the fun dining experience. Their diverse menu includes popular items like BBQ chicken pizza, Cuban sandwiches, Cajun pasta and signature salads.
Customers praise Cafe 7 in Oklahoma City for its swift service and diverse menu. They enjoy the unique ordering system, where food is chosen on paper slips turned into the counter. Favorites include varied pizzas and sandwiches like Cuban or Italian ones. Some mention it being worth a drive across town due to sizable portions of tasty dishes like Cajun pasta.
#8 Travel By Taste Deli & Market
4.6-star rating (340+ reviews)
Location: 4818 N MacArthur Blvd, Warr Acres, OK 73122
Travel By Taste Deli and Market in Oklahoma City is an esteemed Mediterranean dining establishment, founded by Parviz Rezaian over a decade ago. Passionate about perfection, he personally infuses each dish with his extensive knowledge of the cuisine using only premium ingredients for authentic taste. Critics applaud this restaurant as one of the finest Mediterranean experiences in town!
Travel By Taste Deli and Market in Oklahoma City, owned by Parviz Rezaian for over a decade, offers an impressive Mediterranean menu. It includes appetizers like Samoosa and Hummus; salads such as Turkish Salad or Greek Salad; sandwiches featuring Gyros or Falafel Sandwiches. Dinner options range from Chelo Kabob to Grilled Salmon with Jeweled Rice along with specialty dishes including Ghormeh Sabz and Khoresh Bademjan (Eggplant Stew).
Travel By Taste Deli and Market in Oklahoma City is a highly praised Mediterranean restaurant. Owner Parviz Rezaian’s passion for perfection shines through each dish, created with the freshest ingredients possible. The traditional decor creates an inviting atmosphere that complements their menu of homemade dishes from Samoosa to Ghormeh Sabz, all receiving rave reviews from diners who frequent this establishment regularly. However, customers especially recommend trying the Gyros Platter – thin slices of gyro meat served alongside fresh vegetables and pita bread.
#9 Hobby’s Hoagies
4.5-star rating (490+ reviews)
Location: 325 N Walker Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73102
In Oklahoma City, Hobby’s Hoagies is popular. After moving from Delaware and missing Philly cheesesteaks, George Hobson founded it. After making them for friends at the General Motors plant where he worked, he opened two locations in Edmond and Downtown OKC, delighting locals with authentic East Coast food flavors that continue to thrive under family management.
George Hobson’s Oklahoma City restaurant Hobby’s Hoagies serves a variety of foods. It serves Philly cheesesteaks and hoagies on fresh Italian rolls with ham, salami, provolone, and albacore tuna. They serve BBQ Chicken and Meat Lovers pizzas and New York-style pizzas made with homemade dough and sauce. Deli items like Reuben sandwiches, club subs, spaghetti dinners, salads, sides, and desserts like Oreo Cookie Dream Bars are also available.
Hobby’s Hoagies in Oklahoma City is popular. George Hobson brought authentic East Coast cuisine to Oklahomans after moving from Delaware. At his first GM plant, friends and coworkers loved his homemade hoagies and Philly cheesesteaks. Hobby’s Hoagie opened two locations serving its famous sandwiches on fresh Italian rolls baked daily and NY-style pizza after retiring! Most customers recommend the ‘Philly Cheesesteak’ for its juicy prime ribeye steak and unforgettable taste.
