Pennisi's Deli

Me and my coworkers always walk by this spot and it always smells so good, so we finally tried it! When you walk in, there's your classic deli where they also have other hot items and where you pay is also a cafe with baked goods and your basic cafe drinks. There's also an area you can buy drinks and snacks such as chips. I ordered the turkey avocado and added lettuce and cream cheese on a Dutch Crunch. Overall, the sandwich was pretty good! I loved the creamy avocado and the Dutch Crunch was a great touch. This was my first time gettin cream cheese on a sandwich and would probably opt out next time. My one negative was I was charged for the person in front of me's order and not mine. I figured it out, because it was my coworker and heard how much her order was. Because of this, I was charged over $49 and my sandwich was $12.99. I didn't notice until it hit my statement and I wasn't given a receipt either.

Yummmmm!!!! Working on J street has its advantages! This place is right next to my work! It's like a mom and pop place! They have breakfast, hot breakfast, hot lunch and then drinks, medicine, candy, coffee wine! The prices are great! I've had this bagel sandwich before and omg do you see that cheese pull! My other favorite is the tuna melt on the lunch menu!Support local businesses! Go try!!!!!

Must admit, I had pretty low expectations for Pennisi's but it actually really surprised me! The sandwich was awesome! One of the better Italian subs I've had recently. I got the Italian on Dutch crunch with pickles and it was delicious. The Dutch crunch was great and it was packed with meat. I also got a side of potato salad which was great too. It's not against the service or quality, but I'm docking a star for the price. $17 for a sandwich and $5 for potato salad is pretty outrageous if you ask me. Who can afford to eat out anymore at these prices?! The sandwich was good, but for that price I wouldn't come back (it's not just Pennisi's, everywhere is expensive!) it was a cool little market when I walked in, it was a Friday at 11:45 and was pretty empty, one other person inside. I called ahead and they said my sandwich would be ready in 5 mins. Sure enough I got there and picked it up, paid and left in under 2 minutes.

I've been wanting to visit Pennisi's for years! I love a good deli, and even more than that a great spot to grab a sandwich. This spot is downtown off of J and is open for breakfast and lunch. It's a small store with basic deli options, snacks, drinks, chocolate, coffees and some great sandwich options.On this trip I immediately knew I made a great choice because it smelled incredible inside. We ended up ordering a Muffuletta Sandwich ($14.99) and a Meatball sandwich ($15.99)and four whole pickles($1 each). The meatballs on the sandwich are huge and have awesome flavor and the muffuletta sandwich was everything I wanted it to be. The pricing is a bit higher than my favorite hole in the wall spots but the quality is great and rent downtown is expensive. Next time I visit I'll definitely pick up more of their meatballs. They had a special for three meatballs for $7. I would also absolutely get the muffuletta sandwich again- so tasty!!

On a Friday afternoon for lunch, I met my dad downtown to come try Pennisi's deli. Ironically, I used to intern around the corner from the deli when I was in college, but I never actually came here to try it. The reason for this particular lunch date was that my dad and I wanted to try their muffaletta sandwich. We are preparing for a trip to New Orleans in the fall. Anyways, we ordered our sandwiches and picked out our chips and our drinks. This little grocery and deli is definitely frequented by a lot of the local business men and women. The service was fast and friendly. Now to the sandwiches - the muffaletta sandwich was huge! Half of a sandwich is easily a meal in and of itself, but for the price it makes sense. The sandwich was tasty, and I enjoyed the tang of the olive spread. A muffaletta is a lot of meat, and I would have loved some veggies to break it up but I understand that that is not how a traditional muffaletta is made. All in all, I would definitely come back and try some of their other sandwich options and support a small, local business.

The cutest and nostalgic sandwich shop ever. I've been told by friends to go here but why it took me 7 years to go was 7 years too long. I now understand what the hype was about. The actual location looks like a New York deli mom and pop shop classic. The music in the background if classical and the store itself does not have many adornments or excessive decor. You go there to get the best sandwich in town and it appears that the man making the sandwiches knows all of his regulars. It may not be appear like the hipster new it place, but they keep it real and simple. I ordered breakfast and lunch. It was the best idea. I ordered the sausage breakfast sandwich. The eggs were fluffy and savory, the bread was super fresh and balanced, and the sausage was perfect! The second sandwich was the Dutch Crunch Roll with turkey, avocado and cream cheese. The bread was so deliciously crunchy and the entire sandwich tasted amazing! The Dutch Crunch Roll usually sells out but since I went at 8am it was available. Love this place!

It made it through one of the worst economies the US has seen and the family feel has to be part of the reason for this. My wife tells me I'm going to go see PePe today and she means she is going to Pennisi's Deli. Sometimes when work is super stressful and you just have to clear your head and to somewhere different for a few minute. This is the spot. They have great food, amazing atmosphere for a lunch spot, and super friendly employees that will get to know who you are. This place is amazing.

Great food and prices. I work downtown and I try all the places and this place is underrated. I was surprised when I saw it only had 3.5 stars. The breakfast bagels are great and the dutch crunch is amazing too. Definitely worth going to

Delicious and perfectly prepared sandwich on scrumptious bread!Friendly staff and a quick turn around.

I really hate to give lower rankings to mom-and-pop joints, but I'm afraid this place may be sliding downhill. It's not my first time here, and I don't remember being disappointed, but I also don't remember being overly wowed either.The unfortunate reality is the quality of my sandwich today was downright sad. I ordered the tuna melt special on rye (they actually have multiple types of rye, but I was encouraged to use the "dark rye" and responded yes out of simple politeness and expediency). What I received was two grilled slices of dark rye bread, a tiny bit of tuna salad, and an unremarkable and almost unnoticeable slice of Swiss cheese that wasn't even properly melted.The bread was fine. I'm sure they aren't making it themselves, but they chose a quality product. The tuna was fine. All the expected flavors of tuna salad were present. The amount of tuna on my sandwich was laughable. Imagine a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you'd make for yourself in the kitchen, and you'd have the amount of tuna salad that this sandwich received. The Swiss cheese... I had to look for it. It was there. It added no flavor or texture to the sandwich.So that's all there was to this sandwich. And for some folks, that's probably fine. I think this could have easily been made a more tolerable sandwich had I been given (or even offered to have been given) any of the following: pickles, onions, sprouts, pickled peppers of any variety, tomatoes or quality lettuce. Maybe these items are available to those who ask but it was not suggested or made obvious.The service was also fine. Out the door, my very sad sandwich and Pellegrino were $20. All in all, there's too much competition immediately nearby (less than a block!) and from memory, both of the alternative options would've been more satisfying.I'm hopeful this place turns around -- as I said, I don't remember it being disappointing before.(Also, please, please stop invoking "New Orleans muffaletta" when all you are doing is adding an olive mixture to a standard cold cut and cheese sub sandwich. This is so wrong. The sandwich is named after the bread, and this ain't it. Others have mentioned this travesty as well, and Pennisi's should not be labeling this sandwich this way.)