La Grotta Del Formaggio

Super delicious sandwiches, this is my top sandwiches must go place. You will never disappointed.

This is a small Italian deli/grocery that's located on The Drive. While they sell a variety of different imported good, they are probably best known for their sandwiches. You pick your bread, fillings, and condiments, and they'll make your sandwich for you. I had a Small Bun with Proscuitto and a Half Focaccia with Mortadella. I wasn't a bit fan of the focaccia, which I found to be a bit dry and grainy, but I really enjoyed the bun. The prices are a bit on the expensive side, but they do come with a generous amount of fillings, so I think it's worth the price.

Small Bun with Prosciutto ($7.75):
4/5
I had the sandwich with pesto mayo, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, red peppers, edam cheese, red peppers and spinach. There was a large amount of proscuitto inside the sandwich, which was very salty and savoury. The bread was also quite thin and toasted and crispy.

Half Focaccia with Mortadella ($9.95):
3/5
I had the sandwich with chipotle mayo, red peppers, gouda cheese, red peppers and spinach. I asked for porchetta in my sandwich, but the lady was a little hard of hearing and gave me mortella instead. That was fine though, because the mortella was still quite tasty. Unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of the bread, which was a little too grainy for my taste.

Summary:
Food: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5
Service: N/A
Overall: 3.5/5
Recommendations: Sandwiches

Fantastic sandwiches and great selection of other Italian deli items. Pretty packed around lunch time, but the staff are quick, friendly and efficient.

Best sandwiches ever!!!. It's been a long time since I was "in the neighborhood" on Commercial Drive and Second Avenue; however I had the good luck of being there yesterday and I jumped on the chance to get some heavenly La Grotta Del Formaggio sandwiches - bringing them back to the North Shore about an hour trip on the bus from the deli. Any time I bring sandwiches from La Grotta home I am always the hero; and yesterday was no exception.

Although La Grotta Del Formaggio is a full Italian deli - not a "sandwich shop" per say - they do make the best sandwiches I've ever had. When I was in Venice Italy there was a deli that had a completely different kind of wonderful sandwich; but La Grotta still wins as "best sandwich in the world" in my books. I recommend the focaccia when it comes to the bread and I also recommend the +$1 meat selection; although everything is delicious. I love just letting the person making the sandwich (on this trip I was blessed with Sheba helping me) put everything on it which includes fresh lettuce, tomato and onion along with a large variety of wonderful picked Italian vegetables.

Now it's important to realize that when ordering a custom sandwich in any place - one of the most important things is to be ordering it from someone who knows what they're doing. Over the many, many years I've been buying sandwiches from "La Grotta" I've had many of their staff build these heavenly sandwiches, and the staff always do a good job; but the person who consistently goes above and beyond is Sheba (I really hope I'm spelling her name correctly). She's been working at La Grotta for many years and is (in my humble opinion) the best sandwich builder there. She really goes out of her way to build a sandwich that is a work of art. I don't know if she realizes it; but what she's really doing is creating a little happiness in the world. Many people have jobs (my own past jobs included) where at the end of the day you ask yourself if you made a positive difference in the world, did you make people happy or have no effect? Too many times we come home at the end of the day from work and feel like we didn't make any positive difference I hope Sheba realizes that at the end of the day, she spent her time making people happy and does make a positive difference in the world one customer at a time. That is no small thing in my opinion!

I don't want to be confused with being overly dramatic, but I see people every day in jobs where they really don't want to be there or don't care much about doing a stellar job - and it is the complete opposite case with Sheba. She remains very professional while at the same time being personable, taking the time to have a friendly chat with customers while remaining focused on doing a stellar job in the sandwich creation department. Prior to my current occupation I used to be in the staff recruitment industry and Sheba has that "X Factor" that every employer is looking for. Her boss is very lucky to have someone like her working for him. Credit where credit is due, as I've always said - and it's certainly well deserved here. Well done Sheba!

As far as the rest of the deli goes there is a beautiful selection of both cheeses and pickled treats, along with the pastas and other interesting things you might expect to find in an actual deli in Italy. They also have hand pressed mozzarella sitting chilled in water, and if you explore the deep recesses of the deli you're sure to find something cool and unexpected (in a good way). This place is so great, if you haven't been then you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Why can't more places follow the lead of La Grotta Del Formaggio with stellar staff, fantastic products, and reasonable prices. It's just before 5am as I write this and I'm heading to the fridge right now to munch on a left over "slice of heavenly sandwich".