Best Delis in Austin
Austin, Texas — updated August 22, 2026
Austin's deli scene is small enough to count, so we cut the pizzerias and taco counters and kept only the three places that actually run a deli counter, ranked by how settled their ratings are.
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Austin does not have a deep bench of delis, which is why a search for one turns up pizzerias and taco counters instead. The three below are the real thing: counters where sandwiches are built to order, in Crestview, in central Austin near the medical district, and on South Lamar. They are ranked by how much evidence sits behind the rating, not just the number itself.
1. Little Deli & Pizzeria
This is the most thoroughly tested deli in the city, holding a 4.8 across more than 2,300 reviews, which puts it well past the point where a rating can be swayed by a good week. It sits at 7101 Woodrow Ave in Crestview, a residential pocket north of Koenig, and the deli side shares the operation with a pizzeria, so a group that cannot agree on sandwiches has an exit. Parking is neighborhood parking, and the counter draws a lunch crowd from the surrounding blocks. Order at the counter, then wait outside if the small dining area has filled.
2. Otherside Deli
Otherside Deli matches Little Deli's 4.8 rating but on 481 reviews, a smaller sample that is still large enough to be taken seriously rather than treated as promising. The address is 1104 W 34th St, Suite D, in the cluster of small storefronts near the central Austin hospitals, which makes it a weekday lunch stop as much as a destination. Its strength is the format: a straightforward sandwich counter in a city where most search results for "deli" lead to a pizza oven. Expect the midday rush to arrive with the hospital and office schedule rather than at a leisurely hour.
3. Phoenicia Bakery & Deli
Phoenicia is the outlier on this list and the reason it earns a place: it is a bakery and deli combined, at 2912 S Lamar Blvd, carrying a 4.7 across 594 reviews. That is a well-settled score for a business that has to satisfy two audiences, people shopping and people eating. Come for the counter, but budget time for the shelves, since the trip works best when the sandwich is one part of a larger errand. South Lamar parking is the usual constraint, so avoid the peak of the lunch hour if you can shift the visit earlier or later.
What we left off
Several highly rated Austin restaurants surfaced under this search and were cut for not being delis. Pizza Di Roma, Pedroso's Pizza-Take Out, Via 313 Pizza and DeSano Pizzeria Napoletana are pizzerias, however well reviewed. Tacodeli is a taco specialist with a misleading name and multiple Austin locations, so it fails both the premise and the no-chains rule. No closed businesses were removed.