Does Deli de Luxe's Filling Paninis Stack Up to Beijing's Newer Spate of Sandwich Upstarts?

Given the opening of a few very strong gourmet sandwich spots in the Sanlitun area as of late, our curiosity about a longer established lunch spot called Deli de Luxe piqued our interest when the Chaoyang Park-adjacent eatery began promoting a new menu and wine selection. We thought we'd stop by to see if some of the scene's newbies owed a debt to this five-year-old spot, or conversely if it was struggling to keep its bread game upgraded given the latest competition.

One of Deli de Luxe's defining characteristics is a bit of a double-edged sword – that being the sleepy locale in which it's situated. While the area around Chaoyang Park's west gate is by no means starved for restaurants: We find its Italian joints (the recently rebranded La Rucola, formerly Alio Olio, and an Annie's branch), Sichuan spots and Chinese barbecues, and the range of jiaozi and Japanese joints at the adjacent Maizidian, all suit our supper tastes a bit better. Deli de Luxe seems to strive for that relatively vacant lunchtime niche for dwellers in the numerous nearby fancy apartments who would rather take a five-minute walk than venture a bit further to Lucky Street, Solana, The Grand Summit, or other somewhat further spots (think a quick jaunt as opposed to a share-bike spin).



Upon entering Deli de Luxe, you'll quickly note its tininess (with about a dozen seats). Yes, it's a simple little deli tucked in an apartment complex with a gate directly across the road from the Annie's and Jenny Lou's branches. Deli de Luxe's  somewhat small menu is mostly dominated by bread-heavy sandwiches like wholesomely hunger-quelling (albeit a bit bland) brown bread Paninis, or what they call "ciabatta" sandwiches (we can't really tell the difference). Four of these sandwiches are priced at RMB 52 (basil chicken; tandoori chicken; red pepper chicken; tuna avocado) while a roast veggie version is RMB 48. Their even thicker, more filling baguette sandwiches come with salami and smoked Dutch cheese, salmon and avocado, and chickpea and red pepper, all coming in at RMB 48.

Late breakfast hankerings, meanwhile, would probably best be fixed by their RMB 40 ham and cheese croissant sandwich or their RMB 50 smoked pork loin bagel sandwich. Tempting as those sounded, we went for the red pepper chicken panini instead, and enjoyed its reassuringly firm, deeply filling bread and fluffy chicken breast chunks, though it really could've used a livelier sauce to give it some zip. The RMB 30 glass of De Martino Chardonnay was sadly even more bland, and couldn't count on the sandwich to redeem any flavor points, though there are several other by-the-bottle options that would hopefully make for a better alternative.

Aside from the sandwiches, there's also a selection of pizzas (a 12-inch being about RMB 50, give or take depending on the toppings you select), pastas varying from RMB 38-85 (lasagne being most expensive, while spaghetti is cheapest), a RMB 40 chef's salad that changes weekly (along with roast chicken for RMB 60 or simple green salad for RMB 12); some quiches priced around RMB 60 that we didn't try because they looked less than appetizing, and some other standard cafe fare (coffees, juices, pastries, etc).

Considering its limited seating and off-the-main-drag location, it would appear this deli's greater goal is to be a catering service for the considerable stretches of nearby apartments, something that is highlighted more prominently on its menu. 

If they added some outdoor tables and, more importantly, a wider selection of salads and more flavorful sandwich sauces, then they'd really be attracting lots of both sit-in and takeout orders. As is, this sandwich spot poses no threat to far more creative, newer lunch joints like Constellation or Bad Farmer, though Deli de Luxe nevertheless proves to be a sturdily satisfying option for those living in the vicinity, hankering for something simple to hit the spot without venturing far.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle

Photos: Kyle Mullin