Visiting UF and needed a place to grab a bite. Small location but friendly staff and OMG good…read moresandwiches! We sat outside and crowds were light but I can see how parking might be a challenge when classes are in session. Added perk/surprised to see the location was featured on Food Network!

I distinctly remember this downtown restaurant closing at 3:00pm or so, but now, they are open til…read more8:00pm! Good! This sandwich place is really one of a kind! My friend and I met after we parked our bikes. She was sitting outside, and as I was locking my bike, less than a block away, she texted me. I just walked to her without responding, and with a smile and a hug, we walked in to look at the menu. The sandwiches have some very creative names that go along with their creative construction. I got a #10, which was a fusion of French dip and Philly cheese!! I wanna buy the person a beer, whoever thought of that one! Even though it was busy, we didn't wait long to order. Every sandwich comes in a paper bag, so you can take it out or stay and munch. We got a combo with chips and a drink, because how else do you eat a big sandwich like this?! There are board games to play, decor that is not typical and a big display of Guy Fieri, from the Food Network, that lets you know this place is on America's culinary map. After the sandwiches were done, I brought them out to my friend Kimberly, who was saving our table. We both were hungry, so out of the wrap and in with the teeth. Mine was full of flavor and the fact that all the sandwiches are heat-pressed, made the texture very satisfying. The au jus was thick and delicious and made me think someone took great time and effort to make it. It is a casual restaurant, great for a date or a group of friends, or a solo quick lunch, that can also be a dinner as well. The food is somewhat pricey, but it delivers as a good meal with a creative touch. They could have emptied the garbage can more quickly, as it was more than overflowing, when I went to throw the garbage away. Memorable food, and makes me want to come back to try at least two other sandwiches that I read about.

Pop A Top is one of those classic Gainesville convenience stops that somehow manages to feel like a…read moreneighborhood hangout. The beer selection is surprisingly broad for a small shop, with plenty of local brews and rotating options that make it easy to grab something new each visit. Prices are fair, and the staff keeps the place running smoothly even when it gets busy. What really sets it apart is the vibe -- relaxed, unfussy, and very Gainesville. Whether you're picking up a quick drink before heading downtown or stocking up for a low‑key night, Pop A Top is reliable, friendly, and exactly what you want from a local corner store.

I was in the area for lunch after my nail appointment and have had my eye on Pop A Top for a while…read more It's on the corner of Main Street and University Ave and I was able to park on the street. Walking in, it gives a corner store/bodega vibes. They are known for their vegan and vegetarian sandwich options. While I had my eyes on the hot dogs, I decided to go with the smoked tofu sandwich - which the staff said was highly recommend due to the vegan chipotle mayo sauce. I waited for about 5 minutes or so for my sandwich which was about $13. The standouts were the smoked tofu and the chipotle sauce. The tofu was flavorful almost like smoked paprika and some spicy. The chipotle was very creamy and great component to the sandwich. I wish they would've toasted the sandwich as the vegan cheese is just an afterthought. I do want to come back for the hot dogs and other sandwiches here. Vegans and vegetarians in the Gainesville here, this is the spot for you.

I had an amazing experience at Frank & Botchers! The food was absolutely delicious--every bite was…read morefull of flavor. The staff was super friendly, and the atmosphere was cozy and welcoming. I'll definitely be back!

Finally tried this awesome spot located in the 4th Ave Food Park! I had heard so much about this…read moreplace and it was even featured on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives". Their menu consists of some staple sandwiches, wraps, sausage dogs, and salads, along with daily specials. They also have a meat counter where you can buy a variety of very unique flavored/seasoned meats that are all made in house. The shop isn't super big and there is limited indoor seating. Although the food park offers plenty of coveted outdoor seating options. Service was great and pretty quick. The guy who took my order was helpful in answering my questions too. Everything is made fresh to order with higher quality ingredients. This is very evident in the taste of the sandwiches, they are truly next level! I ended up ordering a Muffuletta sandwich and a walking taco. Both of these were on the daily special menu. The muffuletta was loaded with ham, salami, mortadella, Swiss cheese, provolone, olives, Dijon aioli, lettuce, tomato, and onion on ciabatta. This sandwich was huge! The meat was super flavorful and you could really taste each one of them in each bite. I loved the ciabatta, especially because it wasn't too thick and didn't take away from the sandwich. The cheeses were mild melted perfectly on the sandwich. The fresh tomato's, lettuce, and onion complimented the other components nicely as well. I will say I wish the olives and aioli had been more prominent, as this is what truly makes a muffuletta of muffuletta. So I wouldn't really classify this as a traditional muffuletta sandwich and it reminded me more of an Italian sandwich. The walking taco included Fritos, chilli, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, and house-made ranch. I thought these were decent. This wasn't the most impressive thing, but it was still tasty. I wish there had been more meat in the chilli and the cheese was melted on top of the Fritos. The onions were simply chopped red onions and seemed too strong for the dish. While this was good, it isn't something I'd go out of the way to order. I would probably stick to the sandwiches and such as that is what truly shines here! Overall, I was more than impressed with this place. I love that it is located in the food park too! Ordering is easy and the service is welcoming. They offer a nice variety of deli options and there is something for everyone. You can taste the difference in the food here compared to other places. They use high quality ingredients and put a lot of passion into their work. I also love that they have fun switching up parts of the menu daily with unique options. While my muffuletta reminded me more of an Italian sando, it was still one of the best sandwiches I've had in the area by far. The sandwich was absolutely packed with meat and made the price completely justifiable. The bread was really fresh and not too thick, which I really appreciated. The walking taco was decent, but nothing to ride home about. If you are in the area and want a good sandwich, I HIGHLY recommend stopping by.

Visiting from out of town, saw positive reviews so we dropped in for lunch…read more I had the "The Saprano" hot Italian: lots of meat and the chibatta bread was delicious. My wife had "The Man in the Black Hat," essentially two different sandwich halves. Don't miss this place for a great meal. BTW, had a hard time deciding what to get as the options were varied and plentiful!

We drove from Jacksonville to Gainesville for a day of exploring and lunch. Our middle daughter and…read moreher husband said "next time you're in Gainesville you MUST eat at The Paper Bag!" We had some long time friends come down with us as well. Our first stop on our Gainesville Adventure was here! I ordered the #9. Tony Montana Cubano. I have to say I've had many Cuban sandwich's before but this Cuban sandwich was the BEST! I love the flavor of seasoned pork they use as well as the Boars Head Meat. I do believe all those makes the difference. If you like Cuban sandwich's you must try this one. Also our friends with us ordered the #12 Uncle Drew Monte Cristo and shared and they loved it! All the staff were super friendly! It took about 10 minutes for us to get our sandwich's. Everything was clean and well kept. Definitely recommend The Paper Bag!

Everything is always good and generous. They haven't changed. Best sandwiches in Gainesville?read more

The service and food were both amazing. Highly recommended. Food came out fresh and quickread more

A fun place. We beat the crowd and were seated in one of the elevated booths. Great service,…read moredelicious food, and great cocktails.

We had time to kill, waiting for graduation and sat at the bar and had an appetizer and a couple…read morebeers. The bartender was very personable. We got the Caprese appetizer with prosciutto. It was good. Uneventful and could've used another piece of prosciutto. Cozy, dark wood bar. Old-school look, which is nice.

I hate to leave bad reviews, but I think want to be honest. I came to The Spot recently for lunch…read moreand was not happy with my experience. Located in midtown, this appears to a fast casual place that caters towards college students. They serve "Greek" street food, salads, quesadillas, burgers, and more. The food is relatively inexpensive. Service is fine, actually the people working there are friendly. Food is made to order and comes out quickly. There is some seating available inside (it's limited) but there are plenty of tables in the hall. I ordered the Street Chicken Souvlaki which included grilled chicken with tomato, onion, fries inside a pita, topped with ketchup and mustard. This was a very large portion. The pita was good, but pretty much fell apart the second I picked it up. While I liked the chicken, it was over seasoned and I didn't care for the "sauced" quality of it. I'm not sure if they marinated it or tossed it in some sauce, but it was too much. The fries were decent, but not super crispy. I felt that they were not necessarily and a little over-the-top. The tomato was fresh and but the red onion slices were very thick. The mustard and ketchup didn't work with the seasonings on the chicken. The dish was just all over the place and I couldn't even finish half of it before I started feeling sick. I ordered a side of onion rings as well. This was a large order and the size was great. But these onion rings were over-battered and were fresh, but not crispy at all. I bit into one and ended up pulling out the whole onion rings. Not good. Overall, I was very disappointed with my experience. The food was so heavy and overly salted I couldn't even eat half of it. I ended up giving it to a homeless person on the way out. The food left my stomach in shambles the rest of the day. Service is fine. But the food is not desirable. It is safe to say I will not be returning, which is unfortunate.

Visit after visit, year after year, this place is still the best Greek spot in town. Also up there…read morefor best lunch spot, period. I got my usual gyro platter; about $15. Sounds pricey but my wife and I spit it and still had some leftovers. Also, this might seem a bit off topic but this place has some of the best fries. Great seasoning. My platter came with a generous portion of gyro meat, and the side salad was nicely prepared. If you haven't tried this place and you like a good gyro, drop by, you won't be disappointed.

Friday night , we stopped into Flaco's for some late night eats after listening to our friend's…read moreband play at the bar/lounge next door. My first time at Flaco's but definitely NOT my last The person (who I assume must be the owner) working the register, taking the orders,and making the food was so kind, suggesting options for me given it was my first time there. I got the beef arepas and a cheese pastry cause I was not too hungry. The food was piping hot and delicious. Others in our group got their empanadas, Cuban sandwich, cheese arepas, quesitos, loaded nachos, and guava cheese pastry. As we sat there eating, the line was growing longer and longer, and out the door by the time we left. It was not due to slow service but volume of last night revelers. The one person working that night was incredibly efficient. Kudos to him. Clean bathroom is a good sign of a clean establishment. Flaco's bathroom was clean. I will be back for more tasty eats!

Has Flaco's quality gone down over the years, or was I just a drunk college student when I used to…read morelike it? We were driving up north and craving Cuban food, so we decided to quickly stop at Flaco's for a bite. The parking was horrendous, but that's expected of downtown Gainesville. Just as bad as the parking was their selection and quality of bakery snacks. The guava and cheese pastelitos were horrible; stale dough and barely any cheese. After my first bite I even thought they gave me the guava-only pastelitos... you couldn't taste the cheese. The empanadas were dry, and the dough was terrible as well, but the flavor of the filling saved them. The quesitos were the best of the bunch. If you're expecting South Florida quality Cuban dulces... you're in for a treat. Maybe I just had too high of expectations?

My husband is from NY and said the Everything Bagel with onion/chive cream cheese is better than…read morethe NY bagels we got 2 years ago in NY when we visited. Go early they sell out!

I hate leaving a lower star review for this place, but unfortunately was not very satisfied with my…read moremost recent experience! I went to the Luke's Bagels location under the Standard this past week and was disappointed. I hadn't been here in a little bit, especially since Bagels & Co. just opened down the street. But I was craving a Luke's Bagels, so I got there around 8:30, when they opened ready to order. Unfortunately, no one was at the counter when I came in. Someone popped out from the back to take my order a little while's later though. Their bagel selection was extremely limited, more so than usual. They didn't have poppy seed or sesame seed bagels. This was surprising, as I thought this location was sent fresh bagels each morning, I guess not. Luckily, I was able to order a bacon, egg, and cheese on a toasted Asiago, along with a toasted plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese. This took roughly 15 minutes to come out, which was longer than I expected. Upon delving into my bagels, I noticed a couple things that were different from my previous visits last semester. The bagels were definitely smaller, had less cream cheese, and didn't taste as fresh. The BEC had ample amounts of American cheese and the eggs were good, but there was barely any bacon! There was MAYBE two meager pieces on the bagel, I didn't even get bacon in most of my bites. The Asiago bagel still had a decent taste, with a nice sharp Asiago. But it just wasn't very fresh tasting like they've been in the past. The texture wasn't awful, but it wasn't what it used to be. The plain bagel with cream cheese was lackluster. The plain bagel was just fine, as it too was not very fresh. The strawberry cream cheese was decent and not too sweet, which I appreciate. I also like that their cream cheeses have more of whipped texture to them. But there certainly wasn't as much cream cheese on this bagel as I've received in the past! Overall, I was not very pleased with my experience here. The bagels were not fresh at all, the sandwich was lacking bacon, and I just thought the quality appeared be lower. Maybe I came on an off day, but the bagels were not fresh and the assortment they had available was very limited. The texture of the bagels still has a softer center, with a chewy outside , but the outside was too chewy and hard. The size and portions were decreased as well. The BEC had too much cheap, American cheese, and lacked bacon. The plain bagel with cream cheese didn't have much smear on it. For being about $19 for two bagels, not worth it. This makes me sad as I used to love Luke's, but this was not a good visit. I hope next time I come here it is better!

This is a nice little place with great air conditioning! There are so many drinks to choose from,…read moreas well as a few tasty sandwiches and chips, as well. It is never too crowded in here, so getting your food is fast! The decor is quaint, and gives you a nice view of many little knick-knacks to look at while you eat. The natural wood ceiling is high, and adds to the comfort of the room. The walls are also wood and let you imagine an actual deli in a real train station, sans all the noise. If you are down at the beautiful Depot Park, and get hungry, or even if you are downtown and want to jump on a scooter with friends, this is a good place to eat, talk and relax!

Nestled in the Depot, this lil spot offers lots of different choices! Lots of soda pop flavors…read more(retro ones, as well). Beer choices (in cans) that Gordies Burgers sent us over to check out. We didn't get sandwiches here , but snacks (VooDoo Zap's!) and drinks & a couple of beers!