I feel like if you're born and raised in Chattanooga, you've at least *heard* of the Yellow Deli. Their reputation precedes them, both in terms of the restaurant, and in terms of the people who run it. Somehow I had never set foot in this place until today, when one of my friends wanted to meet me for lunch. I'd always heard good things about the food, so I agreed enthusiastically - truth be told, I'd kind of always wanted to see the inside anyway, lol. Walking into the Yellow Deli is like...walking into the Shire. I think. Maybe. Sort of. It's very..."Appalachian art woodsy nymph fantasyland nature" aesthetic. Winding staircases, carved wood EVERYWHERE, stained glass, artwork painted directly onto the walls, rough hewn stone surfaces, plants hanging and shoved into every spare corner, and Deliverance banjo music playing over the speakers. I can dig it! We sat upstairs in the side/covered porch area, which was cool. Service was pleasant enough, but lemme be straight - do not come here if you're in a hurry. Because the people who work here aren't in a hurry, either. Which is fine, but just...don't expect to get in and out quickly. My friend and I both ordered hibiscus fruit tea, which was delicious. That first sip was tangy and unexpected, but it grew on me as I drank it, for sure. I opted for the pesto turkey sandwich with coleslaw, and my girl Mary had half size orders of both the fruit salad and the cranberry salad. Really good, solid food. Everything we had was delicious, fresh, and the prices were great. I don't know that anything we had was amazing enough for me to crave it, and come back just for it, but it was all tasty and we left full and happy. So, yay! Go check this place out, if you're local or visiting - it's an experience, for sure. read more

Yellow Deli - Half fruit salad, half cranberry salad, and pesto turkey sandwich with coleslaw! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

The veggie burger is super good and the staff are all wonderful people! I highly recommend

I love coming to Yellow deli. The atmosphere is amazing and it immediately puts me at ease. I love that I can come late night and early morning. The food choices are great and their hot beverages are awesome, they change them up by season. This place can often get crowded as it's close to UTC, and students study here. Parking can be hard to find and they do ticket, so be careful! read more

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Hands down the coolest restaurant ever! This place is absolutely enchanting. From the delicious homemade style food, to the music and unique fairytale folklore decorations, to the shop of handcrafted local goods, this place is just captivating. Excellent experience all around. Fantastic food, great service, sparkling cleaning building from go to bottom. I am in love with this place, I just want to live in here and never leave! read more

Soooo yummy! Food is so fresh and homemade! All ingredients are very good quality and the service peeps are so nice! read more

Yellow Deli - Waffles with fruit & yogurt parfait! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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It was super yummy. Hot, fresh, tasty. Neat atmosphere! Would definitely go back next trip to Chattanooga! Beautiful patio upstairs and downstairs to eat on on a nice day! read more

Yellow Deli - Taken from the upstairs corner. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Every time we go the food is so yummy and the atmosphere is so peaceful. Highly recommend the fruit salad it's such a yummy sweet treat. read more

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Delicious sandwiches. Very kind staff. Awesome atmosphere. I used to take everyone who visits Chattanooga here, now we've moved but we always stop here when we visit. Great with to go orders as well! read more

Passing through Chattanooga on our way home from vacation and found this precious gem! Talk about feeling nostalgic. This place reminds me of my childhood. I used to love delis back in the day. With the onslaught of Paneras and other over processed sub joints this was a welcomed treat! You need to understand, this is not fast food but good food and worth the wait. Randy and Susan were warm and inviting. Be sure to stop by and leave feeling good, full, and comforted. read more

It's nicer inside than it is outside. I had a bowl of cheesy potato soup. Great flavor and loaded with potatoes. It was served with a artesan roll. Fresh and hot. My wife had a Reuben and said it was great. They do use boars head meats. I'd go again. read more

Great food! The interior is very comfortable and inviting. Very nice and efficient service. My favorite sandwich is the Deli Rose. Give it a try! read more

I really liked the food service as well as how the server talked to me and took my order.The best part was the food it was delicious. (By my 10yo) read more

Loved this place! The food was good n the people are friendly! The service was ok. Don't come to the table enough to see if you are ok but it was still with it. We've been there 3 times now and plan on going back again! read more

This restaurant was okay to begin with. The service started going down hill as we sat down. Our server said, "if you have any questions please let us know." My wife Angela is allergic to some dairy products and she has a gluten allergy. My wife asked for her sandwich to not have any cheese on it and gluten free bread. The server said there was no gluten free bread which was fine with my wife. When the food came out there was cheese all over my wife's food and gluten filled bread. The food had this smell that made my wife feel sick to her stomach and when I smelled it smelled like a rotting corps. I told our server and he said that there was nothing he could do about it. I finally asked for the manager, to be clear the manager was a very young looking guy and told us that we should not be criticizing there food. In my opinion it seemed very odd and as I looked into it I figured out that the Yellow Deli was full of people who run a cult. My wife and I are not okay with this. As a Christian based family we do not agree with anything that these people stand for. This place is not worth your time. read more

The inside of this restaurant is beautiful, it's a lovely atmosphere to be in and the workers are extremely kind and friendly. I ordered a fruit salad and a strawberry smoothie, both of which were SO GOOD !! Not only that, but the fruit salad was made in the most lovely way and it was so pretty(see attached image). Me and my family thoroughly enjoyed this meal, and only had good things to say:) To top it all off, they had a lot of pamphlets that were very interesting and cool to read about their story, for sure recommend stopping by anytime you're near:) read more

Yellow Deli - Fruit Salad - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

It's hard to put Yellow Deli into words. As many others have said, it is worth it just to experience the atmosphere. I visited with a friend on my birthday after he had told me all about the place and I researched the history online (something you should do before you visit). From the outside, the unassuming brick building looks like an old antique store. Once inside, you feel like you've walked into a giant tree fort: a swirling spiral staircase, wooden handrails on the upper level, and plants growing from every conceivable nook and cranny. I ordered the Deli Rose sandwich, with roast beef, corned beef, provolone cheese, pepper jack cheese, onions, tomato, mayo, mustard, their own special sauce, and it was all on an onion roll. It was very tasty and came with homemade potato chips and a pickle spear. I also got one of their banana milks, which was interesting. I'm not a big fan of bananas but this was pretty good. Our waitress was friendly and made sure we had everything we needed at our table. Yellow Deli is a staple on the UTC campus and because it's open 24 hours, you'll almost always find students with stacks of books studying away. If you have not visited Yellow Deli, you're missing out. It's definitely something you have to see to believe. read more

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I was very disappointed going to Yellow Deli today. I used to go a lot a couple years ago when I lived here for a little bit. I loved the food and was excited to take my girlfriend during our weekend vacation to Chatt. I was shocked at how different my experience was. The service was really not great, I waited a long time to be seen, and ordered a sandwich with cheese and tomato. Nothing else. Waited a long time, and the food runner brought me a chicken sandwich. Just chicken. No worries, people make mistakes. He goes and remakes it, which takes long enough that my girlfriend already finished eating. Finally was excited to eat my sandwich, and it was only cheese. Didn't feel worth asking again. My server never showed up again after we ordered and he brought drinks. Then brought us a check after we had been done for a while. Never checked in or anything (or mentioned the issue with my sandwich originally which was his mistake in the way he wrote the ticket) Everyone was weird and that's saying something since I'm autistic and don't usually notice "weird" behaviors from people. I didn't feel comfortable and honestly was just excited to leave. Also, the comments are correct. It is run by a cult and they prey on college students to join. read more

Two of us stopped in for a late breakfast on a Friday morning after having several people recommend Yellow Deli as a must visit in Chattanooga! The service was painfully slow and there were only us and one other table in the whole restaurant. Once we finally got our food, it was absolutely delicious, but I'm not sure that I would really want to go back. read more

In a word: kooky. They are open 24/5 so you best believe this is the #1 study spot for students in Chattanooga. I've spent probably hundreds of hours and countless all nighters here. It's worth a visit just to experience the atmosphere of this place. The interior is beautifully handcrafted wood everything and you can learn about the deli's (cult) beliefs through the hand painted murals on the walls. The service is great and the waiters and waitresses are so friendly. Also the food is SO GOOD. Really fresh, healthy, and unique. And the hand drawn menu is just fun to look at. Some of my favorites are: -Yerba Matte (great for all-nighters) -Strawberry Smoothie (always piled high over the cup) -Lambwhich (sounds weird but it's so good) -Deli Rose -Homemade Granola Be prepared to turn down an invite to one of their gatherings and enjoy some enchanting folksy forest music. read more

This little restaurant is adorable. If you are into the cottage core aesthetic and love delicious food, then this is the place for you. I have tried all of the soups and I recommend all of them. read more

Yellow Deli - Vegetable soup with jalapeño bread and a pesto sandwich with chips - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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Delicious. The Deli Rose sandwich was great The building decor was really cool. Will return!

Service is absolutely horrible. Servers are the laziest people I have ever seen. Took an hour just to get our drinks. Other groups sat down way after we did and they all got served. By far the worst service I have ever experienced. Food is good but still wish I could give 0 stars just based on the fact that their service is comparable to water at the bottom of a dumpster behind McDonald's. read more

What a delight to find out we were so close to "Yellow Deli" I frequented the Vista CA location when we lived in California but had no idea they had a Chattanooga location. So on our way to New Orleans we made our first stop here. The yellow deli is an experience all its own. The people are great. The food is second to none and fresh as anything could. The breads are all all house made. The architecture is spectacular! I hadn't had the chili before but choose it today and it was seriously delicious. The jalapeno corn bread served with it was the most moist corn bread I had ever had. The green drink was on point and really made me miss home but I am so excited to finally know that when I am home sick, the yellow deli is a stone's throw away. If you haven't been to a yellow deli you're missing out! read more

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I have come here all the time since college. This place offers an environment that no other do or will. They also have a unique story behind them. I recommend sitting on the deck outside. It is covered and kept warm/ cool depending on the weather outside. I decided to stop in and tried the chai nog. It was amazing!!! It was better than anything that Starbucks could even try to make! I recommend anything on the menu!!! But it is a must try place read more

Yellow Deli - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Team country ranch Sammy all day long baby! Deeelish. I listen to the playlist when I'm not at the yellow deli. Ambiance is always

Different time different place, but still the same. It's been 35 years since I was here it's a little bit fancier place but still the same good food. read more

Yellow Deli - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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Everything here is soo delicious. You might have to wait a little but the food is so worth it and made so fresh!! Love their deserts too

The cutest restaurant i have ever been in!!! The food was very yummy!! There was a weird cult brochure next to our table, but it provided some pre-meal entertainment read more

Anytime I am on that side of town. I stop and eat at the yellow deli. They have a great menu. Their Matcha lemonade tea is divine. They are the nicest people, and and very polite. I've gone there quite a bit and have only had excellent food. Make sure you get one of the cinnamon rolls. I love the natural Decour of the restaurant. It's a very inviting place. So, if you were looking for a place to relax have a wonderful meal and look out some windows a People. This is the place to go. I guarantee you'll love it. read more

There isn't much of a view from the outside, but once you go inside, prepare to be wowed! The entire interior is decorated in a beautiful calming manner. Charming music plays. My favorite area by far is the outdoors. It's like a little hipster oasis. The service is fantastic. You will always be greeted with a smile. The food is made fresh and healthfully. My favorite is the veggie burger. The sprouts and avocado with the bun are such perfection. Going to the Chattanooga area and forgoing this restaurant would be a miss. read more

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Despite the cult association, Yellow Deli is a superb destination to reach. The staff was friendly and worked diligently during the rush of Sunday brunch. I recommend this deli if you're looking for an organic and light meal. Also, they offer a wide assortment of other items like expressions, chili, and mouth watering desserts! read more

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Best deli sandwiches in town. Coin flip on what kinda service you will get. They ARE a different bread, but fairly polite. Again, it just really depends on.... the weather? The time? Their mood? Never sure how friendly the staff will be. On this visit though, they were cool. Even spoke a little bit more then usual. They have the BEST damn deli sandwiches in Chattanooga. As long as you don't mind some weird vibes for a tasty sandwich, you will make it out of here. they have an odd assortment of drinks and not in your common Coke/Dr Pepper variety. read more

The tomato basil soups was good. On par for the best I've had. Large chunks of tomato in it. Wife had a salad that was good. This place is very hippie, all natural foods and drinks (the sodas are all natural NO coke products) The inside atmosphere is very cool remains a me of a tree house or the Shire on The Hobbit. I deducted one star because the service was a little slow, there slow paced for sure. read more

They charged us $5 EACH for WATER! the food was mediocre. The vibes of the place were cool felt like I was in the hobbit. Study spot maybe but better places to go for food read more

Pest Deli Sandwich. Period! I use to fly into Chattanooga 3 times a week and ate here all the time. Love the setting in doors but it's closed off at this time. You can however eat outside on the patio up stairs. read more

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We have been to the yellow deli in Chattanooga, North Carolina, and brunswick ga, in all instances the food has been consistently good. A deli rose sandwich is great and the same regardless of location. We will always go to a yellow deli when we travel through a city where one exist read more

Everything is beautiful, the people, the food, the woodwork, the music, the ambiance, all of it. They treat so kind, the food is all fresh, the peach mate' tea is great too. read more

Yellow Deli - The front door - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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OMG! The make your own sandwiches are great. The deli rose sandwich is phenomenal! They have their own keg rootbeer also. Wonderful people, great food. Try the chili omg! read more

Yellow Deli - Deli Rose - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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What a gem of a place! The staff is super friendly, and the food was excellent! Give it a try, you won't be disappointed

You can't go wrong with this place. Everything they serve is amazing! I love their veggie burger. Everything is made fresh to order. Haven't had anything I didn't like. Convenient spot for college students since it's right on campus of UTC. Love the uniqueness of the restaurant itself. Very hippy and cool. Definitely a place to try out. read more

Yellow Deli - Veggie burger with potato chips - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee