Carvings

I ordered 31 minutes before close. Not unreasonable for a sandwich shop by any means. There was one other customer in the shop. I ordered a sandwich and a coffee. The woman behind the counter looked at me incredulously and said, “we don’t have any coffee left. We close in 30 minutes.” It was said in a demeaning tone. I was taken aback by her rudeness. I responded that it was funny to keep the coffee menu on the screen behind if they stop serving it at a certain time. She said that, “what coffee shop still serve coffee 30 minutes before close?” 😆 Most of them. 30 minutes isn’t 5 minutes. What a ridiculous and sad interaction.

Thank you so much to the night crew who created my order! I ended up ordering the steak and cheese sub. I added bacon + cheddar cheese and it definitely elevated an already delicious sandwich! The meat was perfectly seasoned and the bread was toasted to perfection. Very easy to walk in and pick up your order. *not pictured is the second half of my sub that I devoured as soon as I got home* 🤭

Good food! Got it togo. Enjoyed the atmosphere while waiting for food. Wasn't too busy for lunch. I'd eat here again.

Carvings is a small, local deli in Washington, DC, where I recently picked up lunch to-go. It has the feel of a mom-and-pop shop, and with roots going back to 2008, it clearly has staying power. That said, the pricing structure left me scratching my head. For instance, you can get a sandwich *with fries* for a set price—but ordering just a sandwich (no fries) will still run you about the same. In my case, I wanted a plain chicken sandwich—just chicken, cheese, and sauce (though there was less than I thought there’d be)—and was told it would cost the same as the full combo. I asked for chips instead of fries, and that was fine, but it didn’t feel like a great value. To be fair, running a small business in DC is no cheap feat, and I understand that pricing likely reflects operating costs. Still, $17 for a basic chicken sandwich and a bag of chips feels steep—especially with minimal toppings and limited sauce. The menu might benefit from a more flexible or à la carte pricing model, especially for those who want just a sandwich without sides. Also, the selection of add-ons like chips, drinks, or snacks seemed fairly limited in store. I respect the effort to keep things going in a tough market—but a few tweaks to the menu and pricing structure could go a long way toward enhancing the customer experience.

Had their Rueban sandwich which was delicious! And the Joe's lemonade was really good too (didn't burn my throat nor was it too strong, like lemonade usually does/is)