A large kitchen fire forced Uncle Paulie's Deli to leave its original Beverly Boulevard shop, yet the business reappeared in early 2022 on West 3rd Street. This is Paul James's Italian-American deli, opened on July 1, 2017 with designer Jon Buscemi, now operating from 8053 W. 3rd Street in Beverly Grove. The counter operates from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, while online ordering has earlier cutoffs at 4:30 PM and begins at 9:00 AM on Sunday. The food is a tight selection of East Coast Italian-American sandwiches, divided between cold builds and overtly hot, sauce-and-cheese affairs. The important distinction begins with the menu's names, temperatures and modifiers.
The counter's daily hours and online ordering hours have different opening and cutoff times. Ask Karpo for the current counter and online-order window before setting off.
The hot sandwich order begins with beef and peppers
Paulie's Beef & Peps costs $16 and is built from roast beef, provolone, peppers and onions. It is the cleanest expression of the deli's hot-sandwich method: meat, cheese and vegetables in a direct counter-service order. The Carmine starts with roast beef and provolone too, then adds brown gravy and garlic bread for $18. The division is clear on the page and at the counter: Beef & Peps goes toward peppers and onions; The Carmine goes toward gravy and garlic bread. Among the sandwiches considered here, Beef & Peps is also the lowest-priced option.
Meatball Parm and Chicken Parm are both $18, though they arrive from different bases. The former combines house-made meatballs, marinara, provolone and grated Parmesan. The latter uses chicken cutlet with marinara, provolone and shaved Parmesan. Both are hot options, and both suit a deli laid out primarily for a quick counter stop and takeout rather than a lingering table meal. For a first order, deciding between meatball and cutlet is more useful than simply ordering "parm": they are separate sandwiches at the same price.
The Paulie needs a deliberate decision
The Paulie costs $18 and comes cold by default: turkey, fresh mozzarella, Paulie's Peppers, arugula, olive oil and balsamic. That default is worth noticing, because it is the named Paulie sandwich but not the hot-sub order its name might suggest. The menu has no sandwich called the Uncle Paulie special. Fresh mozzarella, arugula, oil and balsamic also make its ingredient list distinct from the sauce-led hot sandwiches. Anyone after heat must make a deliberate choice rather than assume the kitchen will do it.
The $1.50 Make It Hot modifier warms The Paulie with spicy Calabrian-chili spread. It is an explicit modifier, not a kitchen default, and should be selected from the modifier menu on an online order. Free-typed special instructions are not a substitute: changes not selected from the available options are not honoured. The selection is made at checkout rather than interpreted later by the counter. That minor administrative detail avoids an order intended to be hot arriving in its cold default form.
The Carol, at $20, takes chicken cutlet in another direction, with mozzarella, roasted red peppers, broccoli rabe, olive oil and balsamic glaze. Its ingredients sit apart from the marinara-based parm sandwiches. It has no marinara or Parmesan in its stated build, which sharply separates it from the two parm sandwiches. Across those choices, the menu offers recognisable red-sauce staples as well as a cutlet build centred on peppers, greens, oil and balsamic. It is a separate choice, rather than a dressed-up Chicken Parm.
Treat the room as a counter, not a dining room
The Third Street room has limited seating and operates as quick counter service rather than a full-service dining room. Arrive prepared to take food away, then treat a free seat as useful good fortune rather than part of the plan. That framing prevents an awkward lunch stop: the sandwiches can be collected promptly, but a long sit-down meal is not what the room is arranged to provide. The format is better understood as a stop between other things than as a room to settle into. It is a deli counter first.
Midday is the pinch point. Go before it or after it if seating matters, since the limited seats and tight West 3rd parking meet the busiest part of the day. This is more than an exercise in shaving a few minutes from the wait. A quieter arrival makes the short room easier to use and reduces the problem of finding parking nearby at the same time. Parking on West 3rd is tight during those peak periods, so the timing advice applies to arrival as well as seating. It also gives the counter a little more breathing space.
Make the hot-versus-cold decision before reaching the till. For online orders, select each available modifier rather than attempting to explain it in a note. The rule matters most for The Paulie's heat option, though it is sensible across the menu. Gluten-free bread is available, and diners managing allergies should check the finished order before leaving. That final check is especially sensible when gluten-free bread or listed changes have been requested. The order is moving through a quick counter-service setting, not a leisurely table service.
A move changed the address, not the deli's premise
James opened Uncle Paulie's on July 1, 2017 as an Italian-American deli, with Buscemi as co-founder. Its original address was 8369 Beverly Boulevard. After the kitchen fire, the business relocated in early 2022 to 8053 W. 3rd Street. That move explains why two local addresses may still circulate. The Third Street shop is the current location, one of four shops named in June 2025 alongside Studio City, Echo Park and Las Vegas; the former Downtown location had closed. By then, the operation remained a four-shop business rather than a sprawling chain.
That history makes the menu easier to read. Across the listed sandwiches, roast beef, chicken cutlet, house-made meatballs, provolone and marinara provide the main reference points. Choose Beef & Peps for roast beef with peppers and onions, Meatball Parm for the house-made meatballs, or The Paulie with its heat modifier for turkey, mozzarella and Calabrian chilli. For a group choosing quickly, those ingredient distinctions are more dependable than names that reveal little about temperature or sauce. The names become less important once the default temperature and ingredient list are clear.
Practical notes
Uncle Paulie's Deli is at 8053 W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Counter hours are 8:00 AM-5:00 PM daily. Online ordering runs 8:00 AM-4:30 PM Monday-Saturday and 9:00 AM-4:30 PM Sunday, so do not treat the counter's closing time as the online cutoff. Paulie's Beef & Peps is $16; Meatball Parm and Chicken Parm are $18; The Paulie is $18, plus $1.50 to Make It Hot. Arrive before or after midday for the best chance of avoiding tight parking and limited seating. The menu has no item called the Uncle Paulie special: The Paulie is the named turkey sandwich and is cold by default, while Beef & Peps, Meatball Parm and Chicken Parm are hot options.
Tags: #lunchnearme #unclepaulies #unclepauliesdeli #beverlygrove #losangeles #laeats #hotsubs #italiandeli #backtoschool #schoollunch #takeoutlunch #thirdstreet #chickenparm
Sources consulted: unclepauliesdeli.com · toasttab.com · toasttab.com · whatnow.com · livingproofnewyork.com
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Ask Karpo first
The map pin does not show the split between the daily counter hours and the earlier online-order cutoffs, nor does it explain that The Paulie is cold unless the heat modifier is selected. Ask Karpo for today's counter and online ordering times at the Third Street shop, the best moment to avoid the midday squeeze, and what else nearby is worth the walk after lunch.
