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    Brighter Side

    4.5 (247 reviews)
    InexpensiveSandwiches, Salad
    Closed Closed
    Updated 1 week ago

    Brighter Side Photos

    Business Info

    BRIGHTER SIDE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Brighter Side

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    Reviews With Photos

    Polish sausage sandwich
    Jennifer B.

    My husband and I finally made our way here and we will be back again another day. Delicious sandwiches; the whole menu looked great. We got there on a Friday just around 11:30 and just beat the lunch rush. The decor reminded me of the sourdough sandwich spot in San Jose.

    Cup of cream of broccoli soup
    Cory N.

    Cool little hole in the wall spot. Fast service with hot sandwiches. Eclectic decor with inside and outside tables.. make sure you bring cash! #spicemeister approved!

    Chef salad w/ ranch
    Amy V.

    I got a chef salad that was super delish! It originally also includes mushrooms, beats, bell peppers, and garbanzo beans but I was able to order without those and it was still a big salad(this is a small). The ranch is really good too for any ranch lovers out there.

    Pastrami on white.
    Sherri H.

    Finally tried them after years of hearing about them. Very good sandwiches, personable staff, reasonable prices. There seemed to be many regulars come in while I was there, and everyone knew everyone by name. They accept cash & checks only.

    Outdoor dog friendly seating!!!
    Ashley Q.

    the tuna fish sandwich is delish. Pure white Tuna. homemade clam chowder was bomb. had a taste of fresh fruit salad and was on point!! this is a modesto icon to visit. Dog friendly. Inside or outside. They even gave my Olive some turkey and roast beef slices as a snack!! they said they do it for all the fur babies. locally owned and operated. Prices are very fair.

    Jack R.

    Say hello to Pumpkin the cat when you stop by! The entrance was confusing, maybe because like an idiot I went the wrong way through the garage area instead of the front? Pastrami sandwich with avocado, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, heated for a little under $10 with a bag of chips. The women here are super friendly but the sandwich wasn't anything I couldn't make at home. I was expecting a cool pesto spread or something to distinguish them, but nope, just a regular sandwich. 3 stars for average.

    Egg salad sandwich

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    28 days ago

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    11 hours ago

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    16 days ago

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    1 year ago

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    3 months ago

    Living in Georgia now, I miss the Brighter Side so much. Christine on whole wheat. Yum!

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    1 year ago

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    6 months ago

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    6 months ago

    Interesting atmosphere, especially with the cat on the counter (that was a bit of a turnoff), but food was good and people were friendly.

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    2 months ago

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    5 months ago

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    4 months ago

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    10 months ago

    Food was great. Didn't know that they don't accept cards only cash. Next time we know.

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    10 months ago

    Great food! Great customer service! The ladies are so sweet and David and Larry are the best! Will come back!

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    10 months ago

    Great place to pop in for a delicious sandwich and a conversation with Larry! Reasonable prices and cool setting with a cute patio/garden.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Nice "Bay Area" feeling spot with really good food. Cash only... or check. Perfect patio for the sunny days.

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Awesome place owner is super cool, food is great and very affordable. It's a Modesto original for a reason and everybody should get it.

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Excellent long time business. Great selection and order preferences. Quaint, relaxing dine in or take out. Friendly staff.

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    2 years ago

    Best Sandwiches and Salads in Modesto been going here for years The Jason is the best

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Tasty sandwiches for the business crowd. Portions are small but very satisfying. Call ahead.

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    2 years ago

    Love Larry and the sandwiches!! Great place with some cool memorabilia! Love the patio when its cooler! Good prices!!

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    2 years ago

    Sandwiches are too small and didn't like them. I know others that like the sandwiches but wasn't for me.

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    3 years ago

    Like a little piece of Santa Cruz in Modesto. Great food and ambiance, just make sure you bring cash!

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    Page 1 of 7

    Ask the Community - Brighter Side

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    Ike's Love & Sandwiches

    Ike's Love & Sandwiches

    (401 reviews)

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    Found this uniquely fabulous sandwich shop via Yelp on my drive home from SOCAL to WA. What a great…read morefind! Ordered two sandwiches, Vegnews..pesto/mushrooms and Meatless Mike..plant based meatballs, both to include the veggies/sauce and on a sour dough roll. The menu is varied and as told by the cashier more choices on line! No lie, wow. I love the vegetarian options! Thank you for being so creative. The mushrooms/pesto sandwich was delicious, a combination I've never had. My husband enjoyed the plant based meatball sandwich. Best sandwich ever! Wish this franchise was in WA. The interior is bright, colorful and decorated with the IKE brand. The representative that assisted us was helpful and friendly. At the end of the transaction he offered us suckers...love that touch! Our suckers were green apple flavor with Carmel. Curious about the brand/owner, googled and learned the history of the business. Great story and really like the company philosophy! Highly recommend this sandwich shop. Wish we had a franchise in my neighborhood!

    Great place to have a unique sandwich with endless possibilities. Great sides and serve yourself…read morefree refills which i always love. Make your own unique combination or pick from a plethora of ideas they have. Im sure you will enjoy. This location is so hidden and not much parking. If more people knew about it I think they would be slammed. Go try you wont be disappointed Trust me. OK just this one time haha

    Commonwealth - I dont remember the 5 tacos

    Commonwealth

    (1.2k reviews)

    $$

    I work next door to Commonwealth and really enjoy the quality of the food and the variety of…read moreseating options, both inside and outside. It is always a great spot to invite colleagues, family, and friends. They offer a solid selection of burgers and craft beer, and the location is very convenient in downtown Modesto, within walking distance of the Brenden Theatre and nearby venues like the Gallo Center. The customer service is phenomenal and they truly make you feel at home. If you need pickup, just give them a call and they will get you situated right away. Definitely recommend it.

    Sadly disappointed…read more My friends and I stopped by Commonwealth on a Saturday afternoon for a late brunch. It was a beautiful day so it was busy for both indoor and outdoor seating. Here, you order your food, grab a number, and find your own seat for the food to be brought out to you. We sat at a table outside to decide what to order. There were no menus available so we just had to search for it online before heading inside to order. Despite being third in line from the register, we had an extremely long wait to order. There was only one person running the register who also had to make the drinks, meaning the service incredibly slow. We wanted to order the five taco platter, garlic fries, chicken Caesar salad, and mimosa pitcher. Sadly, we were only able to get the pitcher and salad. The cashier told us "sorry, we aren't doing fries right now." Not doing fries? Every plate in the vicinity had fries on them. She said that because it was brunch hour, only food on the brunch menu could be ordered. We looked at the brunch menu again and literally saw garlic fries as an option as a side for the burgers/sandwiches. No where did it specify that you can't order off the other menu and both were available online. What bothered us about this is that we placed this order at around 1:50pm, and brunch ended at 2:00pm. I understand that we are not entitled to things on the lunch menu during brunch-time for items like the tacos, but considering the menu swap was less than 10 minutes away and they were quite literally were "doing fries" at the time, it didn't make much sense to us. The only food that we ended up ordering was the Chicken Caesar Salad. This one dish took a super long time to receive. By the time it was brought out, the three of us nearly finished the Mimosa pitcher. The waitress noticed we had no silverware and said she would go grab us some. Because of how the service had been going thus far, we placed a bet on whether or not the waitress would come back with the silverware. Surprise, surprise. She didn't. We had to go inside later and search for silverware ourselves. We weren't even able to get sharing plates which was upsetting since the waitress asked us if we would be sharing the salad. The salad itself looked delicious, but was bland. The dressing was missing that zing and zest that a Caesar dressing typically has. I do appreciate that is was a chopped salad, had avocado, and seasoned croutons. It is just unfortunate that it was lacking any flavor at all. The food prices are quite affordable for the quantity of food you receive though. This experience was disappointing because I was so optimistic about the place. The menu looked good, it had fun and casual vibes and a cool crowd of people. If Commonwealth worked towards better service practices, it would have been a more positive experience.

    Saucin' it up Fried Chicken - 24-piece gluten free chicken tenders

    Saucin' it up Fried Chicken

    (49 reviews)

    First time here and nuggets were awesome and potato wedges had a bite on the season very good . But…read morethe nuggets were huge, we got 16 for the 2 of us , price was not bad . We will be Back again . Chicken cooked to Order just 15 wait .

    Came to Saucin' It Up Fried Chicken after an influencer influenced us with their tantalizing…read moreshort-form reel of this place. The first time we came, it was just after this reel went semi-viral so there were a bunch of people lined up. Upon entering, the staff immediately let us know they were having issues with the kitchen and that they had no idea when it would be back up. We decided to leave and return another time. The second time, I made an online pre-order. I decided to get the meal deal for 4 (and a separate order of the blueberry biscuit fried chicken sandwich) for the most variety. This deal includes: - Chicken Option: 8 pc tenders, 16 pc wings, or 16 pc nuggets. I went with the 16 pc wings. They were heavily battered, and the wings were cooked through and still juicy. I wasn't too wowed by them though. - 2 Sides: I went with the honey mustard pasta salad and chipotle potato salad. The pasta salad was soggier than expected, but flavors of both were pretty good. Chipotle potato had a nice kick. - Loaded Wedges: This was literally a potato quartered into 4 wedges. Tastewise, I really liked the seasoning they used on the potato though. I didn't care for the loaded part (cheese, bacon bits, green onion). - Choice of 5 sauces: Personally, the best part of the meal. Their sauces are on point. I went with the strawberry heat, pineapple pepper, XXX, fuego, honey mustard (accident; I wished I had gotten the hot honey blueberry bbq instead). - 4 Can Drinks: Cool I guess, but wished the deal was focused on the food options. The separate blueberry biscuit with chicken was also only just OK. The biscuit wasn't fluffy or buttery and the blueberries were there visually only (barely any blueberry taste). The chicken was fine and not dry at least! The wait the second time around also wasn't bad. I scheduled a 12:15PM order, and I think I got my food about 15-20 min later. Overall, it was a good one-time try!

    Brighter Side - sandwiches - Updated May 2026

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