Best Jewish Delis for Overstuffed Sandwiches

Make mine pastrami on rye. Or corned beef on rye. With a briny full sour pickle on the side.

If you are hungry for classic overstuffed meat sandwiches and a casual, unpretentious ambiance, head for one of these classic Jewish delis.

Several are in the same location, or operated by the same family, or both, for generations.

Despite the well-publicized recent demise of the Carnegie Deli and Stage Deli in Midtown, the traditional Jewish deli is still alive and well in NYC.

Ess, my friends. (Ess is both German and Yiddish for eat).

There’s a full list of Jewish Deis in my new NYC guidebook, too.

Available in bookstores and online.

Contact [email protected] for autographed copies.

Katz’s Delicatessen

Lower East Side and Brooklyn

This legendary 130-year-old Lower East Side deli became Katz’s Delicatessen in 1910 when Willy Katz and his cousin Benny took over another restaurant that was there.

Katz’s is famous for its towering sandwiches of house-cured corned beef, brisket, pastrami, matzoh balls the size of baseballs and it’s no-frills decor.

Katz’s is also famous for that memorable scene where Meg Ryan moaned over her meal in “When Harry Met Sally.”

Just don’t ask for “that” table or you’ll get a moan from a weary staffer who has heard that once too often.

Katz’s is also one of the few places left to sell Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray or Cream soda, which were the go-to soft drinks of my childhood. Either one is the perfect companion for a sky-high meat sandwich. Open 365 days a year.

They’ll also ship anywhere. That started in World War II, when they urged customers to “send a salami to your boy in the Army”.  Look for old sign still hanging proudly, behind the counter.

• 205 E. Houston St., 212.254.2246 and an outpost at DeKalb Market, Brooklyn

Sarge’s

Midtown East

Abe “Sarge” Katz, opened his deli in 1964, when he retired from the NYPD. It’s been in the same East Side location ever since, serving a traditional deli menu in a location dotted with old-fashioned Tiffany-style lamps and burgundy-brown banquettes.

Unfortunately, the addition of large screen TVs showing sports detracts from the traditional deli ambiance. But the TVs are in the back of the restaurant, so sit in the front area.

This genuine NYC deli experience is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

• 548 Third Ave. at 38th St., 212-679-0442

2nd Avenue Deli

Upper East Side and Midtown East

Although it moved a few years ago from Second Avenue on the Lower East Side to First Avenue on the Upper East Side, it still serves the same Jewish comfort food, including a dish of pickles on every table, except maybe at breakfast. Cheese-filled blintzes and meat-filled pierogies are served throughout the day. 

If you want to be alone after dinner, opt for the “knoblewurst”, a brat-sized wurst with enough garlic to bring tears to your eyes and the ex-friends around you.

With the recent opening of the  Second Avenue subway, and a stop just two blocks away, 2nd Avenue Deli on First Avenue has gotten a boost in business.  There’s also a midtown outpost.

• 1442 First Ave., at 77th St., 212-737-1700
• 162 East 33rd St., 212-689-9000

Barney Greengrass

Upper West Side

Also known as “The Sturgeon King”, this Upper West Side institution (since 1908) is known more for its classic Jewish fish delicacies, from lox and whitefish salad to pickled herring in cream sauce, than it is for its meat sandwiches.

Also known for its Yiddish-speaking Latino waiters, now mostly retired.

Meat sandwiches are served on rye or pumpernickel, while fish sandwiches are on either bagel or bialy, a baked Eastern European roll with a depressed center that’s usually filled with diced onions and other savory ingredients.

Traditional desserts include rugelach, chocolate babka and handmade chocolate-layered halvah.

• 541 Amsterdam Ave.,at 86th St.,  212-724-4707

Ben’s Kosher Deli

Times Square and Bayside

Some say the expansion to multiple locations as far away as Florida and a heavy emphasis on take-out and catering has diluted the experience, others are devoted regulars. You be the judge.

This is one of the few places left to get beef tongue in a sweet-sour raisin sauce, the way my Bavarian-born mother used to make it.  Although she never called the sauce Polonaise.

Or, just stick with the more traditional menu of meat sandwiches and smoked fish platters.

• 209 W. 38th St, 212-398-2367
• 211-37 26th Ave., at Bell Blvd, Bayside, Queens, 212-398-2367

Mile End Deli

Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Traditional Jewish deli foods from Montreal include house-smoked meats and the Quebequois staple poutine - they even have a Poutine Week, including a version topped with housemade pastrami. This restaurant in Boerum Hill is about as wide as one of its well-stacked sandwiches, so go early or late or opt for take-out. 

There’s also a Shabbat dinner available for take-out.  It includes matzo ball soup, noodle kugel, brisket with gravy (jus in French) and a chocolate Babka.  Order by Tuesday and get a free Challah.

Note that the deli closes between lunch and dinner. Open daily.

• 97 Hoyt St., between Atlantic and Pacific Streets, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, 212-852-7510
• The Manhattan location at 53 Bond St., in the Financial District, has closed.

Mill Basin Kosher Deli

Mill Basin, Brooklyn

70s style decor and menu in this local favorite on the border of Flatlands and Mill Basin.  Traditional meat sandwiches and hot dishes, including brisket, of course. 

Also Kosher - one of the few traditional Jewish delis that are Kosher.

• 5823 Ave. T, Brooklyn, 718-241-4910

Sammy’s Roumanian

Lower East Side

This isn’t a deli, but a restaurant with equal helpings of favorites from both Eastern and Western Europe, along with entertainment. It’s been described as a perpetual Bar Mitzvah party, where guests sing and dance with friends and strangers.

Go on Friday for the stuffed cabbage special, like my Ukranian-born mother-in-law used to make.

I’m partial to the calves liver and fried onions, like my Bavarian mother used to make, and a dollop of schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) to spread on bread.

Reservations are recommended.  Open for dinner only.

And check the website for a basic Yiddish dictionary, even though you probably already know. 

• 157 Chrystie St., 212- 673-0330

Frankel’s Delicatessen & Appetizing

Brother-owners and Upper West Side natives Zach and Alex Frankel (former chef at Jack’s Wife Freda) grew up blocks from Zabar’s and Barney Greengrass, and serve up smokey reminders of classic staples in patrami-starved Greenpoint.

The shop’s hand-cut, thick-sliced pastrami is a fatty marvel. Get it plain, on rye with mustard, to savor the taste, instead of slopping it up Reuben-style, with sauerkraut and that pink gag-worthy stuff called Russian dressing, which I wouldn’t even use on a salad.

Matzoh ball soup is served at lunch only, but traditional bagels and lox are on the menu all day.

• 631 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, (718) 389-2302

Pastrami Queen

Upper East Side and Upper West Side

The original location on UES is bout as wide as a pickle, this is more luncheonette than deli, with more counter space than table space, but it serves up  tender, smoky pastrami and turkey on Orwasher’s rye, one of the best bakeries in NYC. You can also order by the pound, or take-out. 

It’s been one of the best-kept Jewish deli secrets for more than 20 years, and gets bonus points for being Kosher.

The location on the UWS is larger and decor is more deli-like. In early 2021, Pastrami Queen took over the site where Fine & Shapiro had been for a couple of generations

• 78th St. and Lexington Ave, 212-734-1500
• 138 W. 72nd St. between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.

David’s Brisket House

This old-school Jewish deli serves just three items: pastrami, brisket and corned beef, plus sides. Get yours piled high on a roll or rye, with a side of brisket-drippings gravy.  In two Brooklyn locations

If you’re a DIY fan, you can get one pound of pastrami, brisket or corned beef for $24.99, cut to order.

• 533 Nostrand Ave.at Herkimer Place, 718-789-1155, the original location
• 7721 Fifth Ave. at 78th St., Bay Ridge, location has closed. ,
  

Liebman’s Kosher Delicatessen

Riverdale

When Joseph Liebman first opened this Riverdale deli in 1953, it was one of nearly 100 Jewish delicatessens in the Bronx. Now, it is one of the few survivors.

Despite its faded decor, including Formica tables and green plastic booths, it’s a local landmark, serving up classics like beans and franks along with signature overstuffed smoked meat sandwiches, including house-made pastrami

• 552 W. 235th St. at Johnson Ave., 347-227-0776

Loeser’s Kosher Deli

Riverdale

The other survivor from when Riverdale was a Jewish neighborhood this deli has been serving up traditional Jewish favs since 1960.  My father’s butcher shop was a few doors away.

• 214 W. 231st St., 718 601-6665

Harry & Ida’s Meat and Supply Co.

Lower East Side

The original Harry and Ida, who opened a traditional Jewish deli in Harlem in the early 1900s must have been spinning in their graves over the abomination that two of their grandchildren  concocted for the sandwich shop named for them.

Buttermilk-fermented sauerkraut? Anchovy mustard and dill mucking up perfectly wonderful thick-cut pastrami? A smushy crustless soft roll instead of crusty rye bread? Vegetarian chopped liver made out of beets? Sauerkraut with mint? Pastrami sandwiches layered like a Big Mac?

Mercifully, this dreadful deli closed permanently before the Pandemic shuttered so many restaurants, but we are including it because it remains on some outdated lists.  The website also has been sold to some equally dreadful link farm, so don’t go there.

• 189 Avenue A, Lower East Side 

Have we missed one of your favorite NYC delis? 

Tell us about it.  email [email protected] and we’ll check it out.

This list of best NYC Jewish delis was published originally in January 2017 and updated in September 2018, March 2019 and April 2021.