57 editor-picked jewish deli restaurants across 31 cities.
The Jewish deli is one of the great American culinary inventions, descended from the cooking of Ashkenazi Jews (the Yiddish-speaking communities of central and eastern Europe) who emigrated en masse to New York, Chicago, Montreal, and other Western cities between the 1880s and the 1920s. The cuisine is a fusion of Old World Ashkenazi traditions (kreplach, kasha, gefilte fish, brisket, herring, schmaltz, the Sabbath chicken soup) with the abundance of American meat and dairy that the immigrants suddenly had access to. The result is the sandwich-centric, hand-cut, mountain-portioned deli food that became a fixture of urban Jewish neighborhoods and then of American cuisine generally.
The defining items are pastrami (peppered, smoked, steamed beef brisket or navel, sliced thick by hand, piled on rye with mustard) and corned beef (brined beef brisket, boiled, sliced); the smoked fish counter (lox, nova, sable, whitefish, sturgeon, served with bagels, cream cheese, capers, and red onion); the matzo ball soup (chicken broth with light or dense matzo balls, depending on family preference); the chicken liver (chopped with schmaltz, onion, and hard-boiled egg); and a parade of pickles (sour, half-sour, garlic dills, the green tomatoes), coleslaw, and rye breads. The deli is also a place to drink celery tonic (Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray, the cult Jewish-deli soda) and end with a black-and-white cookie or a rugelach.
The Jewish deli has been in slow decline for decades (Carnegie, Stage, Second Avenue, and many others have closed), but the institution survives at the great New York delis (Katz's, since 1888; Russ & Daughters, since 1914; 2nd Ave Deli, now on Third), the Montreal smoked-meat institutions (Schwartz's, since 1928; Wilensky's, since 1932), and a 21st-century revival from a younger generation of Jewish chefs (Mile End in Brooklyn, Wexler's in Los Angeles, Mamaleh's in Cambridge).
The dominant Jewish-deli city: Katz's, Russ & Daughters, 2nd Ave Deli, Liebman's in the Bronx, Mile End in Brooklyn, and the Upper West Side appetizing tradition (Barney Greengrass, Zabar's). Pastrami, corned beef, smoked fish, matzo ball soup; the menu is sandwiches over plated mains.
Distinct enough to be its own subregion. Smoked meat (a brined-and-smoked brisket distinct from pastrami in cut, brine, and texture), Montreal-style bagel (denser, sweeter, smaller, boiled in honey water and wood-fired), and the egg-and-mustard salami sandwich at Wilensky's. Schwartz's is the institution.
Canter's (1931), Langer's (1947), Brent's, Greenblatt's (closed but seminal). Langer's #19 pastrami on rye is considered by many critics the best pastrami sandwich in America. Strong LA-Jewish-deli scene, smaller than New York but with real depth.
Manny's in Chicago, Mamaleh's in Cambridge, the closed Carnegie and Stage in New York. Smaller but real deli scenes anchor most Jewish urban communities in the Midwest and Northeast.
At a serious deli, the sandwich is the meal. Order a pastrami on rye, mustard, pickle, and a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray or a cream soda. Half a sandwich plus matzo ball soup is the standard 'cup and a half' order at many places. For breakfast or brunch, the bagel with lox is the classic single-order; a smoked fish platter is for two or more. Sides (knish, latke, kasha varnishkes, kishke) are scattered through the menu and worth one or two. Pickles are on the table; ask for sour, not half-sour, if you want the full deli pickle.
The rookie mistakes: asking for mayo on a pastrami sandwich (it does not go on; mustard only), ordering pastrami toasted (it is steamed and served warm, not griddled), expecting cheese on a deli sandwich (kosher delis do not serve cheese with meat; non-kosher delis like Carnegie historically did, but the classic combo is meat and rye, no cheese), and missing the smoked fish counter (the appetizing tradition is half the deli experience). Tipping is 20 percent, often more at takeout counters.
Dr. Brown's sodas (Cel-Ray, Cream, Black Cherry) are the canonical deli drinks. Cream soda or a black-and-white egg cream as alternatives. Coffee with the sandwich or with dessert. Beer (often Budweiser or a deli-house lager) at the more bar-leaning places. Wine is unusual but appearing at newer-generation delis (Mile End, Wexler's, Mamaleh's), where natural wine lists pair with the salty-fatty deli food. Tea (in a glass with a sugar cube) closes the meal in the older Ashkenazi tradition.
New York is the global capital: Katz's (since 1888), Russ & Daughters (since 1914), 2nd Ave Deli, Liebman's in the Bronx, Sammy's Roumanian (when open), Mile End in Brooklyn, the Upper West Side appetizing institutions (Barney Greengrass, Zabar's), Yonah Schimmel for knishes. Montreal for the smoked-meat tradition: Schwartz's, Lester's, Wilensky's, Snowdon Deli. Los Angeles for Langer's, Canter's, Brent's, Wexler's. Boston for Mamaleh's. Chicago for Manny's, Eleven City Diner. Outside North America, Jewish deli is rare; London, Paris, and Tel Aviv have small-scale versions but the cuisine is essentially a North American Jewish diaspora invention.
The Jewish deli emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from the Pale of Settlement (modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia) arrived in American and Canadian cities. The cuisine fused Old World Yiddish-Ashkenazi cooking (brisket, kreplach, herring, schmaltz, the chicken-soup tradition) with the abundance of American kosher beef and the urban sandwich format. Katz's opened in 1888, Russ & Daughters in 1914, Schwartz's in 1928. The deli peaked in the 1950s and has been in slow decline for decades, with a 21st-century revival from younger chefs.
Some are, many are not. A kosher deli serves no pork, no shellfish, and no mixing of meat and dairy (so no Reuben sandwich, no cheese on a pastrami, no butter on the bagel with the lox). Many of the most famous delis (Katz's, Carnegie historically) were 'kosher style' but not strictly kosher; they followed Ashkenazi conventions without rabbinical certification.
Both start with beef brisket or navel. Corned beef is brined in salt and pickling spice, then boiled. Pastrami is brined, then dry-cured with pepper and coriander, then smoked, then steamed. Pastrami is peppery and smoky; corned beef is salty and milder.
The Jewish-American grocery specialty of smoked fish, cured fish, and dairy. 'Appetizing' as a noun refers to the foods kosher Jews can eat with dairy (no meat). Russ & Daughters in New York is the most famous appetizing store. The bagel-and-lox tradition is the appetizing counter's most exported product.
Hoffy's on Lange Kievitstraat in Antwerp's diamond district is a Hungarian kosher counter feeding Belgium's biggest Hasidic crowd; cholent fills fast.
Why locals love it: Hungarian kosher counter in the diamond district feeding Belgium's largest Hasidic community. The cholent on Friday is the under-the-radar Antwerp meal.
Tip: Closed Friday afternoon and Saturday. Friday morning cholent fills fastest with the post-prayer crowd.
Barnini in Antwerp on Oudevaartplaats serves NYC-style bagels under 14 euro. The smoked-salmon and cream-cheese build is the budget weekend lunch.
Try: Bagel sandwich
Tip: Closed Sunday. Bagels run out by 14:00; arrive before lunch.
Reuben's Deli in downtown Atlanta has run a lunch-only Reuben counter inside the Muse's Building for 20 years: yell your order, no dinner, eight tables.
Order: The Eastsider on rye with a side of half-sour pickle.
Why locals love it: Inside the historic Muse's Building downtown, Reuben's is a counter operation the after-court lunch crowd lines up for; lunch only, no dinner means tourists miss it.
Tip: Closed Sunday. Yell your sandwich order from the doorway, then grab one of the eight tables before the courthouse rush hits at 12:30.
Attman's Delicatessen has anchored downtown's Corned Beef Row since 1915, piling hand-cut corned beef and pastrami high in a no-frills lunch counter.
Signature: Corned beef sandwich, Pastrami, Potato knish
Order: The corned beef sandwich, hand-cut and piled high, with a potato knish.
Tip: Order at the counter, then grab a seat in the Kibbitz Room out back; cash moves the line fastest.
Berkeley Jewish deli for weekend brunch. Lox and bagels, matzo brei, pastrami eggs and Dr. Brown's soda. Open from 09:00. Booths fill by 10:30 on Saturdays.
Mogg reopened January 2026 inside Kalle Halle on Karl-Marx-Strasse in Neukoelln; the New York-style brine-and-smoke pastrami program runs at a counter window.
Signature: Pastrami sandwich, Matzo ball soup
Order: The pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard and pickles; the matzo ball soup in winter.
Tip: Counter-only service inside the Kalle Halle food court; busiest at lunch.
Toto Love inside Bordeaux's Marche des Capucins is Thomas's twelve-stool red counter where a pastrami sandwich with a side of homemade mac and cheese stays.
Try: Pastrami sandwich with mac and cheese
Tip: Order at the counter and grab a stool; closed Mondays with the market.
Izzy's on Elm Street downtown is Cincinnati's century-old kosher-style Jewish deli since 1901, with the signature reuben and the giant potato pancake.
Try: Reuben sandwich and potato pancake
Izzy's on Elm Street downtown is Cincinnati's kosher-style Jewish deli founded in 1901, with the signature reuben sandwich and giant potato pancake.
Signature: Reuben sandwich, Potato pancakes
Larder Delicatessen and Bakery on West 29th Street in Hingetown, Jeremy Umansky's koji-and-curing project a 2025 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef Great.
Signature: Pastrami on rye, Matzoh ball soup
Order: Pastrami on rye with a side of matzoh ball soup, plus a knish to go.
Tip: Hot food service stops 17:45; walk-ins welcome. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Larder Delicatessen and Bakery in the Hingetown firehouse on West 29th Street, the Jeremy Umansky and Allie La Valle koji project, runs the most quietly.
Why locals love it: A James Beard-recognized koji and fermentation deli inside a converted firehouse that reads as a small lunch counter
Tip: Order the koji-cured corned beef sandwich on house rye; the deli closes early on weekdays, plan for lunch
Diamond Deli on South Main Street in downtown Akron, a long-running deli counter for the University of Akron and downtown lunch crowd, runs hot fat.
Try: Hot fat sandwiches and house soups
Katzinger's Delicatessen on South Third Street in German Village has run as Columbus's Jewish delicatessen since 1984, with the Reuben and matzoh ball soup.
Signature: Reuben sandwich, Matzoh ball soup
Order: The Reuben on rye with a cup of matzoh ball soup.
Tip: Counter ordering; the cured-meat case at the front sells whole salami and rye loaves to go.
Katzinger's half Reuben with a half-sour pickle from the barrel at the South Third Street counter runs under $13, the German Village cheap lunch.
Try: Half Reuben with pickle
Rosenbergs Bagels and Delicatessen on East 26th in Five Points is the NYC-style water-boiled bagel shop Denvers mid-Atlantic transplants treat as essential.
Why locals love it: Five Points bagel shop with NYC-style water-boiled bagels, a Denver-corrected New York deli the city's mid-Atlantic transplants treat as essential.
Tip: The everything bagel with house-made lox is the most ordered; the matzoh ball soup runs the lunch trade.
Sully's Steamers runs steamed bagel sandwiches from East Washington Street. Quick service, big late-night crowd Fridays and Saturdays when the kitchen.
Signature: Steamed bagel sandwiches, Breakfast bagels, Cream cheese spreads
Shapiro's Deli in Indianapolis opened in 1905. The Reuben, the corned beef on rye and the matzo ball soup have run the same counter for a century.
Signature: Reuben, Corned beef on rye, Matzo ball soup
Order: The Reuben, a side of macaroni salad, and a slice of sugar cream pie.
Tip: Order at the counter, find a table, they bring it out. Cash-friendly. Weekend breakfast 9 to noon.
Shapiro's Deli in Indianapolis opened in 1905. The Reuben, the corned beef on rye and the matzo ball soup have run the same counter for a century.
Signature: Reuben, Corned beef on rye, Matzo ball soup
Order: The Reuben with a side of macaroni salad and a slice of sugar cream pie.
Tip: Order at the counter, find a table. Weekend breakfast 9 to noon.
Old Northside butcher and salumi shop on Delaware with sandwiches, gelato and Enoteca wine cellar; Smoking Goose charcuterie, Bon Appetit top-ten sandwiches.
Why locals love it: A full-service butcher and specialty grocer on North Delaware in Indianapolis with a hidden cellar bar pouring wine, beer and pulled-pork sandwiches.
Tip: The cellar bar opens Thursday to Saturday evenings. Reserved bench seats only.
Capriotti's on West Sahara in Las Vegas is the original Vegas Capriotti's where the Bobbie (slow-roasted turkey, cranberry, stuffing) runs $11 small.
Try: Bobbie sandwich, small around $11, large $18
Tip: The small Bobbie feeds one, the large feeds two; order online for pickup, the counter line peaks 12:00-13:00 every weekday.
Bagels Forever on University Avenue, the long-running Madison west-side bagel bakery, hand-rolls New York-style bagels with lox and cream cheese daily.
Signature: New York-style bagels, Lox and cream cheese
Order: A New York-style sesame bagel with lox and cream cheese.
Tip: Open early for the morning rush; the wholesale supply runs across Madison restaurants and cafes.
Young Avenue Deli has anchored the Cooper-Young Memphis corner since 1995 with cold beer, deli sandwiches and the city's deepest tap lists, plus live music.
Signature: Deli Club, Philly cheesesteak
Order: Deli Club on sourdough with a cold pint of Wiseacre Tiny Bomb.
Tip: Counter service for food, table service for drinks. The patio fills first on game days.
Schwartz's has hand-sliced Montreal smoked meat on Saint-Laurent since 1928, the city's most famous deli and a permanent queue on the Plateau.
Order: A medium-fat smoked meat sandwich with a pickle and a black cherry soda.
Tip: The line moves fast at the communal tables; the takeout counter next door skips the wait entirely.
Schwartz's carves hand-sliced smoked meat to order on Saint-Laurent in Montreal, the counter-and-queue benchmark for the city's defining sandwich since 1928.
Try: Smoked meat sandwich
Tip: Order it medium-fat off the takeout counter and eat it standing; the deli caraway rye is not optional.
Schwartz's keeps carving smoked meat until midnight on weekends in Montreal, a rare late-night chance to eat the city's signature sandwich at a real deli.
Try: Smoked meat sandwich
Tip: The takeout counter is quicker than the dining room after 11; order medium-fat and eat it on the walk.
Pastrami Queen on Lexington serves kosher pastrami sandwiches on the Upper East Side of New York City. Modest counter, oversized sandwiches since 1956.
Signature: Pastrami on rye, Potato knish
Order: Hand-cut pastrami on rye with mustard.
Tip: Counter is tiny and seats fewer than a dozen; the takeaway line moves faster than the dine-in queue.
Mile End in Boerum Hill has served Montreal-style smoked meat and Canadian-Jewish comfort cooking in Brooklyn, New York City since 2010. Priced at $$.
Signature: Montreal smoked meat sandwich, Poutine, Latkes
Order: Smoked meat on rye, hand-sliced, with mustard and a side of poutine.
Tip: The breakfast menu runs all day; weekday mornings are the calmest seats in the small room.
Yonah Schimmel's on East Houston has baked potato knishes in the Lower East Side, New York City since 1910. Wood-fired oven in the basement.
Try: Potato knish
Tip: The kasha knish is the second-pick if potato sells out. Order one with mustard and a Dr Brown's cream soda.
Wise Sons on Telegraph in Temescal runs daily brunch with bagels, matzo ball soup and pastrami plates. The Mission deli's East Bay Oakland outpost.
Order: Everything bagel with house cream cheese and lox.
Tip: Daily breakfast all day; weekend lines snap by 10 a.m Weekends fill by noon.
Black Bean Deli on East Colonial Drive in Mills 50 has run since 2001, with pressed Cuban sandwiches, cafecito and pastelitos from a family counter.
Try: Cuban sandwiches, pressed cubano, cafecito
Famous 4th Street Delicatessen in Philadelphia is the 1923 Queen Village Jewish deli on the Bainbridge corner, 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand for over-stuffed.
Signature: Pastrami on rye, Matzo ball soup
Order: Pastrami on rye; matzo ball soup; a chocolate-chip cookie at the door on the way out.
Tip: Cash gets a discount at the register. Halve the triple-decker with a friend; it is two sandwiches in one.
Famous 4th Street Delicatessen in Philadelphia is the 1923 Queen Village Jewish deli on the Bainbridge corner, a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand for over-stuffed.
Signature: Pastrami on rye, Matzo ball soup
Order: Pastrami on rye; matzo ball soup; the chocolate-chip cookie at the door on the way out.
Tip: Cash gets a discount at the register. The triple-decker is too much; halve it with a friend.
Rose Foods on Forest Avenue opened 2017 from Chad Conley, a Jewish deli with hand-rolled bagels, house-cured lox, smoked whitefish and matzo ball soup.
Signature: Lox bagel, Matzo ball soup, Pastrami sandwich
Order: The lox bagel with whipped cream cheese, plus a cup of matzo ball soup.
Tip: Daily 07:30-14:00. Counter ordering; takeout moves fast at peak weekend brunch.
Rose Foods on Forest Avenue, since 2017 from Chad Conley, is Portland's Jewish deli with hand-rolled bagels, house-cured lox and matzo ball soup.
Signature: Lox bagel, Matzo ball soup, Pastrami sandwich
Order: The lox bagel with whipped cream cheese, plus matzo ball soup.
Tip: Daily 07:30-14:00. Counter ordering; takeout is fast at peak weekend brunch.
Rose Foods on Forest Avenue runs hand-rolled bagels, lox bagels, pastrami sandwiches and matzo ball soup under fifteen dollars from Chad Conley's deli.
Try: Lox bagel, matzo ball soup
Tip: Daily 07:30-14:00; online ordering saves the queue at peak weekend brunch. Cash and card both fine.
Perly's on Grace Street is Richmond's daytime Jewish deli. House-cured pastrami and matzo ball soup; breakfast and lunch only, daily until 3 pm downtown.
Signature: Pastrami sandwich, Matzo ball soup, Latkes
Perly's on Grace Street is Richmond's Jewish deli, with house-cured pastrami and matzo ball soup. Breakfast and lunch only, daily until 3 pm.
Signature: Pastrami sandwich, Matzo ball soup
Perly's daytime menu carries brunch energy daily until 3 pm. Pastrami Benedicts, latkes and matzo ball soup; the Sunday queue snakes around the corner.
Order: Pastrami benedict with latkes.
Tip: Weekend brunch books quickly; weekday morning is the easier seat.
Big Bad Bagels keeps a full bagel with cream cheese under €8 and a Latvian smoked-salmon bagel around €12, anchoring the city's cheap brunch counter.
Try: New York-style bagels
Order: A bacon-egg-cheese bagel and a filter coffee for under €10.
Tip: Take-away is faster than the dine-in queue; bring a Centrāltirgus pastry for dessert.
Caputo's Market and Deli on West 300 South runs the Old School sandwich and rotating deli specials for $10 to $15 at the counter, with sandwiches to go.
Try: Old School sandwich
Rubicon Deli on India Street in Mission Hills, San Diego, the Dutch Crunch sandwich counter where the half Rubicon Special runs under seven and the whole.
Try: Dutch Crunch sandwiches, half or whole
Tat's Delicatessen in Seattle's Pioneer Square is the East Coast deli proxy: cheesesteaks, pastrami subs and in-house brining since 2004, run by Brian Tatman.
Signature: Cheesesteak, Pastrami sub, Tat's bomb
Order: The Philly cheesesteak with house-brined pastrami on the side; bring cash for the bomb.
Tip: Closed Sundays; the Tat's Bomb is a sandwich with everything plus a fried egg, on a custom roll.
Snarf's toasts its sub rolls and piles on deli fillings at a South Grand counter, a fast cheap sandwich stop popular with the SLU and Grand Center crowd.
Try: Toasted oven subs
Tip: Get any sub toasted, the house move; the hot giardiniera adds heat. A half sub is plenty for a cheap lunch.
Centre Street Deli on Bay Street is the 2024 downtown outpost of the Thornhill original since 1988, Montreal-style smoked meat hand-sliced over light rye.
Try: Montreal smoked meat sandwich, latkes, matzo ball soup
Order: The classic smoked meat sandwich on rye with mustard and a pickle.
Tip: Order the lean-and-medium mix; pure lean dries out fast. The Thornhill original is at 1136 Centre Street.
United Bakers at Lawrence Plaza is the city's reference kosher-style dairy restaurant since 1912, no-meat menu with blintzes, smoked fish and split-pea soup.
Try: Kosher-style dairy: blintzes, split-pea soup, smoked fish
Order: The split pea soup with a potato latke and applesauce.
Tip: Kosher-style, not certified kosher. Closed Saturday and most Jewish holidays. The Ladovsky family has run it since 1912.
The Pickle Barrel at Yonge and Eglinton has run the Toronto-based deli chain since 1971, smoked meat sandwiches and Jewish-deli classics on the 2nd floor.
Signature: Smoked meat sandwich, Deli classics
Order: A smoked meat sandwich on rye with deli pickle.
Tip: Multiple Toronto locations. The Yonge-Eglinton branch the most-visited, on the 2nd floor next to Cineplex.
Beyond Bread on North Campbell in Tucson runs the city's gold-standard scratch deli sandwich on European-oven house bread, an Annapurna staple.
Try: Annapurna or Tucson sub
Time Market is sam hughes corner store that doubles as a wood-fired pizzeria, deli, espresso bar and grocer since 1920, the neighborhood's quiet anchor.
Why locals love it: Sam Hughes corner store that doubles as a wood-fired pizzeria, deli, espresso bar and grocer since 1920, the neighborhood's quiet anchor.
Tip: Order the deli sandwich on house bread, the wood-fired pizza and a Time Market espresso to go. Bike-friendly.
The rare Tulsa kitchen open until 11pm every night with a full deli menu of sandwiches, wraps, and bar bites, plus a video game lounge and cocktails.
Beigelių Krautuvėlė on Pylimo sells the most historic Litvak bagel in the Baltic between €4 and €6, with lox, cream cheese and the option of teyglakh sweets.
Try: Litvak bagel with lox
Tip: Cheapest historically grounded bagel in town. Sells out by mid-afternoon; arrive before 14:00.
More cities are in research. Want jewish deli covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.