11 editor-picked jewish deli restaurants across 7 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 to 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 to 14:00. Counter ordering; takeout is fast at peak weekend brunch.
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
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