History
Richmond's Jewish community traces back to Beth Ahabah Synagogue in 1789. Modern Jewish-deli culture arrived later: Perly's opened on East Grace Street in 2011 with house-cured pastrami sliced on a Berkel and folded into rye baked in-house. Boychik's Deli in Glen Allen (Henrico) carries a second-generation interpretation. The pastrami sandwich now anchors Richmond's downtown daytime lunch counter.
Book a food experience
Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 300g good pastrami, hot
- 4 slices fresh rye bread
- Strong yellow mustard
- Half-sour pickles to serve
Method
- Warm the pastrami briefly in a low oven or steamer; it should be hot all the way through.
- Spread mustard on one side of each slice of rye.
- Pile pastrami high on two slices, top with the other two. Press lightly.
- Slice in half. Serve with half-sour pickles and a glass of cream soda.
Tip from the editors. Buy pastrami from a real deli, sliced thick by hand. Pre-sliced supermarket pastrami is a different food.
Where to eat pastrami sandwich
Pastrami sandwich in Richmond
Perly's Restaurant and Delicatessen ★ 4.4
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.
OrderPastrami benedict with latkes.
TipWeekend brunch books quickly; weekday morning is the easier seat.
Sally Bell's Kitchen ★ 4.4
Sally Bell's Kitchen has sold box lunches since 1924, founded by Sarah Cabell Jones and Elizabeth Lee Milton. Broad Street counter is easy to miss.
OrderBox lunch.
Why locals goSally Bell's has sold the same box lunch since 1924, and most visitors miss the unmarked side counter near West Broad. A century of Richmond box-lunch history.
TipCall ahead; the deviled-egg-and-cheese-wafer box is the local-Saturday standard.
More places near Perly's Restaurant and Delicatessen and Sally Bell's Kitchen
Not on this list, but close by, nearest first. Every one is in our guide with its address, hours and what to order.
- Edo's Squid Italian, about 100 m away
- Cobra Cabana Cocktail bar, about 450 m away
- Rostov's Coffee and Tea Café, about 800 m away
- Dinamo Italian, about 800 m away
- Garnett's Cafe Sandwich Shop, about 900 m away
- GWAR Bar Cocktail bar, about 1.0 km away
More cities are in research. Want pastrami sandwich covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.