Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
Pastrami on rye is brined navel beef, smoked, steamed and hand-sliced thick onto seeded caraway rye with yellow mustard. The defining New York City Jewish-deli sandwich, since the 1880s.
Sussman Volk, a Lithuanian butcher on Delancey Street, is credited with serving the first pastrami sandwich in New York in 1887 after acquiring a Romanian recipe. Katz's Delicatessen, opened in 1888 on Houston Street, made the sandwich a city institution: navel cut, cured 30 days, smoked over hardwood and steamed before slicing by hand. Second Avenue Deli, founded 1954, kept the kosher-style tradition uptown. The sandwich shrank as the Yiddish-speaking Lower East Side aged out, but the surviving handful of full-process delis still cure and smoke their own meat from raw brisket.
3 editor picks for Pastrami on rye in New York City, ranked by editorial score. All New York City signature dishes · Pastrami on rye across every city.
Katz's on East Houston has cured, smoked and hand-sliced pastrami in New York City since 1888. The corner-of-the-counter sandwich is the deli's whole point.
OrderHand-cut pastrami on rye, mustard, half-sour pickle.
TipTip the slicer a dollar when you get your ticket; a thick fatty slice samples your way and the sandwich comes built right.
Pastrami Queen on Lexington serves kosher pastrami sandwiches on the Upper East Side of New York City. Modest counter, oversized sandwiches since 1956.
OrderHand-cut pastrami on rye with mustard.
TipCounter 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 $$.
OrderSmoked meat on rye, hand-sliced, with mustard and a side of poutine.
TipThe breakfast menu runs all day; weekday mornings are the calmest seats in the small room.
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