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BEST OF NYC

Best Old-School Deli in New York: Our Picks

By Mr. Gotham (John Elia) · November 1, 2026 · 7 min read
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By Mr. Gotham (John Elia) | News.jelia.nyc | November 1, 2026

Around here we call it Gospel in Gotham: hand-carved pastrami on rye, Nova sliced thin enough to read through, a sour pickle riding shotgun. The city once had hundreds of these counters, and Wikipedia puts the appetizing stores alone at about 500 in 1930 and fewer than 10 by 2015. What’s left is worth the subway ride.

What counts. This list is about the Jewish delicatessen and its other half, the appetizing store. The deli sells meat. The appetizing shop sells smoked fish and dairy. Kosher law kept the two apart, and New York built a culture on both. The Italian pork store is its own congregation, so it gets a short coda at the end. Every place below was confirmed open on November 1, 2026, from its own website, recent listings or recent news. We left out anything we couldn’t confirm.

Manhattan

1. Katz’s Delicatessen, 205 E. Houston St. (at Ludlow), Lower East Side. Since 1888.
Order the pastrami on rye. Katz’s cures its pastrami and corned beef in-house, and its site says the corned beef can take up to 30 days to cure. The in-store menu listed the pastrami sandwich at $30.95 when we checked katzsdelicatessen.com on Nov. 1, 2026. Yes, it’s the When Harry Met Sally… deli. It makes the list because the meat still beats the legend. There’s also a “Taste of Katz’s” counter in Brooklyn’s DeKalb Market Hall.

2. Russ & Daughters, 179 E. Houston St., Lower East Side. Since 1914.
Joel Russ started out selling herring from a pushcart, then named the shop for his daughters Hattie, Ida and Anne. It has been on Houston Street for more than a century. Get a bagel with hand-sliced Gaspe Nova and cream cheese. There’s a sit-down café at 127 Orchard St. (opened 2014), and a short walk away at 367 Grand St., Kossar’s (since 1936) bills itself as the oldest bialy bakery in the country.

3. Barney Greengrass, 541 Amsterdam Ave. (86th–87th Sts.), Upper West Side. Since 1908.
It opened in Harlem and moved to Amsterdam Avenue in 1929. A state senator dubbed Barney “The Sturgeon King” in 1938, so the order is smoked sturgeon. Gary Greengrass, Barney’s grandson, has run it since 1982. It’s still family-run, and you can taste it.

4. Zabar’s, 2245 Broadway (at 80th St.), Upper West Side. Since 1934.
Louis and Lillian Zabar opened a 22-foot-wide shop that now covers nearly the whole block front. Get in line at the smoked-fish counter and have them hand-slice your Nova. It’s a supermarket built around an appetizing counter, and the counter is the reason to go.

5. 2nd Ave Deli, 162 E. 33rd St., Murray Hill. Also 1442 First Ave. (at 75th St.). Roots in 1954.
Abe Lebewohl took over a 10-seat East Village luncheonette in 1954. The original location closed in January 2006 after a landlord dispute, and his nephews reopened on 33rd Street in December 2007. It’s kosher. Order the matzoh ball soup and pastrami, plus chopped liver if you’re feeling brave.

6. Sarge’s Delicatessen & Diner, 548 Third Ave. (36th–37th Sts.), Murray Hill. Since 1964.
A retired NYPD sergeant, Abe Katz, opened it, and that’s where the name comes from. It came back in 2014 after a grease fire closed it for about 15 months. The house showpiece is The Monster: pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, turkey and salami on three slices of rye.

7. Pastrami Queen, 1125 Lexington Ave. (at 78th St.), Upper East Side. Also in Moynihan Train Hall. Since 1956.
It started as Pastrami King in Williamsburg in 1956 and moved to Kew Gardens in 1961 before settling in Manhattan. It’s kosher, and in 2016 Anthony Bourdain named it and Katz’s as the two places for “a correct pastrami sandwich.” Order the pastrami sandwich and nothing else on your first visit.

8. Carnegie Deli, 834 Seventh Ave. (at 54th St.), Midtown. Since 1937. Reopened Sept. 15, 2026.
The Carnegie closed its old storefront at 854 Seventh Ave. on Dec. 31, 2016. It reopened this fall a block south, in the former Stage Deli space, with third-generation owner Sarri Harper in charge. The Stage itself closed in 2012. Order the pastrami or corned beef, and the new Colossus if you have a partner to share it. Six weeks in, we’re calling it a homecoming, not yet a verdict.

Brooklyn

9. Mill Basin Kosher Deli, 5823 Ave. T, Mill Basin. Since the early 1970s.
The walls double as an art gallery, with paintings for sale. The sandwich to get is the triple decker of pastrami, corned beef and tongue with Russian dressing and coleslaw. It’s kosher and closed Mondays. It’s the deli Brooklyn still drives to.

10. David’s Brisket House, 533 Nostrand Ave., Bedford-Stuyvesant. Since the 1960s, per the deli.
The deli says David, a Russian Jew, opened it in the 1960s and sold it to two Yemeni friends in the 1980s. Brothers Riyadh and Farouq Gazali now run it, and the menu is halal. Get the roast brisket on a roll with gravy. It keeps a Jewish deli recipe going for a changed neighborhood.

Queens

11. Ben’s Kosher Delicatessen, 211-37 26th Ave. (Bay Terrace Shopping Center), Bayside. Founded 1972. In Bayside since 1994.
Don’t mix it up with Ben’s Best in Rego Park, which closed in 2018. This is Ronnie Dragoon’s family-owned kosher chain. The motto is “We Cure Our Own Corned Beef,” so order the corned beef, plus stuffed cabbage. It’s a big, dependable kosher dining room in a borough that has watched others close.

The Bronx

12. Liebman’s Delicatessen, 552 W. 235th St. (at Johnson Ave.), Riverdale. Since 1953.
The Nosher calls it the last Jewish deli in the Bronx. Order pastrami on rye or the house Combination #9, and on Mondays, the borscht. It’s open seven days, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Staten Island

We could not confirm a classic Jewish deli still operating on Staten Island, so we didn’t list one. If you know a counter we missed, send it in with proof.

Coda: The Italian Side of the Counter

13. Di Palo’s Fine Foods, 200 Grand St. (at Mott), Little Italy. Since 1925.
Lou Di Palo is the fourth generation behind the counter. The shop marked its centennial in 2025. Go for the fresh mozzarella and the salumi.

14. Faicco’s Italian Specialties, 260 Bleecker St., West Village. Since 1900.
Eduardo Faicco opened the first shop on Elizabeth Street, and the family still makes its own sausage and sopressata. Closed Mondays.

How to Order Like a Regular

  • Hold on to your Katz’s ticket. A door attendant hands every customer a numbered ticket, and staff check it on your way out. Don’t lose it.
  • Tell the carver how you want it. Katz’s carves “to your specifications.” Its own menu also warns: “Ask for mayo at your own peril.”
  • Take a number at Russ & Daughters. The shop says so itself.
  • Don’t ask a kosher deli for cheese on your pastrami. Kosher law keeps meat and dairy apart. That’s why the deli and the appetizing shop are two different stores.
  • Check the calendar. Barney Greengrass, Mill Basin and Faicco’s are all closed Mondays.

Gone, But Not Forgotten

  • Stage Deli (1937–Nov. 29, 2012), Seventh Avenue. The Carnegie now cooks in its old space.
  • Ben’s Best, Rego Park. It closed at the end of June 2018 after 73 years. Owner Jay Parker blamed a Queens Boulevard bike lane that removed about 200 parking spaces.
  • Loeser’s Kosher Deli, Kingsbridge. Opened in 1960. The city shut it down in November 2019 over fire-system and gas-line violations. Wikipedia now lists it as defunct.
  • Jay & Lloyd’s Kosher Deli, Sheepshead Bay. It closed in May 2020 after 28 years.
  • Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, Fifth Avenue. Opened in 1929. It went dark in March 2021 with a “For Lease” sign in the window.

Statuses checked Nov. 1, 2026. Delis close fast in this town. Call before you ride.

Sources

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