Most people very happy but of course one person has a long list of criticisms and another says it is not as good as it should be, etc.
2nd Avenue Deli
1442 1st Ave
(between 75th St & 74th St)
New York, NY 10021
Neighborhoods: Yorkville, Upper East Side
(212) 737-1700
(between 75th St & 74th St)
New York, NY 10021
Neighborhoods: Yorkville, Upper East Side
(212) 737-1700
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
77 St.
- Hours:
- Mon-Fri 11 am - 12 amSat-Sun 9 am - 12 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
- $$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
77 reviews for 2nd Avenue Deli
Review Highlights What's this?
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"Same goes for the delicious pastrami and super soft rye." In 43 reviews
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"The matzoh ball soup was very good, the chicken broth was light yet..." In 9 reviews
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"Corned beef best I've ever had." In 11 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
77 reviews in English
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Review from Christine C.
Brooklyn, NYAnother UES culinary experience for pastrami fans! Must try the Twin Double ( a corn beef sandwich on a soft kaiser roll along with a pastrami sandwich * 2 sandwiches* ($22). The experience is just as amazing if not better than Katz Deli on the LES.
The pre meal slaw and pickles along with the homemade mustard adds to the greatness of the place.
If you love potatoes...
things to try: knishes & porogi w/ applesauce!! -
Review from Paul C.
I am fully convinced/slightly freaked out that the manager appears to be a mind reader. Came here with a friend from out of town and he had just eaten, so keeping me company.
Manager: Looks at me and says "pastrami". Looks at my friend, "not ordering".
me: nervous laughter
Seriously though, he was 100% right. I came here for the pastrami plain and simple. Maybe it was written on my face. shrug.
My first love is Katz deli. But I had heard so much about this place that I had to go.
totally different vibe, not the buzzing, old standing, order at the counter, weird ticket policy, photos of famous celebs sprawled across the high ceiling environment. but sometimes, that's okay. Sometimes you want a quiet, chill place to eat the best deli sandwiches the world has to offer.
Okay, enough setup/nonsense. The quality, seasoning, flavor, tenderness of the pastrami rivals Katz. The main difference between the two is that Katz has thick, fatty slabs of pastrami, while 2nd ave deli is sliced razor thin relative to the two. Personally, I prefer Katz style, for some reason I love the fact that it is a. so damn thick (enter the office joke) and b. still has the ability to just melt in your mouth. That being said, I am glad I tried second ave deli, and if I ever find myself in the upper east or just not wanting to wait in a huge line during mass transit touristy hours (aka the weekends), 2nd ave deli will always be my go to.
Pluses are they take credit card, and if I go again, I am asking the manager to foretell my future. -
Review from Rikky F.
Manhattan, NYVery very good. Still like Katz's better, but for an uptown option, this was delicious.
I got a Corned Beef sandwich, and Matzo Ball Soup. The soup was great, the Matzo Ball was cooked perfectly, nice and soft.
The Corned Beef was great, massive as you would expect.
The service was also particularly good, we had some older lady who was really on her game. Filling up water, giving up more pickles, we really had no complaints on the night. -
Review from K M.
Manhattan, NYLove the food especially the pickle appetizer and the pastrami sandwich,but wow on the price. Way way to expensive for lunch meat and pickles. Its a glorified diner. -
Review from Michael E.
Theater District, Manhattan, NYSo we traveled up from Times Square in search of the kosher deli of New York.. Upper east side nestled in the old money next door.. Service from the start, the pastrami.. The slaw.. The patrons... Like butta!!!-
Don't forget the chocolate soda!
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Review from Elizabeth D.
Plainview, NYA REAL jewish del! the food here is amazing! I suggest the bagel with cream cheese, lox and onions. To die for! My husband had the pastrami on rye. It was equally delicious and loaded with meat. Fresh and delicious. The cream of the crop as far as Jewish delis go. Roomy and very clean. Large windows give you a beautiful view. -
Review from Scott K.
Fair Lawn, NJAmazing pastrami and rye sandwich. Place looked clean and service seemed nice, I got it to go. Paying almost 20 dollars for it was definitely a shock though. It's definitely a good sandwich, but it is not worth the price. -
Review from Isaac E.
I had to come here. Well worth it.
The soup was delicious, as were the sandwiches. Full of so much tender care and built to perfection. This place is worth just the trip and you WILL be full upon exiting. The only issue is that 2nd Avenue Deli knows that have great food and charge accordingly.
Amazing stuff. -
Review from Lila C.
Oh to be so disappointed. I was recently on a trip to NYC with a few friends and my sister suggested 2nd Ave over the Katz (to escape the tourists). Sadly, my dish did not live up to my expectations. I had the Twin Double, hot corned beef and hot pastrami, sandwiches. The meat was great but the buns were subpar; underwhelming and detracted from the beef and pastrami. How could a place that has such great meat choices fall so short on vessel for the meat. I partially blame myself for not ordering a sandwich there. -
Review from Margaret G.
Washington, DCI love brisket and I love chocolate babka. I love the Second Avenue Deli because the best of both can be found here. -
Review from Karen G.
My good New Yorker friends suggested we meet up here. Honestly, when they said to meet at a deli for dinner, I wasn't excited. I mean, I was in NY, this amazing city with so many culinary experiences awaiting and where I wanted every one of my meal slots to be something memorable. Oh...it so was!
It's a good sized deli and as soon as I started looking at their food, I got hungrier. Between my friend and I, we split a pastrami sandwich and a potato knish (first time trying that), and I thought both were very good.
But what I am still craving, and didn't even realized existed, were the pickled green tomatoes they served. I'm a pickle lover, so when they served those at our table (for FREE), I went for them. But my friend suggested I try the tomatoes. I have been googling and looking through reviews to find a place in Norcal that has them and no luck! :( Our server was really sweet and funny. AND he was awesome because he gave me a small box of the tomatoes to take back to my hotel. I savored those things like you wouldn't believe!
We finished our meal with some cookies. My friend went to pick them out. I was so stuffed that I couldn't enjoy them like I would have wanted to. They weren't cheap tho, so I wish I had! Great place here! -
Review from Jill W.
Manhattan, NYGreat service, great food. We had a pastrami sandwich and a corned beef sandwich... Both were fantastic! Will definitely be back. -
Review from Robert W.
Manhattan, NYThe short review, Good Jewish deli food, haphazard service, probably wouldn't go back.
Long review:
I have a beef with this place, and it's not to do with the pastrami. My wife and I went to 2nd avenue Deli at 5 in the evening on a Sunday. The place was nearly full, but mostly with large parties, so we were seated right away. The buss boy brought our water immediately, and our hostess dropped the menus as we were seated. Everything is great.
Our waiter comes and asks us if we are ready to order 30 seconds after the hostess seats us. OK, I realize they get a lot of regulars that know what they want when they come in. We order a couple sodas and order when he brings them. A fairly straight forward order. Matzo ball soup, chopped liver appetizer, a pastrami sandwich with mustard, and an order of fries. We will share everything.
On our small two top there is salt and pepper naturally, a carafe of water, two water glasses, two cans of soda, two glasses with ice, creating a wall between us. The buss boy brings a bowl of Cole slaw and two small side bowls, and a small basket of bread.
The waiter brings the soup in a big bowl and sets it down in front of my wife and fills it to the absolute brim with broth. She has to eat enough soup so that she can pass the bowl to me without it sloshing over the sides. I'm halfway finished with the soup when the waiter brings us a second bowl. The soup was very good, by the way.
Then the waiter shows up with a plate of fries, half a pastrami sandwich, and the chopped liver all on different plates and drops it all without picking up any finished plates. By this time there is no room for anything else. which is OK, I guess, because there is nothing else coming. Oh, wait, where is the other half of our sandwich?
I flag the waiter down and inquire. He has forgotten it in the kitchen, he says, and goes to get it. A few minutes later, my half arrives, on another plate, but wait, there is no place to put it. This puzzles him. He tries to rearrange the table. I wait. He cannot come up with a solution. I take the sandwich from him and have to tell him to take the water, the water glasses, the mostly finished soup bowl. the empty soup bowl, and the unused side bowls. It was only after he left that I realized that we never got pickles or the mustard I asked for.
Granted, the food was good. The food was very good. The matzo ball was tender without being soggy. The broth was flavorful without that chicken base saltiness. It had just a hint of dill. Very nice.
The chopped liver was good as well. Not as creamy as some I've had, but the flavor was spot on. It was presented on a small plate with a slice of red onion, a few slices of cucumber and a slice of bell pepper.
The fries, as per the waiter's recommendation, were well done. They were done well, as well.
The pastrami sandwich was simple, ample and flavorful. The pastrami was sliced very thin and it wasn't too fatty or too lean. It was moist and hot and obviously a good quality product. But where in NYC do you not automatically get mustard on a pastrami sandwich, or on the side? But, to be honest, I don't know where they would have put it.
In the end, we got the bill, and the waiter has ordered us a 1/2 sandwich and a soup, not a pastrami sandwich and a soup. So he lied. He did not charge us for another 1/2 sandwich, saving us 7.50, but I tipped him with that amount considered.
Good food without good service can break a restaurant. I certainly won't make the trip from Washington Heights and pay for parking to visit again.
And, for what it's worth, despite all it's schtick, I think Katz's pastrami is better. But that's me. -
Review from Dan R.
Seattle, WAHmmm... i'm torn. The place is an institution. But, in my opinion, there are better Kosher Delis in our beloved Gotham.
The Pastrami & Chopped Liver here are a slice of Kosher, Gastro, Heaven!
BUT...
Each time i've been here, the service has been rude and inattentive (not including the counter guys and their free samples- they're great!) and the menu is over-priced; even by pricey (legit) Jewish Deli standards.
By contrast, I'm a big fan of Fine & Schapiro on the UWS. Better value and alot more "Hamish" than 2nd Ave Deli.
All that being said... when i'm back on the UES i'll most likely be back!!
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