Who knows how many changes of management they have seen
Very mixed reviews
Mendy's
Category:
Delis
61 E 34th St(between Madison Ave & Park Ave)
New York, NY 10016
Neighborhoods: Midtown West, Midtown East
(212) 576-1010
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
34 St. - Herald Sq (B, D, F, M, N, Q, R)33 St. (4, 6, 6X)28 St. (N, R)
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
- $$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Recommended Reviews for Mendy's
Review Highlights What's this?
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"I work in the flatiron district, so this is a close kosher deli." In 6 reviews
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"Many people were very happy with their lean pastrami sandwiches." In 11 reviews
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"...I had a combo sandwich - corned beef/turkey/russian dressing/mustard..." In 7 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
38 reviews in English
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Review from Kurt Q.
ASTORIA, NYI'm not Jewish, but when I'm on line at Mendy's, I'm in my own sort of emotional Israel. For that four minutes of staring at that hot dog rotisserie, I'm kvetching about the prices and feeling a general sense of malaise. The basement of Grand Central becomes a sort of Palestine, and I am alone.
The Mendy's ideal, full of Seinfeld allusion & Jewish novelty, quickly goes out the window once you stand in line. The first thing you'll notice is the "Holy Kosher Batman!" prices. Those rabbis must charge a hefty fee for their blessing because we're talking about, no exaggeration, $14 sandwiches. Then you'll soon get yelled at by that Latino guy who says in a booming baritone, "NEXT!" He not only looks like he hates that job, but he also looks like he hates you. We need a rabbi to bless this guy.
The cashier is an interesting life-form whose rudeness always comes across as menstrual and not personal. Food's good, though. Jewishness. -
Review from Anima P.
Queens, NYI happened to be walking by Mendy's when I got a hankering for a hamburger. I remembered the Seinfeld episode about the fantastic soup, so I figured it would be worth a try.
I ordered my hamburger at the counter, the man working there was not particularly friendly, but I didn't think too much of it. I got skipped in line by a loud self-important customer that was "in a huge rush." Okay, fine. The woman working the cash register was brusque and unfriendly.
I proceeded to wait for a hamburger for almost half an hour. I was hungry to begin with so after about 15 minutes, I started getting uncomfortable and wondering why everyone else was ordering food and receiving it - quickly - while I just sitting there waiting at a sticky table.
I got up and asked the counter man whether he put my order in and he looked at me annoyed and said yes, it was coming. I then asked the cashier what happened to my order and she looked at me annoyed, and asked someone else who got annoyed, and said it was coming.
Finally they brought out the burger and fries. I got it from the counter brought it back to the sticky table and ate it. It was fine. It cost about $12.
I realize that this is not the most outrageous treatment and by far not the worst restaurant experience... But the reason why I'm writing it out here is to say this: I walked into Mendy's feeling happy and excited to try something new: and I walked out feeling sad. I felt that I was not treated as a valued customer. No one there bothered to even smile at me, let alone apologize for making me wait half an hour for a basic hamburger. Eating out is not just about filling your gullet: you spend your money to eat out and enjoy yourself, enjoy the food, enjoy the atmosphere etc. none of which I did at Mendy's. Even at a diner or deli (which Mendy's is more like than an actual restaurant) a patron should expect some level of customer service, or at least politeness. Maybe from now on I should refrain from getting any restaurant ideas from old sitcoms. -
Review from Stephen V.
Manhattan, NYUnless you are strictly Kosher, the prices there aren't worth the quality. Kosher is ALL you are paying for here. There are a few other delis within a block of Mendy's that offer higher quality food at lower prices, they just aren't Kosher.
On a side note: the soda case is nearly room temperature and, though the cook was very friendly, the check out lady was a Holy-than-thou snob. Get a clue lady, you work at a mediocre deli. -
Review from Allison F.
Lutz, FLSoup and 1/2 sandwich was great. I ordered the matzo ball soup that was full of flavor and 1/2 of a pastrami sandwick that was very tasty. The price is very reasonable for Murray Hill, the staff was nice, and the place is clean. I'll be back -
Review from Daniel S.
Brooklyn, NYI can't understand for the life of me why Kenny Bania was obsessed with this place. A meal here could just never make up for an Armani suit. I am a deli maven; I've been eating deli since I was 4 years old, and I've tried all of them (including non-kosher ones in my secular youth before I became observant). This, by far, is, one of the worst delis I've ever been to in my entire life. For starters, I can see why Bania wasn't satisfied with the soup. The "famed" split pea was poorly seasoned; muddy, bland, and starchy, this split pea soup lacked the redolent, meaty, smoky flavor that is characteristic of a classic split pea soup (in lieu of the traditional ham bone, a good kosher cook substitutes frankfurters, pastrami, or some other smoked, fatty kosher meat to lend the soup its hearty quality). The absolute worst abominable sin a deliman can commit is to microwave the deli meats; I noticed entering the establishment a clear lack of a steam table. Without steam, corned beef and pastrami become dry, chewy, and nearly inedible. These meats were sadly kept in a deli case and microwaved! The deliman unabashedly microwaved a portion of brisket, at which point I cried inside, due to the sheer horror of the moment. Everything a deli can and should be is just missing here at Mendy's. I decided to steer clear of ordering a deli sandwich, and instead, opted for the hot roast veal with gravy and potatoes. The veal was not too dry, but was lacking in flavor and seasoning. The gravy was commercial, boxed gravy mix (my guess is Streit's), and the fries lackluster, and evidently of the frozen variety. This was a most disappointing experience, and I'd only eat here again out of necessity. -
Review from Sue N.
Bronx, NYMy husband & I were in the neighborhood & looking for somewhere to eat. I love my kosher deli, but oh how I wish I would have seen these reviews first!
Was debating between a hot dog & a pastrami sandwhich. The hot dogs looked unappetizing so I went with the pastrami. YUCK! First off, the meat was brownish, not the healthy pink I've come to know & love in a good pastrami sandwich. It was also full of fat, making it inedible. I ended up throwing most of it out. Had a spoonful of my husband's matzoh ball soup. Unimpressive. My husband LOVES matzoh ball soup & I knew he wasn't impressed either as he only ate 1/2 the matzoh ball. -
Review from Caroline B.
Queens, NYOne of my company's execs, as I've mentioned in previous reviews keeps Kosher and has celiac disease. Another exec lacks dietary restrictions but often craves a good tongue sandwich. Personally, I like any place that can accommodate my esteemed bosses' requests and promptly deliver to my office.
Having eaten at Mendy's before and received feedback from those who I've ordered meals for, I can describe it as a place that offers satisfactory, though not exceptional, Kosher delicatessen food and is certainly convenient for my purposes. -
Review from Julie F.
KEW GARDENS, NYThe grossest sandwich I ever ate.
I woke up craving a pastrami on rye.
Ordered one and so did my co-worker from grubhub.
It was beyond nasty.....the meat was gross, oily, super fatty and nasty tasting. It looked like cheap deli meat. The bread was not good. The cole slaw was terrible as well.
The mustard was the only good thing about this order.
It was an expensive sandwich, I was expecting it to be overflowing with meat, but I guess I am lucky that it wasn't. It had maybe 5 slices of pastrami.
WILL NEVER ORDER FROM HERE AGAIN!
The best thing about my order was the person who delivered it, he was nice. -
Review from Noah K.
Manhattan, NYOK, there are a ton of comments about the quality of service at this place. In an attempt to put it to rest, they are all spot-on. The servers are generally pushy and rude, and about as warm as an ice cap. But to be fair, I have never ever gone to a Jewish deli and left raving about the warmth of the service. So lets overlook this for a moment.
The food is good. In some cases, its REALLY good. The Matzoh Ball Soup is just like my Jewish grandma used to make, but better! (sorry grandma)
The sandwiches are also pretty good. They are on par with teh other Jewish delis around Manhattan (Katz's and 2nd Ave, for instance). But here is what frustrates me.
- I have gone three times and asked for a hot dog. Each time, they have been sold out. How is that possible? Each time was before 1:30. Why are they making so few hot dogs?
- The pastrami knish is gross. I love pastrami knish, and theirs is overly minced into a near paste. Really not very good.
- It is really dirty in the restaurant. The tables feel greasy and uncleaned. It is really grimey.
I will go back. But I'm certainly not in any rush. -
Review from El G.
Potters Bar, UKGood soup but I've had much better sandwiches elsewhere.
The price should be $$$ not $$.
I'd suggest the Duncan Donuts a few doors down for better food and value. -
Review from Gene K.
Came here with a buddy for lunch. We both had a hotdog and knish. The hotdogs tasted just ok, nothing special, and were served a lukewarm temperature. They were previously cooked, but at least make them hot again for the customers when you serve them. The knish was also just mediocre. The rub is the hot dog was $4 and the knish was either $3 or $4, I forget exactly. This is not cheap for a very mediocre lunch! -
Review from Cindy C.
Brooklyn, NYI normally never write reviews but I feel that I had to in this case. My boyfriend and I went to Mendy's on a groupon which was to include an appetizer, two steak dinners and two drinks. We were excited to finally go to a real kosher deli. Well it was nothing that we had hoped for. We walked in and were seated at a table that was sticky, so we then proceeded to move to ANOTHER sticky table! We guessed at that point that all the tables were sticky. When the waiter (who by the way was looking everywhere but at us while he was talking) finally did come over and we asked to order a beer, he proceeded to tell us that were all out of beer!! My boyfriend asked if you did have beer what would you have? He then proceeded to name five different beers. We then asked how it was possible to be out of ALL beers and he basically just said this is the way it is. We then asked him a question about what cut of meat a particular steak was and he said he didn't know. We asked him to ask the manager and then he came back and said that THE MANAGER DIDN"T KNOW EITHER. BUT we still decided to stay and tough it out. We proceeded to order the buffalo wings as an appetizer. After about 15 minutes the waiter brings us over sliders and we said but we ordered the buffalo wings and then he had the audacity to say there were out of buffalo wings too!!!! That was it. We then got up and left but not before having a word with the manager who was on his cell phone and couldn't care less how unsatisfied we were. We asked him how a restaurant could be out of beer and everything else that we ordered on the menu and he basically laughed at us and said it was quite possible. I have never in my life been to a restaurant with this lack of service or respect for their customers. Not only did the staff and management have no respect OR FOOD the restaurant wasn't anything to look at, nor would I even think of paying $40 for a steak dinner that they don't even know what it is. So save yourselves time and money and go to ANY other restaurant but this one. -
Review from Tricia K.
I don't like my sandwiches to contain a grotesque amount of dripping, overflowing meat, the proportions of which make you question what exactly you are doing with your life and think about what you are about to do to your body.
The pastrami here is perfect for me - just the right amount of lean, perfectly salty, seasoned meat. Cheese is not available with it (when I asked for it...like a rube, i was kindly told that the place was kosher), but you don't really even need any garnish.
I find the cafeteria front portion of the restaurant comfortable and simple enough. There is more seating and presumably wait service in the back. Also, I noticed a few deliveries going on. -
Review from Mark E.
i met my boss here for lunch while i was in NYC last week.
i wasnt expecting much since there are so many spots that offer pastrami.
i had read some of the reviews but there didnt seem to be a general consensus about the place.
the service wasnt that great but it wasnt terrible either.
i, of course, had the pastrami. i must say, it was pretty darn good!
do i need to say more???
the next time i'm in nyc, i'll be sure to stop by here. -
Review from Michael D.
Brooklyn, NYHad a terrible experience here just yesterday. The manager should be ashamed of himself for allowing the place to be as unclean as it was, however, I guess that is why the sign in the window read "grade pending" by the nyc department of health. There is too much for me to complain about that I wouldn't even know where to begin. With that being said, I do see some positive reviews and must wonder if some of those good reviews are meant for other locations because when I searched "Mendys" on Yelp there were about 3 different options and I actually almost wrote my review for one of the other locations. I'm glad I didn't because I would have felt horrible. This place is in a "low" class of its own. -
Review from Lindsay K.
New York, NYThe servers are nasty and the crowds are snotty. Everything is incredibly overpriced and the corned beef is dry. Even the cole slaw tasted way too thick and sweet for its own good. The worst offense was the matzoball soup, which would make my grandmother clutch her spoon and yell "OY!" They were ROCK HARD and the soup was greasy.
As a Jew, I can say I am outright appalled. OY for real, yo. -
Review from Ken O.
New York, NYFor lunch I had a combo sandwich - corned beef/turkey/russian dressing/mustard and coleslaw on rye with a round potato knish followed by a bypass at Beth Israel next door. It was worth it.
Great deli. A little pricey.
Wheelchair access: Ramp in is a bit steep. -
Review from Michael W.
San Jose, CAThe pastrami was tasty, and I had no problems with the quality. The meat was tender and not too fatty.
People keep contrasting Mendy's and Katz's -- okay, let's do it.
On Value:
Some people have pointed out that Mendy's pastrami serving is smaller than Katz's. Of course it is, but the sandwich is $10.45 instead of $15.95.
On Variety:
Mendy's is more of a proper deli than Katz's. Don't get me wrong --I love me some Katz's. But try anything besides the pastrami (and maybe liverwurst) at Katz's. and prepare to be underwhelmed. Katz's soups are nothing special, and the first time I had their latkes I could only think, 'it's not how my mom makes them.' Really, for a good Jewish boy to come all the way to New York and eat latkes in a Jewish deli and be disappointed . . . where did I go wrong?
Bottom line:
Mendy's sandwich-for-value is good, and it's a good choice if you want to include some variety in your Jewish deli experience.
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