Katz's Deli Reviews

Very packed, chaotic, and slightly overpriced but extremely delicious!

Customers were more friendly than the staff. Turkey was moist and tasty. I'd go back

Every time I'm in NYC I stop here to eat. It's my husbands favorite and mine. I'm ordering as I write this review since I'm missing Katz's. Don't change a thing please.

I really wanted to love it after having seen it on every single food show. In reality it is good but not amazing. It is very much a tourist place filled with staff making sure the tourists don't slow everything down completely. Had a sandwich with pickles and liked it!

Classic, hectic New York City deli. Sit down service is fast and efficient. Food definitely lives up to the hype, I loved the corned beef sandwich.

Such long lines but worth it; the pastrami just never lets you down. Remember, there isn't one single line, but each cutter has his own line, so head to the left and find a shorter line over that way. Divide and conquer: one of you should stay in line for the meat while the other procures the other items, top of the list being the latkes. Using the table service is a great alternative to elbowing people out of your way.

Friendly and cool service, the food very good specially the dried salami

Had the brisket sandwich based off of an article I saw online saying that Katz had the best brisket sandwich in NYC. It wasn't that great. There's a huge difference between deli style brisket ave BBQ style brisket and BBQ style is the best. Katz serves deli style. The brisket was dry and not that tasty.

I did have sample of their pastrami and THAT was impeccable! By the time I sampled it, it was too late to change my order. The rest of the food I had (fries, chicken noodle soup and pickle assortment) were extremely good.

It is on my agenda to visit Katz again, and this time I'll get the pastrami, and I might just change my rating from 4 stars to 5.

Best pastrami sandwich l have ever had. Expensive but good. $22.00 a sandwich.

Excellent slice of New York culture. Famous for 'When Harry met Sally' and not cheap, but a great experience with authentic food and service. Essential visit on your NYC trip.

New york Jewish style deli, great knishes, great hot dogs and the pastrami is ridiculous, half sour pickle with sandwich a must... get a dr browns black cherry or cream soda and indulge

The Philly Cheesesteak was excellent imo. Great flavor and taste overall. Staff was friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend any of their other foods as well

This place has a great selection of food choices. The salami sandwich is great but this prices is just too much.

A GOOD place if you've never been but a bit pricey!

I've gone here since I was a child. Raised my children eating here and now my grandson is eating here. Just the best deli anywhere, ever.

Awesome corned beef sandwich! Fun atmosphere and lots of great history with the restaurant!

Best deli in NYC, hell the tristate area! Great food and staff!

I love me some Katz wish there was one here in St. Petersburg, Florida. Every time I visit back home I got to make my stop there. Next visit plan on bringing me a sandwich back for my neighbors to see what a real sandwich looks like.

The pastrami was excellent. The place is always crowded but the cutters work fast.

Katz's Deli has great food and boasts a great environment for eating. Although the food is pricy and it takes a while to get your food, Katz's is definitely a place in New York City you have to eat at if you are visiting.

Historic New York establishment. Service is lackluster and food is very overpriced. Go one time just for the experience .

Very overpriced sandwiches. I guess people are okay paying the exorbitant prices because the sandwich is stuffed with layers and layers of meat. Personally, I just couldn't find a way to eat it. I ordered a Rueben sandwich. The Swedish and Sauerkraut tasted mediocre, but there was just way too much meat to form a coherent taste. The actual serving plate was roughly a centimetre in diameter larger than the sandwich - they were minuscule plates.

All in all, i wasn't impressed.

If it s a holiday get ready to wait a half hour or more , but definitely worth the wait. Spend that time in line picking your order or be ready to be hassled in true New York tradition

Food was your average deli cuisine, but took forever to finally sit down at 3 pm on a weekday. Organized terribly; stressful experience.

Great pastrami! Friendly staff but Bad attitude from the management. I got there at 10pm and the place closes at 1045pm management was very nasty trying to force people out from 1015pm I find that Kind of ridiculous and rude when your spending 50 dollars for a Pastrami sandwich, a hot dog, 2 cans of Pepsi and 1 order of fries.

It's as good as everyone says. The lines are very long so not a bad idea to go on an off peak time.

Confusing to go ordering organization. Foisted something on me I didn't order then overcharged me by 15.00! Cornbeef too salty knishes are flabby and greasy. Made me appreciate for a true Jewish deli, Kaufmans on Skokie Illinois, all the more.

This place is tucked in a small alleyway, but don't judge a book by its cover. This place is really awesome. Possibly the best Spicy Fried Chicken Burger I have eaten in my life. Their prices are pretty affordable and it is about $12 for a burger and some fries and a drink which I feel is pretty decent.

Great place to eat, love it,when I visit NYC, I always go to KATZ, bring back old memories. U go KATZ s

Rustic beauty ~!! Love this authentic legendary NYC Deli ~!!

Great quick service even when busy. It says cash only but they will take card

Great sandwiches and fantastic atmosphere, well worth the visit. The ordering system is a bit chaotic, but it adds to the charm

Not fooled by the popularity of this place.
The food is not good.
Dont waste your time waiting at the line for hours.

One of the must visits on my list when I visit NYC. The line was long but it moved along just fine. I chose to wait for a seat instead of joining the chaos of self serve.

I love the pickles they drop of when you sit down. I have to be careful not to overeat the pickles. :)

I ordered their pastrami reuben. It is just a fine sandwich. Mrs. K. has the brisket and it was outstanding. Just to be friendly Mrs. K. ordered a cheesecake. The was the only flaw in the experience. Not the best cheesecake by a longshot.

Bomb, great sandwiches piled high. Yum yum give me more

What you'd expect. Good quality and large portions. The ordering process is confusing for some.

Great place unfortunately one of the few Jewish delis left in New York City

Its Holy grail for pastrami sandwiches
Prepare to wait in line.... Nothing more to say

Be ready for a long line...but ..
The wait will be worth it!! ..Pastrami sandwich is excellent ...the service is lovable ...

I enjoy stopping here when I have an appointment in this area. Recommend.

Best Pastrami that i ever ate!!! Super tender and juicy meat!

An absolute must go.

What a delightful pastrami.
Worth the wait.
Worth the deviation from your typical New York.
Worth the bad and old ambience.

We had the famous pastrami sandwich and a philly cheesestake both were great. The portion of meat is crazy, but it's pretty pricy at 17-24 bucks a sandwich I guess. The only bit annoyance is the ludicrous ticket system. It confused me and several others. Unsure why they can't do a simpler way of paying.... good vibes and good food. Definite tourist place.

Pastrami sandwich was great, but was it $22 great? Umm no. Over priced over hype.

Pastrami was great people are unbelievable what a cool place

Just wow great beef pastrami sandwiches n others.. a must visit and dine-in landmark of NY.. arrived and it was as usual a full house.. great atmosphere..

The lines are crazy long, but they move quickly. The food is phenomenal! My corned beef sandwich was the best I have ever had!

Super good food here that completely lived up to all the hype surrounding the place. The service was pretty quick and you get a lot of good food (way more than you need really). Will be coming back on my next trip!

Possibly the greatest deli ever! Pastrami on rye, Latkes (potato pancakes), pickes and a Dr Brown Cream Soda

Expensive, but worth it. Quality pastrami on Rye sandwich.

A New York institution that lives up to the hype. The pastrami and corned beef we're both perfect.

Went as a group of four, could definitely get by with two sandwiches. Definitely worth the wait and cost

The Pastrami Sandwich was incredible!! Thanks Leo!!

A New York institution for a reason - and not just because of that movie (though you will want to have what she s having). If you come when it s busy, getting to the counter will be something of a battle. Pick one of the amazing sandwich-makers and line up in front of them, and don t lose your receipt between getting your enormous sandwich and making your way out the door - you ll pay there. The ordeal is half the fun here so don t come when hangry. And don t forget to try the pickles, much as the sandwich are amazing, I think those are my absolute favorites.

Best Pastrami you can get. Juicy and delicious. A thick layer on simple bread - thats all you get and need. Only problem is, that the prices are just too high. 20 $ incl. tax and you have to get it by yor own - with service it would be 24$ - no, thats not "ok" anymore. Update: Every time i visit New York i go to KatZ#s. Yes, its expensice and you have to wait a long time when you go to the wrong time, but the Sandwiches... oh my!

1. My review here is senseless, as neither it nor any of the Yelp reviews are necessary. You're not reading this to mull over the merits of coming here - you're just reading this out of sheer boredom.

2. Of COURSE you must come to Katz's Deli - and you must order a pastrami sandwich, a Dr. Brown's soda (I'm a Cel-Ray fan) and half-sours. If you're feeling extra frisky, maybe get yourself a chopped liver with onion side.

3. Everything else I could say would be just for the sake of typing - you KNOW you're going to come here if you can, so what's the point.

4. Don't bother googling up other deli's because you're trying to "stay away from the tourist traps" - there's a reason this is on the map - for locals and tourists alike (remember, VERY few folks in Manhattan are "locals" as one would normally think...). You find a better Pastrami. Go ahead. Let me know about that. Until Katz, I didn't even like Pastrami, because it was the same-ole, same-ole that you find in grocery stores, sandwich shops across the country. Katz's Pastrami is phenomenal.

So... - that's all I have to say about Katz's (don't forget, however, to stop in to Russ & Daughters' right around the corner, because Appetizer shop is different from a delicatessen).

Delicious but very expensive. I recommend splitting a sandwich

Wow I can remember getting triple the sandwich for less than half the price 15 years ago... Very overpriced. The food is excellent but it's become a tourist attraction. Save your $$ or go only for the experience.

The best Corned Beef and Pastrami in the city bar none. Unique ticket system and decor. One of a kind.

Lives up to its rep! Pastrami sandwich is the best I ve ever had and I m not much of a pastrami guy. This will probably be the only place I eat pastrami from now on.

Classic historic NYC delicatessen experience. Service charmingly appropriate and friendly. Lox and bagel delicious, choice of pickles fun and refreshing.

Katz's is legendary for a reason: they are the best.

The pastrami is heavenly, and crave-worthy. I make trips to NYC specifically to eat at Katz's. Oh sure, there might be some business or vacation involved, but the real reason is digging into that pastrami sandwich and a plate of mixed pickles.

I hear they serve other things, too.

Love Katz, it's the best after a late night of bar hopping.

The best. It's seriously worth the 6hr drive for me

Delicious, but pricey. Don't wait for table service, go right to the slicers and grab a table for yourself in the middle row. I suggest cream soda or diet cream soda for your drink. If you just want water, you can get it on the back wall where there are glasses and a spigot. When it's time to pay you can pay at the far end of the counter (keep your ticket!) instead of waiting in line to pay at the door.

Great experience! Friendly and helpful. Amazing sandwiches, sweet potato knish and new york cheesecake.

Food was great but service was iffy. The ticket system was horrendous. They had bouncers at the door. Who came up with this?

It doesn't get any better than this... Hands down the best pastrami on rye sandwich I've ever had. It practically melts in your mouth.

The best pastrami in New York since Carneggie Deli RIP

There are no words to describe this place besides CORNBEEF!!! If you dont mind waiting this sandwich is worth all $25 that i paid for. Its always crowded so do not be on a hurry. Eveytime I am in NYC I have to stop for a sandwich. No place like Katz!

Really good food and service! I had the pastrami which was on point same with the potato salad.

Katz has the best pastrami in the city! It is worth all the hype it gets and worth the price. You order at the counter and the service is very quick, but you should know what you want to order before you get to the counter because it's usually a pretty crowded spot.

Amazing corned beef and beef brisket... heavenly and to die for. Surprisingly though, the pastrami tastes very good but a bit dry (or maybe that's coz I compared it to the very moist corned beef and brisket!). Still, awesome overall; and great staff too.

Not gonna lie, we didn't go inside but still a thrill to see.

Great pastrami. The best pastrami sandwich I have had, but this is a very busy place. Or at least it was the Monday afternoon I was there. Be prepared to wait with a lot of people around you if you do counter service. There are a lot of lines to order at, but when it is busy it can be difficult to push past people to get to the shorter lines. There is also a sit down service, but I didn t try that.

The cutter will slice the meat when you order, so your sandwich is fresh. As they make your sandwich they will give you a taste of the meat. I ordered pastrami with mustard on rye. It was a very large sandwich with warm pastrami and tasted great. The sandwich came with a lot of pickles.

There is seating for people who ordered from the counter, but on busy days it can be hard to find a spot. Make some friends or take it to go and sit outside.

I paid cash up front. They said credit was in the back. Keep the tickets that they give you when you walk in. Hand it to the cutter when you order at the counter and he will write down your order. Turn it in when you check out. Prices are high, $23 before tax for a pastrami sandwich, but it is a huge sandwich and tastes great. The one sandwich fed two of us, so for a two person meal it wasn t too bad especially considering the amazing quality.

Good place, but need reconstruction. Make it nicer ;)

This is a quintessential New York place. It's where Meg Ryan, in When Harry Met Sally) faked orgasm and that notable line of "I'll have what she's having" was filmed. On the walls, you find pictures of all the famous visitors. That itself is history.

Pastrami and corned beef sandwiches don't get any better than this. The meat is tender and juicy and piled high inside two slices of rye bread. Make sure not to skip out on the pickles. It's where I learned to love them. It's a match made in heaven.

I'm not sure its worth the price or time to find a seat. It was alright. But I'd not go back again.