Katz's Deli Review

As a New Yorker, we know there are interesting restaurants and one them is Katz. However I myself never been there until one day we visited it after a number of our relatives and friend from all over the world had visited it. Food is good but service is is just OK.

Our server Ishmael is a hardworking man and we thank him for that (and even gave him a large amount of tip). However he made a really big mistake, which he denied after we complained to his Manager few days after. We paid cash, have the receipt and listed what we order: dishes we ate in and the ones to go. There were four of us when we ate there but only three of us were able to come back. I was the one the was talking first to the Manager since I called Katz beforehand. Ishmael was called and accused me in that tone, "Why are you talking, you are not there!!!!" And I am like "Yes I was there, I was the one that ordered the Philly cheesesteak! I'm a New Yorker like so do not talk to me back like that!"

Although we have proofs of, Ishmael denied that he made mistakes by giving two tickets where he end up doubling the amount on the second ticket. The problem is, there is no list of what food we ate, there is just these tickets with price on it. Katz should give us a receipt so any customers can look to be sure that they are paying the right amount. The Manager said, that's not how they do it. Well if they did, we could have avoided this incident especially now that with Ishmael being so upset that he accuse us of lying. Thank goodness that we list all our food and that the receipt (which says nothing but numbers) showed how much exactly we spent on dine in and and to go dishes.

Even though Ishmael has the attitude, we are grateful that the Manager is very patient listening to us while adding everything in our dish. Ishmael keep leaving us then came back with the same attitude. Finally they both added the food with listed, even though he thought we are lying.

Later they found out that the receipt (with two payments of dine in and to go dishes) were exact proving we are right all that time. Did Ishmael apologize? NO! And that's what we call BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. We understand people make mistakes but please learn to say SORRY.

I will never forget the Reuben I got here. It's the best sandwich I have ever had ever.

This is hands down one of the best delis I have been to. Everything is amazing you seriously can not go wrong. Everytime I go to new York I make it my mission to eat here at least once. The pastrami rueben is my go to but you can't go wrong with the corned beef or brisket either. Topped with sauce and sour kraut and served with pickles.

The people behind the counter couldn't understand us and we couldn't understand them. They also forgot to give me fries which I later found out would have been part of what I ordered. In the end we got too little for too much.

Yes, it is as good as you have heard. Awesome pastrami sandwich!!! Probibly the best I have ever had. It is a must do if you are in Manhattan. Don't loose your ticket!

Best place to eat a pastrami sandwich. Watch out, a single sandwich will be more than enough for two on most cases. Cash only.

Mega busy. . Waitress plonked food on table. Expensive & over rated. Cheese sandwich was appalling.

Great food and fantastic service by Bradley! Will absolutely come again when in New York.

Too expensive but you pay the tourist place
Make sure to try the meat before you get the sandwich....

This place could be very overwhelming for a newcomer but it s simple. Get your ticket. Get in a line, order, eat, then pay. They accept cash and credit card. The people are very nice and let you try the meat. You are entertained by all the pictures on the wall. But let me tell you that you will be eating most of the time. These sandwiches are big! Get a side of fries and a drink and you are set. It s isn t cheap by no means. But we considered it an experience. Enjoy!

$18 per sandwich, but 1 sandwich is enough for 2! The pastrami brings tears to my eyes, at every visit! Delicious stuff ! :)

Tasted okay but I got sick from their Reuben, and was throwing up all night.

Not a must go place, unless you feel like having a Pastrami Sandwich.

Definitely recommend. So much character in this place and a good experience. I don't eat meat and it was still a good place to go.

So, if you ve ever been here you know the routine on ordering your food! But for those of you who haven t it s very hectic and unorganized so be prepared! And for gods sake don t lose you ticket or it ll cost you $50!
But with that said the potato knish wasn t good at all!! However the sandwiches are excellent and there is enough meat on them to feed two people, and be completely full. So bring your appetite and your wallet, cause one of these sandwiches is gonna set you back $25!
Enjoy!

The standard. Nuff said! Get the egg creme and fries as well!

A bit expensive for what it is, really. Went for the experience. Pastrami sandwich is nice but a bit salty. The Matzo soup is nice and hearty though. Oh well tick it off my list

Took a taxi here from JFK just to have the pastrami sandwich. Well worth the fare and the $23 for the sandwich

Sandwiches are huge and delicious but over priced. Thirty dollars plus tip for a sandwich and fries? Once is enough ... lol.

Best pastrami on the planet. We come here every time we're in New York, and it's great every time.

Was just how I remembered it growing up in the area was visiting with my fiance who was experiencing NYC for first time love the knishes took me back to my childhood

What else can I say? This is my favorite NY deli hands down. Pastrami sandwich I give 10 stars out of 5

Fascinating place. The food may not be for everyone, but even if you don t like this kind of food it s well-executed and worth the visit just for the experience. Beware, it is very expensive, but they do accept credit cards.

Great place for someone looking for gluten-free food.

The pastrami and corn beef sandwiches delicious. So much meat can make a couple of sandwiches.

Pastrami was made just for Katz,,,hand carved meat.. delicious Cole slaw and an amazing environment... truly a staple of NYC. A bit in the prcey side but totally worth it

The experience was pretty good. The sandwiches are good, the bread and pickles are pretty good. Overall, I would expect better prices or bigger sandwiches. Other than that it is worth the try.

Best Pastrami in the world! Worth the crazy line and odd ticket process to get you in the door. For first timers, take a deep breath the line moves fast and once through the door you will receive a ticket. Do NOT lose it or it is a $50 fee. Your ticket number is your check, everything you consume inside is added onto your ticket number. You can have a beer while you wait, and once seated your food order is all added onto your ticket manually which you present upon leaving at the register to pay. Leave the tip on the table! An easy process to control the masses. The pickle plate is an amazing intro and we always share a Matzo Ball soup and a Pastrami sandwich. They are enormous. You can also order a half sandwich. Anything you order from turkey to their famous salami is going to be out of this world ridiculously good so enjoy your experience and take in the crazy flow of people! For more reviews and experiences all over the planet visit our Instagram page @ wavenpavetheplanet or our website wavenpavetheplanet. com

Never disappoints, ask for the fatty pastrami. Amazing

Delicious food, the Reuben tastes amazing! Make sure you don't lose your tickets!

The quirky ordering and celebrity photos adorning the walls add to the dining experience. Whilst it's probably not the best pastrami place in the world, it's still worth a visit.

Very overpriced. The amount of meat they gave per sandwich in 2014 was much more than 2018. 3 of us shared a plate of fries, had 3 bottles of water, and 3 sandwiches and it cost $100. The prices for the drinks are not posted anywhere. $3 for a $.30 bottle of water is ridiculous. I will not be going back, probably ever.

Where Harry met Sally, kind of pricey but great food and really friendly staff. Just make sure not to lose your ticket!

Incredibly tasty and good pastrami. I loved the environment. The best in NYC. Should definitely be a must do for tourists

Delicious but people at entrance aren't nice at all

I dunno, I get that it's famous and lots of people gotta go there but the appeal is lacking. Some people are docking for a traditional NYC attitude which I don't mind at all. The issue is that the food is genuinely just alright - pastrami, corned beef, sides, you name it. And it's incredibly expensive, even by NYC standards. A lot of meet? Sure. Nearly $30 worth of meet? Impossible.

What can I say, just like it's advertised. It might take a while to get your sandwich but it's worth the wait at the end. The best pastrami sandwich I ever had. If you visit NYC to take a trip down to Katz and try the famous Pastrami sandwich.

Best Salmon bagel I have ever had was here and I never grow tired of them! Thank you!

Been going to KAT'S for over 43 years . It's the best.

The place was recommended to me as a "must check and try" and so my expectations were high and far from being met. Matzo ball soup was salty and nothing special at all and so was a frankfurter. At 5 pm the place was not busy, so it didn't take me waiting long for the food.

Will be returning there for pastrami sandwich and see whether it's worth its cost

I went at when it was almost 5 so the lines there were very short and there were plenty of places to sit. The meat on the sandwiches were so tender. Highly recommend!

This all American breakfast place is the bomb. Value for money with huge servings that a normal Asian cannot finish. You can also choose how lean you would want your beef to me. It was really really really satisfying. Would definitely come back here again if i go back to New York!

This place speaks for itself as it is extremely well known but I was not prepared for just how good their food is. The pastrami is very thick and it was so juicy and delicious. Add that onto a Reuben sandwich and it is pure heaven. You get housemade pickles and honestly the sandwich and that is more than enough food. It is pretty pricy and you will stand in line but it's all worth it. Just don't lose your ticket! And if you need to pay with a card do it at the back counter after you eat.

First time to New York, my boyfriend born and raised demanded we go here for lunch, great experience, atmosphere, and of course amazing sandwiches. Can't wait wait for my next trip.

Over priced!!! And some of the workers are ride AF!!!

Katz's is an world renowned institution and for good reason. The sandwiches here are top notch and the place is timeless.

2 times and each time was a super experience! Delicious and the staff was super nice

Hot pastrami and brisket sandwiches with mustard and pickles - yummy! Worth the 30-minute wait.

good matza ball soup, not a huge fan of the sandwiches to be quite honest

I love this place. Best pastrami and most decadent fries ever.

What a fantastic place for you to get a sandwich. I totally recommended. The Cuban person that helped us out gave us a great service. Katz's pastrami hot sandwich, delicious!

Ok, looove pastrami. It's my favorite sandwich meet, and so I've tried pastrami all over, wherever I can, including at multiple places in NYC. This place has awesome amazing to die for pastrami. It is thick cut, so moist and melts in your mouth. I've had similar in one other place in NYC, and I think they got their pastrami from Katz's. I go there every time I'm in NYC. The only drawbacks to this place are that they don't have a toasted version of their sandwiches and that the people could be more friendly. But otherwise this place is awesome. Must go!

This place is a joke, The place is dirty, the waiters are rude and the servings reduced, The pastrami overly fatty and the corned beef is better at Subways, They have the nerve to charge stake house prices. If you go here you will pay for it more than twice.

Price is high and sandwiches are not like they use to be. Was disappointed.

This place is just amazing it s part of nyc history for a reason.

Brisket was dry and not so tasty. Pastrami was good. Cornbeef is my favourite! Don't lose that ticket or its $50...

They are great at what they have but I wish there were more options

Always worth the price when I have a corn beef or pastrami on rye the meat is tender and delicious

Amazing pastrami sandwich. Busy place. Weird ordering process.

Amazing place. The best pastrami sandwich I have ever had. Had to wait in line for 15 min to get the food but well worth it.

Better than Carnegie. Amazing food - great classic service. The sandwiches are outrageous.

Nothing special about this place IMO. Food wasn't great, Service and the way they are running the place is terrible. Totally Overpriced sandwiches!

I wish I could give 10 stars my third day in New York and I ended it in Katz's delicatessen Oh waw I love seeing many people enjoying food We ordered a regular beef pastrami sandwich and you get pickles included Amazing! Superb! I will go there again for sure

Classic stop with a great pastrami on rye sandwich. Worth the visit.

Pastrami sandwich was awesome, but pricey at ~$21. Comes with a pickle. Sandwich is definitely worth it. Menu ordering system is old school and crazy (and overwhelming) the first time but kinda cool.

The hype exceeded the reality. Yes, if you like meat it is a good joint. Yes, if you dig places where celebs come, you see photos of them peeling off the walls. And yes, if you like crowd it is the place to mosh around. But no, if you enjoy decent service you get the cranky exposure. After lining up to get a seat for 50 minutes that was too much. Still, the pickles were tasty (though not the second portion...).

I've eaten better food. Over priced for what it was

Its seems like Katz lost some of the pastrami taste.

It was OK. Not worth the hype.
When we got there the host asked you if we wanted waiter service (which had a 25 min wait time) or whether we prefered the self service. We chose the self service because there were 5-6 service counters and we thought that would be faster. Wrong! It would have been faster and definitely much more convenient if we had just waited for the waiter service.

Get ready for a strong pastrami aroma in a late-1800s style deli. There are multiple busy bustling lines that you will be waiting either on to make your order. However, you get the pastrami sandwich in a quick NY minute, which was well worth the wait on those lines.

Amazing pastrami sandwich! A little pricey but definitely worth it.

Get a pastrami on Rye. Say yes to mustard. Tip the chef. Then enjoy the realisation after the first bite that you're probably now immortal

Delicious food and friendly staff but I will never pay 58 USD for 2 sandwiches ever again! Lol

All I can say is wow! The pastrami is amazing here! I braved the subway to visit Katz s and it was well worth me overcoming my fear. We arrived around 10am on a Wednesday morning and it wasn t very busy. We were each given a ticket upon entering and told to hold on to it even if we didn t use it. Since we shared our food, we only used 1 ticket. Ordering was confusing, but thankfully, a local who was in line behind us helped us out. The sandwiches run $20+ but have A LOT of meat on them. We ordered the Rueben (with pastrami) and an order of potato salad. It was more than enough for 2 people. The potato salad was different from what I was accustomed to, but I enjoyed it. We also had 2 bottle waters and our total was around $41. The sandwiches come with pickles. You can pick between 2 types or request half of each (which is what we did). Katz s also ships the meats/sandwich fixings, so I plan to do that very soon!

Pastrami is okay; too expensive and crowded to justify the 23 dollars for a sandwich

Very nice Deli. Ticket system that i haven't seen before. Service was fast. Friendly staff. Pastrami with cucumbers and pickles were good. A little pricey tbh.

Cash only? It's 2018 btw. And yes the pastrami on rye was great. They need to just focus on the convenience of their customer more.

Worth the hype. Sandwiches are meaty and delicious. Not an everyday type of meal, but good for special occasions or when visiting.

If you're okay with having a meat heavy meal that's the place for you. Quality is really good.

Amazing pastrami sandwich! The experience was chaotic, but it was fun nonetheless.