what to book when you want jewish diner food
S&P Lunch (Flatiron) - this is one of my favorite brunch places. The food is amazing and the vibe is great. It feels nostalgic, like you’re in an old-school Jewish diner, and sitting at the bar is the move. It operates on a first-come, first-served basis, and the wait is usually under 20 minutes, especially if you go early.
What to order: their matzo ball soup is the best in NYC (in my opinion). The tuna melt, latkes, and pastrami sandwich are also delicious.
Barney Greengrass (Upper West Side) - this place is an institution on the Upper West Side, known for its smoked fish. It has an old-school atmosphere (it’s been around for almost 100 years) and serves really great food.
What to order: Everything is delicious, but their smoked fish is the must-get. I recommend the Nova salmon - it was some of the best smoked salmon I’ve had in NYC - and the whitefish. Get the platter over individual sandwiches if you have more than 1 person.
Katz’s Delicatessen (Lower East Side) - Katz’s is all about the experience and vibe - you have to go at least once. The pastrami and/or corned beef sandwiches are the must-gets here, and come with the best pickles ever.
Sadelle’s (Soho) - a more elevated diner than the others on the list, but it needed to be mentioned. The food at Sadelle’s is phenomenal (which I kind of hate to admit because it’s a chain...). The restaurant feels like an elevated, old-fashioned Jewish deli with a little bit of dramatic flair (some of the ideas for the restaurant came from Mendl’s in The Great Budapest Hotel) and the people watching is all time.
What to order: the smoked salmon is incredibly good & fresh (although, in my opinion, Barney Greengrass might actually be slightly better), and the bagels are out of this world. The whitefish, latkes, pigs in a blanket, salads, and the tuna melt are also great orders.
Sarge’s Delicatessen (Murray Hill) - I used to think they had the best matzo ball soup in NYC, but I’m convinced they recently changed their recipe because it's not as good anymore. The soup is a little oily and they don’t add carrots or dill. The broth used to make up for it, but since the recipe change, it doesn’t. But, Sarge's is still a good option if you're in the area, and their sandwiches are really good.
B+H Dairy (East Village) - I went here recently and had high expectations, particularly for their matzo ball soup and pierogis. I’ll caveat that I did order takeout, so it’s possible eating there would’ve changed my opinion slightly….but I was not impressed with what I got. The matzo ball soup didn’t have great flavor, the matzo itself was a little mushy and the noodles were flimsy and not adding much. The pierogis were ok but lacked flavor. Their sandwiches are served on challah bread, and I’ve heard good things about the tuna melt. I’m going to go back one more time and order some different items, but I’d say the matzo ball soup and the pierogis are not worth an order. It is a cool restaurant though - really small, pretty much just a bar counter and a few tables, and has that great old-school jewish diner vibe like many on the list.
*Note that most of these you don’t need a reservation for. You can just walk in.
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