Katz's Delicatessen

(212) 254-2246

205 E Houston St (at Ludlow St.)
New York, NY 10002 40.7223 -73.9873

Get Map & Directions »

Neighborhoods: Lower East Side, Downtown

KATZDELI.COM

Years in business

Established in 1888

Hours:

Mon-Tue 8am-9:45pm

Wed-Thu 8am-10:45pm

Fri-Sat 8am-2:45am

Sun 8am-10:45pm

Price:

$

Last updated 8.16.11

Category:

Restaurants, Delis And Delicatessens, Catering

Payment Methods:

American Express, Discover, Visa, MasterCard

Catering Services:

Restaurant Management

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, Family-Friendly Dining, Late Night Dining, Private Rooms, Lunch Spot, People Watching, Food Delivery, Cheap Eats

General Info:

Open 7 Days

Cuisine:

Eclectic & International, Hot Dogs, Kosher, Traditional American, Comfort Food

What People Are Saying About Katz's Delicatessen

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

Katz's Deli is frequented by regulars who've been coming for decades, as well as tourists and neighborhood newbies; occasionally, you might catch a glimpse of a celebrity. Since its establishment in the 1880s, the deli has changed very little in appearance, retaining a grungy sheen. Grab a ticket on the way in for counter service, or seat yourself at a table to be waited on. Katz's still makes about 5,000 pounds of corned beef, 2,000 pounds of salami and 12,000 hot dogs a week--the old-fashioned way, on the premises--and it shows in the massive portions the deli serves. Excellent pastrami is a…

Editor's Tips

Where to Sit:
The sign hanging above the table made famous in the movie "When Harry Met Sally" should help you find the spot.
ambiance
71.4300012588501% positive
  1. The atmosphere is not for the faint of heart (the lines, the crowded, the bus-your-own-everything, the sawdust on the floor, the nasty bathroom, the don't-lose-your-ticket-or-else).
  2. It never ceases to amaze me when people write negative reviews of excellent, cheap-eats type places and fault them for their spartan decor, surly puryeors, and basic service.
  3. Dingy but colorful, great food, huge portions -- and just plain lots of fun.
  4. The food is still good but I wish the ambience was what is was 20-25 years ago.
  5. This was once a fun place full of character, now it is a disgusting dirty get them in get them out factory with rude help and the worst food in the city.
  6. Fabulous old decor & the best food we had on our recent trip to NYC.
  7. Yes, it has an authentic Old Manhattan atmosphere, which is harder and harder to find these days, and it serves a decent corned beef sandwich.
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. enjoy an egg cream or a cel-ray soda with your meal.
  2. had a chopped liver sandwich and a vanilla egg cream, and my husband enjoyed a pastrami Reuben with a chocolate egg cream.
  3. An egg cream should be in a nice soda glass for over $4.
drinks
0.0% positive
  1. The Pastrami sandwich was like "buttah" and with pickles and an icy cold beer to wash it down, it was a pleasurable experience.
  2. Sandwich & a cold beer and you're all set!
food quality
74.40000057220459% positive
  1. The turkey's great too and the steak fries are about as good as frozen steak fries can get.
  2. Now, the sandwich was extremely good -- but it should have been for $14.95.
  3. Cool nostalgic vibe to it and I LOVE the sample they give you while you're waiting for your sandwich to be made.
  4. Decent corned beef; deplorable service
  5. Go to Kennsington Deli in Great Neck for a good tasting Kosher sandwich.
  6. terrible pastrami and corned beef.
  7. My matzoh ball soup was very mediocre.
  8. was able to finally visit this legendary deli earlier this year and ordered their famous pastrami sandwich.
  9. The pastrami sandwich overflows with juicy goodness, and I can't get enough of the fresh pickles.
  10. had a great corned beef sandwich at Katz and that was without tipping beforehand because I only had large-denomination bills in my wallet.
  11. I'll be honest, the sandwich was greasy, heavy, and one of the best pastrami sandwiches I've ever had!
  12. The latkes I have to say might be the best I have ever had, thin and crisp with the perfect potato flavor.
  13. An egg cream should be in a nice soda glass for over $4.
  14. the pastrami is delicious, and my fave sandwich.
  15. Matzoh ball soup should be piping hot, a great chicken broth and the matzoh ball should be flavorful and hot.
  16. Katz's is old New York at it's authentic and contemporary best.
  17. Want abuse and overpriced food?
  18. My friend and I didn't like the corned beef, maybe because we were already full on the pastrami.
  19. but i must admit that the pastrami sandwich looked great on TV, so i decided to give Katz Deli a try.
  20. If you're hesitant that it's the best kosher deli, just stop in and try a pastrami sandwich.
  21. this place is hands down the best pastrami sandwich you'll ever have in your life.
  22. Great portions on the sandwiches.
  23. the prices have obviously gone up since then and now i don't go often, but i know it's the place to go for a nice family meal that we'll all like.
  24. You will not be disappointed with the juicy, crisp outside, tangy meat.
  25. Dear God without doubt-the best sweet potato knish's and also some of the best pickles you can come by!
  26. tried the pastrami and corned beef (both warm), and the cold roast beef - all were good, but not quite $10-13 good, for such a small sandwich.
  27. The food is still good but I wish the ambience was what is was 20-25 years ago.
  28. the soup is COLD and disgusting.
  29. Although I didn't enjoy my bill, I did enjoy the sandwiches.
  30. The pickles that accompanied the sandwiches were excellent.
  31. Thirdly, I just cannot recommend this place because the chaos the ordering system is, the reliance on tickets that can be lost (it also bespeaks of how much they trust the customer - or are hoping they lose their ticket), the bleh non-meat food, the miser
  32. don't miss out on a plate full of fresh dill pickles.
  33. The sandwich is huge, the pastrami is tender, hand cut, juicy.
  34. While the sandwiches are not the very best I have ever eaten, I found the meat, the pastrami in particular, to be quite tasty.
  35. While there are plenty of places to go for a good corned beef sandwich, Katz's has a charm about it.
  36. But the food was terrible -- and expensive!
  37. The pastrimi sandwich is simply the BEST in the city.
  38. This is not justifiable---the portions are small, the food is disgusting, the staff rude, and the environment filthy.
  39. had a chopped liver sandwich and a vanilla egg cream, and my husband enjoyed a pastrami Reuben with a chocolate egg cream.
  40. LOVE their pastrami sandwich on rye.
  41. They will give you a sample while slicing the meat, and the sandwiches are big enough to easily share (no charge either!)
  42. The meats (pastrami, corned beef and tongue) are quite good (note: NOT best) but don't have anything else.
  43. The pastrami sandwich was outstanding!
  44. If you are in search of the most authentic NYC deli experience look no further than the famous and historic Katz's Deli down on the Lower East Side.
  45. As a big meat eater I must recommend the hot Pastrami.
  46. The food is amazingly good and I am thankful for having encountered it.
  47. Dingy but colorful, great food, huge portions -- and just plain lots of fun.
  48. would definitely visit again and bring friends from the Philippines over, hopefully to try the famous corned beef and salami next time.
  49. The food is still as good now as when I was a kid.
  50. Katz's Deli is the most overrated food place I've ever been to, On a recent visit we were served dry tasteless french fries, a plate of pick.
  51. The delicious pastrami, corned beef, salami, tongue, etc. also remain the same.
  52. Kosher dills are the perfect compliment for your unforgetable sandwich and they give you plenty of them.
  53. their corn beef and the pastrami are the best that money can buy and one sandwich is enough for two
  54. The soup was nice but wasn't too convinced by the Matzoh ball.
  55. The other food there outside of the Pastrami that is good corned beef.
  56. This was once a fun place full of character, now it is a disgusting dirty get them in get them out factory with rude help and the worst food in the city.
  57. don't see how anyone can think you'll get a better pastrami sandwich anywhere, and the hot dogs are the best around.
  58. Overall, great food and good experience.
  59. They'll usually give you a sample piece while they make your sandwich, and it's that first bite that always puts a smile on my face and makes me remember why Katz's is so good.
  60. The no-frills matzo ball soup is also very good, and never forget to order a side of half-sour pickles!
  61. The matzoh ball soup is the best i've ever eaten and this includes homemade recipes from my jewish relatives.
  62. The only thing is the food was just awful.
  63. The Pastrami was juicy and delicious with enough meat to feed 2.
  64. Last night me and my partner REALLY wanted a GOOD pastrami and corned beff sandwich.
  65. Only once did I have a piled high sandwich that was not very enjoyable that was more like it was from the Carnegie del.
  66. As a native New Yorker, I've been going to delis, including Katz's, my whole life, so I know a thing or two about good corned beef and pastrami.
  67. Wish they would grace their meat with some better bread, but the plain Jane rye provided a nice blank canvas, in a sense.
  68. Excellent sandwiches!
  69. The Pastrami sandwich was like "buttah" and with pickles and an icy cold beer to wash it down, it was a pleasurable experience.
  70. Also do keep in mind that it's probably also going to be one of the most expensive sandwiches you'll ever eat.
  71. Heres the thing yeah its a good sandwich but so what for this price $$$$ you can have a very good meal almost anywhere in NYC so save your money.
  72. The food is awful.
  73. love the quality of the food
  74. The food is wonderful it is the best deli.
  75. Well maybe its becaue once I did get my sandwich it was very good.
  76. french fries, Cole Slaw and pickles were all good.
  77. The corned beef was good too but a bit dry for my taste - maybe because I ordered it lean.
  78. The meat was warm and thickly sliced - not like the pastrami you buy at the deli that is cold and sliced thin on a machine.
  79. Matzoh ball soup was tasteless, pickles were limp and fries were mostly soggy and greasy.
  80. Potato salad - vomitable; one bite and I felt sick.
  81. enjoy an egg cream or a cel-ray soda with your meal.
  82. The corned beef Rueben was terrible --the meat was dry and the sandwich was greasy.
  83. Before I lay into them I will say that the meat (on the reuben) is 'good' but no better than what you can find at a good BBQ joint where the meat is tender and juicy and about three times less expensive.
  84. for those who don't like the food.
  85. Fabulous old decor & the best food we had on our recent trip to NYC.
  86. The reuben is an astounding $15.75 complete with tasteless rye bread and sauerkraut with metled cheese direct from the.
  87. Pastrami or corned beef are juicy and piled high (ask for extra rye bread).
  88. It seemed to me that Katz's attracts a good many tourists but this native New Yorker will still occasionally return to Katz's when I am feeling nostalgia for some tasty, old time deli.
  89. Sometimes I'll go with potato salad or a knish on the side, because you can't go wrong with either of those, and occasionally I'll have one of their delicious hot dogs as a prelude to my pastrami.
  90. Love the matzo balls and chopped chicken liver.
  91. Yes, it has an authentic Old Manhattan atmosphere, which is harder and harder to find these days, and it serves a decent corned beef sandwich.
  92. This was not just the worst meal of the year, but perhaps of the decade and century!
  93. The meat is ok (not good, but not vomitable) on the sandwich, but the radiation cheese and sauerkraut are gross.
  94. I'm not a pastrami/corned beef fan so when I got to Katz's, it's for the best hot dogs (mustard, saurkraut) in the city, snappy and fresh, and knishes, kasha-filled and hot and crispy, amazingly comforting with brown mustard.
  95. If they were actually well managed they would have a happier staff, the place wouldn't look like a dive, which it is, it wouldn't be a riddle to find out how to get service, it wouldn't be a surprise that there is 'waiter' service, there wouldn't be table
  96. Corned beef is also excellent but by nature it is not as flavorful or moist.
  97. the food is that good!
overall
75.0% positive
  1. If you are a vegetarian, this really isn't a good place to go.
  2. The place is the best place on the East Coast for Pastrami and has been rated by many people.
  3. It's the best place i NYC.
  4. am really surprised to see here those great reviews and all those pictures of famous people hanging in the big hall of the restaurant.
return potential
50.0% positive
  1. took my family here for the real deli experience, and I'll never go back, the service is deplorable, the staff is rude, and the prices are ridiculous.
  2. It seemed to me that Katz's attracts a good many tourists but this native New Yorker will still occasionally return to Katz's when I am feeling nostalgia for some tasty, old time deli.
service
42.58999824523926% positive
  1. This is not justifiable---the portions are small, the food is disgusting, the staff rude, and the environment filthy.
  2. The waitress was nice, but the others were indifferent or surly.
  3. The waitresses are nice--also you can just get counter service & sit.
  4. am really surprised to see here those great reviews and all those pictures of famous people hanging in the big hall of the restaurant.
  5. People who work there are good people.
  6. The staff knows their stuff and the owners are professional and on the ball.
  7. can only surmise that people have never had decent pastrami to compare this dreck with.
  8. Dingy w/ yellowed pictures of all the famous people IE President Clinton after 2 hot dogs and a pastami WOW howed he do that, Jerry Lewis, and of coarse Harry & Sally.
  9. you are shuffled around by hang dog bus people who apologize profusely about the rude management who close down sections you are eating in and make you move.
  10. If they were actually well managed they would have a happier staff, the place wouldn't look like a dive, which it is, it wouldn't be a riddle to find out how to get service, it wouldn't be a surprise that there is 'waiter' service, there wouldn't be table
  11. Our waiter was rude, and tried to serve me a bagel with lox and creme cheese on a cinnamon raisin bagel.
  12. Decent corned beef; deplorable service
  13. The staff is very, very rude.
  14. took my family here for the real deli experience, and I'll never go back, the service is deplorable, the staff is rude, and the prices are ridiculous.
  15. The place is the best place on the East Coast for Pastrami and has been rated by many people.
  16. It never ceases to amaze me when people write negative reviews of excellent, cheap-eats type places and fault them for their spartan decor, surly puryeors, and basic service.
  17. Service is always a bit mediocre and the seating is not great because its a cafeteria but youre not there for the seating or the service, your there for the legendary pastrami and thats what youll get.
  18. This was once a fun place full of character, now it is a disgusting dirty get them in get them out factory with rude help and the worst food in the city.
  19. Please ignore all reviews that say this place is terrible and mark it with one star, it is not meant to be a 5 star restaurant with crisp white linens and impeccable waiter service.
  20. the people were rude and i will never step foot in this "landmark" again.
  21. If you are going to make people wait on the disgusting line, then you should use the same method that banks employ.
  22. These people are rude.
  23. The service was excellent.
  24. There were other people on my line that were getting really mad, cursing under their breath about our guy and your poor system of service.
  25. Expensive, dirty, rude.
  26. Thirdly, I just cannot recommend this place because the chaos the ordering system is, the reliance on tickets that can be lost (it also bespeaks of how much they trust the customer - or are hoping they lose their ticket), the bleh non-meat food, the miser
  27. the staff was rude, and the area where you could be served by a waitress had people waiting like vultures for the next available table!
value
56.479997634887695% positive
  1. Want abuse and overpriced food?
  2. Thirdly, I just cannot recommend this place because the chaos the ordering system is, the reliance on tickets that can be lost (it also bespeaks of how much they trust the customer - or are hoping they lose their ticket), the bleh non-meat food, the miser
  3. Before I lay into them I will say that the meat (on the reuben) is 'good' but no better than what you can find at a good BBQ joint where the meat is tender and juicy and about three times less expensive.
  4. Great portions on the sandwiches.
  5. I've had equally large portions at Carnegie and Stage delis which were painfully dry.
  6. But the food was terrible -- and expensive!
  7. Dingy but colorful, great food, huge portions -- and just plain lots of fun.
  8. Heres the thing yeah its a good sandwich but so what for this price $$$$ you can have a very good meal almost anywhere in NYC so save your money.
  9. huge rip-off.
  10. It never ceases to amaze me when people write negative reviews of excellent, cheap-eats type places and fault them for their spartan decor, surly puryeors, and basic service.
  11. WAY too expensive!
  12. their corn beef and the pastrami are the best that money can buy and one sandwich is enough for two
  13. Also do keep in mind that it's probably also going to be one of the most expensive sandwiches you'll ever eat.
  14. The sandwich is huge, the pastrami is tender, hand cut, juicy.
  15. the prices have obviously gone up since then and now i don't go often, but i know it's the place to go for a nice family meal that we'll all like.
  16. The pastrami was excellent, and half was enough to fill me but I'm not sure if it's worth $15.
  17. This is not justifiable---the portions are small, the food is disgusting, the staff rude, and the environment filthy.
  18. took my family here for the real deli experience, and I'll never go back, the service is deplorable, the staff is rude, and the prices are ridiculous.
3 Star Rating: Average

03/15/12

Quality Control is Gone

by Chubby Restaurant Goer

I still give it 3 stars because they do still make one of the best pastrami sandwiches in NYC, but here is a place that has become too popular for its own good that management no longer cares. I do say management because the staff are still hard-working as ever but the quality of the meat has gone down tremendously and that is the manager's responsibility.

There used to be a time when I would easily give this place 5 stars or the highest rating because every time I go there, they serve the best and freshest meats. It don't matter if it's corned beef, franks, or turkey, they are all good. Now, only the pastrami is good and all the rest is crap. I got food poisoning a few times from their not-so-fresh corned beef.

If you're a tourist, everyone will tell you to come here. But I must warn you if you order anything else other than the pastrami sandwich.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/08/11

Best pastrami ever

by AnnaK11235

I loved the pastrami in this place.

You do have to wait on line for a while but its worth the wait.

2 Star Rating: Below Average

10/19/11

THICK sliced vs THIN sliced...

by PhillipLisa

Bottom line with this review (forget about how many stars we gave it); you either LOVE THINLY sliced GARGANTUAN sandwiches (pastrami and corn beef ESPECIALLY) as are made at the rival - Carnegie Deli OR you like THICKER and more manageable sandwiches from Katz's. We personally prefer Carnegie Deli, but this is also a top notch quality New York deli of that type genre. It is "expensive" when you compare the size of the sandwich from both places as a Carnegie Deli sandwich can feed 4 people or more and make 4 lunches/dinners. We have only eaten here once because of our preference. MANY of who are coming in as tourist from outside of New York City are just coming because they FINALLY saw the movie that had a scene filmed there in 1989 - "When Harry Met Sally".

Phillip & Lisa

1 Star Rating: Poor

07/21/11

If you like to be abused, go to Katz

by Jprendes

Overpriced, bad service, average food, filthy place. When you search in Google for "bad customer service" a picture of this place should come up

4 Star Rating: Recommended

07/03/11

Best Pastrami Sandwich

by SammyLove

A must visit for anyone coming to NYC. The Pastrami on Rye is my favorite.

The Details on Katz's Delicatessen

Place Categories:

  • best hot pastrami
  • good corned beef
  • good corned beff sandwich
  • best nyc deli
  • good tangy meat
  • not recommend food place
  • best half sour pickles
  • recommend katz
  • best pastrami sandwich
  • rude people
  • rude staff
  • disgusting matzoh ball soup
  • tasteless plate
  • great deli experience
  • best hot dogs
  • great corned beef sandwich
  • great chicken broth
  • nice family meal
  • all good french fries
  • never decent pastrami
  • worst dining experience
  • overpriced way
  • great food
  • best place
  • soupy warm cole slaw

As Seen In…

Best of Citysearch

New York

Best of Citysearch

New York

Best of Citysearch

New York