11/05/09

Stay Out of Katz's Deli

by ManufacturedMan

If you want a horrible dining experience Katz's Deli is the place to find it! These people are rude. They giving these red tickets when you enter (of which have no purpose) and if you dont turn them in when leaving they wont let you out of the building even with proof of a paid receipt. The door greeter will literally stand in front of the door and tell you that you cant leave. Are they not aware that this is an act of false imprisonment? Are they stupid as well as filthy and rude? I gave them a one star rating only because this wont publish until i click at least one star..but I'm taking it back.

• Pros: There are None
• Cons: Filthy, Rude & Nasty Food

10/17/09

Four stars? Nonsense!

by jacksplaces

How so many can call this fatty, gristly, tepid, thick-sliced pastrami "the best" is beyond me. I can only surmise that people have never had decent pastrami to compare this dreck with. Or that they confuse quantity with quality. (Or maybe I just got the goy cut. But I doubt that, since the only kosher faces I saw at this place were the customers.) Even the corned beef, which is better than the pastrami, is packaged in a Reuben sandwich that's best described as nondescript.

This joint is so vulgar that they hand out entry tickets, which failure to return on leaving incur a $50 fine (yeah, right). Despite the "since 1880" blurb, the place has no charm. The waitress was nice, but the others were indifferent or surly.

I suggest the proprietor spend less time shmoozing with the celebs, whose photos line his walls, and pay more attention to what's going on with the food. He's obviously coasting on his rep while raking in the receipts.

Definitely not worth the schlep to the LES. Plenty of other delis closer to you that are better. Only one word for Katz's: trap.

• Pros: OK corned beef, nice waitress
• Cons: Everything else

10/14/09

Stomach filler

by DMilfort

Sandwich are great and will fill you up......A must go.......

• Pros: Huge portion
• Cons: On the Pricey side

08/19/09

Ugh

by AftermathNYC

This is in the top ten most filthy eating establishments in NYC. You have to wait in line to get on line. Food is decent but the place is so filthy you have to wonder about what your eating. I avoid it like the plague. There are so many other good (and clean) jewish delis.

• Pros: Corned beef
• Cons: Everything else

07/09/09

when herring met salami

by dallas_foodie

felt obligated to try this place but i think the first visit will be the last. the pastrami reuben is out of this world but none of the other meats we tried (corned beef, tongue, roast beef) could compare. this place is a zoo and waiting in line here is far from pleasant. the worst part is you have to wait in another line after for drinks, and yet another line at the end to pay your tab. do it once so you can say you did but this ain't the only deli in NYC!

• Pros: one word: reuben
• Cons: no close second

07/08/09

Good pastrami, but need patience to order

by TardyKat

My first visit to Katz's and of course I ordered the pastrami on rye. Not sure what else to get, a friend ordered the corned beef so we can share. They've got a weird system--you need to take a ticket from the guy at the entrance and your order is written on it and you pay what's written on it on your way out. Even if you don't buy anything, you need to get a ticket and just return it at the door. There's also waiter service if you don't want to order on your own. If so, it's a separate line for each cutter and they all take their time making the sandwich as it's made from scratch only when you order. The more tips you give them, the more samples they dole out to you while they make your sandwich. And this means, the longer the wait when you come during peak time. The pastrami was excellent, and half was enough to fill me but I'm not sure if it's worth $15. The pickle was not very pickled, tasted like it was removed from the marinade too soon. My friend and I didn't like the corned beef, maybe because we were already full on the pastrami.

• Pros: no nonsense deli/restaurant, good pastrami
• Cons: long waits at the line to order, pricey for a sandwich

05/27/09

Deplorable

by senso5

Basically, they have no waiter service...you get your food to sit down and eat...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...the soup is COLD and disgusting...and then, when it is fifteen minutes before closing...they try and take your food AWAY FROM YOU...and if you refuse, they hover nearby until they can grab your plate. 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. DON'T GO! Go to Carnegie Deli where the aggravation is at least worth it. I will never step foot in the horrible place again.

• Pros: We Didn't Die
• Cons: Everything

05/27/09

Decent corned beef; deplorable service

by roaddog1

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. But on a recent visit, the manager barked at my friend and me to move to another table (we were in the middle of our meal) so they could "shut the section down" and ten minutes later the busboy literally tried to take my plate—along with the dinner I'd just paid $25 for—right out from under my nose, explaining "we're closing." When I asked him to give me a couple of minutes to finish my sandwich, he stood right at my shoulder, watching me eat. It was 9:50 on a Tuesday night. If they shut down at 10 o'clock and pull your plate away at ten minutes before closing, they ought to tell you when you come in at 9:30. The soup was lukewarm and the matzoh ball was like wet cement. From now on, I'll get my corned beef fix uptown at Carnegie Deli. It's also loaded with tourists, but the sandwiches are twice as large, the matzohballs are fluffy and light and you feel like they appreciate your business.

• Pros: They can make a sandwich
• Cons: Overpriced tourist trap

05/21/09

Katz's Deli: Nostaligic NO! Decrepit YES!

by glandpuck

My first trip to NY and to this famous institution. Katz's was crowded and loud with locals having a good time. It took me a while to figure out the the waiter vs. self-order system, but this was understandable. The tables and chairs are old and in need of repair, not nostalgic. Tables are very narrow forcing patrons to sit with their chairs away from the table into the back of the adjacent table forcing persons to always have to be moving. Not nice. My matzoh ball soup was very mediocre. The broth tasted more like carrots with no chicken taste and was room temp. The matzoh ball was average in taste and not warm inside the center. The egg creme (my first in NY) was served in a paper cup with a plastic lid (again, not the nostalgic soda glass with a frothy layer I was expecting). The taste was ordinary and I make better ones at home. Now for the corned beef sandwich. The rye bread had no caraway seeds, a soft crust like white bread and was machine sliced thin like diet slices. Lousy bread. The corned beef was again ordinary, not salty and not flavorful. In my opinion, if you are a visitor, look elsewhere for deli. If you are a local, then I say to New Yorkers: Wake Up! This deli is lousy. Demand more. Bread should have caraway seeds, be warm, hand sliced, a little thick with a crunchy crust. Corned beef should be moist and a little salty and flavorful. Matzoh ball soup should be piping hot, a great chicken broth and the matzoh ball should be flavorful and hot. An egg cream should be in a nice soda glass for over $4. Oh yes, clean this place up, it looks dirty and old.

• Pros: Not really any. Pickles were okay
• Cons: See the details

04/17/09

dont waste your time or money

by worldcupsoccer

Your review

Rated 1.0 out of 5.0 Way Way over priced $$$$ even bernie madoff got took ‎ - collegcup‎ - Today

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.

By the way when pay on your way out its like they could careless about your business.

Just because they have been around along time doesnt really matter because good things go bad and bad things can turn around and this is one of the biggest ripoffs in NYC even Bernie Madoff got took!! Twenty for a sandwich and $7 for fries a guy should get CLIENT 9 treatment included for that price!! and doesnt include a soft drink!

One more thing the Frommers and Zagat boys eat there for free and if they had to cough up their own cash to eat at Katzs this place would be declawed and out of business!!

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• Pros: food is good
• Cons: WAY WAY overpriced crowded difficult to get to