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Restaurant · New York City, United States · Open now
Katz's Delicatessen
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Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
What it is
A Jewish delicatessen on the corner of East Houston and Ludlow on the Lower East Side, open since 1888, curing and hand-carving its own pastrami.
Why travelers eat here
For the pastrami on rye, which is the reference version, and for a room that has resisted every temptation to become something more fashionable.
What is genuinely good
Pastrami cured for weeks in house and carved by hand, weekend opening around the clock, and the counter system once you understand it.
Downsides
Very expensive for a sandwich. Long queues. A confusing ticket system with a penalty for losing it. Heavily touristed.
Best for
Any first visit to New York, and anyone who wants to understand what the fuss about pastrami actually is.
Consider eating elsewhere if
You are vegetarian, or you object on principle to queueing for food.
Practical advice
Take a ticket at the door and do not lose it. Go to the counter rather than the table service, tip the carver a couple of dollars and you will get a taste while you wait. Share one sandwich between two.
Prices and reservations
A la carte. No reservations. Counter service by ticket, table service at the back.
Getting there
Subway F to Second Avenue, then two minutes on foot. It is on the corner of East Houston Street and Ludlow Street.
Where it sits
The Lower East Side at the Houston Street boundary, an area of bars and boutiques now, with this and a handful of other survivors from when it was not.
How long to allow
An hour, longer if the queue is out the door.
The RuinMyTrip verdict
Take a ticket, go to the counter, tip the carver, order pastrami on rye and share it. Ignore the rest of the menu entirely.
Sources
Every figure above was checked against these before publication. If one has since changed, tell us and we will correct it.
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It is open Monday to Thursday, 8:00 am to 11:00 pm. source
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It runs continuously from 8:00 am Friday to 11:00 pm Sunday. source
From the RuinMyTrip team
Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
Katz's Delicatessen opens Monday to Thursday from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm, and runs continuously from 8:00 am Friday to 11:00 pm Sunday. It has been on the corner of Houston and Ludlow since 1888. The system is the thing people get wrong. You are handed a ticket at the door, you take it to a carver at the counter, you tip the carver, and you keep the ticket until you leave. Losing it is expensive. The tables at the back…
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