New York Deli

Great deli, awesome matzo ball soup. Great corned beef.

Service was not great, they should hire at least some people that would be willing to know or pretend to know something about New York, our waiter did not even know that the Dodgers had come from Brooklyn and finished the conversation with «I’m not into sport»… What? And you’re working at a New York Deli? HELLO! The Pastrami and the Matzo ball soup were great! Hope they do come back to Pasadena or nearby? Torrance is way too far.

Its about time this DUMP closed! Just another one of MANY restaurants I have reviewed that are now closed due to AWFUL food and/​or AWFUL service!

(((WARNING))) (((WARNING))) (((WARNING)))
Business Hours as posted on Unilocal:
Mon 7:00 am — 3:00 pm
Tue 7:00 am — 3:00 pm
Wed 7:00 am — 3:00 pm
Thu 7:00 am — 3:00 pm
Fri 7:00 am — 3:00 pm
Sat 9:00 am — 3:00 pm
Sun Closed
Good luck on finding street parking in Old Town Pas, and I’ll admit I can be a cheap bastard as I hate to pay for parking and don’t get me started on Valet… hands off!
So after I park and make the trek over to this place to grab some lunch on a Saturday 4÷26÷14 at 11:45AM not a problem as they Open at 9:00AM, Right?
WRONG… they were CLOSED
NOT COOL NY DELI, NOT COOL
NO Days Hours posted on their window/​door front, so for wasting my time I give you 1-​Star

Been going here for years. Good food but service is extremely slow. Today the 2 cooks called in sick so the owner was cooking Waited 45 min from the time of ordering till receiving soup and sandwich. Only allowed one hour for lunch so I had to eat fast. Did not finish so took most of sandwich to go. If I didn’t ask no apology or explanation and no compensation. Yes the food is good but don’t know when I will return.

Nice place. the food reminds me of an upscale Brooklyn deli. pardon the East Coast references, as I am a native East Coaster. I ordered egg salad, which was slightly different than I have ever tasted, it was sweet, and very good. Sour dough bread was super fresh. Chicken soup was tasty and flavorful. three bean salad took me HOME.
^5 New York Deli. you are definitely on the repeat list.

Amazing pastrami sandwich! Fun place! Definitely going back on my next road trip!!! Leo was a great bartender and a nice!!!

A deli in Pasadena? Others have tried, many have failed — remember Jerry’s Famous Deli? A pretty good sandwich I thought, but if Jerry’s can’t stick around long enough for the paint to dry, how can a deli off the beaten path of the hustle and bustle of the Old Pasadena Strip make it? I sure hope they do! Their website says if you haven’t tried a New York Deli Sandwich you haven’t eaten at a real deli. Hmmm… what exactly a «real deli» is I am not sure. I picture an old Jewish lady slicing brisket in the back or a place like Billy’s Deli in Glendale where the waitress snidely tells you to hurry up and make up your mind. New York Deli hails from Torrance, and opened with a full bar and a refrigeration section that reminds me of the local supermarket. I like the look of this place — it’s sleek, clean and fun.
The menu itself, thank goodness, is relatively simple. Prices range from $ 9 to «the sky’s the limit», but I like that. You can get a triple-​decker if you’d like, but my lunch companion and I kept it simple. I went for the brisket sandwich ($ 9.95) and he went for the turkey sandwich ($ 9.95). The brisket was sliced a little too thin for my taste and was a tad bit dry, but he liked the turkey, and both of us, in true deli style, took half our sandwiches home. The sides were a real nice plus — I ordered the cucumber salad (nothing fancy here, but real good). There are other popular sandwiches places in Pasadena like the Pasadena Sandwich Co., and heck Whole Foods does a pretty decent sandwich as well. Is this the best sandwich I have ever tasted? No, but I do want to return for the Matzo Ball soup ($ 6.50), now that’s a deli entrée! Service was above average, we never had to ask for water, and the server actually asked how we were doing. Tip: order a Dr. Brown’s Cherry Soda — now we’re talking! They’ve got a nice beer selection, plus happy hour from 4 to 7 PM.

Best food. BEST chef.
If I could give them more than 5 stars I honestly would. They have a staff that is out of this world and is well trained on the basics of customer service which is hard to come by! I grew up at Jewish Delis eating corned beef and they have one of the best I have ever had! Great fries and onion rings too!!! Thank you guys for always being wonderful!

Hands down the best New York style sandwich you can get in Pasadena, if not all of LA! Especially their Pastrami (#17)! I don’t normally eat pastrami sandwiches, but there is NO WAY I can pass it up when I’m here! When I moved here from northern California, the New York Deli was a nice comfort food I could go to, not too mention their accommodating me in watching the Giants and Sharks games!
I highly recommend this place to anybody looking for some really good eats, as well as a massive craft beer selection! Also, I hear at night it turns into «The Speakeasy», where it’s a trendy, password-​only ‘20s style bar!
Keep on keeping on guys!

OOOH, I love deli sandwiches that has loads of pastrami!!! I finally found one in the heart of Pasadena and it was during lunchtime. When I took a bite of the sandwich, it melted right in my mouth. The side dish came with a good portion of cole shaw and a huge PICKLE! I love pickles so I can’t deny it. :)
As I looked across from the side of the bar, I noticed there were an array of beverages to choose from. There was so many soda pop bottles and beer to look at. I felt like I was just in NEW YORK!
I had a woman and man served me so they both were really attentive. I was so full at the end of my meal so GOOD JOB NEW YORK DELI!

When the wait at Slater’s ended up being a hour long (are you serious?!), a friend and I decided to walk down the block to see what other places served food and drinks.
We ended up here — the menu is pretty extensive, it was almost too much to look at. So while we couldn’t decide, we asked for glasses of wine… apparently, they do not serve by the glass, you’re forced to buy a bottle. I wanted to know the prices, but the bartender did not know, and another bartender only gave us an estimation of $ 30 plus. Ridiculous. They have a wall of beer from, probably, every country on the planet, but they cannot serve a glass of wine?
Unfortunately, we left without purchasing anything. It was early evening, and there were other places to try. If you don’t have my drink, then I don’t want your food.

Would it be inappropriate to do the soup joke here ;)
Anyways something relevant… so I ordered the Reuben which was spot on! Its comparable to Brent’s in the valley. Maybe not as tall as Brent’s though. Still, the sandwich was tasty and was about the average price as other delis. Around $ 12. It came with a pickle and a side of your choice. I got the potato salad. It was more sweet than I would like but still good.
My girlfriend got the matzo ball soup. She enjoyed it and confirmed it wasn’t bland.
The service there was also good as the waiter gave me brief background how everything is homemade.
The best part… lots of elderly Jewish men looking like they are enjoying themselves. I hope they played bocci ball afterwards… I would’ve joined.
Definitely recommend this place.
«Where’s the spoon?! Ah ha!»

Never before in my life have I had the desire to use the word «meh,» but I think the time has come. This restaurant is 100% MEH. I love good deli food, but what you’ll find here falls short. It is certainly not Langer’s quality.
We had matzo ball soup, corned beef sandwich with mustard, and turkey sandwich with coleslaw, swiss, and thousand island. The matzo ball soup was a bit obscene — absolutely enormous. It was fine, but nothing special. The sandwiches were about the same. The corned beef sandwich was very dry, requiring extra mustard. The turkey sandwich was OK, but again, nothing special. I think what it comes down to here is the quality of ingredients. Nothing is BAD, but a $ 10+ sandwich should be great.
On the plus side: huge bottled beer selection (I think they claimed over 200 labels).
So whatever. I’m exhausting myself by writing such a lukewarm review. If all you want in life is a matzo ball the size of your head, this place might work out for you. I’ll stick with Langer’s.

I’ve never actually been to a deli in New York, but if this place resembles one in any way, I regret that Ive never gone to one every time I was in NYC… oops.
But I’m also pretty sure that even real new york delis aren’t as awesome. Low key delicatessen by day serving stacks and stacks of pastrami/​other enormous sandwiches, and then voila! swanky rest/​bar by night. Threw this out as an option to a bunch of my unassuming friends who were looking for a chill place to hang out at night and SUCCESS. Everyone loved it… and sort of crazy to think that they actually want to go out to Pasadena over LA at times just to come here… weird I tell ya.

Its something about pastrami that just turns me off. I don’t know what about this thinly cut meat that just make me want to gag. I refer to it as vagina meat behind its back that how much it turns me off… BUT OMG this pastrami right here… FML its just soo tantalizing so moist so perfect.
My boss ordered lunch for the office and got a couple of sandwiches here and I was skeptical. I wasn’t gonna turn down free food so I went with it. He ordered both the macaroni salad and the potato salad and both are equally delish. I could get a side of that and be satisfied. But the pastrami sandwich really stole the show. The rye bread was equally soft yet evenly toasted, the mustard added a exciting bitterness and that pickle… Basic instructions: take a bite of the sandwich and while the flavors are settling on your tongue shove the pickle in your mouth and let the juices lather the sandwich and repeat… NO TIME FOR SWALLOWING be a big girl and let them flavors seep in.
You won’t be disappointed here promise!
More than enough to share perfect for any weather

Great pastrami!
I used my trusty Unilocal to bookmark this place weeks ago and my husband ended up going a couple days ago. He said he loved the pastrami sandwich and planted the seed, so I braved the flash floods, thunder and lightning to get there today. It is in one of my favorite blocks of Old Town Pasadena, right around the corner from Intelligentsia Coffee on Raymond.
When I walked in I really liked the décor. It has big red bar and three nice big screen T.V.s, red drapes and lots of black and white photos of stars. See my photos above. I was alone, so I decided to pull up a bar stool. The service was really good and my order was brought to me quickly. I hoped there would be a Matzo ball soup/​sandwich combo, but no such luck. I ended up getting just a cup of the chicken noodle soup with no Matzo ball, a huge piled high pastrami sandwich, nice crisp pickles and some really good cole slaw. That was the best pastrami sandwich I’ve had since my last visit to Brent’s in Northridge and Westlake. I have never been to New York, and I am definitely no expert, but I just started eating pastrami a couple years ago and I like the leaner variety. This pastrami is very lean, but very flavorful. I know some previous reviewers were a little harsh, but this is California, not New York, so go somewhere else if you don’t like it. I do like it and will be back.
You can get free 90 minute parking across Colorado in the Schoolhouse Parking lot on Raymond and Green. I brought half of the sandwich home for leftovers, but it didn’t make it to the fridge. That’s how good it was. My price for sandwich, cup of soup and a diet coke and tip was about $ 20.00. Not cheap, but so worth it when you in the mood for a pastrami sandwich and don’t feel like driving to Timbuktu to get one.

I had dinner at New York Deli with a large party, and we had a great time. The place is in a busy part of Pasadena, but it’s an unassuming spot that might be easy to miss. If you’re looking for a hearty deli sandwich, keep an eye open for New York.
The space is pretty cool, decorated with wall-​to-​wall black and white photographs depicting old-​time celebrities and evocative city scenes. If you’ve been to an actual New York deli, you will see the resemblance. On the other hand, if you’re going to be a snob about New York delis, you might be upset that the resemblance is not literal — there is, for instance, a refrigerated section where you can pick up drinks and meats as at a grocery store. Anyway, dismissing this place on such bases would be a shame.
The deli is family-​run, and for the sake of disclosure, the son is a friend of a friend. The service is very friendly and accommodating, and the place is welcoming. We sat at a large table and were all attended to promptly. At the end of our meal, we paid at a register.
I ordered the pastrami reuben with a side of pasta salad. It was gigantic and very delicious. The meat was great, and the dressing had a fantastic tang. I especially liked the grilled rye bread it came on — it had a nice crunch and it didn’t get soggy. The pickles and pasta salad were also lovely. I picked at my friend’s turkey sandwich as well, and that was not a reuben, but it was tasty nonetheless.
I rarely make it to this part of town, but I would love to go back to New York Deli. The reuben was pretty special, and I kind of doubt I’ll order much else.

In a city that seems inexplicably hostile to real delis, New York Deli is a refreshing newcomer. I love a good Matzo ball soup or Reuben, but you just can’t seem to find them east of, say, Fairfax? My dad and I had dinner here last night and I am now very pleased to have New York Deli as a tasty local deli option.
First of all, I had to get my matzo ball soup. A good matzo is hard to find (trust me, I’ve looked) and all too often, the soup is bland, the matzo ball is rock hard, they charge extra for noodles, etc. Not so at NY Deli! My jaw dropped when I saw our waiter approaching with this beast– the bowl is huge and the matzo ball is as big as a softball! (see photo) The taste lived up to the appearance. The broth was flavorful and perfectly seasoned; there were large chunks of real white meat chicken, and the noodles were thin and super long. Some people might object to the unusual noodles, but I really enjoyed them. Last but not least, the matzo ball itself was soft and just delicious. I was only able to finish half but that left practically a whole second meal that I just took home (and matzo ball soup leftovers are just as delightful).
Then I had the classic Reuben. This is also gigantic so be prepared for more leftovers. The corned beef was nice and lean, and piled high, with all the necessary accessories like sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and swiss, on perfectly grilled, golden-​brown rye bread. Mmm… (*thinking about that other half in my fridge right now…*) My dad had the hot pastrami on rye, which comes topped with coleslaw, and he said it was quite good as well, though not as «hot» as he might have liked. You get a choice of salad with most sandwiches, so I had the macaroni salad that was creamy, slightly-​sweet goodness.
I was very happy with our meal here and this may have even been one of the best deli meals I’ve ever had. The prices were pretty reasonable (suck it, Jerry’s), the portions were beyond generous, and the service was friendly and prompt. The atmosphere is laid-​back, and you can even watch TV on the big flat-​screens over the bar. So since I would really like them to stick around in Pasadena, I hope everyone gives NY Deli a try and enjoys themselves as much as we did!

11÷4÷2010 update — The philly steak sandwich is good, but the pastrami with swiss & coleslaw is definitely the thing to get!
A really welcome change to the Pasadena area! New York Deli occipies the former Famima location on Raymond, and got a chance to try it out today with a friend. Ordering is narrowed down immediately to the pastrami on rye, with swiss cheese & cole slaw. The food came out in less than 5 minutes! That’s pretty good for a restaurant that just opened. You know how it is… new places are usually still working this kind of thing out.
Start with potato salad — mustardy, slightly sweet, very good. Does it contain eggs? Don’t tell me. I hate eggs. But this potato salad is great! Moving on to the sandwich. The pastrami is piled high, and you think you’ll never be able to take a bite because it’s so big. But there’s a surprise — the pastrami is tender. Not flimsy, but it almost falls apart how tender it is. It’s not hard to take a bite at all. And you want to take more and more bites because the pastrami is slighly warm, but the cole slaw is cool so you get a contrast of salty/​creamy swiss cheese/​tangy cole slaw, but also a contrast in temperatures that combines to make one tasty meal. When I sat down, I swore that I was only eating half and taking home half, but it’s Friday. Forget that. I ate the whole thing, and did so happily.
The place is nicely decorated with scenes of New York and movie star photos, and there are tons of desserts (didn’t try) and a semi-​self-​service drink cooler. I didn’t know what I wanted, so the waitress let me browse what they had, and I settled on a Faygo root beer. I really used to lament that fact that in order to get deli food, there was only Pasadena Sandwich Company (requires car) or Langers or Canters. Now I can walk to deli food! This place definitely made a good first iimpression, and hope you like the food pictures!