2nd Avenue Deli

Ate there the other night-the food was excellent but you felt like they wanted you out before you even sat down! The restaurant is too small and you can not have a leasurely dinner there. They should have taken a larger space.

The food was the same...delicious. But the atmosphere was like a disneyized version of the old place. Also the old place was alot more friendly, like my grandmothers kitchen on passover. The new place is cold, and has an attitude problem. I never felt welcome. I felt like they wanted me in and out. and the waiter even forgot my matzoh ball. By the time he brought it out my soup was cold. i said to him "taste the soup" He didn't even get the joke. MORAL: Pick it up and take it home. Just make sure they don't forget your matzoh ball.

I'm a New Yorker. I don't just live NY. NY lives in me. Regretably, I've stayed away from some NY charms because they were pricey "tourist places." Hence, this was my first time to the 2nd Ave Deli. I LOVED IT! Granted, I did not wait on the line outside to get a seat and eat inside. Therefore, I didn't have the problems others have mentioned. I got my $15 pastrami sandwich "to go" and went back to work wondering what such a sandwich would look and taste like. I must say, the money was irrelevant and well spent after I finished the sandwich. I probably could have split it with someone but I was enjoying it way too much to do something silly like that. If you love pastrami like I do and you've got a few extra dollars to spare you should treat yourself to a pastrami on rye with mustard. It's NY at it's finest. Yum, yum, and now it's back to my diet :)

I waited a long time to get a pastrami sandwich. I was the only one there but the 2 guys behind the counter were busy doing other things. So 10 minutes later the guy asks me what I want, 5 minutes after that I get my pastrami sandwich. I ask the guy for a mustard seeing he had neglected to put it in my take-out bag. "You want an extra one? I got one in there already." WRONG! You didn't put in a mustard so it was a good thing I asked for one. After hating the experience of getting the sandwich, the sandwich was mindblowingly good. I will be going back for sure.

a bunch of us were working late so we came up with an idea of deli sandwiches, nice cole slaw and the trimmings. as we had ordered previous times since the reopening we decided the 2nd ave deli was the way to go. well we did not get what we wanted to wit: the cole slaw when i called to complain i was told the delivery guy would not return. well guess what for a hundred dollars for sandwiches which we order every week the should have made it right. so now I will never return.

Been here a few times. Bottom line is the cured meat is outstanding everything else isnt. (The soup is bland and many other things on the menu are average at best.) The place is not the same as old in quality or recipe. Nevertheless its the best pastrami in NYC.

Okay, on the positive side, the food is decent. Some dishes are good (kishka, stuffed cabbage, egg barley), others acceptable (soup), others not so great (pastrami!). But it is not worth the price or the poor service you must endure to get the food. I have tried eating in, taking out and delivery and all three were abysmal expriences. And the prices are NOT worth what you get. I have to think that if they keep going with this service and prices, they will be out of business within a year, once the nostalgia and hype goes away and people just evaluate the restaurant based on its quality, service and value.