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I was a fan of this place for a long time and went in a few weeks ago for lunch. It was disappointing. So sad. Over the years I've recommended this place to friends. Recently I got the first negative response from a close friend. Thought he was just in a bad mood. Guess not. Two of us commented it took a whole night to get the bad taste out of our mouths.

This place is the second best deli in New York (Sarges is best). A nondescript place serving terrific soups and solid deli food, if a bit pricey. The real deal.

I had a Jewish deli craving earlier this afternoon, but I didn't want to head downtown from my place in Harlem to another deli. I had never eaten at Fine & Schapiro despite having lived in this city for over five years and passing by the place en route to other places numerous times. The place looks like it hasn't been renovated since 1962 and I didn't have much expectations, but I actually was pleasantly surprised. I had half a hot pastrami sandwich with matzoh ball soup and soda for $14 and change including tax (I ordered takeout since it was a nice day and I wanted to eat outside), which is reasonable for a kosher deli. The pastrami was very juicy and flavorful while the matzoh ball soup was piping hot with an airy and fluffy matzoh ball. I'm actually glad I didn't make the trek downtown as I never would have discovered this neighborhood gem. It's good to know there's a place I can get my deli fix that's a short subway ride from my apartment.

Every time I come here I leave with a satisfied belly full of good old-fashioned home-cooked Jewish food. The service is quick and the sour pickles are delish. Best egg barley around (with mushrooms and onions, yum). If you love Jewish delis, and are in the neighborhood, this place is a must.

This is a great value kosher deli. I have been eating there for years. You can get a great meal - love the matzo ball soup, the pickles, the sandwiches - for a decent price. Casual and warm atmosphere. Friendly service. What else to ask for after a long dat at work?

I've been ordering from them since I moved to the neighborhood in 1974, but I've only eaten at the restaurant about fifty times, so my comments are mostly about the delivered items. I've had one bad meal that I can recall, and I think it may have been an extra lean sandwich, as someone else mentioned. They make that cut of meat for heart patients, I think, and everyone else should order the regular sandwich. My favorite sandwich is the brisket, which is not fatty at all, and redolent of slow cooking with garlic and onion. When I have to be out of NYC, it's always the first thing I eat when I get back. If you want a really decadent treat, order a hot open turkey sandwich, or best, hot open brisket with gravy on a crispy potato pancake. This place has been here since Babe Ruth lived at the Ansonia Hotel around the corner and has survived despite being ignored in most surveys and reviews of classic NY food. Over the years I've brought out-of-towners here for a real taste of my home town cuisine. I do this even though I'm not Jewish. I've thought enough of this place that I've kept a 1975 menu with me through several moves, just for fun. The current menu is unique in that you can get both chicken chow mein or corned beef and cabbage. Side dishes include a turkey leg. They make the best vegetable soup I've ever had, and I've had their's at least a hundred times. This is also my destination for 7 layer cake and apple strudel. I don't have any kind of warm relations with the restaurant staff, don't know the owners, but I do know that this is one marvelous eatery that everyone should visit. It's a real shame that many people seem to go just once, then go home to get really intoxicated, then write a nasty review. (Fine and Shapiro does serve beer.) This is my favorite deli in New York. You can't go wrong!

That's the last time i'm going to this place. For $13.55 I got an "extra lean" pastrami sandwich that was 100% guaranteed to be Hebrew National pastrami they got from fairway 3 blocks away. Refrigerated and regurgitated so many times i'm not sure it was meat. It tasted like salty, chewy plastic. Though I was famished, after the first bite, I couldn't keep eating. Oh, my $13.55 sandwich came with two deformed pickles that had been destroyed by crushing. This is what kosher food on the upper west has become. $14 for a sandwich and I can't eat it.