Katz’s Delicatessen is one of New York City’s most enduring culinary landmarks, operating continuously since 1888 on the Lower East Side. Rooted in the food culture of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, it developed as a classic New York delicatessen built around robust, generously portioned meat specialties.

Although closely associated with Jewish culinary tradition, Katz’s is not kosher-certified, instead preserving the historic style of the New York deli. Its defining specialty is the pastrami on rye - beef navel cured in a seasoned brine, smoked, steamed, and hand-sliced to order - valued for its tenderness, juiciness, and pronounced peppery, smoky character.

The menu also includes corned beef, Reuben sandwiches, hot dogs, and traditional accompaniments such as pickles and knishes. A distinctive ticket system and multiple service counters structure the experience, maintaining the rhythm of an old-style deli.

The interior remains deliberately utilitarian, with walls lined in photographs and memorabilia that document more than a century of history. Katz’s has become a fixture of popular culture through film and television appearances, but its reputation ultimately rests on consistency, technique, and scale.

Today, it stands as a reference point for understanding the classic New York deli tradition at its most uncompromising and iconic.