Carnegie Deli reopens on Seventh Avenue after 10 years

Carnegie Deli reopens today in Midtown Manhattan, a decade after its original closed on Seventh Avenue.

The new address sits a few blocks from the old one, at 834 Seventh Avenue. That storefront belonged to Stage Deli, Carnegie's old rival in New York's so-called pastrami wars, and later held Roxy Delicatessen. Both delis opened in 1937. Carnegie now takes over the space for good.

A third generation takes over

We want people who grew up with Carnegie Deli to walk in and recognize it.

Sarri Harper runs the relaunch. She is the granddaughter of Milton Parker, who bought Carnegie Deli in 1976 and built it into a tourist landmark, with lines stretching down the block most mornings. The original restaurant closed in 2016 after 79 years on West 55th Street.

"We want the people who grew up with Carnegie Deli to walk in and immediately recognize it, while giving a whole new generation the chance to make those same memories of their own," Harper said ahead of the opening.

The room seats 110 across roughly 2,500 square feet. Wood panels, the illuminated sign, a giant pickle at the entrance and the Wall of Fame all return, celebrity photos included: Mel Brooks, Robin Williams, Taylor Swift. Seating stays walk-in only, with no reservations and full waiter service, open daily from 11am to 10pm.

Pastrami prices climb with it

The pastrami and corned beef sandwiches keep their reputation for excess: $29 and $28, piled on rye with mustard and pickles. The Broadway Danny Rose stacks both meats for $37. A new sandwich, the Carnegie Deli Colossus, adds turkey, Swiss cheese and coleslaw under Russian dressing for $40.

Cheesecake returns at $15 to $16 a slice, in classic, strawberry and black-and-white versions. New additions widen the menu beyond the old deli staples: Reuben fries, fried deli pickle chips, babka French toast, and a corned beef and pastrami hash for breakfast.

Matzo ball soup, chopped liver, tongue and knishes stay on the list too, alongside the footlong hot dog Carnegie now calls the Lunch-Before-Lunch, priced at $21.

New York has lost most of its old-school Jewish delis over the past decade, squeezed out by rent and shifting tastes. Carnegie's return bets that the format still draws a crowd, at prices well above what it charged the first time around. Compare it with another recent Manhattan arrival, Daniel Humm's Humm in the West Village, or with Ludico's 150-seat room in Tribeca.