They open at noon on Sunday and they welcome you in. When you're seated, you get pickles and coleslaw. There's also a handwashing station that has little pieces of bread next to it, which is very great for a Kosher restaurant. I've never had fried kreplach before, but this was amazing. It tasted wonderful with the fried onions. The pastrami is also good with mustard. And don't forget to get a Dr. Brown's soda, which compliments any meal. read more

I met a group of thirty people for a celebratory lunch at Essen. There were delicious pickles on plates throughout each table of 15. There were two small plates of coleslaw at the other end of the table. We requested coleslaw for our end of the table and the very nasty Hispanic waiter said it's over there. We requested some for our end of the table - the nasty waiter begrudgingly brought it about 10 minutes later. Two people sitting opposite us ordered one kasha knish each but were not told the restaurant did not have any. Three potato knishes, two square and one round were served instead without any explanation or request for them. I ordered what should have been a restaurant special, pastrami, coleslaw and mustard served on an open knish. The knish was served ice cold, seeming to have just been pulled from the refrigerator and cut open. I asked for a knife to cut into the food but it never arrived. The pastrami was a fatty, inedible mess, next to no meat, just spices on room temperature meat fat. It was awful. The coleslaw and mustard were fine. Unfortunately, the dish as a whole was unpleasantly inedible. The same Hispanic waiter was rude to the person sitting next to me and the person sitting opposite me. He seemed intent on making it clear that customers were an inconvenience to him. While we were a large group other than us the restaurant was empty. With so few customers you'd think they'd at least make an effort with the food or basic courteous service. Nah, didn't happen. I would have liked to recommend Essen as a great kosher restaurant but I can't. My meal was awful, the waiter rude. Coleslaw was great, but nothing else was. I was very disappointed. read more

Cousin was looking to do kosher Fleisch tonight, so we met at Essen NY kosher deli in Midwood, Brooklyn, NYC. First time there since they relocated. Much larger space than expected. Diverse menu for a Jewish deli including bbq, Chinese, etc. Seated right away and not crowded for dinner after today's fast ended. We all got jumbo sandwiches and took half home: Rueben, hot Romanian pastrami lean and corned beef lean and turkey. Unlimited coleslaw and pickles which were excellent. Sandwiches were good not great. Service on point, but the server seemed quite unhappy and apathetic. Ambiance is basic with sone Jewish memorabilia. Prices were appropriate for kosher meat restaurants. Warning: 20% service charge. I didn't see any post about it entering the restaurant or on the menu. Only 3 in our party. My favorite kosher deli in the states remains the 2nd Ave deli in Manhattan. read more

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We drove here from Staten Island to get a Pastrami sandwich, which we have done a few times in the past and the food has been amazing. The Cole slaw is amazing and delicious. However, the pastrami was stringy, which seems like they switched to a lower grade of meat. Like I need to floss my teeth after eating half of a sandwich! We are disappointed, and may try one more time but for now we won't be going back anytime soon. read more

I tell you it was my first time visiting this restaurant and it was a different experience than what I expected. I was looking for an old fashioned delicatessen you know the one where your order is called out in the white apron and pencil behind his ear... lol. Well this was not that! This was a very nice, sane deli/sit-down restaurant and I was impressed with the service and quality food there. I ordered a bunch of stuff to bring back to my home in Maryland and I just hope the next time I go they have half sours! Everyone was very nice. All the customers whether they grabbed a table or got their orders to go left with smiles on their faces. What a great find! read more

The Host Eric was so kind and talking to him was like talking to an old friend. I ordered the Turkey Gumbo soup and had some questions about the Matzah ball soup, Eric was kind enough to let me try a sample! 10/10 would come back and bring a Freind ! read more

Essen NY Deli - Left nothing behind!!! Gumbo soup 10/10 on a cold day! - Delis Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

My experience there was horrifying . We traveled from uws to go there . I was presented with a bill that was not correct . The more I spoke up - the more lies I got . I called today and was once again ridiculed and told a bunch of lies on why the bill was incorrect by 40 dollars . We spent over three hundred dollars and it is shocking how dishonest these people are , No- one should have to endure what I endured read more

Great food, matzah ball soup is a favorite, a bit pricey but so good. Meat sandwiches are also amazing. Never ate inside, always ordered out, easy to do by calling, pay with card and come and pick up later. Always friendly. Highly recommend. read more

Good and authentic Kosher deli. The deli meats are tasty, we got the platters and it was delicious with all the sauces at the side.

This place def shkd not be in the top 10 NYC Jewish delis. But - does NYC even have 10 Jewish Delis left ? The prices are insanely high, as you are paying for them to be Glatt kosher certified - a racket. That being said, they are the one and only Jewish deli near me, & when I need a brisket sandwich & kishke w/ a Dr. Brown's, "It's You Or No One". Note: a peep from David's Brisket House opened a sister place w/ almost the same menu in Flatbush - Moe's Pastrami. It's awesome, & their deli sandwiches crush Essen. But - they don't have the whole Jewish deli menu. Just the sandwiches & seltzer. read more

I'd noticed them in my trips around the area and put it in the back of my head. Finally went and was very happy I did. This spot is closed Friday night and Saturday. So plan accordingly. Address says Coney Island Avenue but actually on Ave J. Somewhat of a throwback to the kosher deli's of the 60's and 70's. It has a somewhat retro feel to it. My sandwich was spot on pastrami was good ( tho a bit to lean). My potato knish could have been hotter but was still very good. Cole slaw and pickle exactly what they are. Service was somewhere between "yo buddy and and my mother serving me food" They had this interesting looking potato salad ( looked liked mashed) I'll have to try it next time I need my arteries blocked up. But I will go read more

This place is much more convenient to get to and is better than katz in Manhattan the pastrami was tender and delicious. The brisket was delicious and all the appetizers were great. I highly recommend this place. read more

Love this place! Very authentic Ashkenazi Jewish food, and the quality of meat is consistently solid

New location,food is good but the 20% service charge??? The only time I would go is lunch special time.

Stopped in for a hot dog. No customers in the restaurant or at the take out counter. Stood in front of a woman sitting behind the cash register for a good 5 minutes. She was very busy on her phone. When I realized she wasn't going to look up from her phone, I finally said "excuse me I've been standing here for 10 minutes" (exaggerating). She said "it hasn't been 10 minutes" (she was annoyed). I thought to myself "If you know it hasn't been 10 minutes then you must have known I was standing there but didn't bother to look up from your phone". Oh, and the hot dog was $8.00. Total rip off. The hot dog wasn't any better than one you could get on any street corner in NYC. I see all these other reviews on here complaining about the service. It's true. I know I'll never go back. I'm sure everything else on the menu is overpriced since they charge $8.00 for a measly hot dog. You've been warned! read more

I've been here twice and I'm definitely coming back!! I don't have to travel far now because they make the best pastrami sandwiches I've ever tasted. The Cole Slaw and the Caesar Salad are delicious, too. Hoping to bring the rest of my family to enjoy next time!! read more

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food is relatively good but service is awful. You can wait forever for your order to be taken. Normally only 1waiter who tries his best but it is impossible to provide good service when more than 3tablespoons are occupied. Last time We went it took a half hour just to have our order taken, Unless you can devore 2+ hours to get a sandwich and soda forget it. read more

I ordered vegetable lo mein . There were only 2 tiny thinly sliced pieces. Nothing else.

Worst ever. The server stared us down, threw plates on the table, stole the menus away, and refused to acknowledge us. Terrible atmosphere, the owner was sitting there laughing and overseeing his horrible staff and didn't say a thing. Waste of money, left hungry and put off. Go anywhere else on the block the food they served was fatty and gross. read more

It needs to be stated up top that Essen is in no way seeking to compete with Katz's or Pastrami Queen or any of the other many more well-known delis across the city. You may not see them on the Food Network or written up on Eater or even blurbed by any of your favorite celeb chefs. Now that that's out of the way, let's get to what you *can* expect from Essen NY Deli, which is a phenomenal lunch. Essen serves the type of food that simply hits the spot. I had been craving pastrami, but not necessarily the "scenes" at some of those other spots I mentioned earlier. I just wanted a sandwich. Essen offers a fantastic lunch deal which includes a half sandwich, soup or fries, and a soda. I pounced. I went with obvious choices -- matzah ball soup, pastrami sandwich (lean), and a ginger ale. There was a bit of confusion by the server as he first brought my soup, then delivered a full corned beef sandwich. When I stated that wasn't my order, he speedily corrected it, apologized, then threw in the fires for me to make up for it, so I ended up with both fries AND soup, but take note, this is not the norm. The soup was bright, flavorful and teeming with noodles that swam around a gargantuan matzah ball that was perfectly tender to the bite and dense. I would've appreciated a carrot or a parsnip or maybe some dill to perfectly even out the dish, but c'est la vie. Next was my pastrami sandwich, which was perfectly overstuffed. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Essen does not make their own pastrami, opting instead for a purveyor or maybe even the cold cut stuff. No matter, it was still delicious and again, it hit the spot. To counter any dryness of the meat I loaded it up with deli mustard (that is brought upon request.) Again, my lunch hit the spot and I enjoyed it very much. I removed one star simply for quality of food, which is not to suggest it was bad but that it is not on par with a place like Katz's, which sets a very high bar. My four stars are for the excellent service, the lunch deal, and for what the food provides, which in this case was a full stomach and a satisfied customer! read more

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Great food - I grew up in Brooklyn and love a good Kosher sandwich, this is the place !

Excellent square potato knishes. I love the lunch special. Pastrami or corn beef sandwich on rye with mustard, matzo ball soup, celery soda makes for a great lunch. Sandwiches are so hearty, I can only eat half. No worries because the other half makes for a great snack to take home. Service is good, servers and staff/owners are nice. It's hard to find a good kosher deli nowadays. Glad this place exists. read more

I've been dying to have a Jewish deli pastrami sandwich and I went here. Good choice. The sandwich was great. The pastrami was soft, hot and tasty. I ordered the junior size and it was still big. I also ordered matzo ball soup. It was very good. The service was great. Even though there was an orthodox wedding going on in the next room the servers set me up and served me immediately. read more

Third times the charm it seems (meaning the owners, not my visit)! ;) Really excellent classic New York Deli with an expansive menu where everything is actually very very good and well-made. Seriously, all of the sandwiches here are nothing to balk at! Naturally my friend and I were starving and wanted everything so got a bit of everything to, ya know, nosh ;) LOVED how overstuffed every sandwich we ordered was and equally LOVED that they offer a nice lunch time deal of a whole overstuffed sandwich with either a bowl of soup or fries and a soda for 17.95 or the same thing with half a sandwich for 13.95!! Must gets are the hot tongue sandwich, the hot pastrami sandwich and the Herminator: a beautifully golden chicken schnitzel, topped with beef brisket topped again with kishka on ciabatta with a side of thick gray to do it all into! Their classic matzoh ball soup is phenomenal but the soup to get her, is their turkey gumbo! So will be coming back very very soon! read more

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Ordered a large variety of food for pickup. Everything was prepared the way we requested and was fresh and delicious. Some of our dishes: Hot pastrami sandwich, hot tongue sandwich, matzoh ball soup, sesame chicken, chicken with broccoli, hot dog, steak with fries, chicken Caesar salad, Thai sweet chili wings, chicken fingers. Sandwiches and Chinese food were fabulous. Wings were tasty. The fried rice was bland and steak slightly over cooked. Overall we enjoyed our meals. Would order again read more

Great deli there sandwiches are great. Try the pest Rome sandwich it's super. They have a great assortment of things. Worth going out of your way for. read more

Great deli there sandwiches are great. Try the pest Rome sandwich it's super. They have a great assortment of things. Worth going out of your way for. read more

Essen NY Deli - Delis Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I myself cam with my 14 year old son and a handicapped gentleman he felt that he couldn't even finish his food because he felt that the waiter and waitress is waiting for the credit card and felt that he's being pushed off the table the food was okay the hot dog was ordered twice because the waitress got it wrong and a bunch of ketchup on the top and not done after spending almost $100.00 please call and apologize please give a $100. Food voucher because he feels terrible and not stopping that he was cheated Charles Opels 718-510-5865 read more

Spoiler alert!! This place is a rip off The sandwich is tiny and very fatty. The pastrami is not even good quality. So disappointed. Take the ride to a Katz. The hot dogs looked pretty good but I won't go back there to try them, maybe because the sink for the bathrooms are outside the bathroom in the dining room ?!?! Wtf!! Go to McDonald's instead. And Essen deli, just because your in New York doesn't mean u have New York quality food . Embarrassment to kosher food. read more

Essen NY Deli - A small fatty pastrami sandwich On white bread (asked for rye) - Delis Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

My husband and I, and a couple of friends of ours, went to Essen Deli, based upon the wonderful reviews here. We are kosher, but will eat in kosher restaurants not labeled Glatt. This is far from the first time we have been terribly disappointed by the quality of the food at a Glatt kosher restaurant, especially one highly recommended. Maybe many who only eat Glatt kosher have no idea of what good food is We had pastrami that was tasteless, loaded with fat, a residue taste of grease left on the tongue, and rye bread that bears no resemblance to a good kosher rye. The turkey dinner ordered was too dry to eat and the grilled vegetables were burnt. Give me any time, deli food such as served at the Mill Basin deli, Second Ave deli, or at Ben's deli. Shame on the Glatt kosher establishment for serving poor food for exorbitant prices. read more

Great food! Ordered three different sandwiches and soup - all very tasty!

Service is amazing. Always in a rush to catch my bus and these guys always come thru. First class treatment even tho I'm not Jewish. Hopefully the price for tongue goes down soon lol. Can't wait to go back and get me a sandwich read more

Update: This time I ate inside the restaurant - boy was it a great value! Service was super speedy and we were provided with much more food than we could realistically eat. We got pastrami sandwiches, the herminator (schnitzel topped with brisket), sesame chicken, Buffalo chicken poppers, deli roll, egg rolls, kishke, and tons and tons of sauces. We were 5 people and spent less than $40 each, and ended up with 3 or 4 full meals of leftovers. Look out, these portions are big and filling! Definitely get the gravy that they make, it's awesome. There's something about delivering the chicken fresh that really makes a difference. So the food is not the healthiest and the place appears a bit grimy, but who cares. As far as kosher food goes, this is like as if Dougies and 2nd ave Deli had a baby and it took the best parts of each. Definitely worth trying. read more

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Love that this was a chill spot-as others have noted it's not overrun with tourists. I have been wanting a pastrami/corn beef for awhile, but good ones are pricy. I have to say it hit the spot, but I've had better. There didn't seem to be much spice or difference between the two. You couldn't have half of one and the other as a lunch special either, which was a drag. Now down to the kvetching. Service left something to be desired. No one was impolite, but they weren't very accommodating either. I had a big trailer, which they said there was no room for, so leave it next to door. There seemed to be plenty room and not much people there. It would have been nice not to worry about my valuables which I couldn't see while eating. Also I waited and waited on my check, and didn't get all I ordered (though I wasn't charged extra) BUT what is really off putting is to have a service charge tacked on after this waiting, quite frankly I felt like penalizing them money wise after that, but instead I do it in the review. Again, big plus was relaxed atmosphere, and must add it was actually kosher, which you can't say anymore about Katz, etc. read more

Great service- huge portions- excellent quality! Big selection from the menu to choose from. Plenty of choices and also take out from the counter. read more

Not cheap by any means BUT everything we've ever eaten from here has been consistently delicious. The sandwiches are $25 but you get a 1/2 pound of meat, plus the usual pickles and slaw. LOVE their Brisket and the Pastrami is excellent as well. Our Go To place when we're craving good Jewish deli. read more

Exactly what I was craving for. I moved from NYC 18 y/a and back in the day Jewish soul food only in the Williams bridge area but now with so many new neighborhoods in Brooklyn this one by Coney Island Ave is the real deal. Matzo soup pastrami on rye bread grilled tongue and onion soup is to dye for. A little price but deli fresh and more. They also serve Chinese food (Chinese cook in the house) and much more. The service is excellent AND service charge (tip) is included in the bill also pickles! Amazing food nice little place family owned of course !! read more

Horrible service and horrible management. I would Avoid this place if possible and choose any other food establishments

Old school deli. Take your out of town visitors to Katz's all you want, it just means we will have more tables available here at the real deal. Kosher certification is a bonus. read more

We had a wonderful lunch today, Corned Beef on Rye, Pastrami and Corned Beef on Rye. Matzo Ball Soup was delicious. My son had the mushroom Barley Soup and Potato Pancakes with applesauce he enjoyed both. The French fries were great. To finish it off root beer and black cherry soda. Our waiter Eric was great!! We will definitely be back next time we are in Brooklyn. read more