What a disappointment! Less-than-mediocre food and poor service. My sandwich, the Nanny Fanny, was a sad excuse for a corned beef special. Traditional Jewish delis are known for their succulent corned beef and somehow Zaftig's version was both excessively fatty and dry all at once, and had virtually no flavor. The only saving grace was that there was so little of it in the sandwich. I ordered it on the marble rye, which lacked the pleasantly chewy crust of real Jewish rye and had none of the dense body of the genuine article. The cole slaw also seemed very dry and the Russian dressing seemed to have been left off entirely. At least the pickle was half-sour, as requested. My husband's tuna melt was equally disappointing, tasteless tuna and a single slice of mystery cheese served on what he described as supermarket bread. Our server, while pleasant, was inattentive and had to be asked the same question twice. Clearly this will be our first and only visit to Zaftig's Natick. read more

Service is quick, pleasant and thoughtful. Everything is delicious but my favorite is the Banana Stuffed French Toast!

Food was ok, service and people were terrible. Normally that'd boil down to a 3, but 2. Trust me on this. We came here with a bit of family who was only in town for a little of time, and had told we couldn't reserve a table ahead of time. This turned out to be false, so I suspect the person I talked to just didn't want to deal with me. You can reserve a table if you call the night before. So, thinking we couldn't reserve a table, we got there early. We asked what the wait time was, they said 15 minutes, and so we figured we'd stay. 15 minutes, yeah, no. After 30 we asked the wait time, and just got a look back from them of "why are you talking to me?" I'm talking to you, because you're the HOST. Your job is to be pleasant and deal with annoying people. Hell, you should be dealing with the non-annoying people too. It's. Your. Job. Eventually (45 minutes later) we sat down, ate, the food was solid, and we blew that popsicle stand. Not coming back with how they treat their customers. read more

Spoke with Nancy on Christmas Eve. Arrived 33 minutes before they closed and was told they could not give me the order I called in about. The associate I spoke with was Morgan and she was incredibly unhelpful. Would not recommend due to poor service. My thoughts are that Nancy left early for the day and the staff decided to close early... read more

I have been to the Brookline location before so when my girlfriend and I decided to go out for breakfast at lunch time on a Saturday, I thought this would be a good choice. They were busy so I wasn't surprised when we were asked to wait 15 minutes for a table (perfectly reasonable). I was surprised when, after another couple came in and put their name on the list, a third couple came in and was seated right away, ahead of both of us! When we complained, the hostesses had the nerve to insist that we requested a booth and that the other couple was OK with a table. We were not even asked for our preference and if we had been, we would have been fine with anything! When we were seated, the third couple (mentioned above) was being served as we ordered. While we waited, another couple was seated near us, and was served. Then the waitress came by, apologized for the wait and assured us that our food would be right out. As the other couple was nearly finishing their meal, we were about to leave when the waitress came back to say that she had been "fighting with the kitchen because they lost our ticket and she can't put in another one." At this point the manager came over offering us a free meal and a gift certificate, but after we explained all we had been through and she then proceeded to try to defend the hostesses, we turned down her offer and stormed out. In summary: we were snubbed, lied to, ignored, then insulted. The service was so bad, I can't even speak for the food! Will not be back. read more

I had no idea there was a Zaftigs in Natick. I came here New Years weekend with a friend, around 12:30pm on a Sunday, a 20 minute wait was quoted, but we were seated in about 10 minutes. We got a nice comfy booth. From the outside it looks small, but it is a good size in there. Our server was nice, she didnt really come around too often, offered to refill our drinks only after we were done eating. The food was outstanding, as usual. I got the grilled pastrami and swiss sandwich with a side of potato salad, and my friend and I split an order of potato pancakes. The sandwich was good, although the bread was soggy from too much mustard. Food came out quickly and prices are fair. I'll be back when I am in the area. read more

Two words: belly lox. Caroline loves belly lox. Zaftigs has belly lox. Not everybody does so that tells me we will be back pretty frequently. We've been here twice in the last couple of weeks and I ate breakfast the first time and lunch the second. The omelette was actually very good, and I'm not a giant breakfast guy. I thought the home fries were a little bland but Caroline gave them the seal of approval. Second time around I went with a Rachel. The sandwiches were huge and overall pretty good, but the potato salad on the side was excellent. They tend to be very busy but they staff for it and things move quickly. Staff is friendly, responsive and accommodating. Overall a very good breakfast/lunch experience. read more

I was recently watching a food countdown show. They covered one of the famous New York deli's (I won't say which one) and it gave me a powerful craving. I got on the web right away and looked for the closest New York style deli. I had already heard good things about Zaftig's in Natick. I was on a mission. I put some clothes on and headed out the door with great vigor and anticipation. The place looked okay (In a strip mall). I didn't expect much. Me and Zaftig's got off on the wrong foot right away. The hostess sat me at the back of the restaurant, right next to the bathroom. What the heck?? There were plenty of unoccupied tables!!! (The entire back area smelt a bit pungent). I decided to skip my appetizer and go right for the money shot. Of course, I ordered The New Yorker (hot pastrami & corned beef, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing). Was is good? Not really. Pretty mediocre. Nothing I could not have made myself after a quick trip to Stop and Shop. I was not satisfied, so I ordered the Macroni and Cheese. It would have been at least average, but I was quite put off when I pulled a long, curly hair from the cheesy goo. Throughout the entire meal, I was witness to a bathroom battle. One man was occupying the single toilet bathroom for about 20 minutes, while another man who obviously and desperately NEEDED to use that bathroom was milling around my table, waiting for his chance. I could see that he was very annoyed (rightfully so) and was muttering to himself. His wife actually stopped by to wait with him. She seemed very upset. Meanwhile, I'm sitting there, trying to eat my food and ignore all this drama. It made me uncomfortable to see the anguish on this man's face. I even heard his wife suggest using the nearby bathroom at Christmas Tree Shop. The man did not think he could make the walk. The man in the bathroom eventually came out, talking on his cell phone. The two men exchanged some angry words and a brief scuffle, broken up by the wife. The second man quickly ducked into the bathroom. This whole incident is my lasting impression of this second-rate deli. read more

The food here was good, but the experience left something to be desired. We sat up at the counter, and ordered a fairly large meal but only one coffee between two people, as my wife doesn't drink that much coffee. The server at the counter already gave us funny looks about the coffee. When she served us, she had already spilled about one quarter of the cup, and the cup was only about 6 ounces. Upon settling the check, I asked for a refill on the coffee, only to be met with, "you can buy another coffee, but you can't share." This was seriously offputting. I think most individuals drink 2 cups of coffee anyway at breakfast and I didn't even get one refill on a $3 cup of spilled cup of coffee. It's not like I was on my 4th cup of coffee or anything. I frequent this place all the time, but this was enough to not make me want to go back. And if you think that people sitting in the back part of the restaurant aren't sharing coffee between each other, you are seriously mistaken. What a way to be petty. read more

Someone explain to me why this place has only 3 stars on yelp right now. I have been going to the Zaftigs in Brookline for three years now, however, have discontinued going due to my recent move to metrowest. We went in to check the place out. After seeing the low-ish yelp reviews, I assumed maybe it didn't live up to its Brookline location. Boy was my assumption wrong. We were greeted instantly by a super friendly hostess who brought us right to our table. No 2-hour saturday morning waits like the one in the city. This was an instant 1-up. Our server was awesome. He was incredibly attentive, very charismatic, and sociable. We both ordered the usual over-medium eggs with bacon, toast, homefries, coffee, etc. Everything was great and TOTALLY consistent for Zaftigs. Some may say that it is a bit on the expensive side, but between the food/service/atmosphere it is more than worth the price. The Natick/Framingham area was in desperate need of a great breakfast spot and yay! we got it. Thanks, Zaftigs. read more

Joan and Ed's is back.... well sorta. We have been waiting with great anticipation for Zaftigs to open since Joan and Ed's closed. We were big fans and we finally got to go this past weekend. It is definitely more upscale with the more upscale prices to match. The service was exceptional, simply wonderful. I haven't had service like that in a while and to think it was at a deli? Forgettaboutit. Surreal! While we had pretty straight forward deli fare, hot pastrami, corned beef, lox etc. and it was all tasty, yet somehow it seemed a little more refined than I had hoped. The selection of deli classics and the take home options are great but somehow it doesn't seem as much of a good food/good price place anymore. For sure we will go back, maybe just not as often as before. read more

Zaftig sports a "Best of Boston" plaque in its window and several framed plaudits in its waiting area, so I was ready for a special experience. On this particular Sunday morning, I have to say I was underwhelmed. We waited about 20 minutes for a seat. The restaurant provides some old seats rescued from a Fenway Park renovation for this purpose. While novel, they're terrible to sit on, probably because they were ripped from their original foundations with a sledgehammer (and still bear the marks). Ambiance is great, with a selection of kitschy artwork on the walls. Menu is fairly traditional diner fare with a few quirky dishes thrown in. We weren't in a very experimentative mood. I had the Roughrider Omelette, which was advertised as having homemade corned beef hash. I was psyched, since homemade hash is hard to find. It was hard to find in this omelette, too. There were maybe a couple of ounces of well-hidden meat amid a mostly-potato filling. Dana had an omelette made of apples and Vermont cheddar cheese. It sounded delicious but didn't taste all that remarkable. I would have expected more cheese for $11. The breakfast potatoes were also unremarkable. My english muffin was grilled, which is a nice touch. I didn't find the prices to be as outrageous as other people are saying. I just didn't see much reason to return to Zaftig's. My standard for breakfast excellence in the area continues to be the J&M Diner and so far nothing - including Zaftig's - has come close. read more

I agonized over whether to give Zaftig's a 2 or a 3, but in the end I gotta go with a 2. I can forgive a lot of things, but in the end Zaftig's just doesn't deliver a deli experience. First the good news. The space is cheery and clean, and the service is excellent. Of course there's tons of parking. And the prices, while relatively high, are not out of line for deli. Deli's expensive, get used to it. The bad news is that almost all of the food is so underseasoned that it verges on tasteless. It's as though an extraterrestrial tried to reproduce human food from monitoring the internet, but didn't have taste buds. So the ingredients are good quality, cooked nicely, but with no soul. The regular pastrami had absolutely no fat, and almost no pepper (what's the "lean" pastrami" like?). The sissel rye was halfway to white bread. No texture. The fries had a thick starchy coating. The half sours were fresh, but with very little salt and garlic. The potato pancake was beautifully cooked, but was not seasoned at all. The cole slaw was OK. Shoulda tried the potato salad, I guess. The management manages the room and the staff well. I just think they need to take a field trip to Schwartz's. Or the Stage. Hell, skip the long drive, at least go to Junior's at Foxwoods. Breakfast is probably safe at Zaftig's, but until things change I can't recommend it for a deli lunch or dinner. read more

Honestly stopped in because the diner down the street had a 2 hour wait. The food was good not out of the world but good. Except the banana bread. That was probably the best banana bread I have ever had. I literally have thought about this bread many times since we had breakfast months ago. Solid food with exceptional staff and the best banana bread offered anywhere. read more

Love it , so do my close friends and family! I have friends in Boston that I literally pick up and bring them back here for brunch.

This isn't one of those "the original is so much better" reviews as I think the original Zaftigs in Brookline is overrated and too expensive. Having said that, the Brookline location has atmosphere and good service. Not Natick. My wife and I were looking for something "better than average" for breakfast on Friday AM. A rare and treasured mid-week breakfast outing for us. We walked in around 8:30 and the place was almost empty. We like sitting at the bar anyway and did so. The bartender initially gave us decent service, taking our orders and getting us coffee, but everything was pretty bad after that. Once we ordered the bartender ignored us doing prep work and other things as we sat. I wouldn't have cared except that you can see the food window from our seats and I saw our food come up, 10 feed away from where the bartender was working, and it took her a good 5 minutes to turn around and check on it. I blame her only partially for this as the kitchen crew could have easily made some indication that the order was ready and they didn't. Clearly some animosity between these crews. When our meals came the over easy eggs my wife ordered were, no exaggeration, sitting in a pool of oil. We sent them back and the bartender told us they use some flavored oil stuff to cook the eggs. She yelled back to the kitchen to re-do the order and told them how to make the eggs not so greasy. Here is the deal, I cooked breakfast in diners and other restaurants for a long enough time to know that using way too much oil makes your job much easier. The eggs flip easier and cook faster. But zaftigs isn't some greasy spoon and these two eggs with toast and home fries cost $7. Simply not acceptable. My wife's order also included the wrong toast and the side of fruit they garnish the plate with was warm and mushy from being under the heat lamp. The homefries are nothing more than deep fried potato chunks. The bartender never came back to check on us or clear our plates and we had to ask for our checks. The only thing that kept me from 1 star was that my entree was actually decent, although still way too expensive for what it was. I have now been here twice and both times came away feeling kind of ripped off. Below average food and WELL above average prices. They might get away with history, location and reputation in Brookline but this is a second tier strip mall on the wrong side of Rt 9. Joan and Ed would dissaprove. read more

Meh. It's pretty good. I judge places like this by their ability to execute a Reuben. They are competent, but not excellent. 3/5 feels right. They have beer, booths, a lot of space. The free bagel chips as an appetizer are kind of fun. This seems like a good place to take your kids or your grandma. read more

We love the Brookline (MA) location. What happened here? The food was terrible. All of it. The corned beef was fatty and chewy, as was the bland pastrami. Really chewy, like a bad steak. The tongue had a weird taste to it. The gravlax was too salty (yes, I know it's a salty dish, and we love it in most other places.) The stuffed cabbage was just okay. Major disappointment. But I must say the service was very, very, friendly, if not a bit slow, and the restaurant was clean and comfortable. read more

My wife and I ended up having dinner here after noticing the Sushi place we planned on going to was not open until 6. The waitress was fair at best. We asked her about what one item on the menu was since we never heard it before and she didn't even know what it was. She had to go and ask. We both ordered the pastrami and chopped liver sandwiches. The chopped liver hardly tasted like liver. Tasted like it had egg salad and extra mayo mixed in. The pastrami was the worst I've ever had. Bland. No flavor. $12.50 each sandwich! This place is over-rated. read more

Not so good. Red onion on sandwich two/three very thin slices (no nice slide of red onion). Mustard on sandwich barely visible. Had to ask for more of both. Bulkie roll??? Asked for bulkie roll which to me means hard crusted roll. Not to this deli. Their builkie is a small soft roll. All for $15, plus tax and tip. No thanks, not again! read more

This place is fantastic. The menu is extensive and clearly well thought out. Best of all, the quality of food matches what the menu might suggest. Naturally I'm more of a breakfast person, but if deli sandwiches is what you fancy - Zaftigs Delicatessen is the place for you. My go-to plate is their banana french toast, which is a FAT piece of challah bread stuffed to capacity with caramelized bananas that partially melt, topped with strawberries and a liberal pinch of powdered sugar. While this may be my favorite dish, there's no doubt that you essentially sacrifice an entire day following the meal considering the consumption of said dish is tantamount to keg-standing a barrel of sugar, butter and syrup. Worth it! I was perhaps the biggest Joan & Ed's Deli fan, having attended dinner there on every one of my birthdays up until age 20 when they sold the place (still angry about that). I was skeptical of J&E'sD's replacement, but they have, without a doubt, filled their mammoth shoes. read more

Zaftigs is always my favorite when I am here visiting my boyfriend. The food always tastes fresh, and fills the plates. The servers are nice and accommodating, and the atmosphere is awesome! read more

Loved their food while eating in the restaurant, but would not order delivery from them again. The soup was ice cold, the fries (also freezing cold) were not cooked well done as requested, the portions seemed smaller, and I was incredibly disappointed they didn't send any bagel chips and spread. I would probably eat at the restaurant again since I've had good experiences there previously, but never ever delivery. read more

Lost this Client My third pickup catering order was a complete disappointment: the meat portions were skimpy looking and the quality was very low especially the tongue which looked and tasted old. Go elsewhere for deli platters, I surely will. read more

I prefer the atmosphere of the original one in Brookline but its so wonderful to have them here in my backyard. The have the best latkes EVER. I usually go for breakfast and just get a bagel and hummus. The hummus is incredible and its a huge serving so I usually have some to take home, and they always give me some free bagel chips to take with it. The staff is so hysterical. Very real, traditional New Englanders with a smile and a little grit. The place is so clean and well maintained. Hard to believe it used to be Joan and Eds. read more

Delicious food and fast service! Just love the place, and will definitely come back again read more

Zaftigs Delicatessen - Delis Near Me - Natick, Massachusetts

This is no authentic Jewish deli. The pastrami tasted commercial, the knishes were nothing to write home about and the chopped liver was fair, (the stuffed cabbage was, however, quite good)- but overall Zaftig's was disappointing AND waaay too expensive for the area. We waited for the opening with great anticipation, especially after the mediocrity of its predecessor- but it failed to deliver. Hopefully Zaftig's owners will take some of the reviews to heart and improve. Meanwhile, there is Kugel's down the street for pretty good and reasonably priced deli. read more

If you're in the mood for dry carbs, this is the place to come! Latke, home fries, biscuit and stuffing all suffer from being fried and / or fatty but strangely dry, as if refrigerated bad prepped the day before and then reheated. Too bad- the food at the Brookline location in my memory, is better and worth the sullen service. read more

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Great to find a restaurant serves all day breakfast within walking distance! A wide range of brunch choices: Benedict egg, lox, pancake are recommended. Next time I'll try challah toast, it looks so yummy! read more

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Fun staff, great food. Classic Jewish deli fare executed superbly. Sandwiches are amazing. Go-to bunch place. Love it!

Have been back about 15 times since my first review. I obviously like this place. A lot. The waitstaff is great. Ethan and Sam are wonderful, and I'm so glad Leslie is back from Joan and Ed's. One of the only good things about that place, so she is a welcome addition to Zaftig's. They will kill me for saying this, but you must meet Holly and Bob, the owners. They are fantastic. I watched an interaction with Bob once with these awful, awful customers. He was polite and professional, and when nothing would please them, and they started insulting the staff, he told them they could leave and didn't have to come back. That's right! Business/customer relationships are a two-way street. Just because you are a customer, it doesn't mean you can crap all over the business and expect them to take it. Mutual respect, people. Mutual respect. Yes, they are a bit expensive for a deli. I agree. And I'm not afraid to spend money on food. But you have to admit that the quality of the ingredients is quite high. And the french fries with turkey gravy - oh, man. And they do simple scrambled eggs the best I've ever had. Just a beautiful texture with a lovely egg flavor. Really good. home fries are hit and miss. Sometimes fantastic and sometimes just "meh". Unfortunately, Aaron came, and I have to downgrade the potato pancake. It just isn't that good. too bad. And you know how I love a tater. So, yes. A bit more expensive than it should be perhaps, but worth it. I can see, though, how prices will keep larger crowds from descending during the week. Mangia! read more

A few months ago, a co worker and I decided to get take out from Zaftig's. When we looked at the menu, we chose to split a $12.95 Rueben sandwich. When you pay that price for a sandwich, you expect a heaping pile of meat between 2 slices of bread. The sandwich that we got was 2 slices of meat with the associated condiments and such, not enough to fill one person. In my eyes, it was a $4.00 sandwich. I have had better sandwiches from rolling catering trucks. The staff was friendly, but I don't see the value of the product to match the prices that they charge. I miss Joan & Ed's. read more

Oh my how this star has fallen. To the owners, you need to grab the wheel as whoever is in charge is slowly ruining this place. The old standby challah French toast which was once amazing is terrible. They changed their bread and seemingly stopped using egg in the dish as the result is a tough tasteless dry mess. The syrup which once tasted like maple syrup now tastes like a sugary syrup not resembling maple flavor at all. I once used to come here only for the French toast. Now that this dish is no longer edible I go elsewhere for breakfast. Anyone can do eggs and omelettes and coming here specifically for that isn't worth it. What did you guys do to the home fries? They are now so over seasoned with Parmesan cheese they are gross. Your home fries were fine before you changed them, nobody was asking for you to mess with your classics! I still love zaftigs but it's not the same place. The club sandwich and matzoh ball soup is still great. That's my new go to when I'm in natick at lunch time. read more

Great brunch place... Went there solely on yelp review ... Was not disappointed.... The only thing I would recommend for improvement is better a/c.... It was a but uncomfortable to eat in poor climate !!! Food was very good read more

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I'm not from the area, but come into Natick/ Framingham for work. Zaftigs was recommended to me years ago, and every time I stop in for a meal it's an excellent experience. Food and service are both great. Just wish I had a Zaftigs location in my hometown. read more

Average brunch place with reasonable prices They give bagels complimentary. Though service is little slow and mostly this place is crowded. read more

pretty good food. not the best breakfast in town but still enjoyable. Had the open faced BLT with the fried egg, good stuff. Challah toast was a bit soggy; so it didn't provide much of a contrast in texture. potatoes were just ok, not really cooked enough for me but i was better off eating the fruit anyway. read more

Came in here for a quick take out sandwich, and that is exactly what I got. I enjoyed the vibe of the place it really did remind me of an oldschool jewish deli. I was going to surpise my girlfriend with a famous sandwich that she has never had before, a Monte Cristo. So I ordered that and it came with my choice of side... potato salad all the way. After a short drive of hell because this meal smelled SO damn good. I managed to meet up with the gf and we dug in. In front of us was a pretty plain looking sandwich but I will complement them on the packaging with the chutney on the side and the pickle in the bag. They had an interesting rendition on a Monte Cristo with turkey, thick cut french toast, cranberry chutney, ham and swiss. It was a tasty sandwich but nothing over the top in flavor and it was pretty expensive at $16. The potato salad was the star of the show super tasty. Overall I am super excited to try dining in for breakfeast because the menu looks awesome. I really would like to give this place more stars so look for an update. read more

I'm a transplanted New York metro area Jew. Which means I know my delis. I've lived in the Boston area for nearly a quarter century. During that time I was unable to find great deli -- until now. Yesterday, my wife brought me to Zaftigs on Route 9. The old Joan & Ed's space has been overhauled from top to bottom. With interesting art wherever you gaze, the place looks fabulous. The owners, Holly and Bob Shuman, couldn't have been sweeter. They pulled out all the stops for the deli snob wearing the Katz's Deli t-shirt. But of course, one doesn't eat at a deli simply to interact with nice owners. I started by sampling the chopped liver. It wasn't just good -- it was insanely good. I also tried the nova, which was extraordinary. (Holly said they get it from Acme Smoked Fish in Brooklyn. Acme is used by some of New York's finest delis.) Then I moved on to the corned beef. For the first time in all my years in the area, I was served a 1st-rate sandwich. I ordered it on "light" rye (in New England, one must specify the color of rye bread). The bread was soft and fresh. The sandwich was indeed "zaftig." The hot corned beef was superb. The deli mustard was as good as it gets (they say it's Zaftig's own blend). My wife and daughter ordered challah French toast with maple syrup, and declared it excellent. Again, servings were oversized. Their only regret was that we didn't bring a cooler to take home what they couldn't finish (we were heading into Boston and the weather was hot). It's one day later and my wife and daughter are across the street at the Natick Mall. I had my wife promise to bring home Zaftig's white fish salad and a couple bagels. The Shumans will be seeing us quite a bit. We hope to see our friends there -- including fellow deli bigots who've complained about poor delis in the Boston 'burbs. Well, now we finally have an excellent one, and it's up to us to support it. read more

Had high expectations for this place given it was always packed/long wait times. Ordered takeout and the food was completely inedible - The Newyorker sandwich was so fatty that I couldn't even eat it, I had to try re-cooking it in the oven.. really dissatisfied and disappointed, especially for the price $$$. Only giving it 2 stars because the pickles were delicious. read more