On Rye

Stopped by On Rye last night for some deli sandwich goodness! This place has been on my list of places to try and I'm glad I stopped by here last night! It looks like a cool NYC deli with all the bright lights and hip decor! I tried the egg salad, chocolate babka, cinnamon babka, Pastrami Reuben sandwich, Egg Cream. The babkas were delicious and I liked both versions - chocolate and cinnamon! The egg salad was good - freshly made and perfect amount of cream :) The Pastrami Reuben came with a BIG pickle and the sandwich was a very decent portion too - enough for me to take home for a late night snack! The meat was tender and bread was toasted perfectly - reminded me of the best of pastrami sandwiches I have had in NYC. The Egg Cream was the perfect blend of chocolate and goodness and totally hit the spot! This is definitely a good find (for me) and ranks in the top 5 Pastrami sandwiches I have had in DC and NYC!

Reasonable prices. Few options for vegetarians, but definitely caters to the omnivores. Being a vegetarian, I prefer Shouk. They do have a great grilled cheese.

Innovative deli food, highly recommend the beet rueben sandwich, which is hugely filling and comes with a pickle. The matzo soup is full of dill, great flavors, one giant ball, super fresh veggies.

The sandwich lost a bit of structural integrity, but the flavor was good and the babka was brilliant!!!

It literally pains me to give On Rye three stars, especially since they have all the fixings to be a great deli: A central location (Chinatown a block from the Metro), super friendly staff, inviting atmosphere (accessible classy), and quality food. However, the portions just didn't match the prices. I ordered the OG wagyu pastrami sandwich for $14. For that price, I assumed I'd be getting a sandwich piled high with pastrami like Katz Deli in NYC. That was not the case. There were just a few layers of thin meat allowing the bread ratio to overshadow the other flavors. I also ordered the babka ice cream sandwich for $6. It came out the size as a cocktail ice cube. It was really good, but for $6, I'd expect more. My buddy and I left not satisfied. We had high hopes for On Rye and if they find a way to match the portions with the price (either by adding more food or cutting their prices), I'll be back with five stars!

Great food, kind caring staff! We were during a very busy time and the staff was attentive and fast. I could not get enough of the Grilled Cheese but made sure to save room for the Ice Cream Sandwich!

For a place whose entire existence seems to be tied to one sandwich, the reuben, here it is truly unremarkable. It's overpriced, dry and too smokey. Where's the sauce? The Chinese buffet/cafe around the corner, Market to Market Cafe, should not be making a better reuben than this place. Plus it's cheaper there and you get these crispy home fries with your sammy. If you're looking a solid sandwich, I recommend Market to Market Cafe or Beef n Bread both of which are right down the street.

I should have known when I walked in for breakfast, and there was not one customer in the place to walk out. I cannot even describe how horrible the On Rye's egg sandwich was. It was a square brick of gelatinous egg that was about an inch high. The texture was disgusting, and there went $8 into the trash. I will never go there again.