Schlesinger's

This is a great restaurant. It's located near Rittenhouse Square. The ambience is authentic, it is beautifully decorated. With plenty of street facing windows. Which is cool because in Philadelphia when you are eating it's fun to people-watch. The environment is very relaxed. And quite lovely. The food is amazing. They have a great menu. We stopped for coffee, tea and a couple of bagels. I had the "everything" bagel with cream cheese and black coffee. Denise had a "sesame" bagel with butter and a delicious cup of breakfast tea. The service is outstanding. Our Server was "Chris" and he is personable and professional and animated and friendly. It's customer service like this that brings people back. It's a family and friendly environment and it is very enjoyable. I highly recommend Schlesinger's restaurant.

It's a fine Jewish Style Deli, but it doesn't have the old-school smell of a working diner. They don't make anything on premise. Where is the aroma of grease & garlic? Why can't I smell the hot corned beef? Oh... because it comes from a truck. Oh well. That all said, it was a warm graduation weekend in Philly, and the doorman at the Warwick offered us three places to dine, we chose Schlesingers. The server was a 3 year pro. the longest is the store. The chocolate egg cream rivaled any NY diner, the Ruben was on point as well. It won't replace Katz's, but it's worth a meal or two.

Felt right at home.(compared to my NYC Jewish delis) walked in, sat right away. loved my doctor browns soda! I got a classic tuna melt and fries. Very good!

Excellent server. They were friendly, fast and an asset to this establishment. I had the Doris Ruben that came with a dill pickle and my side choice of potato salad. Also, coffee and water. Piled high with corned beef and pastrami on toasted rye. A very filling sandwich. Dining prices have soared, so expect with tip to cost you at least $30.00 for you lunch. I would definitely recommend if your budget allows now and then.

Our visit here turned out to be a stroke of luck because we managed to avoid the usual rush. The waitress attending to us was incredibly kind, making our visit all the more delightful by offering us complimentary coffee. Our order consisted of the Lorraine’s cheese omelette with an addition of turkey bacon and the Smokey, opting for the turkey bacon on the side. While both dishes were satisfying, the Smokey stole the show. I would recommend this spot for a breakfast outing, but food could still be better.

Very tasty pastramis sandwich, paired with coleslaw and Russian sauce perfectly.

First off, I want to start with saying that I am never one to write reviews however I have been coming to Schlesinger's for many years and this was always my favorite deli in the city. anytime I am nearby, I would stop in. Today, instead of dining in I decided to do takeout. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich which I have had many times over the years and always love it. Today, the sandwich I was served was disgraceful. Whoever made the chicken salad threw this together and on top of that barely put any on this 18 dollar supposed to be oversized sandwich. I am so disappointed and doubt I will be returning. So many good places have sadly gone downhill especially post pandemic.

It's never been incredible, but this recent order has us turned off for good. Spouse's Jules rueben was entirely gristle, while mine was a lot of hard edge pieces of turkey and forgotten toppings. Nearly $45 wasted for two inedible sandwiches.

Grilled Reuben was AMAZING!! Fresh cut corned beef. Side of Cole slaw was the best I've ever tasted! Super creamy! How do they do it?! Dr. Browne's beverages were the perfect accompaniment. Cashier was super friendly and informative. Atmosphere is like a step back in time to old time Jewish deli. Well done! I even called back to thank them!!

What's with the bad reviews? The food here is great! I came in on a Friday morning to pick up some lunch and the service was perfectly friendly and quick, no issues at all. I ordered two reubens, one with pastrami and one with turkey, and the matzo ball soup. The reubens were super tasty and came with a side each, for which I chose coleslaw and potato salad. The coleslaw was delicious! And the matzo ball soup was soul-warming and loaded with juicy chicken pieces. I found a couple of small bones in it, too, but more flavor, I guess! It's an old school spot with a typical deli look and feel. I'll definitely be back for more soup!

This was my first time back in a very long time. My dad and I stopped by before seeing a show at the Kimmel. It was very empty, so service was fast. Very clean and spacious inside. I ordered the cabbage soup and the Doris Reuben sandwich. I chose fruit as my side. If you want fries, it's a $1 extra and latkes were additional $2. The sandwich was hefty, juicy, filling and absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, since covid they removed the pickle bar. So we only got one pickle included in the meal. The cabbage soup was interesting and not something I'd reorder. I was picturing a clear cabbage soup, but instead it was a very sweet tomato based soup. I'm not entirely sure what the broth was but it reminded me of the sauce from baked beans with tomatoes. Way too sweet that I couldn't finish. Asked for a take out box since I couldn't finish my sandwich. I appreciate that they also provided plastic bags in each container. I will definitely return here again!

This place has gone downhill. There's no manager! lol when you have a issue , they just look at you like " oh well" lol I won't be back

I went here as part of a filming session and got to have The North American. Simple, easy deli food, and a good brisket & gravy. Best part is the potato pancakes inside! They treat you well here, and you'll leave well-fed and enjoy it too! Deserts are a treat too, well curated I would say. Shoutouts to Diamond for helping make that choice!

Larry was needin' some fuel to start the day here in beautiful Philadelphia and this place smelled great so in the Larry strode with great Expectations. The place was a real deli. With a counter, refrigerated cases, keugel and the rest. Holy Crap. So, Larry tried everything and it was all good to great. My dear friends, you know you can tell a good deli from the coffee like a sushi bar from the tamago, and the coffee was hot, strong, tasty and nasty, just like a proper deli should be. Yay! Larry tucked into smoked whitefish, Oatmeal, and bagels, chopped liver I think and other things that I don't remember cuz I was too full. The best part experience was out server, Dee, who was a Pistol. She was a genetically crafted deli server, surly, no nonsense and totally knowledgeable about delicate. A guru if you will. She was hilarious and I am sure if I'd a given her any crap she would have broken all my fingers. The food was so good that Larry ordered a Ruben to go. Now, look, it's not the Carnaegie deli for sure, but here in Philadelphia, it was a welcome addition to Larry's stomach

Walked in and was told to grab any seat. Waited for 10+ minutes and no server came by. Can't eat somewhere that you don't get to order at... Walked out and no one ever knew I was there.

Miserable, rude waitresses hiding behind "restaurant policies" make the customer experience intolerable. The overpriced food and tiny portions seal the deal. Don't go there.

A friend and I were looking for a simple sandwich joint after a lecture on Broad St. My friend remembered walking past this place while wandering around Locust St. She looked it up and voila, we were just a block away. It was 7:00 pm - they close at 8. But after perusing the menu we opened the door. We were welcomed graciously and ushered to a table. I ordered a bowl of cabbage soup, which was huge. I took half of it home, wrapped by the kindly manager. My friend got an egg and sausage sandwich on a bagel. It was terrific, too. I can't speak to the traditional deli sandwiches. But the service was lovely, and the stuff we ordered was perfect.

Great sandwiches. Awesome small-local shop vibes despite being right in the heart of center city. Excited to return and try the breakfast options as well!

After an exhausting trip, I eventually woke up in my hotel room and needed a recommendation for a late breakfast. The staff recommended Schlesinger's and after walking in, I knew I was in a great spot. The staff has been there forever---first good clue. The problem: The menu is so inviting, so you will probably have to come back to enjoy everything. So happy I slept in and got to enjoy Schlesinger's.

Went to see a show at Academy of Music. Found this deli close by the venue. Good service but food was just ok. Did not think the brisket or corn beef was that good. Food was mediocre.

It's great to see Schlesinger's has restored their evening hours on Wed-Fri. We stopped in Friday night before the theater and had wonderful sandwiches: half a hot house-made corned beef (a whole sandwich is a meal for two!) with a side salad and a classic grilled cheese. Nicely presented, wonderfully tasty deli food at excellent prices. Friendly, knowledgeable service. We all need to get back in the habit of eating at places like this!!

I miss the pickle bar post Covid, but love this place! The food is great and the booths are comfy to eat in

Enjoyed my impromptu lunch at Schlesinger's the other day: had a deli corned beef with fries and a half sour pickle. I do miss their old pickle bar, but overall it's as delicious as ever.

I went and ordered the 5 lb, $39 sandwich that serves 6 ppl for myself! "The Zelensky" is named after the Ukrainian president and the funds raised by the sandwich go toward supporting the Ukrainian people. I didn't know that before my order and didn't order it out of some imperative to support anyone. I ordered it because it's a big a$$ sandwich! A combination of corn beef and roast beef, it's so big they serve it with two extra pieces of bread , thousand island and coleslaw on the side.. it's a once in a lifetime sandwich so I had to have it... gimmick or not. Not so humbly submitted Michael C.

It looked promising, tasted... meh. I liked that the place was clean and the staff was very friendly. I didn't like that the food didn't have a lot of flavors, though the quantities were ample. I ordered their lox, eggs, and onions omelet. (Their redundancy, not mine.) The omelet was huge, which I liked. It was a bit dry and not tasty, which I didn't. The accompanying potatoes were cardboard-like, and the toast that came with it was also very dry. On the plus side, the coffee was OK, and there are lots of other appetizing things on their menu. One weird thing was their menus. There's a QR code on each table that allows you to pull up one from the Internet, and they also drop off a printed menu. The prices are dramatically different, with items on the printed menu sometimes 30% more than the virtual one. Not that big a deal, except they should fix the discrepancy to avoid potential customer disgruntlement. Next time I'm in Philly, I may give this place another try though given my experience this time, I don't know that I'll go out of my way to do it.

Terrible. Sat down and waited for someone to serve and attend to us. After waiting and seeing others getting served and waited on, we left. Heard bad things about this place but I thought I'd give it a try. A waste of time.

Really enjoyed this deli! Was not hungry at all but had to eat something!! Tried the matzoh soup, DELISH! And the house pickles. This was delightful. Exactly what you want in a deli.

My daughter and I split the grilled cheese sandwich. It was excellent and Perfect for two. We also split the fries which were perfect and plentiful. The service was exceptional. The ambiance was authentic Jewish deli. A must try,

So funny story here, I recently visited one of my very dear friends in Philadelphia. We decided to take her dog out for a walk and pick up some lunch and bring it back to her beautiful townhouse. We were walking by Schlesinger's and they had one of those ginormous menus in the window with every sandwich known to man. We realize we could not take her dog in and so we decided I would go in and get a Rueben to split. She asked me if I could read the menu and me thinking my distance vision is still good said of course. I said we'll get this Rueben and I walked inside very confidently. There was a darling girl behind the counter and I said to her we would like one of your skanky Rueben's. She took out a laminated version of the ginormous menu that was outside and laid it on the counter. She said would you like to show me which Rueben you're talking about. I looked down and it was actually the Stanley Rueben , a far cry from a skanky Rueben. She laughed and then I left and I said I'm so sorry I did not have my reading glasses with me. So funny yet so embarrassing all at the same moment. However absolutely one of the best Reuben sandwiches I've ever had in my entire life. I highly recommend this place and run and get a great lunch there this weekend.

Does this photo look like a Jules Reuben Combo with Fries? Not only did my sandwich have any of the listed ingredients (sauerkraut, dressing, marble rye) this whole sandwich came out to $18 WITHOUT FRIES. Their window menu clearly stated that the Jules Reuben would be $13.95, but here I am paying $18 for a trivial amount of meat on soggy bread. For $18 I'd get more corned beef from my ex-wife, and let me tell you, that stuff is probably fresher than this place. I was treated like bird in a man's world and no employee would even make eye contact with me. DO NOT waste your time, they'd be better off laundering money than making sandwiches.

3.5 Stopped by here on a whim after a Sunday afternoon matinee at the Academy of Music. It's located literally just as you exit out of the admittedly many PATCO exits at 15th/16th and Locust. I knew I wanted a pastrami sandwich, so I didn't really look at the menu except to see it was $12. So imagine my surprise when it arrived at my table and saw the sandwich and nothing else. Where are the pickles or potato chips or fun little side dishes that are often served with the Jewish deli sandwiches I usually have? Service was practically non-existent. Someone gave me a menu, brought me a drink, took my order, and plopped down a plate. Never came back to check on me and most importantly, no one ever mentioned or told me about the free pickle bar that I never saw! I'm just reading about that pickle bar here on Yelp. Was it mentioned on the actual menu? I don't know. Might've buried in the small print somewhere. It certainly didn't mention it under the Sandwich listings. Nor was it ever mentioned by any of the servers or staff. GRRR. I'm disappointed that I didn't know about it. As for the sandwich itself, it was nice, but to be honest, when I thought I paid $12 for just what was on my plate, I felt like it was highly overpriced.

Ehhh.... the simple breakfast that I had here of eggs and potatoes and "turkey bacon" was just ok. The potatoes are just dry clumps with minimal seasoning. The "turkey bacon" was actually kind of gross, and reminded me of boiled pastrami or something. Just pass on that. Staff was friendly, but our waitress just disappeared and I just got up and paid at the counter. Maybe lunch better or a sandwich. I'll give them another try when I'm in Philly.

Stopped in the day before Thanksgiving to grab some pastries and dessert to bring for the holidays and I can say Schlesinger's landed on some items and not so much on others. First off, the hamantash (I purchased the cherry hamatash and also the apricot hamantash) were the best hamantash I have ever had. In fact I was planning on just tasting one of them but I had to finish it as it was that good. Tasting very light yet large in size, soft, and of course the delicious fruit middle. The Apple Strudel looks amazing so I picked up a slice that is cut very generously. Unforunately, the strudel looks much better then the taste, I could taste nutmeg or cinnamon in it and I would not get again. Now for the Corn Beef. Corn Beef at a Jewish Deli should be the crem de la crem, this is where you go if you want grade A top choice corn beef right...a Jewish Deli? Again, it was good but I have had better at other Jewish Deli's. I am sure I will be back to try more of there items as going off the pictures online it looks like most of there platters are banging and you should not be disappointed. Pickle bar, lunch meats, soup, pastries you should find something you like at Schlesinger's.

Service was terrible. Brought out the wrong sandwich. My friend ordered a corned beef special which came with russian dressing and cole slaw, and my friend got a corned beef sandwich with nothing on it. We told the waitress who then brought out the russian dressing and cole slaw..a little while later none the less. I get home and get my bill,,my own sandwich a reuben, was charged more on my bill then it was on the menu,,i then called and was told it's more money when you eat in...NO,,it's usually the opposite if anything AND YOU gave me the menu when i sat down..that should be the price i'm charged.,,not some up charge. Then I look at my bill and was charged extra for the cole slaw that came ON the original sandwich which didn't have it when it was brought to the table. Sorry to say there will be NO return visits here.

Came here due to a recommendation from a friend who has gotten take out. Arrived at the restaurant with a stroller so needed to figure out seating. The front cashier woman informed it was open seating and she was not friendly at all. We were not even acknowledged by any other staff members so we decided to just leave as it was getting uncomfortable there. We are not going to give a business to a place who treats people/customers like that. Now looking at other reviews, seems like common practice. There's plenty of other places to get food in the city!

Food is good but the cashier has the worst attitude. Acting like I was an inconvenience to even help. I didn't make your schedule. ... Don't take it out on me.

Best chicken noodle soup in the city- maybe the country ;) Sandwiches have enough meat to last a few meals but the flavor profiles are all there. Can't skip out on the black and white cookie- never disappoints!

Very rude staff. They don't understand the meaning of customer service clearly. One common theme you will see amongst all other reviews is how bad and rude their staff is. To top that, they have incorrect timings mentioned everywhere (on their door, Google, yelp etc). The food is just bad and greasy. And the prices are insane. Just avoid this place if you don't want to spoil your day. There are much better places in center city with much better and polite staff and food that's much better.

Serviceable deli. The matzoh ball soup is excellent...the ball is a softball size. All else was adequate but probably not New York worthy. Service was slow...but they were understaffed and slammed when we got there (nice folks tho). Turkey on rye was Mojave Desert dry (14.50?) and not what would call overstuffed. The full sours were wince worthy sour but biting in was kind of the mushy bite and no snap/crunch. Celray soda was fine.. nice smoked fish in the counter display as well as baked goods. I'd definitely come back here...but I think they are living off of the business lunch crowd. As a Jewish deli, there are better ones north 100 miles (or Hymies up in Bala Cynwyd..)

My two friends and I really enjoyed lunch here before the Temptations show at the Academy of Music. We all had half a sandwich and soup and it was delicious.

I liked the old school ambiance, but the food was somewhat lacking in flavor and smaller portions than usual for a traditional jewish deli. Two of the staff were nice, but our waitress was almost hostile. Felt like we were inconveniencing her by asking for our order to be corrected and to get condiments. Will not be back; unfortunate, because I really wanted to like it.

Great deli food. Good service especially for delivery at lunch time. Chicken soup is to die for

Matzo ball soup LITERALLY like my grandma used to make, reubens piled high with corned beef, fantastic service..what more could you ask of a traditional deli? Highly recommend you take anyone craving a proper deli.

How is this place still open? After my first unsuccessful attempt I was in a tight window for work and decided to give it another shot. Bad move. Ordered a corned beef rueben to go with a side of potato pancakes. Order total was 19.95 before tax. When I said out loud the sandwich is $20? I received nasty remarks and was told the prices are going up soon. Laughable. The sandwich was very mediocre. Corned beef was fatty and tough. Potato pancakes were oily. Thank you for the napkin. I used half a roll of paper towels before I threw out the second half of my sandwich. Fooled me twice shame on me. This experience made me think Yelp should offer negative stars it was that bad.

Awesome Jewish deli in center city. We got a pastrami Ruben (my favorite) and a corned beef wrap. The food came out very quickly and the staff was very friendly and took good care of us! The potato pancakes were great, I wish there was more than 2 in a side! They also have expanded their menu with some dinner options - I wanna try to stuffed cabbage next!

I give this negative review in sadness. I've been to this establishment over 100 times over the past 10 years. My time began with this place was when it was the "kibitz room" too. I moved out of the city and returned to one of my old spots. EACH of the several cooks had their masks either below their nose or below their chin. Going out is a risk that I take during the pandemic. Coming here was a larger risk that isn't reasonable. I suggest this establishment review their surveillance from today (10/17/21) between 9 and 11 am and take some responsibility rather than making a self serving response to my observations.

This two star review is 100% curtesy of the embarrassing customer service I experienced. That's assuming embarrassment is within the emotional range of the cashier/order-taker responsible for the fiasco. Four mistakes in a four-sandwich take out order. I was volunteering two blocks away as a poll worker and I offered to pick up lunch for my team. They looked at Schlessinger's menu online and wrote down what they wanted. One wanted a roast beef sandwich which I requested be "dressed up like a Philly cheesesteak" with sautteed onions and American cheese and french fries. Instead they made a traditional sliced roast beef deli sandwich. They offered to remake the roast beef into a cheese steak--fairly quickly-- but then they sent me on my way without the fries I'd ordered with it. So I went back for the fries and got more of a factual explanation than an apology. But when I returned to my coworkers, one pointed out that her specialty sandwich called the Betty was just a dry pile of sliced turkey with no sign of the Russian dressing or coleslaw listed in the menu. So I called Schlessingers again and complained, saying I was coming in for a third time to get the condiments they'd left off. And this time she blamed me for the mistake. The order slip said "sliced turkey sandwich so that's what we made and what you must've ordered". Really? My coworkers wrote their orders down by name and I read it back to them before leaving the poll site, and then read it to the cashier. How did I read the other orders from my list correctly and inadvertently mess up just that one? And when would I have learned to associate Betty with sliced turkey? Only an employee knowing the menu would carelessly mistake a Betty for its primary ingredient, sliced turkey. Blaming me was lazy, immature and unprofessional or a face-saving lie. I did get a refund, but it was served up without an apology for making me return twice to complete this fairly small, simple order.

I absolutely love this place! An amazing pickle bar, phenomenal soup and great sandwiches. The menu is all over the place e. We got soup and a half sandwich h for 10 bucks but there were full meals in the 20 dollar range. We happened to get there at just the right time so we sat right down. When we left, there was a line to get in. The wait staff was friendly and helpful. I would definitely come back!!!

I stopped in here for lunch. Upon entering, there was no sign saying wait to be seated and no host. There was, however, a cash register and a woman taking orders at a counter. I reasonably concluded that this was a place where you ordered your food and then sat down. After I got my food, I sat down at a table and started eating. A staff member asked me to leave and told me that I was not allowed to eat to-go food inside the restaurant. She explained that the restaurant seating is for patrons who request table service. I have never in my life been asked to leave a restaurant as a paying customer! It should also be noted that the place was completely empty with about 6 other customers inside. I told her that I had no idea about the rules as none were communicated to me. She said I could stay and eat just this once but I needed to hurry so her boss wouldn't see me. Seriously?? The food was bad also. I had a club sandwich and broccoli cream soup. The soup was very salty and the sandwich was dry with not even mayonnaise on it. There is far greater food in Philly, don't waste your time here.

First off, this place has an unlimited pickle bar with various kinds of pickles! Second, this place will satisfy your deli cravings while having a place to sit down and slowly enjoy whatever you ordered. I ordered a half Parc Rittenhouse Special and Matzo Ball Soup. The Parc Rittenhouse does pastrami right. It was so tender and juicy while the coleslaw and Russian dressing were the perfect contrast to the flavorful pastrami. The Matzo Ball Soup was good, it's basically a matzo ball in the chicken noodle soup. Next time, I would probably just get the chicken noodle soup since the matzo ball didn't add much to it in my opinion. Overall, this was my first time having Jewish food and pastrami and I will definitely be back!

Didn't have the time so stopped in here on the way on a whim... Was pleasantly surprised. Amazing lox and latkes; I ate every last drop of my food--the potatoes were perfectly cooked. The pickle bar looks sketch perched on the back near the restroom but the pickles and pasta salads were delicious.

Your typical Jewish deli tucked into your typical Philadelphia side street. Every time I've ventured for some fresh cold cuts/brunch to this joint there's always a line or a wait! My people tend to do too much talking after their meal... Any who, food is always good here and the service is always friendly. This trip service was a little slow due to the holiday weekend. We waited for a solid 25-30 minutes for all of our food to come out. I was so filled up from the dope pickle bar by the time we got our food! What we got: -Chefs Salad (recommend if you're looking for something light with fresh veggies). Portion is huge. Split with your friend. -Side of potato pancakes. (VERY GOOD) -Pickle bar (free with any purchase) Aside from the wait to get a table and for our food, this was an overall great experience. I'll be back.

The best deli food I've ever had service is good. The ambience is great. I like it from Delivery. I can't get a better home delivery of any food in the world. It is the best!!

It hurts me to even have to make this review but I felt it was necessary. At least once a week I seem to have a taste for a hot pastrami sandwich and some potato latkes. Brings me back to my childhood. Pending on what day it is and what time it is I normally choose between Famous 4th Deli & Schlesinger's. Today was Schlesinger's. Today was just not my day. So I ordered my hot pastrami half sandwich with soup, choosing a split pea special for today. I also ordered a piece of the checkerboard cake which normally I can't complain about. And of course with Dr. Brown's black cherry soda stop it all off. So let me see that I was not impressed with the amount of pastrami on the half sandwich as you'll see in the photographs I'll post. As far as the soup is concerned for six dollars I got a tiny little container of soup. Not what I was used to when ordering a small soup separately. Not only was a pastrami sandwich a bit late to say the least, I asked for spicy mustard which was not on the sandwich and the meet was actually sliced a bit sick and was dry and literally stringy like brisket on the bottom. Not impressed whatsoever. As far as the super concerned, it was decent for split pea. Now the potato latkes on the other hand, so tiny, six pieces in total and delicious, for almost 7 dollars I'm telling you that it just wasn't enough product. That's far as the checkerboard cake goes, not impressed either. The chocolate almost to Sweet and to Rich, but that's to be expected with checkerboard take some times. As far as the white icing, it was almost like whip cream consistency.... not good. Now, with the limited choices in the city, I'm sure I will be ordering from here again but just hope it will be up to par this time. Very disappointed this time around.

I ordered I think what is called a Schlesinger's special today. It was my first time ever having a sandwich from here since I don't live in the area but my bf works close by. I have been looking forward to trying this place and I'd say it almost met my expectations. I was really excited for the sandwich with the pickle bar. Due to Covid-19 there's no indoor dining and no pickle bar. I should have gotten a little bit more dressing because I felt the sandwich was a little on the dry side but the meat was quality and not chewy. Next time I want to try the pastrami. Also the pickle wasn't great.

This is an extremely rare two-star review for me. But my meal at Schlesinger's Deli was unquestionably the worst meal I have eaten out or had via takeout since the beginning of the pandemic. I mean I feel I am being kind giving it two stars but I save one-star for something majorly amiss or offending in a place. What happened at this eatery? Well I was looking for a Sunday meal and because other places in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood were crowded and Schlesinger's wasn't, I chose to eat there. It was my first time. The place looks good enough and the staff greeted me politely and could easily seat me socially distanced from anyone else. The food took a little bit of time coming out but I didn't mind as I thought that meant it was being cooked to order ... which I assume it was. However when it did arrive, the kasha and bowties were not hot ... or even warm at all. The brown gravy on the side possessed a little warmth. I always eat and have been served Kasha as a hot dish. Now for the platter. The brisket beef sandwich was mushy with precious little flavor. I'd use a different texture bread or toast it a bit longer. The potato pancakes were also bland - unlike any I have eaten here in the USA or in Vienna where they are very flavorful. Even the pickle was on the dry side with little distinctive taste. This is certainly unlike a New York deli with its tasty food or even some of Philly's better ones. No one working at Schlesinger's ever checked back to see if everything was fine or if I needed something despite it not being very busy. I finally just asked for a takeout box so I could take what I hadn't eaten home and see if I could add some ingredients and spruce up the flavor. Schlesinger's Deli was a big disappointment and I won't ever go back. There are too many other wonderful places to eat in Center City Philly - now and after the pandemic ends!

Authentic Jewish eatery but service was very poor. The woman collecting my order was slow, rude, and simply not listening to my requests. The desserts here were not tasty nor fresh. I did enjoy the latkes but it wasn't worth the hassle and experience of coming here.