Wise Sons Jewish Deli

Yum! A nice selection of Jewish deli classics, some with a modern twist. Try the hot pastrami with kimchi, or an everything bagel heaped in fresh veg and capers. While a bit pricey for an everyday pop-in, might be best for a special treat after being good about going to the gym. Smartly decorated interior with sunny, self-serve seating outside as well.

Have been here for bagels and sandwiches—both were good, if a little pricey. Recently got a pastrami reuben, a turkey club, french fries, and an iced coffee, which came out to $44. If you’re deciding between those two sandwiches, I’d go for the reuben since it’s a little more flavorful.

The purist: its meh, pretty dry without the condiments, which they did not provide me despite it being in the description Matzo ball soup: bad, the ball and the herbs ruin an otherwise generic, decent soup The OG Reuben: pretty good Babka slice: its okay

I had the lox bagel and a latke The bagel was oddly ice cold and tasted burnt to the point where I couldn't taste anything else, it was sooooo bad The latke might as well have been a frozen hash brown patty from Safeway. I've never had a worse latke in forty years Really disappointing

I had the burger with pastrami and the OG pastrami sandwich. Really good. Great customer service. See again soon.

If you order a sandwich be prepared to to pay per vegetable option added (lettuce, tomato, onions, etc). The helping of those are average at best, the taste of the sandwich is amateur. The fries are soggy. Extremely disappointed that I spent $20 on this pre-tip.

Did a walk up order for a bagel. Was "in and out" within 5 mins! For my first bagel with them, I kept it simple and ordered a plain bagel with a smoked salmon shmear to see how the bagel looked itself. I think it was a great bagel!! Nice golden coloring and shine, yummy soft inside, and a pretty delicate crunch on the outside. For all intents and purposes, this was an awesome bagel, and I will be back for sure :)

Delicious unique foods and friendly young African American workers . They offer variety of bagels , Salmon and other sandwiches. They also make their own souse and pickles . A must try cafe .

My favorite bagel! You can build your own bagel sandwiches with the most delicious ingredients. Every time I eat here I feel super happy. Great way to start the day! The service is really warm and personable.

Just a follow-up that the manager at the Wise Sons in San Francisco contacted me and invited us to the SF location where we had a GREAT meal. Delicious hot food, friendly staff. If going to Wise Sons, go to SAN FRANCISCO! It took Wise Sons Oakland over 5 months to respond to this review so I'm staying at 1 star for Oakland and 4 stars for San Francisco.

This is what I will say..... and that is....it's not like the one in the city. My guy wanted Lox and Bagels. so I suggested Wise Sons Jewish Deli. When we went they were out of everything and that should have been the que to comeback another day or go to the one in the city. There were flies flying around everywhere, the bagels were hard as well as the pieces of pastrami were over cooked and should have been called pastrami chips. The staff was friendly. I think she may have been the manager but she was sitting at the very back table working and asking her staff to do various tasks. She gave us free cookies to go because the whole dine in situation had more flies than outside. I will have to try this location again but not soon.

I've always walked by Wise Sons but never stopped to buy anything so I decided on my way to work that today was the day. A friend of mine has had their pastrami breakfast burrito and raved about it so I decided to give it a try. It's AMAZING! I only allowed myself to eat half otherwise I'd fall asleep in the office but I definitely recommend. I will note that it's $15 which is insane for a burrito but the quality is great and considering how great the service was, I would still recommend. All of the staff were very nice and welcoming considering it was early morning and they even gave me free bread! The inside was very clean and tidy. I will definitely be going back there to explore other items on the menu!

Jamie W. and I were strolling through Downtown Oakland when we saw Wise Sons had opened yet another deli cafe in their chain. Truth be told, I've had a mixed record with Wise Sons at the other locations. Great noodle kugel. Good matzo ball soup. However, sandwiches have been a varied lot at best. I still cringe at the memory of the potato-heavy corned beef hash I had at the Mission location (review: https://yelp.to/cjTytf7icC). This time, what caught our attention was The No. 19 for $17. We were both intrigued because we are devoted aficionados of the original at Langer's in LA (review: https://yelp.to/3trbyFUlZg). That was pure pastrami perfection. However, this No. 19 was not. All the requisite ingredients were present, including the Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, and cole slaw, but the pastrami was dry and the rye bread didn't have the soft, double-baked texture of Langer's housemade rye (photo: https://yelp.to/9K4h4gExl7). Yeah, not so wise. FOOD - 2 stars...why bother recreating a masterpiece if you don't have the right level ingredients? AMBIANCE - 2.5 stars...nondescript SERVICE - 2.5 stars...nothing personal TOTAL - 2 stars...we need to get down to LA again RELATED - Exploring Oakland? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2ObVcpQ

My favorite bagel spot in Oakland hands down! Wise Sons is delicious, fast, and friendly. I usually go for breakfast right before work, and always get the bodega bagel and latke. I prefer the onion bagel over the everything bagel, and they have a vegan schmear!

I ordered take out Matzo ball soup ... and a plain pastrami. And a side of coleslaw. The soup was good but not great( not as good as my homemade ) and i asked if it was a quart or a pint . I was told a quart it was not! The pastrami was really good as was the rye bread! Coleslaw was just perfect!

Very solid Jewish deli in downtown Oakland. Not the best you'll ever have, but definitely scratches the itch. Compact menu, but great for breakfast and sandwiches. Never too crowded, good for takeout and catering. Clean interior, just be careful parking nearby and don't leave things in your car!

I just have one bit of advice: Do not skip on Wise Sons!!! We had Wise Sons cater breakfast for our office and nothing but rave reviews. I was impressed with their communication. They were responsive and helpful from my inquiry to my order all the way to delivery. I ordered breakfast burritos (they allowed them to be halves! awesome), breakfast sandwiches and a tray of fruit. The fruit presentation was wonderful. I had many co workers inquire on the caterer as well as commend how delicious everything was. There was a bit of a delay in receiving the items. It was slightly late, but totally understandable due to the busy Monday morning time. But overall, I would absolutely order from here again. Matter of fact, I passed their info on for future catering if anyone needs. It's so easy to place your order online too! Thank you Wise Sons!

Great breakfast sandwich with chicken sausage. The cheese was American so not my favorite but the pickle brine hot sauce was the star of the show.

Legitimately the best bagels I've ever had. From the moment you walk into the shop, everyone greets you with a smile and ordering a bagel couldn't be simpler. Everything is digital which is nice and convenient. I ordered the everything bagel with a coffee and it was so simple and elegant at the same time. The everything bagel had so much flavor on it and was toasted to perfection. It was maybe a tad bit salty but the only thing was complaining was my blood pressure. I enjoyed every single bite for sure. 100% the best bagel in the Oakland area and I looked forward to coming back to this eatery soon!

I love a good bagel with smoked salmon and Wise Sons did it justice. I got the open classic smoked salmon bagel and it was pretty good. The bagel was a bit on the thinner side but had a decent balance between crunch and fluffiness. The salmon was really the star and it was great quality with a texture similar to sashimi. Overall, I loved it but as a big eater the portion was no where near enough to satisfy any hunger. Other than the food, the staff were very nice and accommodating so I can definitely see myself coming here again over a typical cafe.

Showed up for breakfast and for some bagels . Bagels look good, will devour later. The breakfast tacos are fire, the French toast is awesome! Coffee is wonderful and staff is cool! Will return sometime soon!

So I have to say, I like the food. I tend to only get the larger breakfast items as I'm normally really hungry in the morning and it's close to work. Everything I've had so far is very good. my only real issue of this place is the lack of service. Don't call anybody out, but the floors are always kind of dirty. It doesn't seem like anybody ever wipes down tables and the audacity to ask for a tip when no one does a single thing for you is a little bit much. Made me take my picture off my yelp page because I don't want them to me because I really like the food but something Gotta give, when it comes to the lack of service these days, you're pretty much charging people fortune to do everything for themselves.

The restaurant is not crowded but the music is very loud. Employees on break sit in the dining area and use speaker phones to listen to music or for phone calls. The chopped liver is very dry. It needs some fat and browned onions. The potato pancake is not traditional and perfectly round. It's time for Wise to change its recipes and add flavor to its dishes. Its bagels are ok.

Do better. Waited 45 minutes for my open faced salmon bagel and this is what came. Wtf? How do you forget the salmon? Shameful.....

This place is right off the Bart station, so for those that travel on Bart --- this is definitely Bartable! After my favorite jewish deli closed in SF and I moved to the East Bay, I have been craving me some Corned Beef! This place hit the spot! It was solid in terms of a corned beef sandwich. I was not a huge fan of the bread, we tried both options, Rye and Challah, and... this was the weak point. The meat was fabulous, the hash potatoes were yummy. I wasn't a huge fan of the Latkes, but it could just be me. The ladies working there are AMAZING! They are friendly and totally helpful! Ambiance was what you would think for downtown Oakland, no AC, doors open with a chair, etc. This place is solid! I will be coming to order a few pounds of meat to make my own sandwich for sure!

Excellent quality food. Fresh ingredients. Huge tasty matzah ball in the soup, noodles, pieces of chicken, slices of carrot, fresh dill, clear broth.

I've missed Jewish Deli's! I am so happy I've found one that is local to me. I almost forgot what it was like until now. I did not even know what to order. Then it hit me naturally. They do not disappoint. Their sandwiches are pulled with meat. The flavors blend nicely together and it was plain! Never ever ever have I ordered a plain sandwich. I'll tell you one thing it wasn't plain! Super delicious in its natural state! The fries were fresh hot and real tasty. The cookie was hella fresh too! I'll be back to try everything on the menu soon. Get on over here and fill your belly with wholesomeness yum yum.

I got my nosh on this morning. I really like this place. It's hecka kosher! Ive been on the hunt for the best breakfast sammy and I found it, so far. It's delicious. Staff is very friendly.

New lows in customer service. When we told them we wanted to sit in and eat lunch the staff gave us dirty looks like we were crazy, then pointed to a self order station on the other side of the room. No staff spoke to us the entire time. We sat at one of the dirty tables in the restaurant and eventually someone dropped our food on the table. The customer service was so bad I probably wouldn't go back.

Most disappointing culinary experience I have had in a long time. Breakfast burrito was bland and greasy. Pastrami, sandwich was cold and soggy. I will not be giving them a second chance.

Oakland's own Jewish deli on 17th st and Franklin. Great spot. YAY was the reason why this place is getting the 5 stars! I recommend anybody who stopping by Oakland or the Bay Area in General, to come by and check on Oaklands own Yay. Shout out Yay and the Yay Area and E40. Good morning, half a block away from black business they of course have bagels, it's Jewish deli. Free Palestine eventually, but for now long love the Bay and Yay! Very authentic, thank you Yay and Wise Sons for being Wise enough to have Yay the FOH soon the leader of FOH for all the beaches and if not then we'll deserved to be working for the city of Oakland From now on I'm a Wise sons fan! at

Update on the situation I last had. I called today (Saturday, 2/11) and I finally got ahold of someone there. The manager was adamant about taking care of this issue I had. She told me she would call me back after she found my order which she did. She refunded me the money for the missing potato salads and even offered to comp my next meal. I appreciate the way that this was handled.

Great food and superb service! I had not been to Wise Sons Jewish Deli before, but I saw that they were collaborating with Beauty's Bagels for Rosh Hashanah, and my curiosity was piqued. Beauty's Bagels are so good...but I digress. I looked at their pre-order menu for the Jewish High Holidays and my mouth started watering. I missed out on having latkes last year, so this year I wanted to get in on the action. It was very easy to order online and the choices were excellent. I got so excited that I accidentally chose my pick up at their San Francisco location, instead of Oakland. I had requested that my order be ready by 12:30. Around 9:30 in the morning I got a phone call that I missed. When I listened to the message, it was the San Francisco location telling me my order was ready. I called the San Francisco location and person I spoke to was so incredibly kind! He said that I could go ahead and call the Oakland location and they could probably accommodate me because most of the things I ordered should be in stock there. When I called Oakland, the phone just rang and rang (the eve of Rosh Hashana). I had resigned myself to go ahead and drive to San Francisco, and I thought I would give them a call and let them know I was coming. The same gentleman whom I spoke to previously had already called the Oakland store for me and had set my order up to be picked up at exactly the time I had originally requested! I was blown away by his going above & beyond for me. He had to cancel my order with their catering crew, and the manager from the Oakland store (Walter?) accommodated me on Rosh Hashana! And I'm a goy! Heh The latkes I ordered were heavenly. They were flavorful and fresh, moist on the inside and had the perfect crunch on the outside. All I needed to do was heat them up in the oven. I served them with Wise Sons house made applesauce and sour cream. My sweetheart and I were in heaven! We also got matzoh balls and Wise Sons delicious chicken broth. The matzoh balls were light and fluffy and the broth had layers of flavor. I have to say that the rugelach was some of the best I have ever had. It was truly spectacular, especially the apricot. I have never apricot rugelach just bursting with fruit like this one was. Another type was stuffed with nuts and honey, and the other with chocolate. The whole box got eaten within an hour of hitting the table. Lol Also in a starring role was the cinnamon babka loaf! It was loaded with cinnamon and had a delicious crumble on the top. The texture was light & airy. Just a few seconds in the microwave with a tiny bit of butter made a slice of this delectable. It also did not survive very long on the kitchen table. I'm really excited to go back and try some of their other food. The menu is great! Of course, I will have to have more latkes. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

Order online and pick up seamlessly. I always get the lox and a coffee before work - I tend to miss the morning rush after 10. Best bagels I've had in downtown Oakland

The food was delicious, savory and pipe it hot everything that you wanted in the meal. The service was incredible. My food was awaiting me when I arrived from the restroom and the music and ambience was perfect. A great space to have brunch for someone during the holidays thank you so much for the staff, you guys make every visit special.

....SOLID!! Chopped liver amazing. The perfect combination with their bagels. Thanks to the staff for your sense of professionalism both back and front of the house. Should be proud of yourselves.

My best friend had a few orders of matzo ball soup delivered to me the day after I underwent surgery. I'd been pretty nauseous after surgery, so it was the perfect dish for me - hot and bland. The matzo ball was good (although I'd take 2 smaller ones over the single giant they give you), but the broth was completely lacking in flavor. The only herbs in each of the 3 containers of soup was the tiniest piece of dill - about a half inch in each order. That's it. Not enough for flavor; just enough to say it technically has dill in it. You could just add salt to improve the broth, but even better would be to make a more flavorful broth with chicken an a basic mirepoix at the very least. And actually throw in some of those herbs you claim the soup has. If this is what you grew up with, I am happy to tell you there is so much better out there!

I am a huge fan of all of their food. Bagels are chewy and flavorful, and their lox and whitefish are delicious. Downtown Oakland location doesn't feel the cleanest inside and you order on a screen not with a person which feels impersonal. They also got my takeout order wrong. But food overall very good

Their challah bread is very good, went there to pick up a loaf, wanted to pick my own loaf and the lady behind the counter tells me she has to give me one with a Sell First sticker on it. You're clearly trying to sell me day-old bread and even if you're not if I pay for it, you should let me pick my loaf. Never heard of such a thing. Never going back.

Best bagels in town! Had their vegetarian sandwich, lox, babkas and got bagels for the week. Flavour was intact till the end.

I got a bagel from here and everything was ABSOLUTELY FRESH!! The flavors are amazing!! They have chicken sausage that is so flavorful you will for sure be coming back!! I was helped out by Ash and she definitely made you feel so welcome and like family!! I will definitely be back!!

Fresh in town from Washington DC, found my new local spot I love it here! The staff are friendly and greet you with a smile and are quick to service; I had a train to catch and was on a time crunch the girls got me right! Very New York I love it!

The food presentation was amazing. The servers were kind and hospitable. The Ambiance was homey and captivating as well as the playlist. I would 100% recommend coming here!

I love Pastrami Reuben Sandwiches! The other day I saw a ROTD (Review of the Day) about Wise Sons Jewish Deli on Yelp. I thought...."I got a feeling they have a great Pastrami Reuben!" But to write a decent review, I had to add a Classic Smoked Salmon Bagel Sandwich too! So I get the sandwiches, and my gut feeling was right.....this Pastrami Reuben is super good! Nice thick layer of meat, and the flavors run together nicely. I added the mustard and the pickles. The sauerkraut doesn't have a sour bite, it blends into the sandwich. BTW sauerkraut is good for you. It's a probiotic, and aids in digestive health. Classic Smoked Salmon Bagel Sandwich was delicious! Creamy and rich. These sandwich makers do it right. I will order again!

Best bagels we have had outside of NY! Try the salt and pepper angel and the super seeded poppyseed bagel as well. A dozen is the traditional baker's dozen of 13 bagels that come in a cardboard box and paper bag to go. Hubby bought a whole babka and it didn't so it for him. He found it dry. We have also tried the pastrami sandwich which was tasty. Advice:. Please wear gloves when handling food. I watched our cashier get my order with her bare hands. At the same time, the person making orders such as bagels with schmear was also bare handed. Look, behind in the kitchen, I know this happens but in an open kitchen during a pandemic.... please! Today's order was 6 poppy, 6 salt and pepper and 1 everything. They freeze great and amazing toasted. We stop here regularly and so should you! $20 for the order. Great price!

Really stingy with the ingredients despite premium pricing. My $12 bagel with lox literally didn't even have enough salmon to cover the area of the bagel (pic attached), and my father commented of his same sandwich, "Wow, this is all capers." If you've ever been to a real Jewish deli in NY or elsewhere, you know that the portions are bountiful, almost extravagant. Not here! The bagel itself was good, but I hate this kind of short-sighted thriftiness when it comes to food.

This place has fast become one of my favorite places for breakfast. I live close enough that it's a nice walk. The bagel sandwiches hit the spot while I read and drink my coffee for a bit. The music is a little loud, but I have some sensitive ears so that might affect my music enjoyment a little. There's no wifi, in case anyone expects to surf the internet. I keep notebooks with me when I arrive because of that. The staff are awesome and put up with my chattiness.

My wife has a business UPS Box at the UPS Store up the street, so last time I was checking it I thought I'd check out Wise Sons. They are putting a modern twist on a traditional Jewish Deli/Delicatessen. I have a strong affinity for Reuben Sandwiches (which are usually pastrami or corned beef with coleslaw and Russian or thousand island dressing). They have FOUR Reuben's on their menu, I think I've died and gone to heaven. I ordered the Kimchi Reuben which was hot and tasty. They know how to do pastrami. I also ordered their potato salad which was homemade with dijon mustard, I really liked it. The staff are quick, friendly and they were maintaining social distancing rules. I'll definitely try them again.

I've had this place on my bookmarks to try for a while. I love a good pastrami sandwich and haven't had one that was worth writing home about. They've been dry or unflavorful. This was not that sandwich! I ordered the pastrami reuben with a side of fries for pick up during my lunch hour. I totally ignored the sign and totally went in the restaurant. (Sorry again folks! Make the font bigger for hungry boneheads like me.) The manager was super friendly and directed me back to the pick up station where my order was waiting. I got back to my office and began to devour one of the best pastrami sandwiches I've had on the west coast. The fries unfortunately we're warm at best - but my air fryer will rectify that when I get home. The sandwich was super filling and I would definitely order it again. And again!

After having done a few trips to NYC and enjoying the bagel places with different smoked fish options I came here as I was craving that NYC bagel experience... and i was unfortunately in for a disappointment... Agree with other reviews that the lox is stingy for premium pricing. Ordered the open sandwich since it comes with more lox. LOL that means instead of 1 slice, you get 2 slices of lox for $16 plus tax. That is even more expensive than NYC... what a joke... It's a whole lot of cream cheese and capers as someone mentioned... a bit of onion. The one dive of lox... no tomato etc. bagel itself was ok so maybe order something else. But the lox bagel is not worth it. Noah's lox bagel is certainly better than this one... really wanted to like this place! May be back to try the pastrami sandwich...

Rude staff, dirty bathroom, confusing self checkout. Expensive. First and last time going here.

Mediocre experience. Place was pretty empty and kinda of dirty. Old food under the tables. You're suppose to place your order via screens. My dad really wanted a lean pastrami sandwich so we asked the cashier (?) if it was lean pastrami or more fatty. She had no idea what lean meant and asked the "cooks" but they just looked blank too. We finally got her to understand and she said yes you can order it for extra on the screen. Finally got the sandwiches ordered and sat down at the cleanest table. While better quality than pastrami at a typical cold case deli it tasted a bit too corn beefy for me. And though we both paid extra for lean, mine came out fatty. It seemed like they were hiring people who had no knowledge or love for Jewish deli food. I'd say the place felt sterile but it was too dirty for that. Corporate chain vibes.

Our company Marqeta places catered orders from here ALL the time. Food is phenomenal, service is amazing they will go above and beyond! I reside on the East coast and needed to place an order for our Breakfast meeting in the office. When I had learned another coworker was having a delivery we thought why not have them delivered at the same time. When DoorDash arrived to pick-up the order for my coworker they REFUSED to take mine. Will at Wise Sons called/texted me to let me know what had happened. Will jumped into his own vehicle drove to our office to pass my order onto another coworker. This is service going above and beyond...THANK YOU WILL for saving my breakfast meeting!

Got the turkey club and a side of fries. Food was great and service was good. Was a bit expensive for a sandwich and fries but I'd go again.

In all honesty, I was a bit disappointed when I heard that my local Beauty's was becoming Wise Sons. I've been a big fan of Beauty's bagels and breakfast sandwiches for years now, and was skeptical about whether Wise Sons would live up to the hype. My fiancé called in an order this afternoon for a mushroom egg & cheese sandwich with smashed avocado on a plain bagel ($8 + an extra $2 for avocado), a reuben ($13), and an iced tea ($3.50). He was quoted about a 15-minute wait time, reasonable during the Monday afternoon lunch rush. He walked over to grab it and bring it home, as dine-in is currently not an option. The breakfast sandwich was pretty much exactly what I used to get at Beauty's, so that was a major plus. Lots of mushroom, the right amount of spinach (not too much, which can make a sandwich feel like a salad), and plenty of Swiss. Lots of cheese pull action. The plain bagel had a great crunchy exterior and chewy interior, and made me want to go back to try the bagels on their own; unlike some of the previous reviews, my bagel definitely tasted fresh and not like it was a day or two old. While I didn't try the reuben, my fiancé, whose opinions on sandwiches are *very* strong, said this was one of the best sandwiches he's had in years. It was piled high with pastrami, with what he described as the perfect amount of sauerkraut that didn't overwhelm the other flavors in the sandwich. He also liked the Russian dressing. The iced tea comes in a 16 oz. bottle, with the tea bag tied to the neck. It's fragrant upon opening the bottle, which is a nice touch, but $3.50 seems a little steep for a bottle of black tea which isn't particularly special in any way. Pricing in general is steep here. I get it, Bay Area commercial rents are disgusting and Wise Sons is in a primo location, but $13 for a sandwich is more of a "treat myself every now and then" price, not a "this is my daily go-to lunch spot" price. They also forgot to put the avocado on my sandwich, but given the lack of dine-in options right now it didn't make sense to stop eating once I noticed, pack up the sandwich, walk back over, and rectify the situation. It doesn't change the fact that we got charged two bucks for something we never actually received though. Overall this was a delicious experience, and I would like to go back to try a simple bagel and cream cheese to get an even better feel for the bagels. I also like that Wise Sons is open on the weekends, unlike when this location was Beauty's.

Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen take's over Beauty's Bagel Shop. interior has been slightly upgraded. only takeout & delivery for now. order at door or over the phone. wait about 15 minutes. offerings: breads, signature sandwiches, sweets & pastries, toasted bagels, breakfast sandwiches, all day breakfast, coffee, cold drinks. eats: corn beef reuben (13)swiss cheese, sauerkraut & russian dressing on rye. -nice lean corn beef, gratified it's house made without nitrates. so lean i'm not used to it. maybe pastrimi next time drip coffee: proyecto diaz coffee (3) -nice dark roast? smooth coffee 4.5 stars parking usually not possible. today was easier. short line but still 15 minute wait.

I your typical bagel spot offering the same fare as all your bagel spots here in Oakland just a few minutes outside Emeryville. The brightest night and made fresh daily know is it baked in house is brought in from there plant with the manufacturer in mass quantity. Your typical bagel joint that doesn't separate themselves among anybody else... in the business ! just pretty much generic, across-the-board same thing everybody else is doing other in other bagel shops. ." nothing exciting here definitely!

I came with high expectations and left with...no real impression. Got the pastrami sandwich and potato salad. The food was decent but is either overpriced or portion on the smaller side-whichever way you want to look at it. If you're going to charge that much, the food has to stand out somehow. The workers aren't the most friendly either.