Hershel’s East Side Deli

The Pastrami Reuben is out of this world. A must try. Perhaps the best sandwich in Reading Terminal, which is saying something.

I really like these guys. The size of the sandwich is incredible and the pastrami is delicious. The guys are quick to make your order too. They do not have that weird Philadelphia attitude where they hurry you up unnecessarily when you don’t know what you want. I have been back after my first time and will continue to patronize them when in the area.

The Rueben with pastrami is the best sandwich I’ve ever had! Please come here just for that. It’s enough to share!

It’s a great Jewish style deli with high piled meat sandwiches! I find the place a little expensive, but I guess you can validate that by the portions, which are not small at all. Personally, I prefer their pastrami over their corned beef, which i found to be on the fatty side. Some people are into that, so that’s not a knockdown. The pastrami egg and cheese, was featured in zagat, so I decided to try it. Although it’s one of the pricier breakfast sandwiches in Reading Terminal Market, it’s an underrated breakfast sandwich. Very, very good! So I suggest the people who are in the occasionally ridiculously long line for Dinic’s should step in the line that’s inches away from them at Hershel’s for some great meats.

This place has high ratings for a reason!
WOW — the sandwiches are out of control awesome! If you are in the mood check this place out… you will not be disappointing. YUMMY!!!

Been stopping by Hershel’s on my lunch break recently and I find that I’m starting to become addicted to these sandwiches. I almost always choose the pastrami rueben with extra sour kraut and a pickle on the side. They really are some very well made and delicious tasting sandwiches and believe me I’ve had many sandwiches throughout my years. My favorite thing about them is how they are grilled like a panini making the cheese perfectly melted.
The only downside I’ve found is that they are on the expensive side as far as sandwiches go. Expect to pay at least $ 10 for one of the ruebens. Because of this I tend to only go about once a week. I’d still say give it a try and decide for yourself if it’s worth it. For me it is.

Love it — one of the best corned beef sandwiches I ever had. Normally I get my fix in New York or Montréal (Smoked meat). Glad Hershel’s is so close to home.
All the sandwiches looked excellent. Everyone was getting either Corned Beef, Pastrami or Turkey. You can add cole slaw, cheese or Russian dressing. Enjoy cold or panini style.
I’m a traditionalist sticking with the basics — rye bread, mustard and corned beef. The corned beef was served at a «Lean — Medium» fat level which is my preference. The beef is cut in front of you directly from the brisket and added to your sandwich in front of you. The meat was still warm and big on taste. Huge portion, I was stuffed at the end.
The sandwich is about $ 10 but again, the portion is huge. Could actually be two meals. Need to limit my intake of these beauties given the fat content but I can’t wait to return. An awesome treat.
BK

Excellent Kosher-​style deli. The meats are top-​notch, on the level of the top 5 Kosher-​style delis in NYC. The prices are totally fine, and the line is nothing at all. I’ve forgotten 2x in a row, but it’s a good idea for your wallet, your stomach, and your colon to get the half sandwich/​half soup combo.
Another tip — Locals or people who think they are cool like to get the Rachel. It’s a Ruben with cole slaw instead of sauerkraut (I think that’s it). BUT, as opposed to a lot of people reviewing, I would not recommend Reubenizing a pastrami sandwich or even putting cheese on it. It’s kind of sacrilegious to me and mucks up a perfect thing: pastrami/​corned beer, soft rye, mustard.
Reading Terminal Market is such a must-​visit, and this is probably my favorite place to eat a meal there.

Definitely a must try in Reading Terminal. We have only gotten the turkey reuben, but it’s pretty much the best one in the city. The turkey is actual turkey, not sliced deli meat, which changes the taste a little bit towards the better. My one and only complaint is that it could use a little bit more russian dressing.

Pastrami Reuben. It is amazing. I’m starting to salivate a little while writing this review as I think about it. That sandwich is perfection. Especially if you love meat. It is overflowing with pastrami. Delicious, delicious pastrami. The funny things is that I could do without meat in most circumstances and I actually dislike sauerkraut in general. For some reason, I just love this sandwich, sauerkraut, super meatiness, and all. That russian dressing brings it all together with the pastrami and sauerkraut… all in between perfectly toasted buttery rye bread. Usually, I can only eat half of this sandwich, so this is another instance when my husband is more than happy to help me out with the leftovers.
I’m only taking off 1 star because I’m not really that into the other menu items that I have tried. It is just personal preference. My husband loves the corned beef reuben, but I’m more of a fan of the pastrami reuben. I went too late on a Tuesday evening (5pm-​ish) and the person in line ahead of me received the last pastrami reuben for the day. Another family member tried a tuna sandwich and we were not as impressed by it. My husband loves the potato salad, but it just isn’t my style, as well.

Driving down from CT it was worth the 3 and a half hour drive. Visiting from the City
Near Disneyland and eating some awesome deli sandwiches in Los Angeles and Ny. But this place in the terminal was «Jaw dropping… mouth orgasmic. damn straight off the hook good!
The endless meat piled on that Rye bread and a pickle on the side, well there is food Disneyland «the happiest place on earth» it’s at the Terminal!
MC32

Extraordinary corned beef sandwiches. I don’t think it can get better than this. The meat makes all the difference — flavorful, just the right amount of savory fat, and has a ridiculous melt-​in-​your-​mouth texture. They’re generous with stacking it high inside the sandwich, so napkins will definitely be needed. And the cheese/​buttery toasted bread go together perfectly. You can see the meat being prepared and shaved off right in front of you, which is fun to watch as well. I also love the chopped liver here, which pair really well with rice crackers.

If you like reuben’s, you have not tried them all until you have one from Hershel’s! The meat (corn beef) is simply so well prepared and delicious and the combination with the fresh toasted bread, cheese, dressing etc.- I can’t even find words to explain how god this sandwich was.
There was a cool option on the menu to have a platter with 3 different meats which I may have to try next time. There is no comparison to the delightfully prepared sandwich, but I am a meat lover at heart and would love to sample the brisket and pastrami as well.
Prices were really reasonable too! When can I justify returning to try more?

I went to Hershel’s twice during my stay last week. The first time I got the Pastrami Reuben. This was really good. With buttery rye bread, fatty pastrami, and russian dressing you can’t really go wrong.
I decided to go back and put them to the true test, the Meat Platter. This has no bread or dressing, just meat. I needed to know how much of their sandwich quality was playing off the cheap ingredient (i.e. bread, butter, and mayo.) The turkey was pretty good. By poultry standards it was juicy, tender, and nicely seasoned. Unfortunately I can’t say the same about the brisket and the Corned Beef. They were dry, tough, and no seasoned in any particularly interesting way. I’d say Schwartz’s up in Montréal has smoked meat 3−4x better than this place. Brisket and Corned Beef should be super slowly cooked to melt down the fat and preserve the integrity of the muscle fibers. Hershel’s meat tasted steamed: dry and lacking a savory complexity. I’d like to give it 3.5 stars, but I can’t. So here is 3.

Out of all the food vendors in Reading Terminal that I have tried, Hershel’s is my favorite! If you are a first timer here at the terminal, can eat meat, and have an empty stomach, then do yourself a favor and try this place!
There are four main cuts of meat that you can get; turkey, brisket, corned beef, and pastrami. I have had the privilege of trying all the meats in different sandwiches and platters, and I have to say my favorite is the Hershel’s special with any variety of the four meats that you feel like craving for the day. The sandwich special comes with coleslaw and Russian dressing, which tastes GREAT on the sandwich! As for the meat, they give you a generous portion of the meat and some people may even get full from just half the sandwich. The sandwich comes on toasted rye bread, which is how I love my bread on a sandwich!
The meat is cut fresh and out of all four, I like the corned beef the most, followed by pastrami, brisket, and turkey. In addition, if you are new here and would like to try as many of the meats as possible, you can also get a sample combination that allows you to choose three of the meats and it comes with pickles and coleslaw for $ 11.
Staff here has always been great to me, and there are a couple stools you can sit in at the stand to eat. Beware of longer lines during lunch, which makes sense since this place is very good. Overall, Hershel’s is great and if I do not feel like trying new food at Reading Terminal, then I will be here!

Mouth watering Corned Beef and Pastrami Special Reuben~ omg can’t get this type of meat perfection anywhere else! You HAVE to try if you’re a meat lover and in Philly.
The sandwich is loaded with at least 2inches of the meat you order, complimented by their Russian dressing– Perfect combination! Don’t expect much, or if any greens, beside sauerkraut stuffed inside the sandwich.
I love this place so much that I come here to buy a quarter lb of their meat at times :) they sell them by the lb so feel free to take some home! Surprisingly you can also buy the fatty (~50% lean meat) parts they cut off to throw out– I bought a little over ½ lb of that for only $ 3 – 5! They don’t always have it either, usually after 12PM!

Hershel’s East Side Deli is a great deli located inside of the Reading Terminal. As much as I have been disappointed by a lot of places inside the tourist trap (aka Reading Terminal), Hershel’s did not disappoint.
Hershel’s sells 4 main cuts of meat: corned beef, pastrami, turkey, and brisket. You can get these as a sandwich or standalone meat cuts (which comes with one choice of a side). A sampler combination with your choice of 3 meats will cost ~$ 11 (I chose all the beef cuts). While, the portions are generally smaller than one may expect, for the price, I think it’s quite generous.
My overall impressions of the meats were that they were all a rock solid 4* and I’d be hard pressed to believe you’ll find something better in Philly. The two qualms that I had were that the meat was dry and that the meats were not very flavorful. However, given that it only cost $ 11, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose this option to other sit-​down dine in joints that cost upwards of $ 20 for something of lesser quality than Hershel’s.

If you want a real pastrami sandwich, Hershel’s is the place to go! Sandwiches made to order with very generous portions. I asked for the most popular item, which apparently was the pastrami reuben ($ 11.81). It came with pastrami, sauerkraut, and russian dressing on rye bread, which was then pressed so everything’s all warm and toasty. Comes with a pickle on the side too. The pastrami is really tender and the portions are huge. I could only get through half of it so definitely share it with another person. It’s ridiculously filling; I couldn’t even finish it even if I wanted to.
To be honest, I wished I had ordered a sandwich that came with coleslaw instead. The pastrami is quite heavy and oily (as expected) so for me the coleslaw would’ve better complemented it instead of sauerkraut. The pastrami and sauerkraut combination was just too much for me in the end. I felt like I had the meat sweats for the rest of the day! Oh well, now I’ll know for next time! Definitely worth a try.

Ginormous sandwich that will fill you up!
I got the turkey Reuben and it was delicious, but so huge I could only eat half. I do wish there was more sauce though, just because the meat to sandwich ratio was quite large.

If you’re looking to eat freshly cut and freshly prepared meats, look no further than Hershel’s. If you are looking to get the most for your money, I recommend the half sandwich with a small soup for only ~9 dollars. If you are looking to try their main meats (pastrami, corned beef, ect.), I recommend the meat platter which comes out to about ~11 dollars. If you opt for the soup, I recommend their matzo ball soup — very filling and hot. As a side, they give you the option to have your meat with Russian dressing.
I recommend coming either earlier than 12pm or later as lines get long wherever you are around lunch time. Enjoy!