Brownstein’s Deli and Bakery

The chicken salad is excellent!!!’…I am somewhat of an enthusiast… I always order it if it’s on the menu… I have had none better… You’ll love it…

Love this place. Always get bagels, egg/​chicken salad, and their spinach pies whenever family comes to town. Service is great and always very friendly.

I love bagels. I have eaten them for breakfast almost every day for many years, having started with Bruegger’s when I was younger. Somehow, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I started looking for the best bagel in Rochester. My search led me to a pair of establishments, Balsam Bagels and Brownstein’s Deli. Both are excellent if you are looking for a bagel; the former for more of a crispy and chewy profile, and the latter for a lighter, heavenly bite. You can’t go wrong either way, and I can’t say I prefer one over the other.
Where Brownstein’s sets itself apart is the sandwiches. The whitefish salad is fantastic, and the lox is a serious winner. My favorite may be the hot pastrami, which is incredibly rich and literally dripping with flavor. On top of that, they have a variety of pastries such as knish and triangles, packed with different vegetables or other fillings. The friendly staff is more than happy to heat them up for you, however you will run into the one downside of Brownstein’s which is that there is no seating. All food is to be eaten elsewhere, which is not a problem if you live nearby. That’s not really an issue with Brownstein’s, however, being able to eat freshly heated food in the deli would put them over the top.
I also wish that they were open later on weekdays so that people working standard hours could grab a sandwich after work, but I understand that it might but be profitable to extend their hours of operation into the evening.
All in all, Brownstein’s is a real treasure if you can find the time to get there.

I love this place. Never would have found it if it weren’t for the boyfriend. Their everything bagel is so delicious, especially warmed. The lox here is to die for. I get mine with capers! Sooo yummies! The pastrami sandwich is also so good I always have a hard time picking one. I had their spinach triangle once and that was delicious. Their baked salmon salad is so flavorful also. Just try something here. I’m sure you’ll love it!
Just a tip they only take cash or checks!!!

Very tasty everything bagel was soft with slight saltiness with egg and turkey for the perfect breakfast sandwich on the go. Nice gal who helped me and quick

Hands down the best bagels in Rochester, Period! After years of going to Bagel land, (which has pretty good bagels), I stumbled upon Brownstein’s and I was amazed to find that their bagels totally blew Bagel Land’s out of the water! Their challah is also the best in Rochester, as are their spanakopitas (sorry Voula!). I almost never write reviews, but the news of superior bagels must be shared!

Hello Brownsteins, nice to meet you. Living in Rochester my whole life and stopping here for the first time this morning is simply unacceptable. I was craving a bagel with lox in the worst way and decided to crawl down Monroe to Brownsteins. Cash only bakery/​kosher deli. Got a sesame bagel with cream cheese & lox. I asked them to add cucumber for a refreshing touch. It was perfect. The only reason for 4 stars is the price… The aforementioned sandwich being $ 9.50 is really crazy. If I wasn’t so lazy, I would’ve gone to Wegmans and bought the ingredients and saved some $$. The challah at Brownsteins is DELICIOUS. When I return, the hot pastrami sandwich will be my next victim…

If you have a bag of Brownsteins then you may enjoy it. However if you have underwear with Brownstains, that’s just f***ing gross, Rochester. Seriously. Clean yourself the f*** up.
People told me these were the best bagels in Rochester. Well honestly the bagel was a 1 or 2 out of 5. The only reason I’d give it a 3 or more is because I like to support local family businesses and rarely give them less than 3 except in extreme circumstances.
Then there’s the service, which is really great, they certainly know how to treat their customers here. So for that reason I’ll bump it up to a 4. But definitely not happy with what I ate here.
I got a bagel with cream cheese. The cream cheese tasted like Philadelphia, the bagel tasted like Wegmans. It was just very average in every way and did nothing for me. I’m very spoiled by the bagels in NYC, obviously.
But one thing I will say though. At least I didn’t see any brownstains at brownsteins. Amirite?

Great bagels made by owners who care about their customers. The lox bagel sandwich is out of this world– and totally loaded with lox! We’ve visited more than a few times and each time leave with delicious food– bagels, sandwiches, knishes, soups — all WAY better than you’ll find all those chain-​type places. Buy local!

Brownstein’s great Unilocal reviews raised my expectations too high. I really did expect something to rival the best delis in Manhattan or Brooklyn, because many of its most enthusiastic praisers claim to be from those hallowed boroughs (North Jersey is NOT the same). It misses by a LOT, but, sadly, it’s the best we have. If I’d never had the real thing, I’d be raving too.
All I care about is pastrami. It’s the most fabulously delicious food on earth when made right. Unless you live in one of those two NYC boroughs AND know where to go (Carnegie Deli is not one of them, although some reviewers hold it up as a gold standard of something — quantity, maybe: a true mountain of beef between slices of bread, far more than one human being can eat), excellent pastrami is about as hard to find as the Garden of Eden. Even in NYC it’s getting harder to find by the minute because it’s so damn difficult to make, and the siren song of factory-​made pastrami is nearly irresistible.
So Brownstein’s pastrami isn’t actually Brownstein’s pastrami; it’s Hebrew National pastrami vacuum-​sealed in plastic. That’s certainly miles better than the massive processed beef round Wegmans sells as pastrami, and its taste is identifiable as pastrami (I had almost forgotten what pastrami tastes like, but thanks to Brownstein’s I remember now), but it’s not real New York City pastrami.
The saddest part of it all is that it’s far and away the best pastrami I’ve found in Rochester, and I no longer hope to find any better pastrami here. It satisfies my craving, and for that I’m very grateful. It was unrealistic of me to expect real, homemade pastrami even in the heart of Brighton.
What surprised me even more was Brownstein’s rye bread. Since nearly every review raves about their bread (although it’s more often bagels than rye bread), I was shocked when I unwrapped my sandwich and saw what looked like rye-​colored Wonder Bread. Although its taste is marvelous, its texture is too soft and airy to hold up a pile of juicy meat, and the square, loaf-​pan shape is quite disorienting. But it really does have the most wonderful flavor, so I could get used to its odd shape and texture very quickly.
Needless to say, Brownstein’s «hot» pastrami (which costs 50¢ extra — $ 8.00 for a decent-​sized sandwich) is microwave-​hot, not steaming-​in-​its-​own-​juices-​and-​hand-​sliced-​while-​you-​watch-​hot. But they do a nice job in the microwave (and they nuke the meat before putting it on the bread, which is crucial), so it’s probably worth the extra 50¢.
My last disappointment was the pickle. It was just an ordinary sour supermarket dill pickle, like Claussen’s or something. A half-​sour pickle, even out of a Ba-​Tampte jar, would have been infinitely better. Half-​sour pickles and pastrami and unseeded rye bread are a three-​way marriage made in heaven itself. There’s nothing better anywhere.
Despite all these complaints, it was still by far the best pastrami sandwich I’ve ever had in Rochester, the best I likely ever WILL have here, and good enough to satisfy the pastrami craving when really nothing else can come close. I can’t exactly rave about it, but I AM very grateful to have found Brownstein’s.
Some reviewers have called Brownstein’s a kosher deli, which it doesn’t even pretend to be. It does have a sort of Jewish vibe, but even that is stretching it. «Jewish-​style deli» is probably the most accurate description.
I pulled into the tiny parking lot they share with Ken’s Pizza at 11:58 am on a Tuesday in the middle of January, had my choice of maybe ten parking spots, and was the only customer the whole time I was inside. There was snow on the ground but none on any streets, but maybe it kept people away anyway.
The people in Brownstein’s really are just as friendly as everybody else says, so it was a thoroughly pleasant experience. It took about five minutes to make my sandwich. I will not hesitate to go back.

Best bagels that we have had in Rochester. The family working the deli is very friendly and it’s always nice to see them.
We liked the lox and the halva very much. We recommend eating here if you’re in the mood for bagels. We will be back. Again and again.

I’ve been looking for a good place to get a good breakfast sandwich whenever I travel home from Rochester & it looks like this is the place! It has to be along the route that I take to get out of the city to the 90 Thruway and the service needs to be quick.
I ordered an egg & pastrami bagel & tho the pastrami is a bit greasy, it tasted incredible!
I also got myself something for lunch: a fine smoked turkey with tomato & Russian dressing, also on a bagel. Perfect!
And I picked up a small container of whitefish salad which I sampled last night after I arrived home & deemed it delicious!
Next time I go back I have to get some cream cheese spreads, they have what look to be several homemade varieties.
SPECIAL NOTE: they DON’T take credit cards. Bring cash or your checkbook! Fortunately I was carrying cash on me.
Plus, they’re only open until 2pm so get there early!

Real bagels, like you get 300+ miles east, but all you have to do is drive to Brighton!
Authentic Jewish comfort foods, very elll made, and very affordable! This reviewer lives in the Suburbs of NYC, and I’ll vogue for their food. …also the young lady who made me two cups of coffee this morning perfectly was awesome (and very cute).
Just the perfect amount of cream cheese on my bagels, which were toasted to perfection. The coffee was good, and attentively made to your liking!
They were super duper accommodating — for example they even opened 2% milk just for me for my coffee!
Their challah is also awesome. I recommend each and every resident of Rah-​Cha-​Cha come but it and make french toast with it!!!
If I wasn’t getting back on a train to NYC today, I would get breakfast here again tomorrow!

Super fresh, warm and chewy bagels. The everything was spot on. $ 9.50 for lox bagel seemed a little pricey… but it certainly was delicious and not skimpy on the lox. Salmon salad is a lower cost alternative ($ 6) and still tasty. Nothing quite compares to a big hunk of lox though. No seating which is not a big deal. Definitely would go back or recommend for bagels!

Okay, so I visited Brownstein’s for the first time yesterday and I found myself returning this morning. Needless to say, I am a fan.
Brownstein’s is a family-​run deli and bagel shop near Twelve Corners. The friendly staff is what you would expect from a mom and pop shop. I’m an indecisive individual and the staff had no problems steering me in the right direction in terms of bagel and lox pairings.
I had a plain bagel and lox with the works: lettuce, tomatoes, onions and capers. It was my first time having real lox in Rochester. Prior to this, I’ve tried unsuccessfully to order lox at popular brunch spots only to receive thick pieces of overcooked smoked salmon filet.
The sandwich was simply delicious! The doughy bagel, crispy lettuce combined with the smooth, silky cream cheese and lox was the perfect combination of textures and flavors. Usually, i’m inhaling food. But with this sandwich, I savored each bite slowly.
The sandwich cost about $ 10 which is a little on the steep side, but totally worth it in my opinion given the quality of the fresh ingredients. I returned for a salmon salad bagel this morning and it was also yummy for only $ 6.
I’m sad that I discovered Brownstein’s so late. I feel ashamed of all the bagels i’ve eaten at Dunkin’s Donuts. I guess that means i’ll just eat more at Brownstein’s in the next few months. It’s definitely a good alternative to your chain/​fast food bagel restaurants. Check it out!

Best Lox Bagel I’ve found in Rochester so far.

I love a good deli! This places is one of the best of around.
Great selection of meats, great breads, and great sides!
I am a huge fan of their pastrami on rye, delicious!
Their bagels are also amongst the best in Rochester.
My only issue? They only take cash, so I have to stop at the ATM before I get my sandwich, or bagels.

Having grown up in a town that was 75% Jewish and had several delicious delis, I can safely say that Brownstein’s offers everything a Jew could possibly want and more! From the Dr. Browns soda to the Joya chocolate covered Jellies, you can find everything you want when you have a craving during lunch. My only gripe against the place is that they aren’t open past lunch.
I’ve had their corned beef and baked salmon salad, and both sandwiches were incredible. The thing that really makes the sandwich is the bread, and their marble rye is among the best I’ve ever had. I would consider buying a loaf and eating it for lunch if that was socially acceptable. It isn’t? Oh well, maybe I’ll do it anyways. Mazel Tov Brownstein’s. You are ruining my wallet, but I love you for it.
Note: They only accept cash or checks, so don’t forget to bring lots of cash!

Whoo hoo! Belly lox! So hard to find in this area. Bagels are large and nicely chewy. White fish salad is to die for. Love this place.

Is it safe to say this is a solid kosher establishment when the rabbi walks in with his whole family while you’re waiting for you bagel and schmear? Yes. This is a family biz through and through. I love coming here for that reason. The owner is a sweet man, always making sure everybody in line is taken care of. The girls (who I assume are his daughters) are whipping up your sammie or bagel in a jiffy with a smile. Plus, it’s a deal and a half… I got 2 bagels w/​cream cheese for $ 3 and some change.
I love the sesame in particular, it’s my #1 anywhere, but this bagel specifically is delish. Coated with sesame seeds, it’s a thick bagel with the perfect consistency, most importantly, not too dense. You can finish a full bagel and not feel like there’s a 5 lb. weight in your gut. Next time, I’m going to give the sourdough a whirl. First time I’ve seen that offered around these parts.
Great for lunch — grab yourself some marble rye topped with corned beef or pastrami, try one of their veggie filled kacha, the list goes on. Even some old dill and new dill pickles (I actually don’t know the difference… but they have both!). If you’re feeding an army, you can get 15 bagels for the price of 12 ($ 9.99).
**No credit — just cash or check.