Shorty Goldstein’s

Maybe I’m just not a pastrami connoisseur like those who didn’t write great reviews, but I thought this place was awesome. I can only speak to the Reuben, which was absolutely delicious and worth the money I paid for it. If you plan on eating here and can snag the table in the front window it definitely makes for a more enjoyable lunch.

My husband and I were first introduced to this place back at their stand at off the grid: presidio. And we were so impressed with the pastrami sandwich that our next trip out to the city included a stop here at the actual store for some early lunch!
Mind you, my husband is from the east coast (Boston) and he’s used to many Jewish delis around the city so the fact that he was able to find one here made him so happy!
He ordered the Rachel which to me looked delish and he demolished it like there was no tomorrow. I ended up ordering the lox bagel and chocolate egg cream drink. Both were excellent and hit the spot just right on my food scale!
Service here was also excellent. The cashier/​host at the front was able to answer all our questions and the food arrived rather quickly!
We will certainly come back!

Literally, the best deli food in the Bay Area. Only knock is the price, but given the location and the fact that their pastrami, sourkraut, pickles, and mustard are all homemade, its worth it. I repeat, the mustard is homemade.

I used to come here all the time when my office was in the area. I always remember it being really good, so I stopped by one afternoon while in the neighborhood.
I ordered a small farmers market salad to-​go for $ 7.25 so I could take it across the street and eat at Crocker Galleria.
The salad was good and exactly what I expected, but they left out the avocado! The salad description specifically said it had avocado and that was one of the reasons I ordered it. Salad otherwise was fine and maybe it was an honest mistake but I was disappointed about one of the best parts left out.

I walked by this place all the time but never bothered to check it out until a friend brought me on a lunch date here. Everything on their menu sounds so amazing, and my heart was set on the «famous» pastrami sandwich until I saw a grilled cheese sandwich with spicy artichoke hearts on their list of specials. I WAS SOLD!
This is a simple, quiet place with plenty of seating. Service is friendly and humble. The sandwich was pretty good. Just the right amount of food and not too heavy. I have minimal experience with Jewish delis, but I absolutely loved the vibe here. Would definitely come back again to try more items on their menu!

Paid $ 16.00 for potatoe salad sides that should only have gone for $ 5.00 maximum — –the Rachael (Pastrami and Swiss) was great as soon as we prepared and added our own Russian dressing — — My wife said the Reuben sucked even after extra Russian dressing was added, and the Matzoh ball soup was like tepid dishwater.
We won’t be back.

Charming spot, poppy bagel and lox cream cheese was very good. Well toasted! Will try a more complex menu option next time!

I wanted to love it. I really did. But I only liked it. Had the pastrami sandwich. It was tasty. With a bit of smoky essence. But for $ 15, I would have expected something more memorable and more sizeable.
More power to them if they can sell these all day long. However, I won’t be rushing back.

This place has liberated me from mediocre lunch sandwiches! The food here is excellent — I order takeout here at least once a week. Service is quick and friendly. The price is steep, but the portions are very generous, and you can really taste the difference in quality of the food.
I always order the Egg Salad sandwich, and sometimes opt for their ½ sandwich, ½ salad combo. Favorites of my coworkers are the Reuben and the Rachel. The Reuben comes with almost a pound of meat! Their other dishes (I’ve had the potato knishes and rugelach… yum!) are also great, so I’d wager that most everything on their menu is excellent. If they have it, the passover brownie is not to be missed.
Also, if you don’t have time for a leisurely lunch but still like to eat away from your desk, they have a spacious seating area and bring the food out very quickly.

From the reviews, it seems like a lot of people are walking into this place expecting to be magically transported to a classic Jewish deli in the heart of New York. Look, I get the nostalgia, but this is SF, not NY; it’s not gonna be exactly the same, and isn’t really fair to compare them like that. It’s gonna be weirdly expensive and less meaty. My rating is therefore relative to other «New York style» sandwiches I’ve had in the Bay Area — and for that, long story short, this place is just great.
I had the Rachel sandwich (pastrami, cole slaw, and Swiss on rye) for lunch at OtG Presidio, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was really pleasantly surprised at the quality of the rye — fantastic. Loved the slight sweetness and crunch from the cole slaw, and the pastrami was great.
Warning: the following will be highly offensive to New Yorkers; viewer discretion advised.
…I loved that there wasn’t a crazy huge heaping pile of meat on the sandwich (like there «should» be) that makes the thing impossible to eat and totally masks the flavor of the other ingredients. This sandwich was properly proportioned, which I really appreciated. That is to say, it’s definitely *not* something you’d find at one of those classic NY delis. And I actually like that.
Phew, it feels good to get that one off my chest!
Anyway, next time I’ll have to try some of their sides, like the matza ball soup, latkes, and the whitefish salad.

I finally made it in here on a weekday (the hours are extremely limited) during Passover and was happy to see a line of people almost out the door, a sure sign that they’re doing something right. I’m a big fan of the other spots owned by the same guys (love their Mission location!).
I got take-​out. Sadly they were out of knish and no longer serving breakfast (all day breakfast! all day breakfast! Come on, guys!) but I still managed to nab some Matzo ball soup and Latkes.
Large Chicken Soup — it was pretty good. I wish my serving came with more chicken (there were a few small pieces in there), but I’ll give them a pass on that one. Otherwise I was satisfied with my soup and the matzo balls within (the large comes with 2).
Latkes — They were great. Exactly what I’d want in latkes. My only complaint is that the apple sauce provided with them wasn’t enough (I usually like much more apple sauce with mine). The apple sauce was also less of a sauce and more like ¹⁄₃ of an apple cut into pieces and heated up with some cinnamon, in case you’re expecting Mott’s or Dole. I didn’t mind it — I just wish they had given me more.

I had high hopes for this place. A mistake. I haven’t had a decent deli experience in the Bay Area since Brother’s in Burlingame closed. The Chopped liver was weirdly sweet with no liver taste. Like an unpleasant veggie pâté. The bread was off tasting. No raw onion available only shallots for $ 0.50. The pickle was ok.
With all the great delis just 350 miles south in the LA area it’s remarkable that their are none here

Jewish deli: reuben’s and pickles… you had me at hello, but not for these prices. I loveeee corned beef, pastrami, and anything in the reuben sandwich category, plus pickles. IN! But not for $ 16 on untoasted bread! Ew! My friend ordered their version of a sloppy joe which had corned beef on top, which sounds oddly delicious, so maybe I’ll try this and ask for the bread toasted — now that I know!
I’d go back, but will have to try something else and be mentally prepared for the prices.

A nice, cozy hidden gem just off of Market.
I got a ½ sandwich (grilled cheese: kale, mushroom and jack, on rye) and ½ the Farmer’s salad: almonds, mandarin oranges, blue cheese and cherry vinaigrette ($ 15.71). It was a little offbeat, slightly overpriced, but undeniably tasty!
Also tried a bite of the matzo ball soup, which was on the salty side, but really fresh and generally what you’d expect from a bowl.
The menu changes every 2 days, so I will definitely be back!

A very decent Onion Bagel and cream cheese (toasted to go). WAY better than Noah’s (but isn’t everything?)
My only beef is the price… $ 3.50 for a bagel and cream cheese. Also to note they give you cream cheese on the side, so if you were trying to eat it on the go — you would be bummed out, as you would have to «stop & schemer»
The sandwiches are in the $ 10 – 14 range which is pricy, but I have not tried them, so if they were amazing, I would say they were worth it, I just cannot say.

I wanted something melty and hot. Looking for places I haven’t tried around work, I stumbled upon Shorty Goldstein’s. On Tuesday, September 29^th a little before 2:30pm, I stopped by to grab take out for lunch.
*Rachel: hot pastrami, coleslaw, swiss ($ 16)
I agree with most reviewers when they say this is a pricey sandwich for it’s size. It was packed with pastrami, but I found it rather lean. Most think this is a good thing, but I wanted something comforting and melty. The pastrami could have used a little fat. The coleslaw had decent flavor and the swiss was subtle. The bread with nice and toasty. This came with pickles which were sour, salty and crunchy.
A pretty good sandwich, but I think it’s priced a little high at $ 16. There are other places where I can get a pastrami sandwich at that price or lower that are bigger and in my opinion, better.

Such a great variety of food here. The perfect lunch spot. Sandwiches, salads, soups some vegetarian and lots of fresh deli meats. Everything tasted really fresh and the flavors were really different. The latkes were delicious served with house made apple sauce and sour cream. Yummy.
Will definitely come back when I am in the neighborhood around lunch time.

I’m digging this NYC Deli renaissance trend in San Francisco. A bit pricier than the more generic sandwich options in the FiDi, but this beats the pants off of a turkey avocado club! The star of the show seems to be the in-​house meats; it seems like the portions have gotten a tad bigger than when they first opened.
Rachel: Pretty darn filling, but then again, for $ 15.50 it should be! Moderately thick hand carved slices of pastrami on buttery pan toasted rye (like grilled cheese sandwich style toasted) topped with Swiss cheese and coleslaw. The pastrami was tasty and not too fatty, it’s about on par with Wise Sons and a little more sophisticated than Tommy’s Joynt. I’m usually not a fan of coleslaw, but this one was fresh and crisp without that nasty mayo/​cream soupiness dripping everywhere.
Matzo Ball Soup: Just one matzo ball in the small sized soup. It wasn’t too dense, but it was still more on the doughy side than airy side. The broth was a bit too mild for my tastes. Also, it felt like the celery and carrots were mostly raw (though thinly sliced); I prefer them to be more tender having cooked in the soup a bit. Enjoyed the touch of fresh dill to give at least one bite a burst of flavor.

Meeting up for a lunch date in FiDi, I took this opportunity to try Shorty Goldstein’s as a takeout option. I’ve walked past this stand many times at the Ferry Farmer’s Market and I’m always on the lookout for a good pastrami sandwich.
We shared both the pastrami and corned beef sandwiches as well as a handful of sides and sweets. The latkes, cookie, knish and rubelach were all decent, but I’ll refrain from judging these because they are generally the same no matter where you go.
The pastrami, to me, was rather disappointing. It was too dry for the most part and too fatty around the edges. A few pieces were tough as well. The corned beef was a bit better and noticeably more moist, although it didn’t quite match up to some of the other corned beef options around the city. The rye bread that they both came on was not to my liking either. The taste was just too strong and did not contribute positively to the sandwiches.
Overall, I’ll continue my search for the best corned beef and pastrami sandwiches in this city because, although Shorty Goldstein’s was decent, «I’ve experienced better.»

I’m going to start this review by praising their exceptional client service. My sweet Patricija P. is not a rye lover, and in a moment of panic after she ordered the special grilled cheese and we were admiring the salt and pepper vessel, she asked one of the line chefs about the bread. There is no alternative to rye, so if you can’t stomach the fennel seeds, be aware. And what was their solution? There was no hesitation on their part, they switched out her grilled cheese sandwich for a plate of the most delicious latkes with crème fraîche and apple sauce ($ 7).
I, on the other hand, have somehow learned to like rye so I had the half pastrami, cup of matzah ball soup combo ($ 13ish). I have to say, the bread is like nothing I’ve had before. Crunchy crust, very fluffy core. The pastrami is sliced thick with lovely texture and warm. It’s a very heavy sandwich, so don’t attempt to gobble unless your heart is in it.
I could eat matzah soup every day. What I admired about their version was the thinly sliced carrots and celery. Otherwise, it was a standard good cup of soup. Perfect for a cold day. $ 4 for a very generous cup, $ 8 for a bowl. There may also be some fennel greenery in it if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing.
Next time I’m here I’m going to try a salad. I saw a couple on my way out and they looked so refreshing! Also, wouldn’t mind stopping by for a bagel…