Formerly: Iceland Brothers · Iceland & Katz
New York, New York · Founded 1888
Katz's is a still-working Lower East Side deli with a disputed claimed 1888 origin, hand-carved pastrami, wartime salami lore, and a famous 1989 film scene.
Katz's Delicatessen operates at 205 E Houston Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side and publicly traces its lineage to an 1888 Ludlow Street business called Iceland Brothers. The familiar account says Willy Katz joined in 1903 and Benny Katz in 1910, but immigration and city-directory research disputes those dates and suggests the early ownership sequence was later and more complicated. The deli's secure modern lineage includes Harry Tarowsky's 1917 partnership, a move to the present side of Houston Street around the early 1930s, the wartime roots of its Send A Salami slogan, and Dell/Austin ownership beginning in 1988.
Katz's official history traces the business to an Iceland Brothers deli on Ludlow Street in 1888. Independent historical research challenges the date because Morris and Hyman Iceland appear to have arrived in the United States around 1900–02.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; Untapped New York, 'The History of the Jewish Deli in NYC,' January 19, 2022; Henry Sapoznik, 'Was Katz's deli founded in 1888? Not quite,' September 8, 2025.
Katz's official history says Willy Katz joined the business in 1903 and the name became Iceland & Katz. A later historian's research says Willy Katz arrived in the United States in 1905, so the date remains disputed.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; Henry Sapoznik, 'Was Katz's deli founded in 1888? Not quite,' September 8, 2025.
Katz's official history says Willy Katz's cousin Benny joined in 1910 and bought out the Iceland brothers, creating Katz's Delicatessen. Directory research indicates Iceland & Katz was still listed in 1915, so the exact business-name transition needs archival verification.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; Lower East Side Tenement Museum, 'The King of Pastrami: Looking Back at Katz's Deli,' December 27, 2023; Henry Sapoznik, September 8, 2025.
Katz's official history says Harry Tarowsky bought into the partnership. The evidence reviewed does not establish that the deli moved to its present Houston Street side that same year.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story.
Historical research places Katz's move across the street to its present side of East Houston Street around 1931, connected to subway and Houston Street construction. The exact move date requires municipal transit, property, and business records.
Source: Henry Sapoznik, 'Was Katz's deli founded in 1888? Not quite,' September 8, 2025; Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story.
During World War II, food shipments sent by the owners to sons serving in the armed forces became the basis for the Send A Salami To Your Boy In The Army slogan. The precise first advertisement date has not been verified.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; Epicurean Traveler, 'The Owner of Katz's, New York City's Oldest and Best Deli,' January 13, 2016.
Katz's official history says the present storefront façade was added between 1946 and 1949. This façade date is distinct from the restaurant's earlier move to the present side of Houston Street.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story.
Longtime restaurateur Martin Dell, his son Alan Dell, and Martin's son-in-law Fred Austin bought into the Katz's partnership on the deli's claimed 100th anniversary.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; Epicurean Traveler, January 13, 2016.
Katz's became a nationally recognized film location through the restaurant scene in When Harry Met Sally.... The exact filming date was not established in this review.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; public film-location accounts.
Jake Dell joined Katz's in a major operating role and the restaurant's official history says he now oversees major operations.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story.
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Katz's official history dates the business to an 1888 Iceland Brothers deli on Ludlow Street. But historians note that Morris and Hyman Iceland appear to have arrived in the United States around 1900–02, which conflicts with their alleged 1888 opening. The 1888 date is a longstanding business claim, not a conclusively established founding fact.
Katz's is widely called New York City's oldest deli and has a credible early-20th-century Lower East Side lineage. But the claimed 1888 founding is disputed, its early ownership and name chronology are unsettled, and this review has not compared all historic Jewish deli contenders using one consistent standard for identity, moves, closures, and continuous operation.
The restaurant publicly presents an 1888-to-present lineage, but the exact founding date, early partners, name changes, addresses, and present-location move are disputed. The reviewed evidence does not supply a complete operating, closure, licensing, and ownership chronology sufficient to certify uninterrupted operation from 1888 to today.
Katz's official site describes its pastrami and corned beef as house-cured and hand-carved, and multiple food accounts describe hand slicing as part of the deli's tradition. The review did not independently verify the candidate's broader claim that every meat order is cut exclusively by hand with no mechanical slicing equipment.
Katz's own history says food shipments to sons of the owners serving in the armed forces became the basis for the slogan. A published owner interview repeats the family account. The precise origin date, wording of the first advertisement, and scope of the wartime campaign require original promotional material.
Katz's official history and the deli's enduring in-restaurant film reference establish that the famous dining scene in the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally... was filmed at Katz's. The exact production or filming date was not verified in this review.
Katz's official history says Martin Dell, Alan Dell, and Fred Austin bought into the partnership in 1988. It says Jake Dell joined in late 2009 and is currently in charge of major operations. A 2016 owner interview independently describes Jake Dell's fourth-family ownership era.
Katz's Delicatessen was conclusively founded in 1888 by the Iceland brothers.
Katz's publicly uses 1888 for an Iceland Brothers origin, but historical research indicates Morris and Hyman Iceland arrived in the United States around 1900–02. The 1888 date is a longstanding claim, not a conclusively established opening year.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; Untapped New York, January 19, 2022; Henry Sapoznik, September 8, 2025.
Katz's moved to its present Houston Street building in 1917 because of IND subway construction.
Katz's official history connects a cross-street move to subway construction, but independent research places the move to the present side of East Houston Street around 1931. The current façade was added between 1946 and 1949. The IND subway was not the correct 1917 explanation.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; Henry Sapoznik, 'Was Katz's deli founded in 1888? Not quite,' September 8, 2025.
Katz's has always been at 205 E Houston Street.
Katz's traces its early history to Ludlow Street and later operated across the street from the present site before moving to the current side of East Houston Street around the early 1930s. Its current storefront façade dates to 1946–49 according to the deli's history.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen, Our Story; Henry Sapoznik, September 8, 2025.
All Katz's meat is cut exclusively by hand with no mechanical slicers.
Katz's markets house-cured, hand-carved pastrami and corned beef, but the reviewed sources do not independently establish an absolute no-slicer policy for every product or order.
Source: Katz's Delicatessen official website; Epicurean Traveler, January 13, 2016.
Katz's survived because it made the routines of an old Lower East Side delicatessen—paper tickets, hand-carved cured meat, crowded tables, and theatrical counter service—into a repeatable experience for both neighborhood regulars and visitors. The business has changed ownership and its earliest history is less clean than its marketing suggests, but its 1988 acquisition by Martin Dell, Alan Dell, and Fred Austin created a new family-led stewardship era. Jake Dell later took charge of major operations while the deli expanded national shipping without removing the in-person rituals that make the Houston Street room distinctive.
Katz's Delicatessen publicly traces its Lower East Side lineage to an Iceland Brothers deli claimed to have opened in 1888. That early date is disputed because historical research indicates the Iceland brothers arrived in the United States around 1900–02, but the business later became associated with Willy and Benny Katz, then Harry Tarowsky, before the Dell/Austin group bought it in 1988. Katz's now operates at 205 E Houston Street under Jake Dell's operational leadership.
Katz's is widely marketed as New York City's oldest deli, but this register does not certify the title. Its claimed 1888 Iceland Brothers origin is disputed by immigration and directory research, and the historical timeline for Katz ownership, the current name, and the present Houston Street location is not fully resolved. A comparative audit of other historic Jewish delis is also needed.
Katz's official history says the deli moved across the street during subway construction, but independent historical research places the move to the present side of East Houston Street around 1931. The deli's present storefront façade was added between 1946 and 1949, which is a separate event from the move itself. Municipal transit and property records are needed to confirm the exact relocation date.
Katz's says the slogan began during World War II, when the families who owned the deli sent food to sons serving in the armed forces. The phrase became the deli's enduring mail-order and military-support slogan. The reviewed evidence does not establish the exact date or first advertisement in which the slogan appeared.
Yes. The well-known restaurant scene in the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally... was filmed at Katz's Delicatessen on the Lower East Side. The deli maintains an in-house reference to the scene, but this review did not verify the exact day it was filmed.
205 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-2246
Keep the paper ticket issued at entry until you leave. Katz's is open daily; confirm current hours, delivery, catering, and shipping arrangements directly before visiting.