Harold's New York Deli — Restaurant in Edison

New Jersey food culture is a byproduct of the Garden State functioning as a giant suburb for the 2 greatest food cities in America, New York City and Philadelphia. You’ll find Italian sub & cheesesteak shops, bagel shops, and legendary Italian restaurants and pizzerias that will rival some of the most famous in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and South Philly. If you want something different, New Jersey is perhaps the most ethically diverse state in America with so many different cuisine options from across the world. We’re also considered the diner capital of the world.

But one thing that hasn’t carried over, at least when it comes to New York food culture in particular, are those great Jewish delis. And no, I’m not talking about Jewish bagel shops but rather those that specialize in true Eastern European Jewish comfort food, like hot pastrami and corned beef on rye, matzo ball soup and borscht, kreplach and cabbage rolls, latkes and knishes, among other delightful delicacies. Outside of a couple handful of places, they really aren’t that prominent in New Jersey, as the Jewish community in the garden state is a bit more scattered compared to New York. But with every rule, there comes an exception, and in this case, it’s Harold’s in Edison.

By far, the most well-known Jewish deli in New Jersey alongside Hobby’s in Newark, Harold’s was started up by a former manager of the legendary and now defunct Carnegie deli in New York. Their massive sandwiches, particularly the pastrami, has been compared with the likes of Carnegie and Katz’s in New York. While I’ve never tried those legendary New York establishments, just a couple bites into their hot pastrami and cured tongue sandwiches that I ordered and I could see why they have garnered such high praise. By far better than any pastrami sandwich I’ve had before, and legitimately one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had of any kind. Some Jersey diners make a quality hot pastrami or corn beef sandwich, but nothing quite of this caliber. The most famous deli I’ve been to prior to this is the Millburn deli, and their sandwich's aren’t even on the same planet as Harold’s. In addition, I ordered a cup of their cold borscht, which I must admit I might like even better than the hot borscht I’ve tried in the past at several polish restaurants and delis. Their knish is the size of a dinner plate, and absolutely fantastic. Harold’s also has an incredible pickle bar, which I’m told is one of a kind.

Outside of the food, the service was great and the atmosphere was clean and overall incredible. It felt like I was in one of those iconic places in Manhattan with all the incredible New York themed memorabilia scattered throughout the walls, along with displays of all the different rewards, they’ve won and the shows they’ve been on.

I must say as a lifelong New Jerseyan of almost 30 years with a Jewish mother, i’m almost embarrassed how long it’s taken me to come here but I’m so glad I did. I can’t wait to come back and I also can’t wait to eventually try Katz’s and Hobby’s to properly compare them all. 10 out of 10...

Just left Harold’s, a place we usually look forward to going, and I am utterly appalled by the experience. We have a huge family and once or twice a year my father likes to take us all out. This is a table of 16, 8 adults and 8 children ranging from 1-9 years old. He loves to see all his grandchildren together and Harold’s has always been able to accommodate. It has ALWAYS been the perfect spot with large portions and fast service, leaving everyone happy. This night was very different. The manager or host made it very clear from the start that she was agitated with our arrival. She proceeded to sit a table with 8 young children, in a basically empty restaurant, in the main walkway to the kitchen. We were confused with the choice of seating but carried on. Once sat she uncomfortably kept her eyes on us. The minute one child got out of their chair, she approached and said they couldn’t stand bc of the staff needing to go in and out of the kitchen and “the parents need to watch their children.” Which further puzzled us because she chose to sit children in such a high traffic area with hot plates coming in and out. As we were getting ready to leave, one of the kids went and touched their mirrored wall, and immediately had staff windexing and cleaning the whole wall to make statement that we were a nuisance. For the most part, the kids were at the table coloring. Of course, they did move around the table a few times to talk to each other but by no means were they a disruption. You would think it was a zoo by the way we were treated. The one and two year old were taken on a few walks, by their attentive parents, to avoid getting antsy as we wouldn’t want to bother any patrons. Anyone with young children has done the same. On the way out, we apologized and jokingly recommended a corner for such a large group of children. The host/waitress, did not even cracking a smile and proceeded to tell my family that she sits children there all the time, most parents don’t allow their children to run around a restaurant. Aside from this being a grossly exaggerated response, I was blown away by her blantant rudeness and disrespect to a very large family just leaving their establishment. We weren’t even thanked for being there or given a simple goodbye. If you plan on going here with your family, don’t. Far from family friendly. We have been here plenty of times before but the experience no longer felt warm or welcoming. It was uncomfortable and...

In case no one reads the entire thing: Beware! The recipe for the burgers was changed last week 🥲🥲🥲

My boyfriend and I love coming to Harold's and we've been going once or twice a month for the last three years since we've been together. The food has been perfection every single time and that's why we love it so much. I might find it ridiculous to pay more for burgers elsewhere but I will HAPPILY pay the $23 for the burger from here. It's amazing. It's probably the best burger I've ever had and I've had A LOT of burgers. Cheeseburgers are my favorite food and my usual go-to when I'm out at certain places.

HOWEVER, that being said, today's burger was very upsetting. The texture looked off, the smell was off, the consistency was off, the taste was off; basically a hot mess compared to before. At first, I thought I was maybe just imagining things so I asked my boyfriend if he thought it tasted off too, figuring maybe it's just me, maybe I'm having a day or whatever, but no, he thought it was off too. It was very salty and tasted/smelled like a hot dog? I think I got through like a 1/3 of my burger before I called it quits. I couldn't stomach it anymore. I was drowning it in ketchup just to stomach the taste.

I always finish my burger and IF I don't, then I'm too full and I'll always take it home for later. But, I couldn't finish it and I didn't WANT to finish it. My boyfriend couldn't even finish his. The rest of our food (fries, drinks, water. Pickle bar) was great but that burger was awful. I got served a half frozen/half cooked burger from Applebee's once and it was better than this. I'm not even mad, I'm just sad 😭😭 So to anyone who goes specifically for the burgers, like us, please be warned that the recipe has changed. 🥲🥲

I don't know if the recipe was changed because of the tariffs on beef but I'd happily pay more for the original burger 😭😭

Again, the food here is always amazing but this is just more as a warning to the fellow...