Johnny's Pastrami — Restaurant in Los Angeles

My uncle and I came here at 2pm for the new, talked about establishment posted up at Crenshaw and Adams. We got two orders of the 'crispy chicken sandwich', he got "Regular Cut Fries" while I had the "Johnny Style Fries".

Customer Service: The black lady who was the cashier was so sweet. She was friendly, kind, and told each customer that their order would be ready on the right side of the establishment when the buzzer would go off.

Wait: I assume that each order of food is prepared right when you order it because the wait was around 12 minutes. Which is completely fine considering they want the food to be at its best when given to each customer.

Presentation: Omg yes! The food looks amazing in real life and on phone. The buttery bread of the sandwich, the two chicken tenders that make up the sandwich, the orange sauce that so elegantly drips off the sides of the sandwich, the parsley on the fries, the pastrami, orange sauce, cheese, and herbs on the style fries look AMAZING! This whole order is an artwork that needs to be framed and preserved.

Food: Waaaa waaaa waaaommp This is the part that gave Johnny's its 3 ★ rating. Had so much potential, but just didn't do it for my uncle and I. The Crispy Chicken sandwich is exactly what it is, extremely crispy, but hella bland. I almost broke a tooth. The chicken has the tasty orange sauce on it which is the ONLY flavor to it. The bread was honestly my favorite part. Buttery, flaky, and delicious!

The hand cut fries were also bland. My uncles thinks the fries were air fried considering they had no grease to it. No grease, no seasoning. The Johnny Style fries I had were also NOT it. The fries were also bland. The cheese was ight, most things on the style fries were ight. The only thing that had flavor was the pastrami which is a shame because I don't even like pastrami haha, but wanted to try this order anyway since it's a "new and improved" establishment. They needa contact Salt Bae for seasoning.

Overall: My Uncle and I were not impressed. He has known this establishment since his high school days and wasn't impressed with this new and improved, seasoned down establishment. Me being new school, I wouldn't consider eating here again if that meant spending my own money. Customer service and presentation of food is immaculate, but not enough to have me come spend my money on this...

Food is on point and used to go here all the time as we live down at but last two visits have been shambolic service. Last time I ordered a salad and soup to go and waited 30 minutes. After checking in multiple times and I finally put my foot down and asked for manager. After some searching order taker got the order number wrong apparently…they apologized and I was polite. Mistakes happen but food was cold.

This last time I went with my two year old son and good friend visiting from NYC hyping our neighborhood spot. I ordered before him and my friends buzzer went off before mine so we went to window together assuming ours was done too. Was 99% certain our tray was next to his based on what we ordered but a man getting to go order approached window at same time and let him go. The woman at food window apparently gave it to him despite the order not being right…he asked for things not on tray and they just gave it to him. Just assumed he ordered the exact same thing and even said it out loud to my son as a joke (“that man ordered the exact same thing as us”) and the man smirked (now knowing he knew he was getting away with something).

After another 5 minutes waiting and no lines for food or pickup I assumed something was wrong and approached window. I was asked for my receipt and then manager came over to assist. Apparently order # didn’t match buzzer again! Manager offered no make good and seemed puzzled…a light sorry and no solution. With a now crying toddler who was hungry, I asked for refund.

This place puts out solid food and started to become a neighborhood staple but service has severely declined and is no longer trustworthy or forgiving. Sad we won’t return with our...

I've been a regular customer since re-opening and prior to that I'd been a Johnny's diehard since high school and was heartbroken when they closed. Do you remeber the street races and hanging out at Johnny's in the 80's? Lol!! The smokiness of the handcrafted pastrami upon re-opening is what allowed me to give the new owner a pass; he made it his own as stated. It was quality and I respect the craftsmanship, patience and care needed to cure and smoke your own pastrami from scratch. It's a minimum 10 day process and up to 30 for a Katz or other delis. Kudos job well done at fist... I ate there today and boy oh boy what a let down. It was run of the mill hamburger stand pastrami! Wow! Really, at these prices! Out of courtesy, prior to writing this post. I called to ask if they changed the recipe since re-opening? Maybe due to volume? I was very disappointed when lied to by the lady who took my call...A flat and very emphatic no! Are you sure, I asked and she said no we did change the recipe sir! Wow! For the record, I'm a craftsmen pastrami maker my self and smoke a mean Texan Style Brisket if I do say so! Lol! Can you say low and slow? Those that know, know what magic happens at 203 internal temp!! Lol! Melt in you mouth!! So, I know the difference in smell, taste and texture! All the elements that were missing from this meal!! If you like run of the mill at a premium hand crafted price this is your place. Maybe the on tap beer, the other food choices and the cozy bistro ombiance make up for it but I'll stick with Canter's for my deli style pastrami and The Hat for...