Manny's Deli Stop — Restaurant in Upper Moreland Township

Satisfy your pastrami cravings with a real deal, slow cooked, classic Jewish deli style sandwich.

I ordered pastrami on rye with coleslaw, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. My son ordered an egg sandwich with pastrami and Cooper Sharp on a challah roll. We were both super satisfied.

Let me celebrate the pastrami. It's deserving. This is not the gelatinous water-injected, cooked-in-a-bag grocery store deli meat that most places serve these days. It's real beef brisket--deckle and first cut--cured with garlic, black pepper and coriander. They told me it was cooked in house, and I believe them. The texture was perfect: slices that hold their shape, with melt-in-your-mouth fatty sections, and a tender bite. You can tell it's perfectly cooked because the flesh shreds between your teeth, rather than falling apart into mushy chunks and stringy stands (like it does at most places, because they overcook it).

I appreciated that my rye bread was buttered and griddle-toasted, which ensures that it retains its structural integrity, rather than tearing up into crumbs as you try to grip the sandwich firmly enough to get each oversized bite into your mouth. The challah roll was soft, pillowy, and sweet, absorbing the juices and gooey cheese.

If I have to be critical, I'd say that all the flavors could be emboldened. The pastrami could be a bit saltier, with stronger pepper and coriander notes. The Russian dressing could be a little sweeter. And the coleslaw could've used a little more vinegar. All the textures were on point, but emphasizing the sweet and sour flavors would help to cut through the insulating beef tallow and bring fireworks to my tongue's taste buds.

I plan to visit again soon. Small imperfections don't change the fact that this is the best pastrami sandwich I've had in the Philadelphia area in years (since Famous 4th Street changed ownership). The service was super friendly and the owner chatted with us while we ate. This place is a gem. I hope they grow to multiple locations because it's hard to find anything that even compares.

I'll probably try a bagel with lox or whitefish next time I go. But I'm nervous about it. I noticed ACME brand fish in the deli case, which is generally acceptable, but hardly exceptional. Still, I won't make a judgement before tasting.

Nothing special when it comes to ambiance. It's a take out place with some small cafe tables. But they were playing a Grateful Dead live show on the sound system, which gave it a good old...

I and my husband of 40+ years, moved from our mutual birthplace (i.e., Los Angeles, California) to Philadelphia in 1989. We told our families that we’d be back in Los Angeles in three years.

That didn’t happen.

A house, two sons, one daughter, one granddaughter, one son-in-law, one absolutely going to be engaged and become a daughter-in-law, careers, godparents, friends, colleagues, an Ivy League law school (University of Pennsylvania School of Law, Tony graduated from UCLA’s school of medicine), jobs, commitments, etc., etc., etc.

Each & every time we flew home (while we both were born in Los Angeles, Tony was raised in Long Beach, and I was raised in a city which bordered Long Beach - Compton), our first stop wasn’t to friends/family, but ALWAYS to « Johnnie’s Pastramis, » in Culver City.

And each & every time we were thrillingly enjoying a Johnnie’s pastrami, we also LOUDLY bemoaned that we could never find anything close to being comparable to one Johnnie’s pastramis. For 36 years, we couldn’t abide by what almost every establishment served a « pastrami sandwich. »

And then…

We received a Manny’s Deli flyer from somewhere. Pastrami was listed on the menu, but we didn’t jump — too many horrible dis appointments.

Then, Babarazzi, my BFF (she takes me to nearly ALL my medical appointments - primarily to Fox Chase Cancer Center/Temple University’s Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic), saw the flyer at our house and suggested we try it out…

A-freakin’-mazing!!!

Our 36-year search is OVER! Nirvana!

The food is STUPENDOUS! STRATOSPHERIC! DELICIOUS! From my favorite concoction (hot pastrami on challah bread, with regular mustard & extra pickles!) to Tony’s favorite (a toasted turkey sandwich with brown mustard), to their soups, salads, etc., are ALL FIVE-STAR!

The service is INCREDIBLE! Staff folks are friendly, efficient, patient, always ready to answer questions or to offer suggestions, seriously nice and they prepare food with precision, diligence, quickly & carefully.

We’ve eaten in and took out; every single experience absolutely PHENOMENAL!

Hyperbolic? You will be as well when you come to this phenomenal establishment! Out « longing days » for an amazing pastrami...

First, let me say,I love Jewish deli food. The owners need to go to Herschel’s in the Reading Terminal Market, 4th Street Deli, or Ben & Irv’s and see how a great sandwich is made. I will definitely try Manny’s again but they have a lot of work to do.

I realize they just opened but… Our order was wrong, taken by a nice young lady who I’m guessing has never been to another Jewish deli. The “system” of ordering and paying is just stupid, 2 different counters, 2 separate receipts, they had to “weigh” our rice pudding side, adding 5 minutes to the transaction, lots of staff but no coordination. We had to ask twice for our coleslaw side and when it finally was ready the young lady would not walk it the 5 feet over to our table. I had ordered a “hot” corned beef(fresh-sliced hot) on rye with spicy mustard but got a “shaved” cold corned beef with a drop of mustard. The sandwich just fell apart and was dry. The free pickle slices were very good. The tables inside and out are obviously reused, repainted over rusty metal that was flaking off. The deli case display was very unappealing, half full and unappetizing. Lunch for 2, $48.50 with tip. 2 sandwiches, 2 canned sodas, 1 bag of chips and a side of...