Canter's Deli

Reviews

• NK

  Noah Kupferman

  4 days ago
  1.0
  Visiting from New York and wanted to take in one of the heralded delis that LA has to offer and chose to visit Canter's. So much potential to be great and yet so very disappointing. This place must have been great back in the 1950s which is, I think, the last time that they washed the floors..... I offer up an example a bit of photographic evidence: plate of pickles arrives at the table - this was, I think, the saddest plate of pickles that I have seen in lo these many years. Looks like they were left out in the California desert for the past several days before being served. So, we apologetically asked the waitress, "sorry to ask but might it be possible to have another plate of pickles that are not so dried out?" The waitress glanced at the plate and replied, "sure. but honestly I don't think they will be any better...." In all fairness, she was spot on - photograph attached. If you have time - go to Langer's. Best pastrami sandwich I have ever had.
• RG

  Randy Gallegos

  Aug 12, 2026
  5.0
  Gather around and I will tell you something you've heard and mabe never tried. The place, the legend, is...Canters Restaurant. You have seen them in movies, you seen the YouTube, Facebook and TikTok, I came to LA for a wedding and while going shopping for suits I wanted to treat my family to the best Pastrami (in reputation) in LA. 100 years ago when I was in my 20's I brought a date here. Not alot has changed, and that's a good thing. Ok, let's talk food. Amazing 👏🏼, I had the hot Pastrami sandwich, MAN! TASTED LIKE A SMOKED PASTRAMI, The tast was smoke flavor the bread was nice and soft, the potato salad was creamy and the potato chunks were approximately 1 inch in dimensions. My wife had the Pastrami dip, Pastrami on a roll and a small bowl of aju, with fries perfectly cooked, crunchy on the outside soft on the inside. I tried the aguando it was fabulous 👌🏼 My oldest son. Had The Spicy, he said it had the great mix of heat and flavor, the onion rings rings were made with real onions, crunchy and delicious 😋 My other son had the Pastrami Burger, I order these when ever I see it on the menu, I asked how does it compare to the rest, he smiled and said class of its own. My youngest is a college boy so im going to see what my college money paid for. This is his review: The Fresser was a pastrami and corned beef sandwich described to be piled high on rye and they were ABSOLUTELY true to their word! A mountain of perfection, a robust and bold flavor, with a perfect finishing taste of the rye. Everything was beautiful and built to perfection and I absolutely recommend this sandwich if you have the appetite to stomach the behemoth of a sandwich the Fressor was! 10/10 would eat again! My college boy, long story short, we paid 134.90 the service was wonderful Maria was our server and did an excellent job. Well worth the trip, also a celebrity was eating next to us, he was with his family and I did not want to disturb his family time. Come it is all they say it is. Your welcome.
• CR

  Canday Ray

  Aug 7, 2026
  1.0
  My mom received a dry, tough, burnt end bark for the pastrami instead of the usual soft, tender, juicy cuts that she’s use to from Canter’s. Additionally, I ordered a medium burger but came out well-done and was so dry I couldn’t even finish it. The top of my burger bun was burnt. And I had to pick the burnt part off. When my mom called to address these issues, the manager, Jacquline, was surprisingly pushy and defensive. She didn’t take what my mother said seriously. Instead of taking accountability or offering to review the photo of what we were served, she refused to look at the pictures and pushed back on correcting the order. So we told her we’ll upload the pictures to Google Reviews so they can see for themselves. I remember when I ordered a burger from Denny’s, they forgot to include the bacon and avacado. I called them to let them know it was not on my burger. The manager was so kind and apologized and gave me a new order with no problem. As a customer, I appreciate that. I get managers have their own style but again, we offered to show pictures as proof. To me Jacquline has poor customer service skills.
• CT

  Christopher T

  Aug 6, 2026
  3.0
  Was here and happened to be on their 95yrs anniversary. Don’t get me wrong but this place is iconic and well known in SoCal. With a lot of history how it started and moved here and the late night hangout place for celebrities and a place for musicians to do their thing at the lounge. Now in their 3rd generations, they’re still hanging on to what was given…unfortunately they didn’t quite maintain it well. They have the bakery, the deli and the lounge on the other side of the restaurant. With the big seating area in the back and the bar sitting on the entrance side, and if you turn right from the entrance, there is a big room for more seating then if you go future, there the lounge or bar. For me, this is more of a diner place than anything. Staff are okey, could be nicer since we got seated and waited for 10mins then I asked the helper, than see him told one of the waiter and see that he just shaked his head then walk away. So we just waited for another 7-8 mins for on coming staff to come over. Menu is big with plenty of great dishes. Ordered their well known pastrami and chili fries with vanilla shake. The shake is great and they gave the xtra (which is very nice), the fries are just okey (big beans and watering chili sauce with steak fries) - there’s no favor and abit blanched. The pastrami was good, flavorful and well seasoned and cooked. The bread is with hard crush instead of soft, which is aok with me. The coleslaw was also blanched and they forgot the pickles, we asked and they brought it out. Overall it was okey or below what I expected but the pastrami was the best part of the meal. Got a slice of carrot cake (weight by the pound) and a cookie. Both are fantastic, they don’t look good but do taste great. Parking can be a huge issue since they do have valid parking for free for 1-2hrs or you have to look for free street parking in the neighborhood. They do have front street parking for a fee. Would I come back again, most likely no but sweet treats, sure definitely.
• RS

  Rute Schindler

  Aug 4, 2026
  5.0
  Canter's has been on Fairfax Avenue since 1931 and it operates every hour of every day with the kind of unhurried confidence that comes from serving the same neighborhood for almost a century. The room is large and slightly worn in the way that only genuinely old restaurants get worn, and the menu is enormous, a proper Jewish deli catalog that rewards browsing even when you already know what you're getting. The pastrami is the reason most people end up here, hand-sliced and piled onto rye bread in the way that this style of sandwich was always meant to be built, with mustard and a pickle that arrives cold and is sharper than you'd expect. The Reuben has its own devoted following for good reason, the corned beef and sauerkraut and Swiss on grilled rye a combination that works every time in the hands of a kitchen that has been doing it since before most of its customers' parents were born. The matzo ball soup is the comforting opener that sets the tone for the whole meal, a proper clear broth with a soft, well-seasoned matzo ball floating in it. The cheese blintz with sour cream is the breakfast or dessert order most worth making, delicate and lightly sweet and the thing most regulars get alongside their coffee at any hour. The attached Kibitz Room bar hosts live music on weekends and has been a Fairfax neighborhood institution in its own right for decades.