Heckman’s Delicatessen

I needed a dose of New York today so decided to finally check out Heckman’s in Bethesda, for what turned into a really nice Saturday afternoon lunch.
I had the Justin’s Club, chock-​full of turkey and bacon, topped with juicy tomato and crisp lettuce, all served on toasted white bread, nicely plated and served with a tasty cole slaw. The side order of excellent hand-​cut fries was truly ginormous and piping hot, straight out of the fryer — exactly how fries should be served up! The portion sizes are truly quite generous, so order what you want and take some home for a snack later.
I saw several Reubens go by, and they looked amazing, stacked high with corned beef on a marble rye, and they had some very tempting-​looking baked goods at the counter.
The staff is quite friendly and eager-​to-​please, and the deli itself is comfortable, having the feel of a small neighborhood deli in Brooklyn or Queens. Heckman’s definitely beats out its local competition, and I’m looking forward to a return trip to try out that Reuben!

The food is great, the sandwiches are huge, and the staff is always friendly and eager to please. Heckman’s is one of our favorite casual restaurants.

It’s good to have a real deli in Bethesda. «Sandwich shops» like Panera, Brown Bag, Jimmy John’s, Subway, and so on just are not «real».
Heckman’s is solid, but not out of this world. (But then again, Katz’s in NYC was not as good as it used to be when I visited there last year, and Heckman’s is at least as good)

Heckman’s Delicatessen deliciously rolls off the tongue doesn’t it!
My high school buddy works here and asked me to meet him at this restaurant. Not intending to buy anything (because I am not well versed in Jewish cuisine), my homie places an order for us. He ordered the beef sliders (3), roast beef sliders (3), french fries with a few onion rings sprinkled on top!
Ok, you know when you order Burger King fries and then afterwards you immediately wish you ordered the onion rings, and to your surprise, the Lord blesses you with a few BK onion rings.
OK, that’s how HAPPY I was when I saw the onions rings placed so carefully on top of my fries. The fries were thick, and the onion rings were large and crispy… can you tell I love fries?
I am not much of «deli meat-​eater» but those sliders were delicious! Because it was a slow day, I loved how many of the employees were laid back chatting amongst themselves (almost like an internet café).
Just when I thought we were finished, my friend orders a chocolate chip cookie (with walnuts) with a HUGE ass scope of ice cream!!! HEAVEN!!!
Shoutouts to my homie for introducing me to this place!

We ordered a reuben and an order of potato latkes. Combined the price was $ 20.50 ($ 13 for the reuben, $ 7.50 for the 2 latkes). For some reason, the food took about 20 minutes, in spite of the restaurant being completely empty. The bread was utterly burnt, the sandwich was significantly smaller than what the pictures indicated, the flavor was okay, but lacking. The latkes were tiny for the price and completely lacking in flavor. For the price, there was so little food, so little flavor, so little satisfaction. I would absolutely recommend walking past this establishment and go to any of the great restaurants down the block. For a great deli in the area, absolutely go Attman’s.

Got the matzah ball soup and rueben. Both were excellent! The matzah ball soup is better than my moms!

A friend of mine picked up a few sandwiches to go. Everything was perfectly cooked and prepared. Tons of meat! You can tell the quality of the product was put into the sandwich and the meats were fresh. Great food and family-​run business. Highly recommended

This place is a great family own deli but also delivers what more could you ask for. The food is wonderful and so is the staff

I thought this would be a good place to try while I was waiting for my car. Attempted to go there and they were not open during their posted hours. I think that is just rude. If you can’t get it together then change your hours.

Pastrami was out of this world, well worth the trip to Bethesda. Staff was very friendly, love the complementary pickles. Look forward to returning and working my way through the menu.

I like heckmans food for the most part. The last time we were there I ordered a cup of matzoh ball soup and was given half a matzoh ball! Half. Unbelievable. We love delis and this is the first time I’ve ever been served HALF a matzoh ball.
Also ordered grilled cheese w tomato and bacon on rye and there was barely any cheese and overall skimpy. This surprised me because another time my grilled cheese was delicious.
Grandpa blintezs are absolutely delicious.
The employees and owners r very nice. So I’ll keep going back.

I have been passing up Groupon deals for Heckman’s but I finally bought one earlier this year and just used it other this last weekend with BP and my mother-​in-​law. I also wanted to redeem my Unilocal Check-​in for free sliders, but as I was made aware of when the check came, the check-​in is not eligible to be combined with any other offers (including Groupons or LivingSocial deals). Boo! If I had known that (it was listed nowhere on the Unilocal check-​in) I would not have ordered the sampler, just because I passed on the whitefish salad and ordered the beef knish and potato latkes instead. I know I would have enjoyed the whitefish more… Oh well, I am not planning on returning just for the whitefish because Woodside Deli in Rockville is much closer to my house.
The sliders were pretty good, but I felt they could have used a lot more meat because the ratio was off. The sliders were served on challah bread, which I was excited about, but again, the meat to bread ratio was off. That also took at least 25 minutes to prepare. NO JOKE. There were other patrons in the restaurant (three others), but only one waitress was working the majority of the time we were there. The other two guys were just sitting at the bar for the first 30 minutes we were there. When they finally managed to make their way to the kitchen, people finally started getting served. There was a period of time where I thought we’d get towed waiting for the food because we had parked in a two hour spot…
When the food finally came, I did not think that all items were worth the price. My mother-​in-​law had Corey’s tuna salad. I did not have any of that because of the bacon crumbles. BP ordered the steak and cheese and that was a decent amount of food, but I found it to be overly greasy. I get that it is not meant to be healthy, it’s just that the soggy bread was extremely unappetizing.
My vanilla milkshake (which I only ordered because I was required to in-​order to redeem the Unilocal-​check in offer) was a total rip-​off and a let-​down. It was not worth $ 5, nope not even close. For $ 5, I would have expected the glass to be larger and a cherry on top, but nope, that did not happen. The glass was standard-​sized, I did not get the left overs (like I am used to at diners like Ihop, Denny’s and even Fuddruckers) and no cherry, just some whip cream on top. I finished the shake in three minutes, because it was tasty, but still made me want more.
My ground beef knish was good, but for $ 5.50, again, not worth the price. I really wanted to try one, but I guess again, I was expecting more food. I think the potato latkes were about $ 7.50 for two. Again, over-​priced. I have never had them before, so was eager to try them, but they are not worth ordering. They were tasteless, with no seasoning what so ever. I tried using the sour cream and applesauce, but still found them to be boring. I much rather would have wanted another beef knish because at least it did not taste like cardboard.
I don’t know how long this has been the case, but the women’s restroom is out of service. The waitress told me that they just use the men’s bathroom, so it sounded like this arrangement had been going on for a while and will not be resolved soon…
When the check came, the Unilocal promotion was applied. When I mentioned the Groupon the waitress snapped at me before I even finished my sentence. «Only one coupon per table!» was stunned, not only because I ordered those worthless sliders, but because of the delivery of the message… I had her take off the Unilocal promotion and apply the Groupon since it was a $ 20 discount. When she brought the check back to me I saw that the sliders were charged at $ 14. Are you kidding me??? I went to the counter and said that the $ 14 charge on the receipt was for sliders and fries at $ 14 and I did not get served fries so I will not be paying the $ 14. She took of $ 7 and applied it to the discount. Before the Groupon, the check came to $ 55, without tip. Unreal. We ended up paying $ 29 (without tip). Not interested to return, even with a Groupon…

I am in here for lunch right now and I am very happy.
Getting real tired of all the Subway chains around here taking away all the old fashioned Deli’s.
But I walked by looking for a reasonable lunch place and I will be coming back.
Got a Greek salad and the Olives were already pitted. The cheese and dressing was great. The waitress split both our salads up which was nice.
Got a grilled cheese and salami. So much meat you can only eat half. I have a whole sandwich for lunch tomorrow.
Everyone was real nice. Has the small business feel and I will gladly come back.
The prices are right, people are friendly and service was fast!!!

The food is wonderful, but the quality of my experience has gone downhill on my last 2 visits. Therefore, I have to downgrade Heckmann’s from 5 stars to 3 stars. The management needs to have more than 1 waitress during busy lunch hours. On my last 2 visits, there was only one waitress for the entire restaurant. They also ran out of key items during my last 2 visits. At 11am, there is no excuse at a deli like this to run out things like milk, half sour pickles, and kugel so early during the lunch hour. On my last visit, 2 tables that came later received their food before us.

I love a good Jewish deli, and Heckman’s did not disappoint. The pastrami is like buttah and warmed my soul. I tried the corned beef hash and loved it as well. To start we had the latkes; be aware that you only get two in an order, but they were delicious and clearly homemade/​made-​to-​order. The interior needs a little refreshing, but the service was excellent and very friendly. Can’t wait to come back and try everything else. FYI they are running a Groupon right now.
Located in the Woodmont Triangle, there’s plenty of easy (and free on the weekend) parking in the nearby municipal parking structures.

A deli that serves classic fare and tries very hard to please.
I’m impressed by their pastrami sandwich; generous in size with a price tag of $ 11 (or get «junior-​sized» for $ 8). The options for sammies are quite varied – all kinds of breads and cheeses and toppings. If you can’t find a sandwich to eat here, then no place will satisfy. Their fries, potato salad and cole slaw are all reliable.
Breakfast is available all day, too.
It’s a cute spot with friendly service that is usually punctual.
The atmosphere is just to my liking.
Have initiated a loyalty card system; been in existence for about a year.
Always have the day’s Washington Post (paper version) that I can read and a few TVs placed about to catch some sports.
It’s like going home; Dagwood, the sandwich addict, would love it here.
A call-​in order can be brought to your vehicle via curbside service.
They’ve extended hours on Friday and Saturday nights
Adjoining Heckman’s is their newest addition, something they are calling Sidelines Café. It’s an outdoor area that is covered and enlarges the space by a fair amount.
I believe they’ve only been open since 2014. There’s a lot going with this establishment. It’s quite ambitious.

We ordered from here again today. My friend wanted good hangover food and I had not yet eaten breakfast so I suggested Heckman’s. Delivery time was estimated between 45 – 60 mins. An hour and 10 mins later I called and was told the guy had left with my order about 15 mins ago. I asked if that meant our food would be cold and was told no.
Guy finally shows up with an OPEN paper bag containing our food. Half of the food was completely cold. Especially the fries at the top. Simply CLOSING the top of the bag (by very easily rolling it up or folding it) would have helped prevent this. Come on guys…
My friend ordered the pancakes which were burned on top. They came with no syrup or butter and she said they were way too dry to eat without. So she threw them out. She also paid extra for chocolate chips and said there were like 4 chips total all in the center. It too was pretty cold. The pancakes are also SUPER thick. Maybe too thick to cook properly, but I don’t know, I’m not a chef. These though, were not cooked well.
I ordered the scrambled egg sandwich and it was good as usual. They require a $ 20 delivery minimum so I order from there and split the food with friends or co-​workers. However the only consistent item has been the scrambled eggs, which is not enough to qualify for delivery.
I really want to like this place, and I have overlooked things on many occasions (used the wrong bread, long delivery time, never bring plates or salt which we request). But when you have to throw out food because it’s too dry, cold, etc to eat, that’s another story. I’m not picky by any means, but no one likes wasting money. I hope they read people’s comments and improve upon them because as I said, I really want to like this place.

We stopped in the morning of July 4^th while visiting friends in the area. The place was empty but open. It had a nice diner atmosphere and very friendly service.
We love a good NY style deli and this seemed to be that so I was excited. The menu looked great. My wife and I each ordered corned beef hash and my daughters ordered Challah bread French toast with strawberries and a kids pancake.
It slid a bit downhill from there. They found out they were out of strawberries and soon after said the microwave was flaky so they couldn’t do my wife’s poached eggs. That last one certainly had us nervous. The pancakes and French toast came first. The pancakes were nearly burnt but we rolled with it. The corned beef hash came about ten minutes later (at that point there may have been one other couple in the place). The hash brown potatoes were about as crunchy as potato chips and somewhat greasy. The food wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either.
I took a gamble on a mid three rated place hoping it would exceed its online presence but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. I’m between a 2 and a 3 but given the price, I’d have to go with a 2.

Russo’s Tower Sandwich $ 15 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
Big mouth vs big sandwich when it comes to eating tower size sandwich. How do you eat this monstrosity? Even masters of eating big things like me has no way to get my mouth around it. This required something extra special, a FORK! Four decker sandwich that comes with not just one or two, but with three different type of meats: corned beef, pastrami, and turkey between four pieces of rye bread. Every layers comes with a whole lot of very tasty coleslaw drenched in thousand island dressing. Oh yea this is one massive tower of sandwich awesomeness with a great flavor combinations. Usually not a fan of coleslaw, but they put something in it that makes it taste great. Don’t recommend eating the whole thing unless you want to feel like nap type right there under the table.
BIG G 1.5 POUND CORNED BEEF $ 23 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
Unleash the beast of Big G sandwich with 1.5 pounds of corned beef. Dam that thing is big! I’m a size queen when it comes to food, but dam that is one massive sandwich that even I might not be able to handle. Its never ending layers of corned beef. Topped with a tone of cole slaw and 1000 island dressing. Luckily there was so much corned beef that all the extras didn’t drawn it out too much. Best way to to get a little bit of cole slaw and lots of corned beef in every bite Bread was crunchy and a bit hard. With such an impressive display of portions I was expecting crazy flavors. Corned beef was tasty with nice flavor combination that left an impression on our taste buds, but at the same time it didn’t have the wow flavor that the size of it left on us. I didn’t even want to try to bite into that thing and went directly for knife and a fork. But even with big knife it was a kind of hard to cut through all that bread. Defiantly too much bread here and ended up turning it into an open sandwich by getting rid of top slices. I just want more corned beef goodness in my mouth. Since there is simply not enough food on this sandwich it also comes with a nice order of potato salad. I was only able to finish half of it and ate the rest for the next couple of days. Look under the specialty sandwiches for The Big G and get ready for crazy sandwich noming.

Best Jewish deli in Bethesda. I’ve been there twice and everything I’ve eaten has been fantastic. I’ve had the pastrami sandwich and the Reuben, which is my personal favorite. The bread for the Reuben is rye-​pumpernickel swirl, the corned beef is cooked perfectly, and the portions are extremely large– each time my meal provided 2 or 3 meals. The Reuben is reasonably priced at about $ 13.
I also had the sweet noodle kugel, which is really good. I think they must have worked on their recipe, because on the second visit it was even better. The sandwiches come with a small side, either a cup of coleslaw or potato salad, which is nice because you get a taste without ordering a full side. Although you should order a full side– they are reasonably priced and huge. The kugel is a side option, along with knishes and various other choices. I haven’t even gotten to try their bagels or dinner options yet, but I’ve heard the whitefish salad is incredible, and I look forward to trying the brisket. Extremely high quality food, made in-​house. Great service. Indoor and outdoor seating.