Bergstein’s NY Delicatessen – Hyde Park

Visit June 14, 2016. Great find!
I was looking for someplace within walking distance from University of Chicago Hospital, and this is only .6 miles so it was a nice walk. Walked in at 7:00p.m and the place was empty. I thought oh no, should I stay? Within seconds I was warmly welcomed from the ladies behind the counter:) Even offered me a glass for water because my face was red from walking. Ordered a small reuben on something besides rye and was offered challah bread. Now I love rye but I was hoping my Mom would try the sandwich too and she isn’t a fan rye. After trying the challah I may never have the rye. Even after the 15 minutes back to the room it was still delicious, can only imagine if I had eaten it when it was first made. The meat and kraut was proportioned out nicely and a great quality for an $ 8.00 sandwich. Ordered chips as the side but then also ordered the potato latkes with sour cream for Mom and applesauce for me. These weren’t bad just not amazing, much greasier than I anticipated. I was hoping for a dessert but they are all out for the day. I will be back to try some other items mainly because the food was good and the customer service was excellent!

This is the first deli I have checked out in Chicago after just moving to Hyde Park. Service was friendly and food was prepared quickly. I ordered the Rachel and overall it was pretty good. Served on a pretzel bun, it comes with turkey, swiss, slaw, and thousand island dressing. They have the nice option of picking a side with your sandwich so you aren’t just stuck with chips like lots of places. I got the potato salad as my side, which was sufficient, but nothing to get excited about. The sandwich also came with a pickle which was nice. I wasn’t overly impressed, but the food was good enough and the price was right to come back and try something different on their menu next time.

The Nobel sandwich is delicious. It’s a combination of grilled Chicken, Pastrami and Swiss cheese sandwiched between buttered and toasted wheat bread. If you’re watching calories look out, this is a high fat item! It’s accompanied by a side of chips or fruit, and a pickle. I loved it!

Smokey Joe’s — holy smokes!
Soft challah bread, perfect texture of whipped cream cheese and salmon. Melted in my mouth. Considering crowd, efficient speed.

Amazing place that lets you substitute things. The prices are also good for college students. I love their sandwich that has the chicken tenders. The owner is super nice and friendly!

Great Bagels, one of the top two in Hyde Park (the other being the NY Bagel and Bailie sold at Treasure Island). The sandwiches are also very good. Its a great place, and a great location in the middle of Hyde Park.

Bergstein’s is very polarizing among my friends and me: some of us love it, some of us hate it. I am in the former camp; I think Bergstein’s is amazing. To the latter camp… maybe you just don’t know what a good deli is?
First of all, they sell huge and delicious black-​and-​white cookies. Even if everything else was bad, this would be an immediate cause for celebration. Dear friends of the Midwest and West Coast. Have you ever had a black-​and-​white cookie? Most of you have not… apparently it’s an East Coast thing. Please, please, open yourself up to this culinary experience. The black-​and-​white cookie is a cakey, moist, sweet delight that’s pretty difficult to find anywhere West of New York. Bless you, Bergstein’s, for providing me with this rare joy.
That’s not all, though. Chicago has an unfortunate lack of good delis and Bergstein’s fills a much-​needed hole. The deli meat is fresh and the sandwiches are packed with it (and with other good toppings). You’re not gonna get a skimpy meal here, the sandwiches are seriously huge.
Personally, my absolute favorite is the tuna salad. I know it’s not technically deli meat, but it is really good here. It’s a little sweeter than your average tuna salad… weird, but the flavor is perfection. I like to get a toasted whole-​wheat tuna salad sandwich (note: if you don’t ask for your bread toasted, it automatically comes out non-​toasty and squishy) with tomato, cucumbers, and lettuce. The lettuce isn’t that gross watery romaine, it’s fresh greens, which is a huge plus, and I love anywhere that serves cucumbers on sandwiches (extra crunch!). I’m also a huge fan of the Smoke Daddy sandwich. The brisket is moist and pairs really well with the onion roll. The entire flavor profile of the sandwich — sweet, savory, oniony, cheesy, meaty — is great.
They also do a good job with little dishes. I’m pretty picky about my potato pancakes (aka latkes but that wasn’t alliterative) and these are good. I wish they were a little more hashy and less mashy (ie a crunchier, thinner, greasier latke instead of a mashed and then fried cakey pancake) but the seasoning is great and it’s nice and crunchy. I also like the reuben eggrolls.
The service here is generally pretty nice. I’ve never had an unfriendly cashier. They also make the food pretty promptly. It’s a good place to go… well-​lit, big windows, nice people, delicious sandwiches. It’s my go-​to deli in Chicago.

We had just finished our campus tour at UChicago and were getting hungy. Off course when one is hungry in an unfamiliar area, one must turn to Unilocal for Help! We saw Bergstein’s was in walking distance, it was a balmy 42 degrees so we hustled on over!
Food: Lots of choices including specialty and build your own. I’d been craving an Italian beef sammie so I had to order it. I choose the dipped option (which I assume meant the whole thing was dipped in a delicious broth) and took a seat at one of the tables. My Italian beef was excellent, bun had soaked up that yummy broth, meat was very tender and flavor, perfect sandwich on cold day! Wife had ordered the Rachel which she mentioned was one the best turkey sandwiches she’s eaten. Her one comment was that for her side she chose seasonal fruits which ended up to be a small cup with about 4 or 5 green grapes. I guess not much seasonal fruits yet in mid March!
Service: Order at the counter, grab your food when it’s ready, then either take it to go or sit at one of the tables. No frills service, fast, no complaints here.
Atmosphere: Restaurant was clean, several booths and tables to enjoy your meal. Nothing fancy but well organized and clean.
Value: Not bad, sandwich with a side ran about $ 10 – 11 per. Pretty large menu on the board above the ordering station, if I was in the area I’d definitely explore more of the menu items.
Overall: Great place to grab a quick lunch. The fillings were delicious, generous portions, loved the choices, and decent prices.

First time here. I’ve been meaning to try this place out for a while now. I was in Hyde Park on landscape business and stopped by for a sandwich. Nice menu. Good prices. I opted for my old stand-​by favorite a Reuben sandwich. They have two options, regular and «New York» style with double the meat. I opted for regular and it was fine for me. No leftovers. I asked for a take out menu and the guy said they don’t have one. What restaurant doesn’t have a take out menu? Apparently this one! I’ll be back anyway and maybe try something different next time.

I ordered soup from Bergstein’s from my sister in the hospital in Chicago. She was craving matzo balls and we’re from a different state so I had to order it online for her to be delivered in Chicago. I had to take a leap of faith and order from a restaurant we knew nothing about. The staff who took my order was so accomodating. They even strained the soup of all the veggies for her so she was able to eat it according to her diet in the hospital. My sister was so happy to receive the soup and it was «very tasty».
If there was one criticism it would be add more matzo balls. She sent a picture and there were only 2 balls to a quart of broth. I’m sure it would have gone further if there were veggies but I would have gladly paid for some extra balls for her :)
Would definitely recommend!

Very easy to place an order online and pick it up in store just a few minutes later. Sampled a few more of the signature sandwiches on the menu, and I can’t decide on a favorite, because both the Rachel and Lou’s Second City are both delicious. Rachel includes a heap of turkey, with some cole slaw and 1000 Island dressing on top of a pretzel bun (which are just amazing), the flavors blend well, the pretzel adds some unique flavor, the sandwich isn’t too messy, just great. Lou’s Second City also has turkey and pretzel roll, but comes with salami and Muenster cheese. These additions bring their own flavor, and all the ingredients are of excellent quality, but I think the sandwich is just a tad dry without some kind of sauce. So to me Rachel wins out, but just by a little, and in a way that can be easily fixed (by asking for a dressing on it).

Good ingredients, fast, and lots of options. So far, I’ve tried the chicken philly (like a Philly cheesesteak but with chicken) and the Berger (two patty burger with pastrami and 1000 island dressing). Both were solid, filling, and they have a great list of sides to choose from. Service is also good, and interior design is clean and comfortable. Will definitely be coming back.

Amazing
I had their chopped liver and it tasted just like my Grandma Sarah’s!
I consider myself an expert on chopped liver
And their whitefish salad is excellent.

This is by far my favorite place to eat in Hyde Park — everything I have had is delicious!
It’s also the only place on the South Side to find kosher salami from Romanian!
You can get it in a sandwich, or an entire salami — small or medium — in the casing to go.
The lox and bagels (brought in from the North Side) there are delicious in the morning, as well as the black and white cookies with Intelligentsia coffee :)
For lunch or dinner, definitely recommend the JP Meilach (I order without cheese), and the potato salad. Will hopefully try the knishes soon :)

Ordered the Benson burst that’s corned beef, pastrami Swiss on rye an a side of onion rings it was great

Bergstein’s is a perfectly acceptable option near the UChicago campus on Hyde Park. It’s more of a hike than one expects, coming from the Booth building on 58^th, but so long as it’s not iced over, the walk is safe and brisk.
I’ve gotten the bagel and lox a couple times. Contrasting it to my preferred city bagel at NYC Deli, Bergstein’s is a little saltier and definitely skimpier on the smoked salmon. It’ll set you back a Hamilton (soon to be Tubman?), which is not cheap, but hey, it’s Chicago.

Loved my lunch! I got the second city sandwich, cold with lettuce, tomato, mustard and mayo. It was so good. You can have your sandwich hot or cold and it comes with a pickle and one side. Everything was very fresh and customer service was great. The person who helped us was nice and energetic. This place is good for grabbing a quick bite or eating out with friends.

The sandwiches are very good and the service is friendly and quick. All of the sandwich elements are excellent. The meat is high quality and the breads are fresh and delicious. I had the potato salad as a side. It was good but didn’t blow my mind and I would have liked a little larger portion. The pickle spear served with each sandwich is really good. I could probably eat a jar full no problem.
Overall a really good experience that is way better than most of what Hyde Park has to offer.

Oh. Em. Jee. This place totally hits the spot. Amazing grilled cheese sandwich with potato salad and pickle for $ 5. Add a cup of matzoh ball soup for $ 4.50, and you have in every happy, totally stuffed customer.
Plus the hubs loved his whitefish salad and bagel — better than NY delis, he says.
Décor is basic fast food but big window views of Augustana Lutheran Church and gorgeous fall leaves make up for it.
Highly, highly recommend.

I would give this spot five stars if it were not for the 9:00am open time and the relatively expensive prices. Delis are expensive, so I will give them that benefit of the doubt. But 9:00am? Opening at 8:00 would definitely allow them to steal some customers from the Starbucks a few doors down.
Anyways, I actually really really like Bergstein’s. This is the only place in Chicago that can properly make a bagel with lox and cream cheese. Their lox is outstanding and I am pretty sure that their bagels are from New York Bagel and Bialy up in Lincolnwood.
I don’t think I can afford to come here too often but I will try to be a once a week or once every other week customer because the product is definitely worthy.
Keep up the good work