Mister Brisket

Went with a friend on 6÷1÷16 for the box lunches, which includes a pickle, large sandwich, a side, cookie and a drink. We ordered corned beef with yellow mustard and a pastrami with brown mustard. The corned beef was delicious. Pastrami was excellent, with a subtle smokiness and a strong pepper flavor. Rye bread was fresh and soft. The potato salad had a strong mustard base and possibly dill or celery seed that gave it a distinctive flavor. The macaroni salad was a bit overdressed in mayo, but not bad. For $ 12.50 per person, it was a great value. Absolutely worth the visit and a better value than some of the other delis in town.

Unbelievable, how have I been in Cleveland for 5 years and never heard of this place. Stopped in today after I found it on the internet, I have had Rubens from L.A. (CANTORS) to N.Y. (Katz) and this stands up to either and anywhere in between. My friend had the BBQ Brisket and said it was one of the best Sandwiches he has ever had. It’s really a specialty butcher shop so only to go on the Sammie’s. Got a few items to try from the wide variety of meats. Stock pot is on already making some chicken broth. Will let you know how it goes.
Just for the record, they couldn’t be nicer folks.

In search of a great Reuben, I went to Mr Brisket led by a great reputation and raving Unilocal reviews. First thing I noticed on entering was a hazy smell of scorched vegetable oil, almost like burning paint from their sandwich press. It was not pleasant.
I read their chalkboard and it said «All Reubens $ 11.95». Wow, their price for Reuben’s have gone up a bit since the last Unilocaler posted the photo of their chalkboard! Thinking I was getting a huge awesome sandwich, I placed the order.
It was not bad, but not the biggest, best or even greatest. The corned beef was excellent and the bread was very good, but it was light on the cheese, kraut and dressing. Their sandwich press also gave it that nasty flavor of scorched oil, not a nice grilled toasted flavor. For the size, it was definitely not worth $ 11.95.
The staff was very nice and the service was quick, but their corned beef deserves better presentation than the Reuben they make.
If it came off a griddle like a grilled cheese does, was bigger and had more condiments they would have something worthy of my $ 12.

My family has bought corned beef from Mr. Brisket for years now, especially for St. Patrick’s Day, because it is the best in town. Not only is the product good, but the service and employees are as well. You can see that they pride themselves on a good quality of food at an affordable price. Whether you are looking to purchase meat for a special occasion or just a carry out lunch for the day, Mr. Brisket is one of the best you will find in Cleveland.

First visit today and I was pushed to this great little spot by fellow Unilocal reviews; and they didn’t lie.
This is a very small shop, no dining room. The owner was present and we talked a bit. Very personable man that has a great deal of passion for his business.
He has two employees (At least that is what was present on my visit) that were fevorishly making sandwiches for either invisible guests are a ton of pickup orders. I am going to assume the later as person after person walked in, picked up an order and left. All the customers seemed delighted to be there and anxious to take a bite of their order.
With all this excitement I was not the exception.
I ordered a Ruben and got an authentic garlicy dill pickle wedge with it which was also delicious. Forget the pickle.
The sandwiches come in like 5 sizes I think, I ordered one up from the smallest and it was a boat anchor! I mean I don’t even want to know what the largest looks like.
The meat was smoky, pickled perfection with some of the best sauerkraut iv’e had in a long time. The bread was fresh and had the right amount of deli-​pull to it; with a tougher but not hard crust.
I will be sharing the web site with my co-​workers and I will be back for sure.

Delicious and so accommodating. Add a smoker to their meat and you have something special.

This tiny hole in the wall is a hidden jem. It’s easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. I’ve been going here for years. It’s a family owned carryout deli /​butcher shop. It has some of the best corned beef and pastrami in the city. The owner may seem surly but is a very friendly guy, actually everyone there is friendly. The sandwiches come in three sizes– scooby (small), large and extra large. They also have «boxed lunches» which is basically a combo meal — sandwich (small or large), pickle, chips, cookie, and a drink. Everything is reasonably priced. They have strange days/​hours, so it’s best to call or check online.

What’s for dinner? Stoll into this tiny shop and look on the chalkboard menu. Or look in their website and place a phone order. THE finest cuts of meat and poultry around. I picked up the most beautiful and delicious USA Prime hanger steaks. Folks there are very helpful and know their stuff. This is not a place you sirt down and eat. get your food and carry it out. Excellent.

I had no idea what to expect from this hole in the wall type place. I asked what is best and the response was as I hoped, it’s like picking your favorite kid. I had the large brisket with thousand island and swiss. Excellent, tasted great, just incredibly seasoned. I brought have the sandwich back to Baltimore for my wife. It was that large and good… even I wanted to share. I will definitely make this trip again. A+ brisket

They have somewhat limited hours, and there is not much to the actual place itself– in fact you’d probably whiz right by it thinking its in a mostly unkempt building on Cedar/N.Taylor– but if you do enter this GEM then you will find a friendly bunch of guys who will serve you up some of the most tender and delicious cuts around. Highly recommend the pulled pork — comes on a jumbo roll — thumbs way way up!!!

I am of the clan of Reuben Fiends. You can tell we’re coming from the scent of thousand Island wafting through the air a full two minutes before we enter the room. We try to insert the word «corned» into as many sentences as possible. And we hover dangerously close to proposing marriage to a man who has good sauerkraut.
Well, fellow fiends, the quest is over, because the best Reuben in Cleveland, nay, the state, has been found! It resides in Mister Brisket, in a charmingly humble store with friendly staff who will learn your name and ask you how your family has been. Forget Slyman’s, they’re a one trick pony that thinks more meat = better meat, and that’s just not true. Quality over quantity dictates Mister Brisket comes out on top.
All the meats here are of solid quality, and locals in the know are aware that this is the place to get the best steak or burger or ribs for their next cookout. The smells alone when you step in the door here will make you swoon in carnivore heaven.
All sandwiches you can order come quick, and are reasonably priced. They run great Tuesday deals on the sandwiches, so I would always come on Tuesday for the discount. I love their pastrami and corned beef.
Their Reuben is a work of art. You know this place means business when the second you order your sandwich they get a massive fork and take a large hot side of corned beef out of a delicious bath and slice it fresh to layer on the sandwich. The bread is the right kind of rye, the kraut is assertive, they are not stingy with the thousand island, and they press the sandwich enough to really perfectly melt the cheese and get a buttery crunch on the outside. But the star of the sandwich, and 80% of its bulk is succulent, fall apart thick sliced corned beef. It’s handheld perfection, this sandwich.
Run (at least that way you can burn off some of the calories preemptively) to Mister Brisket, unhinge jaw and insert perfect Reuben. I’ll race you there!

I’ve enjoyed every sandwich I’ve tried at Mister Brisket. As far as sandwich spots in Cleveland, I would put them as a distant second to Slyman’s. They are definitely worth a visit. A very old school feel with quality food.

I’m a big fan of this place. I like to get sandwiches to go and get meat to take home for grilling. Everything has always been great.

I have travelled the world for work and eaten at some of the best food places know the women kind. I must say some of the best meat I have eaten has come from www. misterbrisket I don’t know where or how he does it but he gets the best.
I AM SHOCKED THE ANTHONY BOURDAIN DOES NOT DO A SHOW ON THE HOLE IN THE WALL GEM IN CLEVELAND HTS

We stopped into Mr. Brisket for lunch today and were pleasantly surprised. The pastrami and corned beef were outstanding and the people were super friendly. It’s carry out only, but I wished they had a few tables outside where we could enjoy them.

3.5*, which is pretty decent coming from me for this type of food. I’ve been to Katz in NYC, I’ve been to S*** here in Cleveland, I’ve been to Montréal. I keep thinking that I’ll love pastrami, and it never really seems quite right. I went a a Sat early afternoon (maybe 12:30-ish) and I was the only one there, served right away!
PROS: very affordable, super friendly staff, easy/​fast take out, you can try a slice of pastrami/​corned beef/​brisket to see what you want before you order, the sides are also delicious (I got the potato salad), good size, the lunch meal comes with a drink and a pickle
CONS: very fatty, bread was unimpressive
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Explanation of my rating system —
5*: Epitome of something, the best I’ve had, would LOVE to go back
4*: Great food and happy to go back regularly, but not the best of the category
3*: Food is fine. I may spontaneously decide to go there based on convenience. But no need to go back either.
2*: If you insist, I guess I’ll come along. I’ll find something to eat. But I wouldn’t have picked it.
1*: No plans to come back. I’ll try to talk companions out of going.

Amazing Pastrami! Ordered a pound… Only mistake… I should face ordered two!!! Nice staff.

The BEST pastrami I’ve ever had
I’ve been to Katz and I’ve been to Swartz in Montréal
This place is better than both

I was only in Cleveland for a couple of hours, and I’m so glad I went to Mister Brisket. The service was quick, the sandwich was excellent, and my wallet was still in good shape.
It’s a great place that I will be returning to if I ever make it back to Cleveland.

Screw the sides, stick with the meat!
The Reuben here is beyond ah-​mazing and you definitely get what you pay for. It appears that this place truly takes pride in what it puts forth and their efforts have not gone unnoticed. On every sandwich that I’ve tried the meat has always been perfectly seasoned, deliciously tender, and cooked so well that you’d swear you’ve just taken a small bite of heaven. Don’t let the stores appearance fool you, judging a book by it’s cover could be your biggest mistake yet.

This has been on my bucket list of places to try, based on Unilocal reviews. I stopped in on a Saturday morning after a massage at Quintana’s, just a few steps away. As mentioned in other Unilocal reviews, the place is not fancy, but the staff was friendly and accommodating. There is a chalkboard, as you walk in which lists that day’s offerings. I went with the Corned Beef lunchbox special. I watched as my sandwich was made, the corned beef was sliced to order, very generous amount on fresh rye bread (Schwebels), with mustard. The special included cookies (packaged, nothing to write home about), your choice of salad (cole slaw, potato salad, macaroni salad), pickle and a soft drink. All of this for $ 10! I arrived home, my sandwich was still warm, the pickle was crunchy and the perfect accompaniment to my sandwich, as was the macaroni salad. This was definitely a good choice and a great value, especially compared to the $ 10 chicken salad sandwich (no sides), that I had the day before at Karl’s Inn of the Barristers.
I will definitely go back!

I’m a regular now, so what I’m about to say is kinda a big deal…
There’s no better meat house in town. This is it. You can stop searching. In terms of varietal cuts, especially beef and pork, this is my go-​to locale.
The quality is certainly top notch. You won’t find browning meat sitting in a maxi pad on a foam tray here. Instead, they’ll cut you a steak right there and then with a saw in the back. What you’ll go home with is an ultra fresh, cut to your specification hunk of vibrant looking meat. Want a 2″ thick Ribeye? No problem. Bone-​in or bone-​out? No problem. Want the bones on your rack of lamb frenched? No problem.
The chalkboard in front of the counter is just a starting point to what they offer. But to get the real insight, talk to the extremely helpful Hank or Sanford. Every time I’m in, they’ll go out of their way to help me through my purchase. Educating me each step of the way on the various cuts and the nuances between each. He’s clearly an expert in his craft and an invaluable personality that is so hard to find these days, especially in this industry.
The last time I was in, I was looking for meat to make shish kabobs. Hank gave me his recommendation and offered to trim the fat and cut into 1″ pieces for me. Really? Outstanding! Now that’s service.
Then there was this time a year or so ago when I bought a 7lb brisket that I planned on pickling. What ever would I do with all the extras though? Hank made the recommendation to bring it back in and he’d throw it on the slicer so I could take home more manageable razor thin deli slices for corned beef sandwiches. Really? Wow.
When I gave thanks for the outstanding service, his response: «No worries, that’s my job».
This type of personal service is refreshing and can’t be found at the big box monoliths. And it’s the primary reason why I’ll continue to patronize mom and pop stores such as this. Mister Brisket, I’m glad you exist. You are a rare and dying breed. Don’t quit doing what you’re doing.

How could I live so close to this place, but have never tried it?
I had a day off, so my friend suggested we try Mister Brisket. Oooh. «Oh, this has been the top of the Unilocal list!» I exclaimed. So off we went.
Mister Brisket is definitely one of those hole in the wall place. We parked in the old Rite Aid plaza, crossed the street and entered the small sandwich shops. The people were super friendly behind the counter, and when I asked the guy what was good, he was like, «everything!» with a big smile. Hmmmm.
So we studied the chalkboard and as the sandwiches looked gigantic, we both ordered budget boxes (small sandwich, with chips, cookies, and a pop. for around $ 7! What a deal!). Got our sandwiches quickly and walked to Cain Park to go eat them.
She got the corned beef sandwich. Mmmm. That corned beef is really good. Usually, I would never order corned beef because it’s usually dosed in salt high enough to cause you to have a stroke, but really, the corned beef was just right– not too salty, and just plain good. I got the pastrami sandwich. Ooh baby, that’s good.
My only gripe about the food was that the bread… kind of sucks. I mean, it’s just. bread from Schwebels (which is fine, btw). But I feel with that caliber of meat, why didn’t they have amazing bread with it? Perhaps I’ve been spoiled with the Zingermans of Ann Arbor and what not, but… man, change that bread. It’s so smooshy and flimsy. If they got some good hearty crunchy bread with that meat. it would be amazing.
Nonetheless, worth the try!