Wise Sons Delicatessen

I was excited to see this place. Unfortunately, it turned out to be extremely disappointing. The matzza ball soup was almost inedible. It tasted like leftover water from boiling a chicken. The noodles were limp and tasteless. The pickled onions saved the small slightly rancid turkey sandwich. $ 25.00 for soup and sandwich here… Save your money and go to Lee’s down the street

Pastrami Reuben is the reason I must return to Wise Sons each time I visit San Francisco.

Ordered a #19 from the stand earlier today. The pastrami was very tasty, but some parts of it were a tad more chewy than I would prefer. The #19 was made famous by Langer’s Deli in Los Angeles and Wise Guys offer a respectable take on this traditional sandwich. The slaw and double slice of cold swiss were delicious. The homemade rye is much better than Katz’s Deli and has good flavor and texture.
Pickles lacked a some acidity but were fresh.

I tried out Wise Sons at their booth at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. What really sold me was when they pulled out their freshly cured slab of pastrami. The aroma was incredible! After seeing and smelling that beautiful slab of pastrami, I had to get their Pastrami Sandwich.
Pastrami Sandwich –
Okay, while it may not the best pastrami sandwich I’ve ever had, it’s a REALLY GOOD pastrami sandwich nonetheless. Cured nicely and melts in your mouth just like the Pastrami at Katz’s in NYC. And while the sandwich may not be ginormous like Katz’s, or even Miller’s here in SF, it’s still a generous portion that’ll satisfy your hunger.
Wise Sons has definitely made a great first impression on me with their pastrami. Now that I know what to expect, I hope to visit their other locations and try their other sandwiches.

They are efficient and super courteous. The corned beef was freshly made and delicious! I loved the rye bread and the babka. Everything made fresh just like momma would. The best and most authentic outside of New York!

I’ve definitely been here a lot — especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They have so many different types of deli foods — pastrami, reuben, and burgers. I’ve tried the burger and pastrami more than once and they’ve always been enjoyable. They’re both pretty filling as a meal — so definitely be hungry if you’re trying them.
7×7 suggested the chocolate babka. I had definitely wanted to get it during the year, but since the kitchen in their bakery had been burned down in the Mission fire earlier in the year, it was difficult for them to bake very much. I figured I would ask the cashier at the ferry building one Thursday to see if they had any babka — and they bring them to the ferry building, but to get there early.
I showed up around 12:15 the next time and was able to snatch the last one! The babka is this sweet cake with this awesome crumb topping. For the price — it’s a steal! So delicious, but much too heavy and large for a dessert after lunch. really at any time.
Overall, I love this stand at the Ferry Building — definitely one of my go-​tos when I go to the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market
Protip: Chocolate Babka!

Let Me Start This Review By Stating The Obvious Unilocal Never Ever Allows You To Not Give A Star Because If That Option Was Available I Would Not Be Issuing One.
On To The Review… A Friend & I Decide To Go Here For Lunch In The Mood For Pastrami We Get There Line Is Short, Friendly Lady Taking Orders And The Food Was Fast So Far So Good…
As We Walk Away With Our Taste Buds Jumping We Open Up The Eco Friendly Box The Sandwich Was Placed In And To Our Dismay We Both Looked At Eachother & said Ewwwww What Is That? We Came To The Conclusion That It Was Corned Beef So We Casually Walk Back To The Counter and Advise of What We Thought Was The Wrong Sandwich But Sadly It Wasnt… it was «Pastrami «. I have NEVER EVER Seen Pastrami That Looked Like Over Cooked Blubber It Was So Bad We Gave It Away…
The $ 13.00 You Shell Out For Fat Is Not Worth It So Save Your Dough.
I have included a picture of what a Real Pastrami Sandwich Should Look Like.

I expected to be wowed, but for $ 13, the corned beef sandwich was just ok. A bit salty and dry, and kind of anorexic. The highlight was the rye! Should’ve bought a loaf of that instead.

Softy.
Bit derogatory:
Bit brilliant:
.
Especially with lox, capers, cream cheese and pickles on the side. Full of flavor with a soft and chewy texture truly unlike traditional bagels. As good as it should be for $ 10.
Don’t fight the urge to try one.

two words: chocolate babka.
another two words: get it.
a few thoughts: available at their Ferry Building outpost during the week in the event you can’t make it out to their Mission shop. although, having this fresh and hot would probably make me cry. a few tears for the amount of exercise I’ll need to do, but more tears for how happy I am and how the world makes so much sense when you swirl chocolate in delicious sweet bread.

I spent the first part of my post-​college adult life living in Manhattan and took the amazing deli food for granted. It wasn’t until I moved to San Francisco and saw what passed as pastrami that I truly understood how good I had it. Then came Wise Sons. When I crave a nice hand carved pastrami or corned beef sandwich, they’re the only ones I think of. They still haven’t mastered the NYC bagel yet, but I’m hoping they’ll crack that case soon.
Pastrami: Best meat offering by far! Nicely spiced exterior. Tender, but still retains its shape.
Corned Beef: Way better than those tough, overboiled slabs you get on St. Patrick’s Day! Subtle flavor throughout. Firm, yet tender.
Brisket: Probably the most lackluster of the meats; it’s decent but you’re better off ordering Pastrami or Corned Beef.
Bagel w/​Lox: Reminded me of brunching back in Manhattan, except this had higher quality cream cheese, fish and veggies/​herbs. The bagel was kind of meh, but the crunchy contrast it provided helped the experience.
Bialy w/​Lox: Like the bagel version, except without the bagel. I enjoy a good bialy by itself, but it was too soft for an open-​faced lox sandwich. I’m not sure if their toaster was set too low or if bialys just don’t toast well.
Matzoh Ball Soup: Better than at a NYC diner, but not better than at specialty delis in NYC. The Matzoh Balls were standard. The broth was light, but still held some decent flavors.
Latkes: Generous sized potato pancakes. They were reheated on the griddle to order, so not as crispy as one would get if made fresh right there. The apple chutney was far superior to the apple sauce from a jar many places offer.
Potato Salad: A nice side if it comes with your meal, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it separately.
House Pickles: Solid effort.
Chocolate Babka: So many delicious veins of chocolate flowing through this delicious dessert! Kinda heavy, so like a meal by itself. Or at least something to save for a 3PM coffee.

Was craving smoked salmon on top of a bagel and was lucky that the farmers market was still open. Theirs is good. would have liked more salmon though. I was still hungry afterwards :3
Their pastrami sandwich though is fucking delicious!!! My boyfriend hardly ever orders sandwiches but loved this. They give you a decent amount of tender, flavorful meat between two slices of toasted rye, nom. He ate it as is but I loooved it with the mustard.
It was a little expensive for just a sandwich (would be more justified if there were more meat or came with a side) but we would still order it again.

The sandwiches are a little on the small side for the price, but they are big on flavor. The meat from my pastrami sandwich was so ridiculously tender and flavorful it started to make me salivate for more just after the first bite (and now even as I write this review, reminiscing of the times when I could get one so easily at any time)! It was seriously one of the better pastrami sandwiches I’ve had in my day. Could they be a little more generous on the amount of meat that goes into the sandwich? Sure, but it’s still a fantastic sandwich all the same.

Terrible value.
$ 12 for a very small sandwich with only average bread, little meat, and no sauce. It should be $ 4 for the size.
What?
One of the most disappointing sandwiches I’ve ever had.

This fell into the «just ok» category for me. The guys were quite friendly but the food failed to live up to the hype I’d imposed on it.
We tried a corned beef Reuben and a pastrami sandwich. Make sure to grab mustard if you want it! I’d requested it but it didn’t end up on either sandwich. I was surprised to find the pastrami unoptimally carved, in my opinion, leading it to be really chewy. Additionally the flavor was too smoky for my taste. I preferred the corned beef and the Reuben was fine, but not synergistically delicious like it should be. I did like the pickles though!

Pastrami sandwich is of the norm and overpriced for what it is. 12 bucks per say.
My bread that I received, wasn’t toasted. It was grainy on the outside crust, which gave it texture.
Not much spazz, but a good olé sandwich.

$ 14 for a combo Reuban (corned beef w/​pastrami) and it was worth it. The meat was well-​seasoned and smokey — top quality. Texture was beautiful — juicy, silky meat nestled between 2 pieces of toasted bread. Acidity from the pickles help to counterbalance the richness.
This is a stand in front of the Ferry building. Don’t make the same mistake I did and go inside the building itself to search for it.

Good sandwich but not enough food for the price.
I was recently at the ferry building farmer’s market and decided to stop by Wise Sons after reading the Unilocal reviews. You see, I’m a big fan of rubens. So that’s exactly what I ordered when I arrived at the front of the line. But the friendly woman behind the counter asked if I wanted the pastrami or the corned beef.
«Whichever one you think you guys do better,» I replied.
And that’s how I ended up with a corned beef ruben ($ 12). How was it? Well the corned beef was well done and had some great flavor. Cheese was nice and oozy. The bread was decent. Maybe there were a few spots on the bread that were a bit too charred for me but overall it was a messy and delicious sandwich. It was just a bit pricey. For $ 12 I would’ve expected them to pile on a little more corned beef.
Oh well.
But the food was indeed good and I am willing to give them another go. Maybe I’ll be back to get the corned beef on rye. I just saw a picture that another Unilocaler posted and it looked pretty substantial. Until then, I’m leaving them with 3 stars.

You can have Tuesdays with Morrie since the Wise Sons show up with their pop-​up at the Ferry Building every week out front (photo:
). Although they look like they have a full crew, it’s not the complete menu they serve, just a couple of their signature sandwiches, a few sides and something sweet, but the combination is apparently enough to draw quite a crowd (photo:
). I had been to the one at the Contemporary Jewish Museum to see what the hype was about at the 24^th Street location, and I certainly liked it enough to give this one a go for a rare lunch outdoors. But I have to mention that the thing that drew me was not the sandwich. It was the $ 3.50 slice of Noodle Kugel (photo:
). Yes, noodle kugel.
Who would think a non-​Kosher Asian curmudgeon like myself would ever dream about noodle kugel? And what’s not to love about noodle kugel? Egg noodles, golden raisins, sugar, cinnamon, crusty topping. Oy. Well played, Wise Sons. That was a decadent treat to have between work meetings on a park bench with a hostile homeless guy staring at me. But wait, there’s more. I also ordered a $ 11 Roast Beef Sandwich which was not so special (photo:
). It was on their specials menu and quite dry even with the special mayo they slathered on the bread. The $ 2.50 serving of Potato Salad was surprisingly meh as chock full of chopped vegetables as it was (photo:
). But maybe I should come back for the noodle kugel. It’s not a regular item they carry, so Morrie, you may have to wait.
FOOD — 3 stars… kinda meh compared to their other operation but oh that noodle kugel
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… it’s a pop-up…what d’ya expect? white tablecloths and violins?
SERVICE — 3.5 stars… they’re goin’ as fast as they can
TOTAL — 3 stars… a kugel does not a stellar lunch make… you should pardon the expression

So so solid. I’ve been meaning to try this for a long time. Its never been very convenient, but thank goodness, working on Christmas Eve day when I don’t have to work. Mission completed.
The pastrami sandwich is nothing short of amazing. I was sad after finding out Moishe’s Pippic shut down but at least these guys can hold it down. This is nothing short of the best of it’s kind in SF. The competition can even come close.
Did I mention the potato salad, Just not funny. This its some real serious business. Thank you and good job.
I will have to come back and try the rest sometime.