Rein’s New York Style Deli-Restaurant

I’ve been eating pastrami sandwiches here my whole life. The food an service is amazing, go eat it!

Crappy food and far too expensive. Their bread was so stale it was like a 2 day old bun from McDonalds!

It’s ok, like the stars say. Standard breakfast but in my opinion they charge too much for standard diner food. I guess it’s a big deal to be able to order salty lunch meats where you can also order sit down meals. I dunno where the local appeal comes from beyond limited options.
The portions are large and I can get a Reuben and that always manages to put a grin on my chubby face. Eggs are often overcooked and if you go on the weekend you will wait and wait… I don’t wait for this food, if there are bodies hanging around the door, I turn around and get back into my car.
When you sit, your server will likely forget to refill your coffee and the place is large and there are many places for your server to hide (they’re not doing it on purpose, they’re often young and lost. There are a good mix of ages among the staff and I have had good service here and it usually comes from the older staff).
See if you can tag your server with a little cat bell and you’ll be able to track them down for refills or to fix errors.

Everyone throughout Connecticut raves about Rein’s deli, so I figured I had to try it. Maybe it was just the hype that had me a bit disappointed. Or maybe it’s because being a previous New Yorker I had high expectations for a New York style deli.
I ordered the potato pancakes and they were quite tasty! Probably my favorite part of the meal. Make sure you order them extra crispy — they are much better that way.
I also ordered the corned beef Reuben which is always my favorite deli sandwich. I have to say the portion was disappointing. I was looking forward to Rye bread piled high with corned beef, but if you order just the regular sandwich it’s definitely smaller than expected. I tasted mostly the bread and cheese — the corned beef was definitely overpowered by them. On the menu there is an option to order the «Fresser» version (with more meat), but it will cost you extra (about $ 4). I personally think all of their sandwiches should be served this way.
They have a great list of desserts, but I didn’t get a chance to try them. I might be back to grab some rugelach to go and hopefully it satisfies my sweet tooth.
Overall, it is a solid spot for a deli sandwich. I think for the price you’ll pay for a Reuben, it’d be nice to have a decent portion of corned beef or pastrami included.

Order: Egg whites, redskin potatoes, corn beef hash patty, and an everything bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Basically the eggs and potatoes were to be expected, you cant really screw those up nothing really crazy. Have had better corned beef hash I don’t think patty is the best but still pretty good. However that was easily the best salmon cream cheese bagel I’ve had in a while. The salmon smoke flavor was just perfect and not too strong like many places do. Bagel was delicious
In terms of service it seems to be random. Last time I went I waited over 35 minutes for some omelets but our waitress was very attentive this time around.

Rein’s Deli is a hometown staple that CT couldn’t live without. They seriously have options for everyone — from your standard lunch fare to kosher and vegetarian options.
Personally, I visit Rein’s for the pickles. Let’s be real here, they are out of this world. Today I picked up some vegetarian soup from the to-​go case as well to last for dinner this week. I’ve never had a bad meal here — they just know what they’re doing!

When I was a child, we frequently drove from Massachusetts to New York to visit family and Reins was our stop along the way. How I treasure the memories of those deli sandwiches and great desserts. Generally speaking, trying to relive our memories is a recipe for disappointment. This is not one of those occasions.
Reins is one of those places that has a menu that reads like War and Peace. More often than not, this would indicate a lot of choices for substandard food but this is far from the case here. Quality deli meats, fresh breads, delicious knishes and latkes, amazing soups and salads, exceptional desserts, and scrumptious side dishes are the hallmark of this place. Or, if you are in the mood for breakfast, the bialies and bagels, eggs and french toast, waffles and omelettes… unbeatable. Heck, I am in heaven just eating the Pickles and drinking an old fashioned egg cream. And don’t forget to grab some takeout for tomorrow, and some perfect rugelach. And some halava and candy is always in order!
Love this place for the memories… the ones from years ago and the ones that will be made next time I eat there.

Service can be hit or miss but the food is pretty awesome. Plenty of options for kids and adults alike. The menu is a multipage, 8.5″ x 14″, front and back document that takes several minutes to digest on your first visit. Lots of soup, sandwich, entrée, and dessert options. There are even some vegetarian and breakfast items (served all day) if you’re in the mood. They also have specials that seem to change seasonally. My favorite thing on the menu is the chocolate fudge layer cake. Mind you, I don’t typically do chocolate on chocolate cake… I prefer to break it up. Maybe yellow cake with chocolate icing, for example. But I saw it on the dessert counter one day and couldn’t stay away. Now I order every time I go. Trust me, do yourself a favor, put your sandwich down and order a piece of cake before you get too full. Thank me later.
As I mentioned previously, the service can be spotty. I’ve encountered a couple of rude staff members during a few of my visits and that is why I’ve given 4 stars. Outside of that, Rein’s is a fine place to grab a bite. Now if they could just add pancakes to the menu.

We were driving from Providence to Hartford and our CT friend suggested we stop here for a casual and quick dinner… I’m so glad we did! It reminds me of a Gregg’s setup … big dining room, lots of noise, dessert cases, and pickles first thing to hit the table… and these were some pretty damn amazing pickles!
We went with the tride and true, pastrami sandwiches. I’m not a huge fan of sauerkraut so I went with the Rachel… which is coleslaw instead of sauerkraut. Holy hell, the cheese, meat, coleslaw, dressing, bread… all together was super delicious. I think they grilled the sandwich in butter before it came out!
We also had some onion rings and fries topping it off to make a great pit stop. Would definitely come back especially for take out if I lived closer.

Great stop for a sandwich. Take it to go or sit down and enjoy the hustle and bustle of this very busy restaurant. Plenty of old timers spending the morning and afternoon here but for a good reason. Great pastrami, looking forward to trying other cuts available.
UPDATE: Also a great spot for catering parties etc. I recently ordered sandwiches for a business lunch and Rein’s took care of everything. Plates, cups, napkins, utensils it was perfect. Great looking sandwich platter, macaroni and potato salad, relish tray — everything was great! Thank you!

When we were first married, we lived in Worcester, MA and discovered Reins on those long weekend trips to the NYC area to visit family. It was a very frequent stop on the way back to Worcester.
We’ve had so many meals here over the years– breakfasts and deli sandwiches and reubens and hot dogs with knishes, and bagels and lox, and yes… matzoh ball soup. Never had a bad meal.
We were driving back from Boston last night and drove to Reins, it was about a quarter to nine, we were starving, and didn’t know if they’d be open. Lucky us– they are open til ten PM.
We love the complimentary bowl of pickles, I mean really– what says «deli» better than pickles?
I had a cup of the matzoh ball soup and a whitefish salad on bialy sandwich.
The soup was great –flavorful broth and a soft fluffy matzoh ball. Comfort food to the max!
The Whitefish salad was very good– mild with a hint of salt– just excellent. What’s a bialy? Well it’s sort of a cross between a bagel and a roll –try it, you’ll like it.
Service is usually excellent, but being late at night yesterday, it was a bit off as the employees were also into clean-​up and shut down mode. Just a small quibble, once our server was done with her shut down work, she spent a lot of time with us, and was super chatty and very delightful.

I’d been wanting for some time to increase my experience with Jewish delis. As luck would have it, Rein’s was just a hop away from Hartford.
I’ve been here twice now. On my first visit, I got an overstuffed/“fresser” corned beef on seeded rye with a mustard that seemed to be Gulden’s. The corned beef was legit. Juicy and well marbled. Rather more mildly flavored than what I’d had before, but this was a good match for the Gulden’s, which is on the weaker side for spicy mustards. They provided two packets of mustard with my to-​go order. Along with the sandwich, I had my very first knish, which contained some kind of finely ground meat and potato (and maybe cabbage? hard to tell) mixture within a pastrylike shell. It was very well seasoned, absolutely delicious, and hefty enough to be an entrée in itself. I enjoyed it more than the sandwich!
Just for kicks, I got the macaroni salad too, but it was underwhelming: slightly sweet and carroty and not much else. The pickle, though… good heavens. This was the best half-​sour I had ever eaten, with a perfect light tang and a great crunch ensured by its small size. No surprise that they’re available by the bucket.
On my second visit, I got the same size of sandwich, but with pastrami this time, potato salad, and a potato knish (enough starch for ya?). The pastrami was even more mildly flavored than the corned beef — to the point where the rye bread actually spoke up more — and again, the knish, even with just potato, outshined the sandwich. Whatever they season that filling with is simply outstanding, and honestly, if I didn’t intend to explore their menu further, the knishes would be my go-​tos. The potato salad was much better than the mac salad, full of the creamy herby comfort that you’d expect; they should really just use part of the former’s recipe in the latter. This order was also to-​go, but there were no extra mustard packets this time.
A tiny side note: they have an assortment of candy by the register, and this was the first time I’d seen packs of Charms hard candy in maybe twenty years or more. Since spotting them here, I’ve examined grocery stores and other eateries like a hawk, to no avail.
I really wanted to give Rein’s five stars, but I think that at a place like this, the sandwiches should impress more than the appetizers and side dishes, not the other way around. That said, as what appears to be the only Jewish deli in central Connecticut, it’s definitely worth your time.

My go to stop on the way to Boston for a great soup and sandwich. Staff is super friendly as well as other customers. I think someone starts up a conversation with me every time I go. Menu is huge and there is something for everyone on it, even the vegetarians. I am a fan of the pastrami sandwich personally. It is a great place to stop to eat instead of the typical stops on the highway. why go to a chain restaurant when you don’t have to!