Kenny & Ziggy's New York Deli

Kenny and Ziggy's food is outstanding. I go in there all the time ever since they were on the food network channel. The service has been great each time we have been there, although it is a very busy lunch rush. The portions are very big, so I would suggest sharing entrees. I also surprisingly also found out they have a corporate catering menu, so I will now be able to enjoy kenny and ziggys at work! I would definitely recommend this place !!

Pros: FOOD, SERVICE

Cons: LARGE PORTIONS

Posted 10/07/09

After seeing Kenny and Ziggys on, Dinners, Drive-ins, and Dives, I had to go and see what all the fuss was about. I dragged my husband down and had one of the best 'home cooked' meals I have had in a long time. Stuffed cabbage was wonderful and hubby had the pastrami, he is still talking about it.
It was busy busy busy, but we were impressed how fast everything came out, hot and steaming, even his sandwich, and it was even brought out by the manager, a nice little surprise.
I have read the previous reviews, mostly good, and a few not so good. All I have to say to the latter is, are you kidding, the food was great and the service was friendly. Yes it was a little expensive, but also hot and fresh. I have never gotten as good at Katz and will never go back, I now have found a true deli. Thanks Ziggy (he stopped by and said 'hi' too)

Pros: almost everything

Cons: prices

Posted 10/06/09

Kenny & Ziggy's is definitely the place to go if you are looking for the best sandwiches in town! There menu is so large, its hard to pick a place to start. I have tried everything there from the sandwiches to salads to breakfast and it is all marvelous! Katz can not even compare to Kenny & Ziggy's. My company regularly orders catering from there and it is just as good as dine in. The servers are very pleasant and helpful. The Chicken Soup and Matzoh Balls are perfect for when you are feeling under the weather. Althought the price may seem a little high to some people, once you see the serving sizes you will understand. I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone!

Pros: HUGE sandwiches, high quality meats, yummy salads

Cons: Does Galleria traffic count?

Posted 10/06/09

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Houston. I eat there about once a week and still have not gone through the entire menu. I lived in New York as a kid and it really brings back memories for me. Try the Knish Knosh. It's fabulous. Also, my favorite dessert is the cheesecake.

Pros: Awesome Corned Beef Sandwiches

Cons: Busy lunch hour

Posted 10/06/09

During our time at Kenny and Ziggys there was this guy setting in a booth falling over asleep we ask our waitress why they were letting that guy sleep, we were told that he was the manager on duty. Boy has Kenny let this place to the dogs. The only redeeming quality they have at all is the waitress named Linda.

Pros: Linda the waitress and cabbage rolls

Cons: sleeping employees

Posted 08/26/09

I had high hopes for Kenny & Ziggy's after having heard so much about it, and I was looking forward to a really delicious sammich. We arrived and were seated after a short wait, and that part was fine, as they were, at the time, very busy. Our waitress could be likened to a female terminator, not nearly as pretty as Shirley Manson, but definitely as deathly. She took our orders, but she was never the one who delivered anything, and she kept filling our glasses with nothing but ice and a few drops of water. In the mean time, I had the #1 Fiddler on the Roof of Your Mouth, and my friend had the Knish Knosh (I think that was the name, meat, cheese, and taters). His sandwich was delicious, but not really a sandwich. It's meat and cheese served on a bed of knish...in short, meat and taters; how hard is that to mess up? Not worth $16 though. My sandwich was a let down. First of all, while they're HUGE, they're served on a plate they BARELY fit on, with a small cup of your chosen side (macaroni salad, cole slaw, or potato salad) that's overflowing. It's almost impossible to finagle the sandwich without everything spilling over the sides. Second, the sandwich was just a TON of meat, with a wee fork of slaw and an eyedropper of dressing on it. I fully realize that the point of a NY style deli is a TON of meat, but that was basically ALL this was, and pretty much nothing else. Perhaps if there had been more slaw and dressing, I wouldn't have been so let down. Because of the lack of creativity, I really felt as though the price was unacceptable. It certainly was NOT a $16 sandwich. I was clearly not happy about my meal, however our Terminator, er, waitress, never came to ask if everything was ok or if we liked our food. After I was completely fed up and ready to go, a second waitress, Tyla, came over and took over our table (I'm not real sure why, though), and the difference was like night and day. She was amazingly personable. She worked with me and took a bit of my pile of meat back for me and tossed a slice of swiss on it and reheated it for me. It was slightly more palatable then, but I still didn't come close to being interested in finishing it. My friend and I did order desert, though, because the Boston Creme Cake looked delicious, and we were really intrigued by the giant eclair. We found out that the Boston Creme Cake is better when freshly sliced, but the creme was delicious. The creme is also what is used to fill their foot long eclair, and it was equally delicious. In closing, I probably won't be back, except maybe to get dessert, and only if we can sit in Tyla's section.

Pros: Tyla is an excellent waitress, macaroni salad, desserts

Cons: Really it's the price.

Posted 03/13/09

Let's face it - there is nothing good to eat inside the Galleria Mall. Food court - yuck! Cheescake factory - loud expensive tasteless. This was always the biggest drawback when my daughter & I would plan a shopping trip there. But that has changed now that we have found Kenny's & Ziggy's. The menu is expansive - the biggest problem we have is deciding what to order because everything we have tried was wonderful. My daughter's favorite is the corned beef or the super yummy matzoh ball soup. My favorite is the LEO (Lox Eggs & Onions) with an everything bagel on the side. I adore breakfast for dinner & I have to say - the matzoh brie is wonderful. And look if you want good cheesecake it's here. Kenny & Ziggy's is our favorite way to end a shopping trip, wish there was one near us!

Pros: THE FOOD!

Posted 10/01/08

As we frequently do when we're in Houston, my husband, my sister and I had lunch at Kenny & Ziggys a couple of Saturdays ago. We did have to wait a while to be seated, but the place was mobbed! My husband ordered his favorite, the Reuben, and it's the best Reuben ever...better than any in New York! The portion is huge, and we ended up taking it home (and it became my Sat. night dinner!). I ordered the chicken salad, the only one I've ever had with huge chunks of chicken...so good; and my sister ordered a corned beef sandwich, the meat was just delicious...in true deli tradition, lots of meat and bread, but she added lettuce, tomato and cheese and Russian dressing...and loved it...she almost finished the whole sandwich! Gluttons to the core, we also ordered their chocolate cheesecake and 7-layer cake...both to die for, but we did take some home. We were served our drinks immediately and did have to wait a few minutes for our food, but we arrived when they were incredibly crowded. Our waitress was very personable, and answered all our questions about the menu...even made a couple of suggestions. Truly the only negative we really find when we eat at there is that the menu is so huge we wonder if we'll ever get to taste everything...too bad we're not in Houston more often. When we can we also have breakfast there...the french toast is wonderful. Also, I used the ladies room...there was some water on the counter, but it was fine. Try this place...you'll love it...and you'll go back.

Pros: always good, huge menu, great service, true New York deli

Cons: sometimes a bit of a wait, but worth it

Posted 09/23/08

What the heck is the hype? The sandwich is dry, non imaginative, expensive and ridiculously packed with meat. If I wanted a pound of meat to stuff in my mouth, I'd go to the deli counter at Randall's and buy meat for 1/2 the price. The potato salad equals the attempt of a child helping mommy in the kitchen slopped with tons of mayonaise and half cooked potatoes, nothing else. The pickles have a weird taste of fermentation, the bread is very blah. There are no condiments or accompanyments with the sandwich, just a blob of meat and cold, dry bread.

Amazing to me is the price of $14.95 for a sandwich, and not a good one at that. I took off half of my dried out salami and half of my dry and tasteless turkey and just left them on the plate as they were not worth the trouble of a ToGo box.

Most disappointing, not good at all, very expensive, lousy attitude, bad service.

Pros: not sure, none

Cons: bad service, lousy hostess, no taste meat, dry bread, dirty bathrooms, & more

Posted 07/13/08

I had a craving for traditional Jewish deli food and headed over to K & Z's for lunch last week for a pastrami sandwich. It was huge! Took half home for dinner that night.Get there early cause the place filled up at lunch.

Pros: Big portions, fast service

Posted 03/09/08

I can't believe I've never thought of K&Z's for breakfast. Today was the first but not the last time I'll do breakfast there. When I asked what the sausage was, the waitress said Link and repeated "yummy" several times. I took her advice on that and on substituting a potato pancake. Both were excellent choices. The sausage was probably the best link sausage I've had anywhere and, as with all meals at K&Z's, I left very satisfied and full!

Pros: the sausage, ham and eggs

Cons: none

Posted 03/08/08

This is hands-down the BEST Jewish deli anywhere. You have never experienced a deli sandwich unless you got it from K & Z's! I took two of my friends there for the first time today and their jaws dropped to the floor when their sandwiches came out. You definitely get your monies worth here! Today, I ordered the hot open-faced roast beef sandwich with gravy. Excellent!! We then had apple pie a'la mode and toffee coffee cake for dessert...To die for!! The waitstaff was outstanding! We even got a personal visit to our table from Ziggy himself. If you want to give K & Z's a try for lunch, I suggest you get there by 11:30 because the place fills up fast.

Pros: The Food

Cons: Long wait on weekends

Posted 03/08/08

What can be said about this place that most people haven't already said. The food is superb and the portions are generous to say the least. I had my first taste of matzo ball soup there and now I have a near continual craving for it. The knishes, stuffed cabbage and potato pancakes are all the best as well. I've only tried the pastrami and tongue on the sandwiches and they are both top notch. Service has always been very friendly and prompt.

The prices may seem high (especially if you are used to chain delis' prices), but it really isn't bad when you take into account the location in The Galleria area, the more personal atmosphere and less of an assembly line type of preparation. For me, I would gladly pay those prices if they were located closer...say the Woodlands. Ahh to dream.

Pros: the knishes, soups, desserts

Cons: none

Posted 03/08/08

I am not the type of person who would go out of my way to write an unfavorable review, however, enough is enough! I love Jewish food (although Kenny and Ziggy's is not exactly what I would call a true Jewish deli). You take what you can get in Houston. First, does it have to be as cold as the New York air INSIDE of the deli? We moved from NY to be warm in Houston! Many of my friends with CHILDREN are not going to dine there because it is too cold for a family dinner. My son cried because it was so cold. Second, how about hiring someone who actually cares about taking care of customers? It takes FOREVER to have your initial drink or your order taken. The owner moves slowly around the diner unaware of what is going on. Every time I oder a knish to go, it is cold. I simply mention the cold knish when I dine in and the reply is "we would NEVER do that". Really? It has happened at least 3 times. Perhaps the problem exists because the diner is so cold. It is pricey, but then again if you are the only place to have somewhat normal Jewish food what would you expect? Have you ever experienced a nice Jewish deli in Boca? We can dream about that. The people behind the counter and those answering phones do not speak english well which is a real issue. If you are thinking about opening a Jewish deli, I say go for it! We need something new and we do not need it in the downtown area! How about Bellaire?

Pros: Jewish delio

Cons: TOO COLD FOR KIDS

Posted 03/02/08

OK I"ll start with the positive: I love the food! The omelettes are huge & delicious, the matzoh ball soup is to die for, the egg salad sandwich is awesome. And the pickles on the table...yummmm! Just like a real NY deli.

The service is terrible. One-word answers, an "I don't care" attitude, just order something and leave me alone type of vibe.

It all rolls downhill, from the owner. I had to deal with the owner once, as a very large group that I work with faxed in an order to be ready at a specific time. I showed up 10 minutes early, and it turns out their fax machine had run out of paper, so they just didn't check it. Um, this is lunchtime in Houston, do ya think people might be faxing in orders? The guys behind the counter scrambled to get my order together, and I told the owner that I was disappointed that this had happened. He gave me a "so what?" attitude, and I repeated how very important this business meeting was, and how my account had specifically requested K & Z's, but that I was now going to be late with their lunch. Again, "so what?". He shoved the order at me, and yes, I paid the over $100 that this lunch cost.

Pros: Location, parking, food is great

Cons: Service, owner attitude

Posted 01/05/08

We stopped here on a Sat morning to grab some breakfast. Upon entering you really don't get that welcome feel unless you are a regular.

Onto the ordering and such, our waitress acted as though the place was packed and gave us one & two word answers to our questions. Now keep in mind this is our first time there, so we are trying to get a feel for what they make the best. My fiance orders french toast, but when it came out it was not what she was expecting and she stopped another waiter, because ours had disappeared, to ask a few more questions. Well she ended up just sending it back and ordering ham and eggs, & the new waiter wrote her new order down and took the pseudo french toast back towards the kitchen. About 2 mins later our initial waiter pops up with the returned food in hand with a MAJOR attitude, and she was like "you don't like the food!?!?".

At this point I was really ready to go, but we waited and when the 2nd plate came out we could only look on in amazement. I have never seen that much fat sent out to a table ever in my life. There was a discussion about that and the waitress' attitude was like 'do you want it or not'. She trimmed around the fat and needless to say we left there hungry.

At no time did a manager ever materialize,and at no time was there a shift of an attitude from our server. I would of rather gone without breakfast rather than stomach this place. I really don't see myself ever going there again.

Pros: Location, In walking distance to the galleria

Cons: Service, food, and manager's abscence

Posted 07/06/07

The best things about this place are the cheesecake and chicken soup. I also love the pickles. The sandwiches are large portions but a little pricey.

Pros: cheesecake, chicken matzo ball soup

Cons: price

Posted 10/26/06

This place is great for mile-high sandwiches and great kosher soups and bialys. Check out the breakfasts for great bagels! Oy Vay!!

Posted 10/25/06

We visited this so called delicatessen on 09/20/06. We were shocked by the prices but figured they must have some pretty darn good food (New York delicatessen, New York prices).
We order the Roast Beef and got about 1/2 pound of bloody meat between two slices of bread.
We also ordered the Beauty & The Beef, this was just as dry, again about a pound of bloody Roast Beef and Turkey between two slices of bread with a slice cheese. We threw the whole roast beef sandwich in the trash along with the roast beef that was in the Beauty & The Beef and only ate half of a turkey sandwich. That's all we got for about $30!
There are so many places you can walk into and get a great sandwich with ALL the fixings (mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, etc) plus a bag of chips and a cup of fruit FOR TWO PEOPLE for the half of the price we paid at K&Z.
I normally never send food back but I was ready to drive back to K&Z and give them back their sandwiches.
We have no idea how these people have survived here in Houston.

Pros: none

Cons: bad food, over priced

Posted 09/20/06

The onion rings are a must try, especially for first timers. Delicious and some if not THE best in town!

Posted 08/14/06

I ordered the Turkey Sandwich and my friend ordered the Roast Beef sandwich.They were dry. I paid $13 for 2 slices of rye bread and a hunk of dry lunch-meat style turkey. No flavor of any kind. I tried to drench it with the mustard they provide but nothing could save this sandwich.
My friend with the Roast Beef sandwich asked the waitress if the sandwich came with anything other than meat and 2 slices of bread and the waitress rudely replied "it doesnt say that on the menu does it?"
A CAN of orange soda costs $2.50.
Trying to not go back to work starving, we ordered the chocolate eclair for dessert....another BIG mistake. It was huge but cold and hard. We decided to go home hungry rather than try to stomach more of this.
For three people we ended up spending more than $40 for LUNCH!

Pros: posters on the wall, location

Cons: food, service, price

Posted 12/01/05

Great ambience, Great food. Love the deco, wish i could get some of those signed musical posters! Now back to the food, the pastrami is a MUST TRY. Was so full that i had to skip the enticing NY style cheesecakes... Will be back!!! Rate 3.5/5

Pros: Location, Food, Ambiance

Cons: Price

Posted 11/13/05

This is what a deli is supposed to be! The ambience really gives the feel of a NY deli. Playbills cover the walls as well as caricatures of stars and movie posters associated with NY. The staff is well informed and very friendly. If you're like me and like to try something different everytime, take advantage of their knowledge. The sandwich variety is wide, and they are massive. It's not just quantity, these are really taste fantastic. The sandwiches maybe the stars, but the desserts garner alot of attention, too. Where else can you get a 1.5 pound eclair?

Pros: Sandwiches & desserts, Service, Value

Posted 08/08/04

They serve up the best Matzo Ball soup! The menu will surely please everyone in your party.

Pros: good parking, good burgers and , big sandwiches!

Cons: none

Posted 10/11/03

The last visit to K&Z's was a little disappointing. I had the usual, Pastrami on Rye with a Kinish. The pastrami was dry and somewhat tasteless. This was very dissapointing because in the past, the Pastrami on Rye were the absolute best I've had anywhere. I hope K&Z's isn't compromising on their food.

Pros: Good Pastrami, Good Rubens

Cons: None, None, None

Posted 05/14/03

I am a Houston native who had the good fortune to be able to spend my post-college years in New York City. I used to like Alfred's when I was a kid, but I learned what a "real" deli is when I was in the Big Apple. K&Z is the real thing...

Pros: Authentic Deli, Kids LOVE it

Cons: A little expensive, Hidden Charges

Posted 11/11/02

Talk about authentic deli, I had the best corned beef sandwhich ever. If you know your deli then you will love this place!

Posted 08/21/02