Jack’s Famous Deli

Wow. I did not think this place was any good. Confusing layout, the buffet didn’t look very fresh — but the review if for a simple turkey sandwich, on a sub roll. Would not recommend. Very little meat, disorganized service line, limited seating. Maybe a «specialty» sandwich would have been better. A two block walk toward the Verizon center would have yielded a far better dining experience.

The bread is mediocre at best, their sub rolls are terrible. I recommend getting the roast beef or turkey because they actually carve those in front of you. I have gotten sick from eating here before. Their hot food bar is very hit or miss. Everything is extremely over priced for the quality. Their breakfast bar is is decent. Over all I try to avoid Jack’s although it’s always very convenient so I get sucked back in.

Damn good turkey club, close to the national Mall and in and out quick, great lunch spot plenty more to eat.

This place is not Jack’s Fresh. I was hoping this place was another store to Jack’s Fresh, but it was not. Food bar was twice as expensive, definitely not much flavor and the selection was quite minimal. After enjoying a piping hot western omelet with perfectly roasted potatoes, delicious sausages and fresh fruit at Jack’s Fresh, this place, Jack’s Famous Deli, cannot compete.

The is one of my favorite lunch spots. Its cheap, the California BLT is yummy and they always have delicious little sides at the bar. They do take credit or debit cards to correct a previous reviewer. Also the service is quick and pleasant. This place is more for carryout and the few times I drove there was paid street parking available nearby.

Highly standard take-​out style deli.
As a visitor looking at previous reviews, I wasn’t clear if this was a sit down deli of the Katz or Jerry’s variety… Or just a take-​out lunch counter. Now I know it’s clearly the latter.
My Turkey Reuben was perfectly fine, and the rest of my family said their sandwiches were fine too. But I also didn’t hear anyone asking to come back.
We sat at the one shared, peeling-​vinyl table with another couple. There are also maybe a dozen counter seats at the window.

Used to come here a couple times a week for lunch. Great sandwich shop. The cloak and dagger with a pickle on the side and a bag of chips, one of the best authentic «east coast deli» meals ever. Wouldn’t go out of my way, but if you’re in the area for lunch, especially if you work around here, this is a great go-​to spot.

I walk here every day as it is one block away from where I work. The coffee is great and they have a great selection of food and drink. The DC lottery addicts make a presence every day by playing scratch-​offs and the numbers. Hint… don’t get in their way! One negative is that the homeless shelter is around the corner and people walking in the store bumming money and acting stupid.

Solid place. More low key than Potbelly’s which I would say is the closest comparison in the area. I had the Reuben which was pretty good. It was about $ 8 which was maybe a little pricy, but there was a good amount of meat on it and it was enough food that I didn’t need any sides. They have a salad bar here that looked like it had some good side salads (potato salad, coleslaw, etc.) on it. The hot bar looked like it had fresh food on it, but it was an odd mix of breaded meat, lo mein, etc. I wouldn’t say that this would necessarily be my first choice in the neighborhood, but it was good and the service was fast so I’ll probably go back sometime soon.

I had the pastrami on rye with russian and cole slaw for around $ 6 + tax. I’m a sucker for any pastrami, but this pastrami was solid: thin-​sliced, warm, tender, and had a good ratio of fat: meat. This place obviously doesn’t compare to Katz’s (NYC) or Langer’s (LA), but it’s solid for a cheap work or tourist lunch.
I say, for pastrami (and maybe corned beef – haven’t tried it) go here; for fresh sliced turkey, ham, and roast beef go across the street to New Course. The salad bar here looked ok, but doubt I’ll try it for the price/​quality.

I have absolutely no idea how this place has received 4 stars. Okay, well maybe I can see the charm in a 6 – 7 dollar lunch in Judiciary/​Archives area, but at what cost?! YOU UnilocalERS LED ME ASTRAY ON THIS ONE!
I walk by this place every morning and evening on my commute, and have tried once or twice to go in only to realize its CASH ONLY. This pissed me off a bit considering the amount of foot traffic they are probably losing.
I finally found myself with cash on a day I was craving a deli sandwich, so off I went.
First a little background, you walk into the place and it’s a subway-​deli counter type of deal on the left and a Chinese Buffet thing on the right (yes actual Chinese buffet items). The smell is something I’ll remember for quite some while, as it had that NY Chinatown funk.
Being that all you Unilocalers and Jack’s itself blew its spot up on the Corned beef there I went for a Jumbo Rubin. Now it may be because I’m Jewish, or the fact that I just went to NY and ate at Katz’s, or the fact that I got pulled in by their hot corned beef sign … but i was UPHAULED by the sandwich I got.
They really can’t be serious pulling a brick of frozen corned beef out and then throwing it on the mini griddle in the back (which was FILTHY btw). The corned beef was like shoe leather and the bread was soggy. This is a signature sandwich and something they are proud of?
The restaurant could have been much cleaner as well.
So why 2 stars instead of 1? I feel that if you are in a rush and absolutely have to eat something then it’s not the end of the world. However, there is a salad place and an au bon pi 100 ft away. Much better options.
I will never return here.

VEGETARIANS: You can get a veggie sandwich (no cheese, no avo) for $ 3.84 INCLUDING TAX. And it’s good, too — my no-​frills veggie came piled high with tomatoes (none of that «one tomato for show» business), plus cucumber, mushrooms, bell pepper, sprouts, and the expected lettuce and red onion. Totally delicious. Pickle on the side. The salad bar looks good (especially the Greek salad) but I haven’t tried it. Service is fast — I was in and out at 12 pm in 5 – 6 minutes. Count me a fan!

There are no places to eat in the National Mall area unless you walk through the side streets into the parallel streets. A few of us were feeling the hot weather, thirsty, hungry and tired from walking all those long blocks, even I usually do not like deli sandwiches, I was looking for a cooling spot.
Jack’s Famous Deli did not have a line and looked to have a fast service.
I ordered the pastrami sandwich and did not think I would be able to finish the voluminous layers of beef. Well, I did and even the bread!
Service was simple and fast and it’s a good local self-​serve spot for something quick and decent.

This place is pretty bomb for sandwiches. They don’t mess around though, so get your order straight while you’re in line, and watch out for the salad bar folks. at $ 0.50/lb they can get pretty vicious. Prices are decent here and you can escape with food and a drink for under $ 10. Definitely a go-​to if you’re not feeling the overabundance of Philly style sub shops that seem to be popping up everywhere. CASH ONLY.

This place is good for lunch if you are in this section of the city. Cash only… don’t worry the convenience store next door has an ATM. Rubin sandwich, tuna, turkey, roast beef… WOW, brings me back to NYC! Piled high a thick.
Good Stuff.

Cash only. Great NY-​style deli. Decent breakfast bar where you can get scrambled eggs, dried out sausage, etc. by weight. Decent coffee brewed regularly in small batches. They also do a mean egg and cheese on everything bagel. For lunch, they have a nice salad bar and the sandwhiches are good. Pastrami or corned beef are the two I’d recomend. This place has a lot of regulars from DC govt, the nearby federal courthouses, and Georgetown Law.

Great sandwiches for lunch. I usually go twice a week for coffee and a breakfast sandwich though. Bagel with egg and cheese is less than $ 3 (lunch sandwiches will run you close to $ 10). The food at the breakfast bar isn’t so great (eggs are a bit runny and the sausage is overcooked; the grits were ok though). But I haven’t tried the sweet breakfast options yet. I’ll definitely try some of the soups after reading these reviews. Remember that it’s cash only though. Kind of annoying, but not enough to deter me from this place.

Jack’s has awesome chicken soup! Big chunks of real chicken, not too salty, bow tie noodles. Excellent.

Famous for corned beef. This Capitol Hill neighborhood Deli is a good place for lunch. Sandwiches made to order. Six months ago, I was a little disappointed they don’t serve chicken breast, but the counter staff recommended tuna melt on rye. It was great! I’ve been back twice a week ever since. Sandwich specials practically everyday, including occasional steak n cheese… Hit the salad bar if you want to graze, only beware, the price for the buffet is by the pound. Dirty Potato Chips or fried potato wedges. Chicken Soup, Chowder and just-​right Chili available. Family style seating at lunch. Coffee in the style of Seattle’s Best. Street parking or the Oh-​so-​expensive Central Park garage around the corner. Take Metro-​Rail to the Judiciary Square station, take the 4^th Street Courthouse exit and walk one and a half blocks to save the hassle and expense of parking. Primarily Lunch.