Wise Sons Jewish Deli

The Wise Sons Jewish Deli empire has hit a few bumps in the road this past year, especially with the closure of two of their Bay Area restaurants, but this location in the heart of one of San Francisco's most walkable neighborhoods, they have proven they are not going away anytime soon. Located on Octavia Street in the Hayes Valley neighborhood in San Francisco, this is one of three remaining locations of Wise Sons Jewish Deli that remains in the city. Walking around the Hayes Valley neighborhood on a warm weekend afternoon with street fairs and a number of other activities from neighboring restaurants, I decided to make it my mission to get to this location, as I had been to both of their Oakland locations, one of which has since closed. There is nothing better than a warm bagel sandwich overflowing with cream cheese and plenty of lox and capers and Wise Sons Jewish Deli makes one of the best. This and the fact that the team at Wise Sons Jewish Deli is always fast with the preparation of their meals which makes for easy dining made them an easy choice for a lunchtime meal. This location is one of their smaller locations as they only had a couple of tables around the exterior of their restaurant and a few counters in which people could dine inside.What you won't miss upon visiting their storefront is the stacks upon stacks of bagels that they have ready to order. The menu at Wise Sons Jewish Deli is broken up into sections including Signature Sandwiches, Toasted Bagel Sandwiches, Deli Classics, Sweets & Pastries, Bagels & Schmears, Cold Beverages and Coffee & Tea. Although their bagels are the real star of the show at Wise Sons Jewish Deli, as they are proofed overnight and then boiled in malt syrup to ensure the crust is firm and chewy and then they season and double coat the bagels with various toppings to give them their variety of flavors. Upon my visit, there was something about their OG Reuben that was calling my name. This sandwich is griddled with Russian dressing and served with Swiss cheese & sauerkraut on rye bread. With the options of three meats to choose from, Pastrami, Corned Beef, and Smoked Turkey, I opted to order their Corned Beef which was brined with garlic and a special blend of their signature spices. To pair my meal, I also ordered their potato salad, as I thought that this would provide a nice accompaniment to the savoriness of my sandwich. My bill would be $24.98 before gratuity was added in, which is on the pricier side of a traditional sandwich and side, even by today's standards.It wouldn't take too long for my sandwich and side to be presented to me as my name was called out to pickup. The one thing that I was surprised by most was that my sandwich was so freshly made that the sliced meat, which made up the bulk of my sandwich, was piping, almost scalding to a point where I had to stop eating the sandwich. So, I decided to eat my side of potato salad, which for $4.50 should have been amazing and quite frankly was not, as it was a bit mushy for my taste, despite being seasoned nicely. Once my sandwich cooled off, I had zero regrets ordering their corned beef in place of their signature pastrami as it was both fatty and hearty, which made for a nice overall meal. Of course many more visits to Wise Sons Jewish Deli are in order for me, as I must make it to their three other locations in the city, including the one that started it all in the Mission District, as Wise Sons Jewish Deli has relied so much success in the past, they have merged with local bagel shops just to increase their presence and export the way they mass produce bagels on a daily basis. I can only think that they are still on the way to achieving their goals of bagel domination, as they produce solid chewy bagels which can be turned into hearty sandwiches filled with plenty of locally-sourced ingredients that can make for one satisfying meal anytime you visit.

The coffees are great here. The bagels have a good taste, a tad chewy and not the most cream cheese, I have to pay extra for heavy for it to be what I consider normal. Toasted they were a bit hard to eat but the flavor was there.It's steps from my brothers place so it's super convenient.

Wednesday 7:15 am arrival. There will be customers early which is a good sign at any bagel shop. It was mostly empty despite a few in person customers but most early work is for take out and delivery services. I was the only person who dined in. The staff helped me place my order which was nice. The digital ordering tablet seemed to be lacking options and it may need programming updates. A few quick taps by staff helped me secure the order I desired. There is a restroom. There is a nice parklet with outdoor seating. Plenty of seating overall in a narrow suite.The bialy is a little crusty so you have to like a crunchy kinda shell bagel. From someone who likes their bagel softer this was a welcome crunch with a toasted bialy and lox, which was a nice change. Crunchy. Even if untoasted it would be firm. Balanced portion of cheese, just enough fish. They have reached a point of great consistency and it's rich but not too rich. Will more volume bring down the price? It was $19+. For a deli breakfast that seems a touch steep.

I don't know. The bagels here felt flat and dense with no chew. I'm used to a bouncy bagel with some chew and this just not it. With so many bagel places popping up all over SF, Wise Sons need to step up their game.

We've been wanting to try this place for a minute. Every time we walk by it looked so delicious from the window. Unfortunately, the dream was better than reality and we were so disappointed by the experience. To be very honest, it was the worst bagel I've ever had. Price is affordable for a bagel and cream cheese, but it is just so dang hard to chew. We tried the sesame and the everything bagels with lox cheese. The everything bagel in particular was so salty and extremely chewy; we started taking turns with our bagels just to give the other some rest from chewing this thing. I also noticed they skimp out on the cream cheese. Most places give you cream cheese with a side of bagel, and I was sad to see it isn't the standard here. Service was fantastic though, really kind people. They're the only reason why it's 2 stars rather than 1. Really wish I could say better things, but we likely won't be back.

The toasted bagel was a little too hard for me. $2.50 for each bagel without schmear. (Extra $2 for the gluten-free plain bagel.) Very friendly service. Barstool seating inside and a few two-top tables outside. Complimentary water available. One very clean single-stall bathroom in the back, accessible via security code.

Out on a walk with a few bucks in my pocket. Very hungry for lunch and their menu looked incredibly appetizing. I ordered a everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. My total came to $5.70. I handed the cashier six dollars and he told me he could not take my cash. Unfortunately I have no other way to pay than the cash in my pocket. I told them I didn't need my .30 in change, and maybe they could put this cash in their tip jar or or an envelope to save for later accounting purposes. They absolutely flat out refused to serve me. It is illegal to refuse service to people trying to pay with cash. What a horrible first experience with Wise Sons. I've never posted a poor review of a an establishment, but this left me with such a horrible feeling of financial discrimination that I feel compelled to write about it.

I don't know why the reviews of this place are so low. I would upload a photo of the bagel sandwiches me and my friend had but the phone unfortunately didn't eat first. This place was really good, we got one with chili crisp and one with roasted mushrooms!

Ordered the Veggie Bagel Sandwich and the Latkes. The veggies used tasted fresh and were plentiful. The everything bagel was well seasoned and very flavorful. The latkes were bigger size than expected and tasted delicious.

The bagels and cream cheese are good but the service is awful! Every time we go, they mess up our orders, even for something simple like six onion bagels! They gave us bialys instead!