2023 Best New Restaurants // No. 7 Deli Divine

With Deli Divine, restaurateur Ben Poremba is filling the gap for an authentic Jewish deli in St. Louis city. The restaurant’s masterfully executed menu of classics does more than just hold space – it holds its own in the inevitable comparison with favorite delis in Chicago and New York.

Pick your favorite: pastrami, corned beef, beef tongue, gefilte fish, herring, rye and pumpernickel bread can all be had. There’s a panoply of Reubens to choose from, a plethora of kugels and knishes, egg salad, chopped liver – the list goes on and on. The selection of New York bagels and assorted toppings is worth the trip alone. Choose plain, poppy seed, sesame, everything, seeded pumpernickel or marble versions, then top them with a choice of fish – think lox, smoked trout or even caviar – or choose one of the many sandwich options.

 

smoked salmon pastrami bagel at deli divine // photo by izaiah johnson

 

Much of Deli Divine’s fare is also available to grab and go, so you can enjoy the deli experience at home. Buy bagels by the half-dozen or dozen, meats by the pound and smoked fish by the quarter-pound. Also, don’t miss the market at the back of the deli, which sells babka, halva and much more.

Poremba aims not only to please palates, but to create a sense of neighborhood and community while honoring the deep tradition and history of the Jewish deli. Deli Divine is rising to each of those challenges – and succeeding.