Federal Delicatessen

This place is off the chain good. Famous Kiwi chef and restaurant entrepreneur, Al Brown, has created the flagship of all his eateries with a distinct laid back vibe which is uncanny to that seen in NYC.

The coolest thing about this place is that it is legit like a New York deli which is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night snacking until 1 am Thursday through to Saturday. Each changeover offers a distinctly different menu which capitalises on the staple components of any awesome delicatessen. There’s pancakes, cherry floats, Banoffee pie, cheese cake, pastrami, home fries, seared steak and even pretzels!.

Informal dining is where it’s at with none of this corkage fee stuff. The furniture is plain but this only serves to contrast the heightened flavour of food which comes out without any major delays. The turnover is quick, the staff are cheerful and certainly look the part in their uniforms and the food is addictive. The NY Strip Steak deserves special mention. Succulent meat straight from the road house boiler room literally melts in your mouth while the NYC hot dog is just as grand for those recovering from a night out.