Katz’s Delicatessen

Katz’s Delicatessen is a historic delicatessen at 205 East Houston Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Founded in 1888, it is one of New York’s best-known food institutions and is especially associated with old-style Jewish deli culture. Its long counter, crowded interior, and unmistakable Lower East Side setting have also made it one of the city’s most recognisable screen locations.

Katz’s Delicatessen appears in When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Donnie Brasco (1997), Across the Universe (2007), We Own the Night (2007), and The Jim Gaffigan Show (2015–2016). It is most closely associated with When Harry Met Sally…, but it has also been used in crime drama, musical, and television productions.

In When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Katz’s Delicatessen is used for the famous lunch scene in which Sally demonstrates to Harry how convincingly women can fake an orgasm. The scene ends with the line “I’ll have what she’s having,” and it remains the location’s best-known screen appearance. The table used in the film has since become part of the deli’s identity.

In Donnie Brasco (1997), Katz’s Delicatessen appears in the scene where Johnny Depp’s character meets an FBI contact. Here the deli is used not as a comic landmark but as part of the film’s grounded New York street world.

In Across the Universe (2007), Katz’s Delicatessen appears in the scene where Max reveals that he has been drafted into the Vietnam War. The deli is used as a real Manhattan setting within the film’s stylised 1960s New York.

In We Own the Night (2007), Katz’s Delicatessen appears as part of the film’s New York setting. Its recognisable Lower East Side location helps place the story firmly in the city’s real geography.

In The Jim Gaffigan Show (2015–2016), Katz’s Delicatessen serves as one of the local Lower East Side hangouts connected to Jim Gaffigan’s New York life in the series.

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

The Jim Gaffigan Show (2015–2016)

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