Iconic Carnegie Deli reopens after 10-year absence with noticeable differences in service, soup, pastrami

Carnegie Deli’s back after a 10-year absence — and not a New York Minute too soon. Historic West Midtown without pastrami on rye was like a ballpark without hot dogs.  Starbucks and contemporary eateries like Locanda Verde and high-end chocolate shop Laderach have none of Carnegie Deli’s pickle-barrel aura.I didn’t much care when the Carnegie shut down a decade ago.

It was popular mainly with schmaltz-loving tourists who wouldn’t know pastrami from prosecco.But its surprise revival this month at 834 Seventh Ave.— once the site of its longtime rival the Stage Deli, which closed in 2012 — means a helluva lot more now.

It puts a little bit of old-time magic back in fast-changing West Midtown, which needs all the retro vibe it can get.Owner Sarri Harper looked for a new location to reopen for years.(Carnegie Deli products were available only online and at sports venues).

It was only a “twist of fate” they ended up at the old Stage location, her spokesperson said.The reborn Carnegie Deli has better pastrami and chicken soup than its predecessor did. Service by friendly waitresses is a big improvement over the crusty “whaddya have” of yore.It all happens amidst vintage, “Wall of Fame” photos of showbiz stars that recall the films and TV shows shot at the original Carnegie like “Broadway Danny Rose.” There’s thankfully no music of the cliched “New York, New York” school, but jazz standards like Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” and numerous Miles Davis classics.They’re sweet notes for Seventh Avenue in the 50s that’s still recovering from COVID-19.  The former Wellington Hotel is being demolished for a fancy new inn.Restaurants such as Petrossian, Redeye Grill, Rosie O’Grady’s and Molyvos are gone.The Carnegie revival — not to be confused with unrelated Midtown places called Carnegie Diner — could  have been a fake-nostalgia stinker.

The original Carnegie Deli sign over the entrance and the wall photos  ...