Founded in 1947, Langer’s Delicatessen and Restaurant has served generations of patrons for more than 66 years. What better introduction to Langer’s than this, by David Shaw writing for the James Beard Foundation in commemoration of our America’s Classics award:
In Los Angeles, where any business that stays open for more than five years is likely to proclaim itself a “legendary institution,” Langer’s Delicatessen is the real thing. Langer’s is also a living microcosm of the Los Angeles story, from dramatic post-war growth through all the triumphs and tribulations, changes and challenges that have followed.
Opened in 1947 with just 12 seats, almost forced out of business by recession and the urban blight of drugs and gangs in the early 1990s, then rescued by — of all things in Los Angeles, a subway! — Langer’s lives on, serving what many deli aficionadoes on both coasts consider the best pastrami sandwich in America. Norm Langer started working for his dad, Al, in 1963, and he’s been there virtually every day since. His father, who passed away shortly after the restaurant celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2007 — would come in for a few hours three or four days a week to help out with the lunch rush and greet longtime customers, many of whom recognize the children in the family photos on the walls.
Just west of downtown, in a neighborhood more shabby than chic, on a street corner at Seventh and Alvarado in a heavily Latino area, adjacent to a burgeoning Korea Town, it draws an eclectic and loyal clientele — including at least one Korean businessman who calls Langer’s pastrami “Jewish kimchee.”
The late Nora Ephron, writing in The New Yorker, graciously provided a fitting tribute to our hot pastrami sandwich:
The hot pastrami sandwich served at Langer’s Delicatessen in downtown Los Angeles is the finest hot pastrami sandwich in the world. This is not just my opinion, although most people who know about Langer’s will simply say it’s the finest hot pastrami sandwich in Los Angeles because they don’t dare to claim that something like a hot pastrami sandwich could possibly be the best version of itself in a city where until recently you couldn’t get anything resembling a New York bagel, and the only reason you can get one now is that New York bagels have deteriorated.
. . . .
The resulting sandwich, slathered with Gulden’s mustard, is an exquisite combination of textures and tastes. It’s soft but crispy, tender but chewy, peppery but sour, smoky but tangy. It’s a symphony orchestra, different instruments brought together to play one perfect chord. It … is, in short, a work of art.
Located across from historic MacArthur Park, Langer’s is an important part of Los Angeles’ rich cultural heritage, a tradition carefully managed by Norm and his wife Jeanette. Visit us soon.
Langers is a proud TWO-TIME recipient of the coveted James Beard Foundation award. The Bertolli America’s Classics Award is presented each year to a select few restaurants noted for timeless appeal, beloved for quality food that reflects the history and character of their communities.
The establishment must have been in existence for at least 10 years and be locally owned and operated. Langer’s Restaurant is proud and grateful for the James Beard Foundation’s acknowledgement of its role in Los Angeles restaurant history. You may learn more about our award here and here at the James Beard Foundation.
When you visit us, please make sure you inspect our award, which hangs just behind the register at the hostess station.
Los Angeles, CA —October 29, 2025— Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant is proud to announce that it has once again been recognized by the prestigious Michelin Guide to California, earning its 2025 Michelin Guide plaque, an enduring symbol of culinary excellence, heritage, and consistency.
First added to the Michelin Guide in 2019, Langer’s remains one of Los Angeles’ most iconic and beloved dining institutions — a timeless destination where tradition and quality meet. The arrival of the 2025 Michelin plaque reaffirms that legacy, honoring not just the food but the generations of care, service, and craftsmanship that have defined Langer’s for more than seven decades.
“Being mentioned by the Michelin Guide is one of the highest forms of praise you can earn in the restaurant industry,” said Norm Langer, owner of Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant. “We’re incredibly proud to be included once again and deeply grateful to our loyal customers and our dedicated employees, some of whom have been with us for decades, for helping make this honor possible. This recognition belongs to them as much as it does to our family.”
From its humble roots to its current success, Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant of Los Angeles, California, is the quintessential story of classic American enterprise.
The story begins in 1905, with the arrival at Ellis Island of Harry and Rose Langer, from Odessa, Russia. A tailor by trade, Harry settles with Rose in Newark, New Jersey. They have three children, all boys: Joe, Al and Morris. Harry is an observant Jew who must work on the Sabbath (Saturday) in order to support his family. As soon as the boys are old enough, they begin working in local businesses.
In 1924, Al, age 11, gets a job at a local delicatessen as a busboy, cleaning tables and assisting the waitresses until they went home at 8PM. Thereafter, Al would wait tables on his own until closing. It was during this time that young Al became a favorite of the patrons, including local underworld figures who would feed their crews pastrami while awaiting bootleg alcohol shipments from Canada. As a precocious kid, Al would play the “tough guy” to the mobsters, earning $10 tips, an unheard-of amount for this period. Al brought all the money home to his mother, who used the earnings to support the family.
As he grew into adulthood, Al continued to work in delicatessens throughout the New York area, including Manhattan, New Jersey, the Catskill Mountain resorts, and even a stint in Miami. It was during this time he perfected his ability to hand-slice pastrami, a “lost art” knifing skill that preserves the juicy flavor and tenderness of the meat during cutting. As a result, Al became a highly sought-after delicatessen counter man.
In 1936, Harry, Rose, Joe and Al Langer relocated to Los Angeles, where new opportunities in tailoring work awaited the head of the family. Al began working at a variety of delicatessens around Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles, then a thriving Jewish community, as well as locations on Hollywood Boulevard.
Al’s first experience with entrepreneurship was in the fall of 1936, when he opened a deli in the then-predominantly Jewish resort community of Palm Springs. As a seasonal resort, businesses were only open during the six winter months when crowds would flock to the desert for warmth and relaxation. And because everything had to be trucked from Los Angeles, keeping ingredients fresh for his patrons posed a challenge for Al. In particular, rye bread quickly turned stale during transport, so Al devised a solution: throw the loaf into the oven and re-bake it, giving the bread a warm, super-crispy crust that instantly became a favorite of his patrons. This “re-baking” technique is used to this very day at Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant on every loaf of rye bread they serve.
The Palm Springs deli only lasted one season, and Al returned to Los Angeles, where he worked at a Hollywood delicatessen adjacent to the Paramount Theater as the lead counter man. He would cut the meat, supervise 30 food-prep employees and take orders from all the walk-ups. It was during this time that Al began to take an interest in Jean, the pretty Hungarian Jewish waitress working tables at the deli. But he soon learned she was married. In a twist of fate, her husband passed away and after waiting the requisite year of mourning, Al asked her out on a date. They were married three weeks later.
Soon World War II called and Al found himself in the United States Army, stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Jean followed him and after the war’s end, they returned to Los Angeles, where Al again felt the pull of entrepreneurship. He and Jean had a one-year ownership of a small deli at 8th and Irolo. Al then purchased The Famous Deli, a small delicatessen near the corner of 7th and Alvarado, a mere 12 seats for patrons. This diminutive location would become the Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant we know today.
Time passed and as Al’s successes grew along with the deli’s. Space became available south of the original location, allowing the restaurant to expand first to 58 seats and by 1968, to 135 seats (the present configuration). Located diagonally across the intersection from MacArthur Park, Langer’s Deli flourished. The vibrant neighborhood, the destination nature of the park (with its large lagoon and day-boating adventures for Angelenos), and a reputation for delicious food and good service all contributed to the ongoing growth of Langer’s.
One of the classic characteristics of any delicatessen, particularly those of the Jewish variety, is an enormous menu with literally hundreds of choices and combinations. Langer’s is no different; Al worked with Jean to develop the menu so that just about any taste would be accommodated.
Throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, Langer’s competed with other famous delis throughout the greater Los Angeles area, including Cantor’s, Junior’s, and Nate and Al’s. It stayed open 6:30AM-1AM Sunday-Thursday, 6:30AM-3AM Friday-Saturday, welcoming customers from all walks of life, literally at all hours of the day (or night). Al served famous entertainers from Hollywood, who would make a special trip down Alvarado from Hollywood to get a #19 featuring the best pastrami in town.
But with the passage of time, encroaching demographics began to take a toll on Langer’s bottom line; by the late 1960s, most of the Jewish residents had long since moved to the mid-Wilshire, Westside or Valley, and the neighborhood became less desirable as major retailers like Bullocks Wilshire closed their doors. Worse, MacArthur Park began earning a reputation as a drug haven. The restaurant cut back on hours and saw harder times than in any other period of the deli’s history. Al’s son Norm began to take a more active management role during this period (the early 1970s) and worked closely with the Los Angeles Police Department to help improve quality of life in the neighborhood.
More than just deli owners, the Langer family became recognized by civic leaders as instrumental in helping clean up the MacArthur Park district of Los Angeles, working closely with LAPD Community Policing efforts to bring more of a personal presence of law enforcement to the neighborhood. The impact of these actions resulted in a safer and more hospitable environment in which to operate their business, and ultimately more inviting for customers. The citations presented to the Langer family hang on the walls of the delicatessen for all to appreciate.
The modern era of Langer’s success dawned with the completion of the Metro Red Line subway and the opening of the Alvarado Station one block from the deli, in 1994. For the first two years of operation, Metro allowed passengers to ride the line for free or heavily discounted fares. Hungry workers in downtown skyscrapers began to take a short ride on the subway to Langer’s for lunch, driving new business to the venerable deli. The revitalized neighborhood also presented a more welcoming face to patrons from Hollywood, mid-Wilshire and the Westside. 
It is our honor to have the intersection of 7th and Alvarado dedicated “Langer’s Square” by the City of Los Angeles.
Thanks to the efforts of Los Angeles City Council Member Ed Reyes (3rd District, now retired) and members of the Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, we received this honor on January 24, 2008, celebrating what would have been founder Al Langer’s 95th birthday.
Accompanying is video capturing the highlights of this wonderful day.
Our most sincere thanks to all who have helped us survive and thrive since 1947, including our friends at Council District 3, Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, Department of Streets, and the Office of the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles.