While Jewish delis in Los Angeles seem to be disappearing, Wexler’s Deli is bucking the trend, proudly serving their take on classic deli food. After the success of their first location in the Grand Central Market in Downtown LA in 2014, Wexler’s followed that with a Santa Monica spot and now the third location in the Westfield Century City mall.

Unlike old-fashioned delis where the menus seem to go on forever, Wexler’s is fairly limited – 10 sandwiches, a few breakfast sandwiches, and the obligatory salad. With the meticulous attention paid to the quality of food, it’s a definite case of less is more.

I was so excited about Wexler’s Deli opening close to home, I made it there on opening day. Micah Wexler, the co-owner and chef, was also there carefully tending to orders.

Orders are placed at the counter. Even though they had just opened, the cashier was very knowledgeable about the menu and ably answered the questions I had.

The Cheezy Eggs breakfast bagel lived up to its name – scrambled eggs, cheese and cream cheese, all on top of a bagel. Wexler’s bagels are baked offsite in a downtown bakery using Wexler’s own recipe. The bagel was perfect, not too chewy but with enough heft to provide support. The eggs were a revelation, light and fluffy in texture, lovingly folded into the bagel. I thought I would only eat half and save the rest for a mid-morning snack, but it was so good, I wound up scarfing it all down.

Breakfast was so delicious, that I returned a few days later, with my husband in tow. This time I opted for the Big Poppa, which was basically the Cheezy Eggs sandwich but with the addition of pastrami.

Surprisingly, this is one of the rare times where I would say the non-pastrami version was better. The addition of the pastrami kind of got lost with the eggs and cheese, both of which detracted from the enjoyment of eating pastrami (I should probably add that I like my pastrami sandwiches as basic as possible, just meat, mustard and bread). That said, if you like pastrami, the pastrami sandwiches at Wexler’s are great, with thickly cut lean pastrami, made in-house.

The Uncle Leo, bagel – lox, eggs, onions and cream cheese – was the clear-cut winner of the breakfast bagels. The eggs were beautifully layered with lox and sweet onions, a perfect combination of sweet-salty umami delights. Upon biting into his bagel, my husband remarked how amazing the eggs were, confirming my beliefs that the eggs at Wexler’s were, indeed, magical.

I managed to score a babka on my second visit, as well.

The dough was a little on the dry side, but the generous filling helped compensate for that. Even my picky daughter, who normally is not a babka fan (I know, she’s crazy), demanded her own share.

Needless to say having visited twice during their opening week, I’m a fan of Wexler’s Deli and am thrilled to enjoy classic Jewish deli fare executed with such skill. Whether you eat pastrami or lox (or both), you’re in good hands at Wexler’s Deli.

Location –  Westfield Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles 90067. Additional locations in Downtown LA Grand Central Market and Santa Monica.
Website – http://wexlersdeli.com
Kid-Friendly – Yes
Kid’s Menu – No
Vegetarian Friendly – Yes
Vegan Friendly – Do bagels and pickles count?
Gluten-Free Options – No gluten-free bread but can get egg salad, tuna salad, potato salad, coleslaw and those pickles.

Note: As of January 2020, this location of Wexler’s Deli has closed.