Halal Pastrami Sandwich in Bed-Stuy: David's Brisket House

David's Brisket House, at 533 Nostrand Ave in Brooklyn, serves a pastrami sandwich that is entirely halal, and a small on rye costs $13.49 on the shop's own menu. The counter sits on the Bedford-Stuyvesant stretch of Nostrand Avenue between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue, and it runs Monday to Thursday 9am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 9am to 10pm, and Sunday 10am to 8pm. There is no reservation system to fight, just a line and a slicer.

The fastest way in is the A or C train to the Nostrand Av station at Fulton Street, then a short walk south past the corner storefronts toward Atlantic Avenue. If you are coming from Long Island or Jamaica, the LIRR's Nostrand Avenue stop sits right at the Atlantic end of the same block, so the walk is barely a minute.

From outside it looks like any older Brooklyn deli: a plain brick front, a glass window, and a counter that faces the door. Inside, the 2012 renovation reported by Patch moved the kitchen to the back with larger covered steam tables and more slicing stations, turned the front into a dining room with about eight tables, and added a stamped-tin ceiling. Expect a tight room rather than a sit-down restaurant, which shapes how most people eat here.

The shop's About page tells the story plainly. David, described on the site as a Russian Jew, opened the business in Bed-Stuy in the 1960s, serving roast brisket, pastrami and corned beef to a neighborhood of African-American families, working-class European-Americans and Jewish residents. In the 1980s he sold the deli to two Yemeni friends from different religious backgrounds, who ran it together and kept David's recipes on the steam table.

When the Yemeni Jewish partner died, the Muslim Yemeni family took over the business. Today the site names brothers Riyadh and Farouq Gazali as the owners, describing their aim as bringing old-school New York deli back halal style. That is the detail that sets this counter apart from Katz's or 2nd Ave Deli: the Eastern European, kosher-style recipes are intact, but the meat is halal, and the shop's own testimonials lean on that point, with one regular writing that everything on the menu is halal.

Start with the pastrami sandwich, because it is the reason to make the trip. The online menu lists four sizes: small at $13.49, medium at $18.79, large at $20.99 and an extra-large at $29.99. The Infatuation's 2023 review put it bluntly, saying the best thing at a place named for brisket is actually the tender, juicy pastrami stacked on seedless rye. A medium is a full lunch for most people, and the small is a fair test if you are planning a second stop.

If you cannot pick a meat, the menu has an answer called 3 The Hard Way, which layers brisket, corned beef and pastrami for $29.99. The Pastrami Reuben comes on grilled rye with melted Swiss, sauerkraut and Russian dressing, priced at $22.99 for a medium and $25.99 for a large. For a full meal in one order, the pastrami combo with soup, a knish and a canned drink is $27.99.

The brisket sandwich, which the menu says is marinated for 24 hours and slow cooked, starts at $12.99 for a small. The About page describes the house style as old-school roast brisket on a roll with gravy, with fatty caramelized edges. The Brooklyn Cheesesteak swaps steak for brisket with onions, peppers and American cheese, from $15.99. Soup is where the Yemeni ownership shows quietly: Moroccan harira and Turkish lentil sit next to chicken noodle, each at $8.99.

The one consistent complaint in reviews is the cut. The Infatuation noted that some visits bring paper-thin slices that melt away, while others bring thick slabs with no warning. The fix is simple: tell the person at the slicer how you want it before they start building your sandwich. Thick-cut pastrami holds its peppery crust and fat cap better on the walk home, while thin-cut suits the Reuben, where the cheese and sauerkraut need to fold into the meat.

Mornings are the cheapest way in: the menu lists a corned beef and egg sandwich at $7.99, and the doors open at 9am six days a week, an hour later on Sunday. If you want pastrami without a queue at the counter, a weekday mid-afternoon is the gap between the lunch and dinner crowds. Late Friday and Saturday evenings work too, since the counter keeps slicing until 10pm on those two nights.

Here is the honest call: skip the dining room unless the weather is bad. The Infatuation compared the back of the space to a boiler room, and most regulars order to go, carry their foil-wrapped sandwich out, and eat it in a nearby park or at home. The eight or so tables are fine for a quick bite, but the experience is about the meat, not the decor, and you lose nothing by walking out with your bag.

The regulars are a mix worth noticing. Reviews quoted on the shop's site come from people who say they have been customers for years, people who say the sandwich is worth the walk from Eastern Parkway, and families who come specifically because everything is halal. Actor Anthony Mackie, who once owned a bar on the same avenue, told Patch the meat was the best sandwich meat he had ever had.

The shop also ships pastrami nationwide, sells it by the pound at $38.99, and offers catering platters, so a group order for an office or a family gathering is easier to place by phone than in person at noon.

For dessert, the counter keeps a short list that leans Southern rather than Eastern European: navy bean pie and sweet potato pie at $8.99 each, and banana pudding at $6.99. A homemade lemonade costs $1.99 and cuts through the fat of a large sandwich better than soda.

Take your sandwich north to Fulton Street and Restoration Plaza, home of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the community development group founded in the 1960s with support from Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The plaza is home to the Billie Holiday Theatre and the Skylight Gallery, and the surrounding blocks are lined with brownstones that make a pleasant stroll after a heavy lunch.

Heading south instead, cross Atlantic Avenue into Crown Heights and walk toward Brower Park and the Brooklyn Children's Museum, a good stop if you are carrying sandwiches with kids in tow. The walk takes about fifteen minutes, past rowhouses and corner shops, and it is a good way to work up an appetite for the second half of a large pastrami.

Address: David's Brisket House, at 533 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11216. Hours: Monday to Thursday 9am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 9am to 10pm, Sunday 10am to 8pm. Subway: A or C to Nostrand Av, or the LIRR to Nostrand Avenue. Signature order: medium pastrami on rye at $18.79. Everything on the menu is halal. Tell the slicer whether you want thick or thin cuts, and plan to take your food to go.