RESTAURANT REVIEW: Wexler’s Deli

616 Santa Monica Boulevard | Santa Monica, CA 90401 | 424-744-8671 | wexlersdeli.com | Price: $$

By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Contributing Writer

Photos by RICH SCHMITT | Staff Photographer

Ever since that dark day around Thanksgiving 2010 when Broadway Deli lost its lease and abruptly shuttered after 20 years of a loyal local following at the southern frontier of the Third Street Promenade, downtown Santa Monica has been bereft of a good old-fashioned Jewish delicatessen where one can walk in and grab a no-nonsense pastrami on rye or matzo ball soup.

That all changed on May 27 with the arrival of Wexler’s Deli. Located directly across from Santa Monica Main Public Library, this Wexler’s is the first spin-off of the original in downtown Los Angeles, which has quickly become a beloved institution at Grand Central Market after Micah Wexler opened it in April 2014.

According to online reports, owner Wexler himself had an external situation that put the kibosh on his previous restaurant, Beverly Grove-based, Middle Eastern-flavored eatery Mezze. He opened his first Wexler’s a year after that debacle.

So in a city (Los Angeles) teeming with so many Jewish delis, including the legendary (downtown’s Langer’s), the award-winning (Brent’s Deli in Northridge), the open-all-night nostalgic favorite (Canter’s) and even a pair of venerable delis on the skirts of Santa Monica’s downtown (Izzy’s, Fromin’s), why eat at Wexler’s?

Well … why not?

What’s interesting about Wexler’s—with the game team of General Manager Evan Blondman, Chef Chris Requena and Director of Catering Becky Hurwitz running the Santa Monica satellite—is that this deli retains its traditional Jewish delicatessen values while simultaneously offering an environment that is modern and minimalist. A scratchy, black-and-white mural—alive with caricatures of menu items and echoing the energy of Manhattan subway station graffiti—welcomes you as you step into Wexler’s Santa Monica as Tupac Shakur and Lil Wayne burn through the overhead woofers and the sandwich names reference hip hop culture.

Open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wexler’s Deli serves breakfast until 11 a.m. That means customers can order the Uncle Leo ($9)—scrambled eggs, caramelized onions, lox and onion on a bagel, all unified under the moniker of a beloved “Seinfeld” side-character. Another bagel sandwich, Big Poppa ($9), offers eggs, pastrami, cheddar cheese and smear.

Highlights here include Bagel, Lox and Cream Cheese ($13), a basic but vital sandwich capitalizing on a fresh, thick, savory layer of salmon imported from the Faroe Islands; another version of said sandwich with the Bagel, Smoked Sturgeon, Cream Cheese ($14); the Reuben ($13), a classic sandwich made of lean corned beef with Swiss, sauerkraut and Russian dressing, all pressed within a pair of deliciously buttery toasted slices of rye and accompanied by a heap of coleslaw.

There’s also the L.A. Bird ($11), a fresh-tasting smoked turkey sandwich with Beaver brand sweet hot mustard on a Kaiser roll. This plate comes with a side of potato salad. Both sides —the coleslaw and the potato salad—are made from scratch. This is especially appreciated as not all delis do this and such attention to detail definitely makes a difference in the deli experience (if you don’t believe me, ask the happy regulars at Brent’s).

Wexler’s also makes The O.G. ($12), pastrami and mustard on rye; the Boyle Heights ($12), corned beef and mustard on rye; Macarthur Park ($13), pastrami, Swiss, Russian on rye; Ruskie ($10), egg salad and pickles on a Kaiser; and the local homage Ocean Avenue ($10), tuna salad, lettuce, red onion and rye.

And yes, for $10, a hot, medicinal bowl of Dana’s Matzo Ball Soup can be had here.

Dessert is another area where Wexler’s struts its tuchus. Black & White Cookies are so popular here, they were un-reviewable (sold out by dinner) so we opted instead for a chocolate Babka (an Eastern European-spawned cake), which came in a plastic wrap but actually tasted fluffy, moist and surprisingly complex.

What’s great about the baked goods is that Wexler’s makes them all from scratch off-site at its own bakery facility. That includes the bagels (with the caveat that they only come in three varieties here: plain, onion and everything).

So what’s made on site (other than the sandwiches)? The beverages: Wexler’s offers a Peruvian blend coffee and fresh orange juice (in addition to selling the requisite Dr. Brown’s line of sodas). In the tradition of East Coast delis, for $3, you can order a Chocolate Egg Cream (made well here) or a Chocolate Phosphate (same carbonated thing, sans milk).

With more moxie and less menu-clutter than the average LA deli, Wexler’s is a welcome addition to Santa Monica’s restaurant-rich downtown.

Correction: A previous version of this articles stated the deli imports salmon from Nova Scotia. It is imported from the Faroe Islands.