TV Restaurants

Is Manny's Cafeteria and Delicatessen Still Open? (Chicago, IL)

Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 4 Chicago, Illinois

Current status

Open

As of October 2026, Manny's Cafeteria and Delicatessen is listed open on mannysdeli.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What the source shows: A live site check on 2026-09-08 found Manny's website responding with online ordering and catering options active, consistent with normal operation. How we decide a status →

What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate? 4 episodes

Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 4, Episode 4

The deli segment highlighted Manny's cafeteria-style service, where diners move down a line watching cooks carve corned beef, pastrami, and other deli meats to order before choosing sides and desserts. Manny's Cafeteria and Delicatessen is a long-running delicatessen in Chicago's Near West Side, known for combining a traditional Jewish deli menu with a self-serve cafeteria format rare among big-city delis. A site check on 2026-09-08 found mannysdeli.com online with active pages for catering inquiries, nationwide shipping, wholesale merchandise, and a cookie shop, along with a working online-ordering link for local pickup, all consistent with an operating business. The Order Online (Local) and Suburban Delivery sections listed on the current site indicate the deli continues to serve both its Jefferson Street location and outlying customers.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 28, Episode 17 Aired

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited Manny's Cafeteria and Delicatessen in the episode "Tasty Traditions," which aired August 10, 2018, for its cafeteria-style deli service and classic Jewish deli fare. The delicatessen is a longstanding Chicago institution on South Jefferson Street, serving diners since long before its Food Network appearance. According to the deli's own website (mannysdeli.com), checked September 8, 2026, it still serves lunch and dinner from 1141 South Jefferson Street and offers nationwide shipping, catering, and a cookie shop alongside its cafeteria line. Google's Places listing for Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen also marks the business operational at that same address, matching its location at the time of the episode. The restaurant continues to be recommended in Chicago dining guides for its old-school deli atmosphere.

Food Paradise, Season 18, Episode 1

Food Paradise's "Sweet Home Chicago" episode featured Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen, a longtime Chicago deli serving cafeteria-style comfort food alongside deli sandwiches. According to the business's own website (mannysdeli.com), checked 2026-09-08, the restaurant operates at 1141 South Jefferson Street in Chicago and offers catering, private events, nationwide shipping, a cookie shop, and a wholesale and suburban delivery program in addition to its dine-in and takeout deli menu. The site's current listing confirms the business remains active at its Jefferson Street location.

You Gotta Eat Here!, Season 3, Episode 25 Aired

In the 'Chicago Edition' installment of You Gotta Eat Here! (S3E25, first aired 2014-07-04 according to TVDB), John Catucci's deli stop covered what TVDB's episode text calls historic deli comfort dishes, and Prime Video's season 3 listing names Manny's Delicatessan in the same hour. Manny's sits at 1141 South Jefferson Street and is known for corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, potato pancakes and matzo ball soup, according to Wikipedia's article on the deli, read 2026-10-20. Wikipedia traces its roots to 1942, when brothers Jack and Charlie Raskin opened a deli, and says Manny's has been on Jefferson Street since 1964 and is run today by Ken Raskin and his son Dan.

The same article lists a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives feature in August 2018 and a Triple D Nation episode in April 2026. Manny's own website, read 2026-10-20, shows the Jefferson Street address and pages for online ordering, catering and nationwide shipping.

The episodes Best Thing I Ever Ate

Air date not confirmed
Title: At a Deli · What was featured: Classic deli fare at a Chicago cafeteria-style delicatessen
Aired
Title: Tasty Traditions · What was featured: classic Jewish deli fare and cafeteria-style service
Air date not confirmed
Title: Sweet Home Chicago · What was featured: Cafeteria-style deli comfort food and classic deli sandwiches
Aired
Title: Chicago Edition · What was featured: Historic deli comfort dishes at a Chicago cafeteria-style deli

Synopsis (tvmaze.com) : The host gets a taste of the cuisine of Chicago when he eats traditional deep-dish pizza, beef sandwiches, and deli comfort dishes.

Also in Season 4 Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season 4: 60 of 102 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 4 episodes →

Nearest restaurants By distance from 1141 South Jefferson Street

  • White Palace Grill

    Chicago, IL 0.2 mi away

    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

    Open
  • Tufano's Vernon Park Tap

    Chicago, IL 0.7 mi away

    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

    Open
  • The Parthenon Restaurant

    Chicago, IL 0.7 mi away

    Food Paradise

    Closed
  • Everest

    Chicago, IL 0.7 mi away

    Best Thing I Ever Ate

    Closed
  • Lou Malnati's

    Chicago, IL 0.8 mi away

    Best Thing I Ever Ate · Food Paradise · You Gotta Eat Here!

    Open
  • Eleven City Diner

    Chicago, IL 0.8 mi away

    Food Paradise

    Open
All 220 TV restaurants in Illinois →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 4 references

  1. mannysdeli.com https://www.mannysdeli.com/
  2. TheTVDB https://thetvdb.com/series/you-gotta-eat-here/episodes/4957897
  3. primevideo.com https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0RK5DFMJZDZT14VNJ5YK15NDGW
  4. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny%27s_Deli
See something wrong?

We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.

Tell us →

Share

Record btiea-0321 · checked by Cal Marchetti.