Mishkin's

Delicious dinner the other night - and on a Monday the noise level was much more mellow. The new chicken/leek/tarragon knish on the menu was a triumph: with its own jug of creamy mushroom sauce on the side. Generous portions of market greens and mushy peas. The only disappointment was that they'd run out of a cheesecake special, but they've promised it will soon be a regular on the otherwise rather short dessert menu. Hurrah for that!

The Reuben seems to have been much improved, as it was crammed with layers of deliciously melting pastrami. However when it arrived, in its enormity it towered embarrassingly over my fellow diners' fun-size meals, which led to a certain level of food envy and bad feeling among the group. Portion sizes could be adjusted for certain items - even if it meant raising the price. Perhaps a better place for lunch than dinner, but the quality of food and the atmosphere were very good.

Thank you Mishkins!

Amazing food, great lay out and staff you just want to chat with all night.

Yummy lunch had with fellow NY'ers on a Sunday afternoon. Milkshakes, Reuben, and onion rings were very good. loved the decor

Very average food (like going round for dinner with a friend who can't really cook but has decided to do a NY Jewish themed meal without a proper cookbook) . Good atmosphere though and friendly staff.

Popped in to check it out this afternoon and an hour later and with a heavy heart I had to leave but would have stayed for another one or even two hours if I could have done.... friendly helpful staff; great, simple & yummy Yiddish/NYC style food; amazing cocktails; good coffee and a fabulous atmosphere and decor. If only they had a proper Yiddish/NYC style store next door where I could buy some great Knish, cream cheese and bagels I could give up on my 'must move to NYC' pipe dream.....

Where is the meat?

Two wafer-thin slices of meat – and you're calling this a Reuben.
It's more sauerkraut than meat. And it's more bread than anything else.
If I wanted a loaf of bread, I would have gone to a bakery.
Are you joking?
Marks and Spencer makes pre-packed Ham sandwiches with more meat than this thing!
I've never seen such a stingy sandwich, let alone a Reuben.
A place like this would be laughed out of existence in New York, New Jersey – or any state in America for that matter.

Shame on you Mishkin's

What a let down... I will never return again.

Ok - I promised a definitive review of Mishkins and here it is! Having grown up on Jewish food and also sampled some of the best in New York I feel well qualified in providing an honest review. I'm also very forgiving when it comes to food places because, well, mainly because I love food!

Mishkins when you enter isn't as cosy or as 'warm' as their beautifully shot website photos would have you believe. It's a little faux 'old' and unfortunately doesn't quite work, the interior is a little confused.

Firstly contrary to comments here the staff were really quite lovely. We hadn't a booking but we offered either a table or sharing a booth with an elderly gentlemen which was fine.

The good - the Matzo ball soup! This was pretty good although why they put herbs in the matzo ball is beyond me because it ruined it! My friend ordered the chopped liver, he said it was ok. My pastrami Reuben though was pretty bad. Tasteless pastrami almost the same you'd find in a packet M&S sandwich, stuffed into a mush of tasteless dressing / sauerkraut in between two thick chewy toasted breads. UGH.

I sat there thinking 'How could they get it so wrong?!?!?'. Visit Katz's in New York and you'll just laugh at what they're trying to pass off as 'Jewish' food in Mishkins.

Then the bill.

It's overpriced, period. £40 for a sandwich, chopped liver, soup and two coffees?!

So in summary - I wouldn't waste your cash or time at Mishkins. There's no atmosphere to speak of, the food is poor, the prices way too high. What a total and utter dissappointment.

Right - I've been to Katz's deli a few times and will post a definitive review of Mishkins because I grew up on this food and it will be a YES or a NO, quite simple. They will either get it right or not. Back in a few days and i'll let you know!

The staff ruined this for me, unhelpful and borderline arrogant, even trying book a table was met with a sense that we'd inconvenienced them and that we should be lucky to get a table there.

Went with the girls the other night and must say that I was very happy with the food and our waiter, but totally disappointed with the manager and his behaviour, he was very rude when it was time to pay and this totally ruined our, before that very pleasant, experience.
This is not the type of behaviour you expect from someone running the restaurant.

This is what to expect if you spend most of the money on the decor, much less on the food [not Kosher therefore not authentic] and hardly any on the staff - 'never mind the quality, just feel the width.' As always you only get what you pay for. For real Kosher food in town go to Reubens in Baker Street - everything else is window-dressing.

Expensive. Sandwich £9 which my son said was quite good. I had chicken soup £5.The portion was very small. Not so good. Had an unusal taste. Certainly not as good as mine. The bill came to £15.75 (12and a half % service added on). I had no problem with this. However I had a major problem with the fact that I gave £20 note and waited a while for my change. WhenI asked the waitress for my change she had the audacity to say she thought I said don't worry about it (meaning they will keep the change!!!). No words crossed my lips when I passed over the money!! Nice try, but I am on the ball. How many others have fallen for this. Not a good customer tactic!!! We will NOT be going there again.

It's a shame but they aim low, and don't even get there.

The place is lovely to look at. As you turn the corner and glimpse the facade your spirits will be raised. As you enter, the place feels warm and welcoming. The staff are plentiful and milling around happily. A scan through the menu and you're guaranteed to find something that tickles your fancy. But you'll probably just end up excitedly pointing at something wafting past, on it's way to another table and ask for that.

Then the food arrives...

Having lived in New York, the reason New York style deli food is so simple is because the ingredients are fresh. The bread is not supposed to be stale, the meat is not supposed to be dry...

There are countless little things that are missing, each a corner cut which tarnishes the effect slightly more. The place is nice, the staff are good but overall you'll feel like you've been packed in and taken for a very expensive sandwich.

Simple food in a relaxed atmosphere shouldn't be that hard to achieve, but Mishkins doesn't manage it.

Love this place!! About time someone opened a cool jewish deli!!

I absolutely love mishkins, how many places can you go where you know it's going to be an incredible evening, have a laugh and banter with the staff, eat great food and come away happy? Notting hill is crying out for somewhere like this. My only regret is they didnt come here!

"I'll-have-what-she's-having" As the plates fly past me and I grab the nearest waitress to ask what was that??? Actually forget telling me, just get it to my table!!

I can't seem to get enough of this place, its been open for a week and I have been 5 times. 
I myself am also slightly jew-ish, just like Mishkins, my mother converted, but my Jewish Grandmother made some pretty mean chicken soup in her heyday, and I know if Grandma was still alive, and I took her to Mishkins she would have absolutely of loved the place (although she may of made a few comments about the tattoos on the waitresses). But then of course, I would have taken her at lunch. 

The evenings are for me and my girlfriends, when the blinds are down and the music is cranked up, this place is like some hip downtown New York film. From the cocktails, to the overly cool clientele, I do not want to leave... its a scene with great food, a slight Norman stamp... but hes broken out of his own Polpo mould. What next?????

Has Russell Nornan really made Covent Garden cool again? 

Move over tourist, I think he may have done...

I beg to differ on the Reuben! It's my favorite in town!
This is my new best hang out, maybe because the staff is so sexy, or because the portions are so generous in real NY like fashion. The diamond fizz is amazing too.

Simply in a league of its own in London. Food is good to very good but never great, but that isn't the point. Young, fun staff, great music and vibe, not for old people (my wife's parents HATED it). Love love love it and can't wait to go back.

Decided to check out the new Mishkins as i am a big fan of Polpo and was very dissapointed. we booked a table for 2 at 1:45pm on a very busy saturday and had to wait 10minutes for our table to be ready which wasn't a problem. We were seated without being offered drinks or menus for 10 minutes which we then asked for. Our waitress took our order at the same time as the table next to us and their food come out long before ours did.We asked how long our food would be and the lady running the pass said that they were very busy and it wouldn't be too long, we waited 35 minutes for one chicken soup which was border line cold and tasteless. When you wait 45 minutes for 2 salt beef sandwhiches you grow an expectation that they must be amazing, we were dissapointed again.
i do understand that Mishkins has just opened and there are always teething problems but when i looked around the restaurant there were many unhappy customers. it seemed as though there were to many staff floating around and not one person giving any form of direction or managing the space. I do understand that sometimes there are bad services but during the first couple of weeks of opening there should always be a manger floating around making sure everything is running smoothly.
I did absolutely love the interior and will return in the future.