DGS Delicatessen

A classic deli is always an enjoyable place that has more than enough fine sandwiches and breads. The DGS Delicatessen is one especially great deli that has some warm and enjoyable foods that are always freshly made.
DGS Delicatessen is located at 2985 District Avenue, Suite 115 in Fairfax. Located around Fairfax Plaza, this is an offshoot of the popular Dupont Circle deli.
This deli was founded by Nick and David Wiseman in 2012. The grandsons of an Eastern European immigrant, they set out to establish a traditional Jewish deli that focuses on fresh ingredients and locally made foods to create a great community atmosphere.
A Warm Atmosphere
The atmosphere of DGS Delicatessen creates a comfortable and inviting feeling. This establishes a setup that features plenty of great foods that are well made while establishing an urban and modern look. The area has plenty of seating when compared with the Dupont Circle location.
The décor is simple and places an emphasis on showcasing the many fresh foods and the strong community that the deli supports. This is an intriguing look that offers a modern look with a classic flair added to it.
Enjoyable Food Options
The foods that are at the DGS Delicatessen include plenty of great options worth trying out. The brisket is the best food to check out as it offers beef that has been braised for eight hours. It is mixed with creamy potatoes and radishes while adding sweet peas and horseradish to the mix. This offers an enjoyable and dense flavor that you are bound to love.
There are plenty of sandwiches and other plates as well as an all-​day breakfast menu. The smoked turkey sandwich and the Reuben are also popular options to find. The meats are often smoked to create a dense flavor that is cooked all around the entire body. The famous matzo ball soup is especially made with a dense flavor and enough healthy materials.
The desserts are especially great to look forward to. The warm cinnamon donuts with apple honey filling has a scrumptious texture and even has a fine and smooth tone that is easy to consume. The apple honey filling is sweet and moves out from the donuts quite well. The light powdered sugar topping adds a bit of extra flavor to the donuts without creating much of a mess.
Don’t Forget the Drinks
DGS Delicatessen has a few homemade sodas with grape, mint or ginger flavors. The place also serves Dr. Brown’s sodas, products that have been popular in the Jewish community for years. There are plenty of beer and wine options to look for as well including some cocktails. The Mensch is a popular drink that features Evan Williams bourbon mixed with orange liquor and orange juice to create a rich and sweet flavor. Coffee and tea are also available here.
The DGS Delicatessen is a great place to look for when finding an appealing place to enjoy eating at. The deli has an enjoyable and homely flair to it that is relaxing and fine for all guests to enjoy dining at.

Fresh, interesting menu with friendly but not pushy service. Perfect for lunch or dinner and drinks with friends.

I have walked by DGS a few times but never looked at the menu until recently. My girlfriend wanted to try the food here and after looking at the menu I decide why not. We were seated immediately and started to try and decide what to order. We both decided on the brunch special they were offering.
I got the breakfast club sandwich and the cinnamon donuts. The sandwich was a good portion size and tasted good. I like my sandwiches with lots of meat. Wish that this sandwich had more meat on it. The cinnamon donuts were decent. Wish they would have been filled with the apple sauce that they were garnished with. Perhaps maybe some chunks of apple in it would have been good too.
My girlfriend got the salmon platter. It had plenty of food on it and I think it was well worth the money. The smoked salmon was a bit salty for my liking but I suppose that’s how smoked food goes. She also got the matzo ball soup. I was expecting the matzo to be more dough like but I was caught off guard when tasting it. It was more bread like but it was still good.
Overall the food was good and the service was great. I may return to try something else but not too sure. The amount of food to the price seems to be adequate.

A hidden gem! A HAPPY HOUR from 3 to 7 with TOP SHELF LIQOUR! The bartender, Paul, makes fabulous drinks– a true mixologist! The food is great… the brisket sliders are tender and delicious. But there is more… brunch and an all day breakfast if that is what you prefer-​Where has this place been. Ryan, one of the managers, is friendly and customer service supreme!
Stop wasting time getting ripped off at BSide just because it’s more visible. Come to the other side! :)
RD

A very laid back, casual, and homey atmosphere. Had absolutely no expectations and came here on a whim, windy day. Also, I didn’t know this was Jewish cuisine and I’ve never tried Jewish food before so I was happy to find that out and explore new things :)
The red booths here are absolutely gorgeous and I was so in love with the retro diner look and feel.
We were seated fairly quickly, and our server was very nice and upbeat. She recommended things to me because I was very lost and undecided about what I wanted, but I played it kinda safe and went for the French toast with mixed berries and shaved almonds. My dad got one of their pastrami sandwiches, which I’m sure is one of their bestsellers.
He really liked it, and commented about how most times at restaurants when he gets a pastrami/​corned beef sandwich the slices of meat are thin and usually processed; but this is definitely thick, fresh, cooked meat that has been boiled and brined — a nice real refresher from the usual chains and sub/​sandwich places we’re so used to. As for me I found my French toast delicious since the bread was super thick and the berries gave it that slightly acidic kick to balance out the sweetness from the syrup.
Overall we really enjoyed ourselves but I guess the one thing that deterred me from giving it 5 stars was price. I found it kind of silly that a burger — JUST A BURGER AND FRIES — is $ 15. If I want to add cheese, I would need to add $ 1. Or if I wanted a sandwich, I have to pay extra for fries AND cheese if I wanted that. …It just better be the best damn burger/​sandwich I’ve ever had in my life, lol!
So I’m not so sure I’d be back to try the burger and sandwiches since they seem astronomically high for a classic American staple.
HOWEVER, I do think this place is worth a visit if you are at Mosaic and are in the mood for casual, homey food.
Also, in case anyone else was wondering like me: DGS stands for «District Grocery Store»! :)

I’ve been to DGS Delicatessen many times over the past couple of years and I’ve always had a great experience. Now, if you’re a New Yorker, or have spent many months in NYC as I have, this may not resemble a ‘Delicatessen’ that you’re used to. But, in this area, you’ll have to cut it some slack.
I’ve been here for both brunch and dinner and both times I’ve had amazing, friendly, and prompt service. I’ve always been the booth type of gal, and they always make sure I get my booth. When it comes to drinks, being at the bar watching hockey is ALWAYS welcome for me and it’s not a loud atmosphere which can be nice when you’d like to mix it up.
For dinner, I’ve gotten the salmon, brussel sprouts, fries, and the burger. All have been great. I’ve loved the fresh, HOT fries (as having them cold is a pet peeve) and they always deliver.
I’ve also come here for brunch early and the Challah French Toast is amazing. The portion sizes are perfect for dinner and for brunch I’ve always had leftovers unless I’m starving.
Oh, and last but not least… the Happy Hour. The Happy hour is where it’s at for great prices for drinks. I enjoy it and I’d recommend the place.

Delicious food, amazing drinks, friendly staff, and comfortable environment. This restaurant offers a variety of traditional Jewish dishes paired with a great selection of wines, beers, and cocktails. Happy hour offers $ 5 small plates, $ 4 beers, and $ 6 wines. The staff is super friendly and well-​informed. The food is delicious with generous portion sizes. There is a full bar with TV on one side, and a more traditional-​looking diner on the other. It’s good for large gatherings or small groups. I’ve been here a couple times in the past and will definitely be coming back. :)

I was very pleased with my brunch at DGS this Sunday afternoon. I live locally and walked over and had a seat at the bar by myself. I was a little surprised it was not packed out like some of the other mosaic brunch options and I think it is because it’s a bit tucked away on the other side of mosaic. I went to Ted’s last week and it was over an hour wait and DGS in my opinion is a much better brunch option.
I recommend ordering the brunch special if you are dining during that time. For $ 22 you get and entrée and choice of either an app or dessert. You also get to choose between a Bloody Mary, screw driver, or mimosa. Additional drinks are $ 5 after that. Not a bad deal!
I opted for the pickled veggies because, you know, swim suit season isn’t that far off. I LOVE pickled anything so this was quite tasty.
I then ordered the smoked salmon eggs Benedict. This is served with potato latkes instead of biscuits. I very much enjoyed this meal! I like that the salmon is served separately from the bene so that you can portion off how much you like. My only complaint is that the poached eggs were just a tiny bit under-​poached. Other than that it had great flavor and was the perfect portion size!
My Bloody Mary was not the best bloody I’ve ever had but was still good. The bartender, Eric, very kindly gave me a taste of the mix before ordering since I was concerned about the level of horseradish. It has a nice spicy kick to it without being overwhelming. It comes with one of their house made pickle spears.
Everyone I encountered was friendly and prompt! I would definitely rate the service ⁵⁄₅ stars. Next time I come for brunch I would like to try the smoked whitefish platter.

Found behind the Angelika movie theatre, DGS provides a casual, fun atmosphere to grab a bite to eat! Great service and decent food as well, but unfortunately not really worth the price.
First, we started out with the sliders on the Happy Hour menu, which were pretty good! The sliders were simply brisket, coleslaw, and barbecue sauce, but they were crunchy and flavorful. Next, we had the Reuben fries, a delicious mess of meat, fries, and sauerkraut. This was probably the highlight of our meal!
The most disappointing part of the experience was the sandwich. We decided to order the Half Street (pastrami, corned beef, mustard, and sauerkraut on rye) and for $ 15, I expected a lot more. It was lacking both in size and in quality. The bread wasn’t very fresh and hard near the ends. I liked the pastrami itself, which was thickly cut, but it was a very average sandwich overall.
They also have quite a variety of beverages. The pomegranate ginger housemade soda was a little too sweet, but still very enjoyable.
Despite the sandwich, this was a pretty solid experience. If I ever come back, I’ll be sure to try the cinnamon donuts!

It’s a cute little deli-​style restaurant. The décor reminds me of the 1950s. We came here for a late lunch (a little after 3pm) and it was completely empty.
I like that they have happy hour daily from 3 – 7 although it doesn’t seem like their HH food prices are much of a «deal» compared to the pricing on the regular menu. They do however have a great list of beers on tap for only $ 4; most are craft so if you’re looking for a coors or bud light, this is not your place.
Bf ordered matzo ball soup and he loved it. The flavor was awesome but he wanted there to be more veggies, it was mostly just broth.
We both ordered sandwiches– him the half street, me the roasted turkey. Both were delicious, had great flavor and they pile on the meat which is a plus. My only qualm is that you don’t have the option to substitute fries for the pickle/​coleslaw. Instead you have to pay $ 2 for them. I don’t like pickles or coleslaw so that was a big drawback. BUT I ordered the fries anyway and they were pretty good.
I’d probably come back here again to try a burger and/​or have some HH drinks.

Quick review before I forget:
— Great portion size, in our group of 8 people, no one had leftovers.
— I got the lunch special and it isn’t as big as you’d think: Salad, soup, half a sandwich, and drink
— Delicious pastrami, fatty (which I like), paired well with the mustard and caraway bread
— Light champagne vinaigrette dressing
— First time having matzo ball soup (extra $ 2 btw), matzo is dense, filling and flavorful.
— Chocolate babkha bread pudding — it’s as good as they say it is. Chocolatey, warm, and cake-​like with creamy salted caramel ice cream. The bread pudding isn’t chunks of bread smashed together like it sometimes can be, more like a cake in that it’s uniform in texture.
Love love love that they give seltzer with flat water. They also make their own sodas, coworker got their concord grape soda and it looked delicious, even came in a cool glass.

In comparison to the DC location, this gets 3 stars, but I want to come back and try the family style here like I had in DC.
+ it’s tucked away from the busyness that is the Mosaic district
+ OpenTable reservations are accepted
+ Daily HH from 4−7pm
+ Comp sparkling/​distilled water
+ Reuben egg rolls are served here, but not at the DC location & they were so good. The sauce they serve it with is delicious too.
+ Service was quick and friendly
— The country sandwich wasn’t as good here in comparison to DC, it wasn’t bad, just not mouth-​watering good. Idk if they didn’t put enough gribenes on it or what & it was a little on the dry side. Also, it didn’t come w/​fries like the DC location. (Note: the sandwich is better warmed up
later, next time I may ask that they warm it. The flavors meld together this way.)
— The brussel sprouts weren’t seasoned as well as the DC location. I had to ask for salt and I never add salt to my food when it’s served.
— They don’t let u substitute the pickle and coleslaw for fries or another side because «the chef doesn’t like it when we do that». Whatever.

I’ve been to DGS three times — once for dinner, once for lunch, once for lunch (only thing missing is happy hour). I have to admit — I think lunch and brunch were my favorites. Not that dinner was bad — the quality of the food was great, I just like the menu choices better during the other two times.
Brunch: I had the eggs benedict with smoked salmon over potato latkes. This was delicious. It had a lovely basil hollendaise; the smoked salmon was super fresh, and the eggs were prepared beautifully. I ordered this, the parfait with granola, and a bloody mary for their brunch special (which I personally think is a steal, even though I only had one drink this day). It was plenty of food.
Lunch — I had the brisket sandwich and potato salad as a side (I requested a sub since I was already getting coleslaw with my sandwich). This was delicious — the brisket was juicy and the sauce didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the brisket. Nice fresh bun. We also ordered the pickles — my husband wasn’t a fan but I enjoyed them (don’t know that I would order them again, though).
The night I had dinner there, I wasn’t personally a fan of the options, so I chose an appetizer and a side — the ribs and the mac and cheese. A super hearty meal, and the two of those combined were plenty of food. I loved the mac and cheese — super creamy and great flavors. The ribs were good — not great.
Upscale diner-​like atmosphere, which is what they are going for. Service has been ‘fine’ (average rating) — lunch was really slow, brunch was great, and I honestly don’t remember dinner (although it must’ve been fine because I don’t remember it one way or another).
My personal pick in Mosaic for lunch.

This place is NOT a delicatessen.
Delicatessens do not put chard in their fried matzo, caramelizes onions for lox & eggs, and charge money for pickles at your table.
The restaurant is clean and appealing. The walls are lined with quart jars of pickles and bottles of hot sauce. Both are DGS branded and act as reminders that… did I mention you need to pay for pickles at your table?
They do offer complimentary bottles of still and sparkling water. Turns out, along with doing their own brining, curing, smoking and pickling (and you still need to pay…), aside from all that they sparkle their own water. Seems like they want to control everything themselves, I guess to keep the quality consistent.
I had the lox and eggs, they call it LEO or Lox, Onions, and Eggs) for brunch todayThe lox was a bit too salty and the sauteed onions a bit too greasy and… carmelized. (Really, who does that?).
To me, a two-​star rating means I will never return on my own and recommend alternatives if others suggest it. In this case, I plan on making an exception and going back at some point to try what for me are the bellwether foods for any deli, chicken noodle soup and a corned beef sandwich. (Except, for the love of g*d, they don’t serve chicken noodle soup and I’ll have to substitute matzo ball.) And, here’s the exciting part… the sandwich comes with a pickle! Hopefully, the food at the second visit will be substantially better and I can update my rating.

Smoked salmon eggs benedict by itself is already a dream come true. Then you replace the muffin with latkes??? I could eat these all day long, every day. The eggs were cooked a little off (one had a bit of runny whites, the other was too cooked and didn’t runny at all), but the amount of sauce was perfect, the smoked salmon was awesome, and the latkes were perfectly crispy and moist with great seasoning.
As good (if not better) execution as the DGS in DC. They didn’t have the chocolate dessert that I wanted though, minus one point. I hope is that servers will announce what they’re out of before I decide. I know it sounds petty, but it really messes with my brain when I’m all hyped about something and then they announce it’s not available.
But…the ice cream sundae was amazing anyway. I wished the brownie bites were a little bit warmer. otherwise, the caramel sea salt ice cream was amazing, the amount of nuts and toppings were just right. This dessert was huge and I kind of wished our server warned us about it though. The menu makes it sound small, but… it’s not. ‘OMG the dessert was too big’— #firstworldproblems, I know. I’m just being ridiculous.
Anyway, service was quick and friendly, there’s a parking lot right across the street, and I want to say it’s larger than the DC location. A+ —this place is on my list for return when I’m in Mosaic.

OK, so I was that person who went to a delicatessen and ordered the salmon entrée when the place is clearly known for their sandwiches and burgers. Major fail on my part because my fiancé murdered his burger before I could even try a bite, which meant that it was delicious, and my salmon was just so-​so.
They have a full bar in addition to homemade sodas. Although I didn’t indulge in their cocktails, I did enjoy one of their craft beers on tap. We also ordered sides of the three cheese mac’n’cheese and the brussel sprouts, which were both amazingly good. The portions were large and I could honestly get full just off these two sides.
The diner has a classic, old school feel to it. Their seating situation a mix of tables and booths, and they also take reservations via OpenTable. The service was attentive and friendly throughout our experience, both at the host stand as well as at our table.
Brunch is my favorite meal, so I’ll definitely be back to try it out here.

Get the chocolate babka bread pudding. It is amazing! I will have dreams about it.
Other highlights from our meal here include the mint & cucumber house made soda and the brussels sprouts side. We were also pleasantly surprised with the liver appetizer. And the old fashioned décor is really cute!
We enjoyed the «half street» sandwich but felt like it had too much sauerkraut on it, and I also prefer thinner sliced pastrami. Even though the sandwich wasn’t a home run, everything else was and we will definitely be back to try more of the menu!

Came here for dinner with my friend because she had a $ 50 gift card through
(score!).
DGS Deli aims to recreate and revive the old NYC Jewish deli, which is exactly what this area needs! Now I must say I am biased in this regard. I grew up in eating at an old divey family-​owned Jewish deli (which was one of my parent’s first dates nearly 40 years ago!) so delis hold a soft spot in my heart. Comparing DGS deli with my favorite deli, it is different in that it is more a modernized Jewish deli with twists on classics. And it does not have a complementary pickle bar… sadface. The interior, however, is on point very much reminiscent of a traditional deli.
My friend and I got there around 5:45, which corresponds to happy hour (daily 3:00PM-7:00PM). The place has great HH deals with beer and cider for $ 4, wine for $ 6, and various cocktails for $ 7. There are several HH appetizers (reuben egg rolls, brisket sliders, pickle platter, fried chicken, poutine latke, and hummus) for $ 7.50 each.
Since we were hungry and had $ 50 to spend, we each got a drink and decided to skip the HH apps and order off of the dinner menu. We had the potato latke with sour cream and apple preserves as an appetizer. You get a choice of 2 or 4 latkes. The latkes were tasty though a little over fried for my preference but the apple preserves were excellent! FYI they use caraway seeds in the latkes.
I ordered the smoked turkey reuben on rye and my friend ordered the regular corned beef reuben on white. Each came with a housemade pickle and coleslaw. The place prides itself on brining, curing, smoking, and pickling in house daily and this makes a huge and delicious difference! Both my friend and I agree the meat was flavorful and keeping true to the deli’s mission of doing old school Jewish deli food. The pickle and coleslaw were both excellent and the perfect accompaniment to the sandwiches. The only minor complaint I have is the sandwiches are rather pricey ($ 14) for the amount of food you get. Most delis serve gigantic sandwiches packed with a thick portion of meat. While they were certainly good sized sandwich here was not nearly as much food as most traditional delis reubens.
For desert we had the cinnamon donuts. There are six freshly made cinnamon sugar donut holes per order. Each donut hole is filled with a small amount of apple/​honey mixture. The donuts were tasty and nice way to end the meal. Let’s be real, who wouldn’t like hot fried dough rolled in cinnamon sugar??? I wish there was more filling, but still happy we got it!
The service at DGS Deli is wonderful. Everyone is incredibly friendly and attentive. I cannot think of a single thing they could do better from that standpoint.

I spontaneously stopped by here with a girlfriend and was pleasantly surprised with this new gem! The décor is a modern version of an old school diner with white tiles, red leather booths and vintage photographs.
The service was great and they have a solid selection of alcohol and bites on their happy hour menu. If you’re looking for a low key spot for food, drinks and sports, try coming here on a weekend afternoon. They have hh all day from 3−7pm.

We were planning to go to the Mosaic District today and before going, took a look at the dining options. My husband said that he would like to try DGS because they had a corned beef sandwich on the menu.
We were here around 5:30 p.m. on a Saturday. At that time, there were still many empty tables. We were greeted by 2 people at the host stand and asked if we had a reservation. The answer was «no». To me, a deli isn’t a place where you make a reservation to eat. The hostess tried to seat us at a long banquette where the two tops were very close to each other. I spotted an empty booth and asked if we could sit there instead and she said «yes».
Our server was prompt when getting to us. She was very friendly and asked if we wanted some water. We told her that we did want some and she brought 2 glasses and a bottle of cold tap water. I liked that this was done because we could refill our own glasses.
We both ordered drinks. I ordered the mazel tov cocktail which consists of: «prosecco, house infused plum gin, lavender syrup and lemon». While this was a decent drink, the one flavor that predominated was lemon. Fortunately, it didn’t cause the drink to be bitter.
My husband ordered a Bloody Mary which consists of: «Smirnoff vodka, house made mix, lime, DGS pickle». Right away, he picked up a smoky flavored undertone which he said reminded of bbq ribs. I found that strange and he told me to take a sip. What I picked up was the smokiness then was hit by the spiciness. He, too, found it to be overspiced but still had no problem finishing it!
Since the sandwiches have 8 ounces of meat in them, we decided to share a bowl of matzo ball soup. The soup had a large matzo ball in it that was garnished with a sprig of fresh dill. The broth had good chicken flavor but not much stock. The stock consisted of a few carrot and celery pieces. To be honest, while it was a decent soup, we’ve had much better elsewhere. For example, Chutzpah Deli makes a matzo ball soup that has in addition to carrots and celery, some noodles and pieces of shredded chicken — and don’t get me started on how much better matzo ball soup is in a great NYC deli like The Second Avenue deli.
I ordered a pastrami sandwich, while my husband got a corned beef sandwich. Both sandwiches came with lightly toasted rye bread on which a spicy brown mustard was spread. In addition, a small cup of cole slaw and a small half sour pickle spear accompanied the sandwiches.
To be honest, this was the best pastrami that I’ve had in the DC area. It was lean but very moist and flavorful. However, I wished that it was sliced thinly like the way it is served in a good deli. The cole slaw was okay. It had a mayonnaise based dressing and was pretty run of the mill. The half sour pickle spear was a bit too sour for my taste but it did have a good crunch.
My husband really enjoyed his corned beef sandwich and said that he would gladly have it again. He, too, thought that it was the best one he’s had in the DC area.
We both agreed that the pastrami and corned beef were better than what is served at Chutzpah. Plus, we agree that DGS is our new go-​to spot when we crave good deli food!
Just note — this is not a kosher place. So if, that is important to you, please take note. For example, at DGS, you can get cheese on your sandwiches which doesn’t ever happen in a kosher deli.
We were surprised that we had room for dessert. After looking at the dessert menu, we decided to share what appeared to be one «cinnamon donut». In reality, it was 6 donut holes that had an apple and honey filling and were sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and a bit of powdered sugar. This was an excellent dessert! The donut holes were freshly made, the apple honey filling amped up the flavoring with the cinnamon sugar being, so to speak, the icing on the cake!
Before we left, the manager came by to ask us how our meal was. We got to talking and we told him that they were better than Chutzpah, which he was very glad to hear. Then we mentioned NYC delis and had a discussion about them. He did say that DGS wasn’t trying to mimic the NYC ones exactly (which we figured out). We did tell him that we would have liked to have had a new pickle instead of a half sour. He was apologetic and offered to get us some but we had already finished our sandwiches at that point so we thanked him but said it wasn’t necessary. We also told him we would be back.
The décor is done so as to mimic an old time deli, with white subway tiles on the walls. The acoustics aren’t the best so it can get loud.
Before the tip, dinner cost $ 66 + change. That said, it is possible to eat more cheaply if you have a non-​alcoholic drink (they have brown’s sodas plus you could get an egg cream) and skip dessert.