Manhattan in the Desert

Come here multiple times a week because of the amazing specials, prices, menu, food, environment, service, etc!

Love this restaurant, the service and food is great. But today a dog was allowed INSIDE the restaurant. When I asked if they could take it outside or they be seated on the patio I was told by staff, «I’m sorry but they are the owner’s (Jamie Pinto) best friends. We get complaints about it all the time, I’m so sorry…»
Hmmmm…

Had to try Monday prime rib special for $ 11.99. It was so good I will be back next Monday. Dinner for two, 2 20oz beers, appetizers, soda for less then $ 45. The Prime Rib was very good and serving size was about 12 oz. A must try if you never been here.

Even though the food is good, the service needs a lot of improvement. I go there because it is close to my home and they have great breakfasts. Last night I went there for dinner. My order was not correct and it was very hard to find the waitress. This morning I went back for breakfast. Again the order was wrong. I could not find my waitress. I asked someone else to bring the waitress. No luck. Another waitress completely ignored me. Finally, I caught the person sitting people and she corrected my order. My coffee was never refilled. I never saw the waitress again until she brought the bill. After I paid the bill, I did speak to the Manager. I felt he really did not care to hear about it. I recommend going to Sherman’s. The food is good but the service is much better.

Being a huge sandwich fan, I went here to try some of their sandwiches, as it was recommended to me by some friends.
But I was really not that impressed. The sandwich was dry, tasteless and no sauce element, it did have a ton of meat inside which I’m not complaining about.
However, on another visit I did try their Eggs Benedict, that was a superb meal, made to perfection! It came with a mound of potato hash browns which were also seasoned very well, for Eggs Benedict lovers I recommend getting that dish.
The service we received was exceptional, on both visits here the waitresses would check on us frequently, and made sure we were enjoying our experience.
The actual restaurant is massive inside, with two dining sections, a bar and an outside eating area, plenty of room.
We sat outside on one of our visits, was very pleasant.

The sandwiches at Manhattan are not that great. Although they successfully give you the New York vibe on the interior, you still get the street cart deli food. The pastries are what they are best at. Tons of options. There are these cinnamon bites that taste incredible. They melt in your mouth after having warmed them up! :) definitely recommend them!

Funny how exactly a year later I’m reviewing his restaurant again, and again for our Mother’s Day meal.
Ok I’m happy to say this place won me over compared to last year.
What’s different and why I added an extra star:
service was much better. Our waitress was attentive & every little detail we asked for was accommodated. Being Mother’s Day the meal went over well which I appreciated since it was a day to celebrate her.
Also I was correct by my previous review. You have to know what to order here in order to be a happy camper, last year I picked something random and wasn’t to happy. This year I went with the French dip sandwich. Delicious! The juice was flavorful and the roll was soft yet had a little crunch, the beef was also cooked perfectly, not dry just right.
Why I still can’t give it 5 stars.
Again the pricing, a little steep for deli like meals. Food is good & I left very satisfied but with the decent sized portions comes a decent sized price. $ 20 a person for sandwiches, drink, and sides isn’t a bad price point per day, just not something realistically I’d be dishing out often for a restaurant like this.
Glad to have given this place another try, food was fantastic just know what to order and we appreciated the stellar service.

If you like trendy this is the place. You pay for the trendiness. Mom in law loves it to show off to her daughter in law. But it’s just an expensive fancy deli. Every sandwich imaginable for $ 10 more than anyone else. But the food was good and the appletini was all right.

If you like your roast chicken dry and tasteless with a distinctly metallic aftertaste, your mashed potatoes and gravy obviously made from a box and a can (because how could anything be so tasteless and so stale). .. if you like your vegetables so over cooked that you can’t tell one from the other, let alone find some flavor. .. if you like you roast turkey to remind you of the taste and consistency of desert sand then you’ve come to the right place.
If (while your food grows cold) you like to remind your waitperson that the basic necessities of «fine dinning» does include the use of a fork but the server keeps forgetting, then this is the place for you.
If the one singular thought you long to have after you’ve paid for this overcooked resemblance of food is, «I can’t wait to get home and brush my teeth to get this lousy taste out of my mouth then, ‘Manhattan in The Desert’ in Palm Desert is just the spot for you.
This newly remodeled eatery gets one star for Ambience because I would not eat here again if someone held a gun to m head.

First time here and we loved it. First, online says they open at 7AM but they don’t open until 8AM. Good service, delicious food. I had the crispy bacon and sausage pancakes and they were unbelievable. So good. We were meeting friends there that we hadn’t seen in a year and the staff made no attempt to rush us out. We were there 3 ½ hours and they just continued bringing coffee and water after we ate. Cant wait to go back

I like this place, not because it reminds me of a New York Deli, but because they have giant portions, decent prices, fast service and experienced waitstaff.
I have a few favorite things I order here over and over again, and when I get a craving, I go out of my way to come here. I am here alone more often than not, but I don’t mind — usually eating here takes the place of two meals anyway. Make sure they bring you more pickles if you eat the first round. It’s nice to munch on them while waiting for your food!

Very nice atmosphere with old feel. Our server was great, had a couple of recommendations for us since it was our first time here. Their menu is kinda overwhelming with so many items. I had their chili dog and it was great and my wife had a grilled chicken sandwich which was gigantic. She said it was the best she has had which says a lot since she has worked in restaurants for 14 years. My daughters fries were dry.

Just stop eat here & you will be loyal for life
Great service was to boot because the food is bomb & options unlimited

The only thing that is like Manhatten is the pictures
The mush room barley is a Greek dinner
The brisket is no taste
The rye bread dry
Have to keep looking for the real Manhatten in the desert

Just finished a great meal with my family. Phyllis was our server awesome helpful quick friendly.
Best Brisket in town. Bottomless mimosas. Great décor. Definitely my favorite deli in the desert.
Bravo to our server Phyllis.

Came in for the first time for breakfast. Ordered the (4) cheese Blintzes. You can order (2) if you like. These are NOT your Bubby’s blintzes. These are crepes and should read so on the menu. Very disappointing. The filling inside was a runny, too sweet cheese sauce, and had no substance to it at all. It comes with either fresh strawberries or blueberries on top and strawberry preserves. The preserves were actually jelly, no fruit in the preserves.
The interior of the restaurant is very nice and the service was good. Would like to come back for dinner and give it a try again.

8 PM on a Friday, and almost no one here. Service was swift, as we were only here for dessert. I had the carrot cake cheesecake. It was huge, and tasty. Moist with rich cheesecake as a layer and, cream cheese frosting.
Hubby had the bananna tart. It was the perfect bite for one. It was a bit dry, according to hubby, but, in his words, still. Mmmm.
It was a nice night cap to our special day.

Oh yes please! Made it to the location in Palm Desert. I think the food tastes better then the Palm Springs spot! I had the chopped liver and pastrami open faced (awesome Russian dressing) and my girlfriend had their chicken salad on sour dough. Everything tasted great! Prices are very reasonable.
Restaurant is clean and large, featuring a big bar area and out door seating. It was lunch time and 110 degrees outside so both were empty, I did see they have happy hour specials on the menu though.
Oh and I love their pickled green tomatoes, tangy and yummy! You can’t find these just anywhere!
I’m gonna try their Monday dinner special, $ 11.99 prime rib dinner next time.

Service was above standard. The Pastrami Rueben was delicious. I would say that the only thing that slightly turns me off about this location is the ambiance. Don’t get me wrong, it’s well tailored and quite chic. But that’s not what I have come to love about the neighborhood deli. Casual booths, bustling servers and a packed house… these were missing from the experience.

Great deli! Good location, great atmosphere, good food. Stopped in for brunch on Mother’s Day just before the crowd. It started to get a little busy and took a bit longer but at least we were in good company.
I ordered the eggs benedict. It was okay. It kind of looked a mess but that didn’t bother me, it was the hard boiled egg it was served with that was a little disappointing.
My girlfriend ordered the silver dollar pancakes with home fries and a side of bananas. Hers was the winner! Very good!
We look forward to our next visit and definitely will be trying lunch next time since the sandwiches looked amazing!