Jo-el's Kosher Deli, Market Café

Met the owners, Joel and his wife. True gems. Old school service. Excellent food. An absolute MUST visit.Food: 5/5

So we learned about Jo-els while on an Alaskan cruise where we met Joel's cousin. When he learned that we were from St. Petersburg, he asked if we had been to Jo-els. We had not been, but decided to find the deli and give it a try. We met Joel and told him our story. He then called his cousin so we could tell him we were at the deli. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and visit. We definitely will be back.

I had not been to Jo-El 's in a few years (since before the pandemic, so it feels like a lifetime ago), but a friend was interested in going, so I wanted to show her where it was, plus get a whitefish salad and chopped liver fix myself. The whitefish salad is delectable and worth every penny. There is literally nowhere else in St. Pete (and, I think, in the entire Tampa Bay area) to get wonderful, smoked whitefish salad like this. I haven 't dipped into the chopped liver yet (I bought both items to go), but I 'm thrilled beyond measure to have it all in my fridge. I really appreciate that Jo-El 's exists, as I think it is still the only 100% kosher place for observant Jews to shop for groceries in this entire area. Therefore, it is very important. I don 't keep kosher myself but deeply appreciate that it is there for those who do, and also for those of us who just want to support that AND enjoy their wonderful food. The only thing I will say that could improve would be if they would have some wheat-free/gluten-free options. If they did, I would have walked out of there with, for example, some fresh wheat-free bagels and possibly a knish or three, as well as some of their beautiful frozen soups, which I passed over, as I 'm worried that maybe they have flour as a thickener (ingredients not listed). Anyway, it was great to see and chat with one of the owners again. I said How are you? and he replied, I 'm glad we 're still here. So am I , I said. So am I. <3

I did a pickup order for the Turkey Pastrami sandwich on Challah with Potato Salad and Russian dressing. The sandwich was awesome and well done, dressing was phenomenal. However the potato salad and pickle that came with it all were weird. potato Salad tasted strange, maybe miracle whip in it. The pickle was bitter and didn’t taste like vinegar or any pickle I’d had before, it was almost like it wasn’t fully pickled, I did not go beyond a bite. Great customer service by the black gentlemen upfront though. Good prices as well.

Kosher deli and grocery. Staff are amazing and food is good too ! Kosher butcher on site .