Pastrami here does not believe in portion control.
This Virginia deli has been serving Fairfax since 2001, bringing New York deli traditions into Northern Virginia with the kind of sandwiches that make both hands feel necessary.
The pastrami is the star of the show, especially when it starts stacking high on rye or working its way into one of the bigger combinations.
Bagels and bialys come from New York City, while the rest of the menu keeps the old-school deli spirit going strong.
You can order something sensible.
Or you can meet the sandwich that makes sensible feel wildly overrated.
Slow-Smoked Pastrami Gives This Fairfax Deli Its Signature Sandwich
Chutzpah’s pastrami is slow-smoked and served as part of the deli’s overstuffed sandwich lineup.
You can choose rye, sourdough, pumpernickel, or multigrain bread, then move into other bread options such as a hero roll, challah roll, bagel, or croissant. That gives the same pastrami several different ways to reach the table without changing the meat at the center.
The deli also gives seated diners complimentary pickles and homemade coleslaw, so a pastrami sandwich arrives with a couple of classic deli sides already in the picture.
Pastrami does not stay isolated to one sandwich category. It moves into Reubens, specialty sandwiches, open-faced latke dishes, breakfast, and mixed-meat combinations.
If you want the most direct version, the basic pastrami sandwich keeps the focus on meat and bread. From there, the menu gets bigger and more layered.
Pick the bread, choose your size, and decide whether you want pastrami on its own or as part of something more elaborate.
The same overstuffed-sandwich section also includes corned beef, turkey, brisket, and other deli meats, so pastrami sits inside a much broader sandwich lineup.
The K’nocker Takes An Already Big Sandwich Even Further
Chutzpah gives its overstuffed sandwiches three size options: Nosh, Regular, and K’nocker.
The K’nocker is the biggest of the three and comes in at about 12 ounces of meat. That puts it well above the smaller Nosh and Regular portions without turning the sandwich into a separate menu item.
You can order slow-smoked pastrami at that larger size and still choose among the deli’s bread options. Rye keeps things classic, while pumpernickel, sourdough, multigrain, hero rolls, challah rolls, bagels, and croissants give the same portion a different build.
The size system also means you do not have to jump straight to the largest sandwich. A Nosh keeps things smaller, the Regular sits in the middle, and the K’nocker takes the full step up.
Those same size choices apply across several of the deli’s overstuffed meats, giving corned beef, turkey, brisket, and pastrami the same three-level format.
If pastrami is the reason you came in, the K’nocker is simply the largest standard way to order it before you start looking at giant specialty combinations such as the Reubens. The three-size setup keeps the format familiar while letting the amount of meat change.
Three Different Reubens Give Pastrami Plenty Of Room To Shine
The Reuben section gives you three ways to work through the same classic combination.
One version uses corned beef with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing. Another keeps those same toppings but swaps in pastrami. The third combines corned beef and pastrami in the same sandwich.
That gives you a straight corned-beef Reuben, a straight pastrami Reuben, and a mixed-meat version without changing the familiar sauerkraut, Swiss, and Russian dressing around them.
Then there is the 40-ounce Reuben, one of the deli’s largest signature builds. Chutzpah continues to serve the oversized sandwich alongside the regular Reuben choices.
You do not have to start there. The regular Reuben choices already give pastrami more than one place in the lineup.
If you want pastrami to carry the sandwich, choose the pastrami version. If you want two deli meats sharing the job, the mixed corned-beef-and-pastrami version takes care of that.
The corned-beef version stays available for anyone who wants the traditional route, while the pastrami and mixed-meat versions give the same Reuben build two more directions.
The Sailor Piles Hot Pastrami Onto Grilled Rye
The Sailor takes hot pastrami and gives it a completely different group of partners.
Grilled knockwurst joins the pastrami, followed by Chutzpah onions and melted Swiss cheese. Everything lands on grilled rye, creating one of the deli’s more distinctive specialty sandwiches.
Knockwurst changes the direction from a standard pastrami sandwich, while Swiss, onions, and grilled rye add another set of familiar deli ingredients around the two meats.
Chutzpah also uses grilled rye elsewhere on the menu, so the bread ties the Sailor back to the deli’s wider sandwich lineup.
For anyone working through the pastrami options, this is where the menu moves away from straightforward smoked meat on bread and starts combining several deli staples in the same sandwich.
You still get hot pastrami at the center, but the knockwurst, onions, Swiss, and grilled rye give the sandwich its own identity.
If a regular pastrami sandwich sounds too simple, the Sailor gives you a much busier route without leaving the same section of the menu. Pastrami remains at the center while the other ingredients change the shape of the sandwich around it.
Potato Latkes Find Their Way Right Into The Sandwiches
Chutzpah does not keep potato latkes on the side.
The #2 sandwich puts a potato latke directly between hot corned beef and pastrami, then adds Swiss cheese and creamy spicy mustard. That gives the sandwich two deli meats, cheese, mustard, and a potato pancake in the same stack.
Latkes also appear in open-faced dishes. You can order them topped with pastrami or corned beef and melted Swiss, while another open-faced version pairs latkes with brisket and gravy.
That gives the potato pancake more than one job on the menu. It can sit inside a sandwich, form the base of an open-faced plate, or appear alongside other deli staples.
The #2 keeps pastrami involved without asking it to carry the whole sandwich. Corned beef shares the meat portion, while the latke adds a completely different layer between the bread and fillings.
If you came in thinking of latkes strictly as a side dish, this part of the menu changes that quickly.
Chutzpah uses them as a full ingredient, giving pastrami one more way to show up before you ever reach the breakfast section. The open-faced options keep the latke visible rather than hiding it inside bread, while the #2 turns it into the middle layer of the sandwich.
Pastrami Starts Showing Up Before Lunch Even Begins
Pastrami starts early at Chutzpah.
Grilled Pastrami & Eggs combines the deli meat with eggs, home fries, and a choice of bagel, bialy, or toast with butter and jelly.
That means the same slow-smoked pastrami that fills the lunch sandwiches can be on the table well before noon.
Breakfast runs until 11 a.m. on weekdays and until noon on weekends, with some breakfast items available all day. Bagels and bialys come directly from New York City, so even the bread side of breakfast keeps the deli’s New York connection close.
The morning menu reaches well beyond pastrami too, but grilled pastrami and eggs gives the smoked meat a clear place before the overstuffed sandwiches take over later.
You can keep breakfast traditional with eggs and home fries, then add the deli element through the pastrami and your choice of bread.
If you normally associate pastrami with lunch, this is the section that moves it into the first meal of the day. Bagels, bialys, toast, eggs, and home fries give the morning plate a different shape from the towering lunch sandwiches waiting later.
New York Deli Traditions Have Anchored Chutzpah Since 2001
Chutzpah Deli has been serving Fairfax since 2001, when owner Eric Roller opened the restaurant after growing up with New York deli culture in the Bronx and Queens.
Bagels and bialys come directly from New York City, while matzo ball soup, brisket, stuffed cabbage, corned beef, pastrami, smoked fish, lox, and latkes keep the deli side broad.
The restaurant is open seven days a week. Monday through Friday, hours run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
You will find Chutzpah Deli at 12214 Fairfax Towne Center, Fairfax, VA 22033.
Breakfast can start with grilled pastrami and eggs. Lunch can move into a K’nocker, a pastrami Reuben, the Sailor, the #2, or one of the deli’s other overstuffed sandwiches.
Complimentary pickles and homemade coleslaw come with seated meals, keeping another old-school deli touch in the mix.
More than two decades after opening, Chutzpah still serves New York-style deli food in Fairfax with substantial sandwiches, traditional soups and sides, bagels and bialys from New York City, and plenty of pastrami.
From breakfast eggs to Reubens, latke sandwiches, and the 12-ounce K’nocker, the same smoked meat keeps turning up in a different form.