{"id":450297,"date":"2025-12-16T05:48:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T05:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/450297\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T05:48:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T05:48:15","slug":"hard-to-smile-at-katzs-deli-the-nyc-spot-where-rob-reiner-filmed-his-most-famous-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/450297\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hard to smile’ at Katz’s Deli — the NYC spot where Rob Reiner filmed his most famous scene"},"content":{"rendered":"

A somber mood loomed over the iconic Manhattan pastrami spot where director Rob Reiner filmed his most famous scene \u2013 as fans and workers reckoned with his shocking murder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Katz\u2019s Delicatessen on the Lower East Side was buzzing as usual around lunchtime Monday with a long line of customers outside waiting to get into the eatery, known for a hilarious bit in Reiner\u2019s \u201cWhen Harry Met Sally\u2026\u201d scene that saw Meg Ryan\u2019s character loudly faking a climax<\/a> at one of its tables.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Katz\u2019s posted this picture in honor of Rob Reiner after the director\u2019s sudden death. Katz’s Deli\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Reiner\u2019s iconic \u2018When Harry Met Sally\u2026\u2019 scene at Katz\u2019s became a classic. \u00a9Columbia Pictures\/courtesy Everett Co \/ Everett Collection<\/p>\n

But customers and workers said the vibe was just a bit different the day after Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele, 68, were found stabbed to death in their home in Los Angeles\u2019 ritzy Brentwood neighborhood \u2013 allegedly at the hands of their troubled adult son, Nick.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all sad. It\u2019s very sad. He\u2019s a big part of the story of Katz,\u201d owner Jake Dell told The Post of Reiner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hit all of us,\u201d Dell, 39, added, saying the Reiners often ordered from the deli and shipped to California. \u201cThis morning, I was seeing some of the guys who work here crowding together. They were showing pictures on their phones, of him, to each other, telling stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delli, 39 \u2013 the fifth-generation owner of the Big Apple icon that dates back to 1888 \u2013 said Reiner likely \u201chad no idea\u201d he was making Hollywood history when they shot the now-legendary scene at the restaurant, but it\u2019s now forever linked to Katz\u2019s.<\/p>\n

In the scene, Ryan\u2019s character Sally fakes an orgasm after a back-and-forth where she questions the alleged romantic exploits of Harry, played by Billy Crystal. Sally\u2019s antics draw the attention of the entire restaurant, with the punchline coming from Estelle Reiner \u2013 Rob Reiner\u2019s mom \u2013 who tells a waitress, \u201cI\u2019ll have what she\u2019s having.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Jake Dell, the spot\u2019s owner, said he last saw Reiner on a visit last February Stephen Yang for the NY Post<\/p>\n

Pamela Blake Riley, 55, who was visiting New York from Memphis with her husband Don and two children, said the family noticed the different feeling at Katz\u2019s compared to other tourist attractions on their trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s more somber because of the disheartening situation,\u201d Riley said. \u201cWe were shocked to hear about him and his wife. The son had to be mentally ill or on drugs or something is broken inside him to do something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest on the death of Rob Reiner<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Josh Belson, a tourist from Los Angeles visiting the spot for the first time, said he wanted to give Reiner \u201ca big hug.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really made this place famous,\u201d Belson, 56, said. \u201cHe touched so many people and made so many lives better with his humor in his craft. He did bring joy to hundreds of millions. I\u2019ve been wanting to come here ever since I saw \u2018When Harry Met Sally.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death; Katz\u2019s Deli mourns. Stephen Yang for the NY Post<\/p>\n

Christopher Barca, 59 \u2013 who was visiting from Pittsburgh with his wife Donna \u2013 said it was a sad day to visit the iconic restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were talking about on the way over here how my father-in-law called me Meathead because I used to clean out their fridge every time I\u2019d come over,\u201d he said, referencing the nickname of Reiner\u2019s character from the 1970s sitcom \u201cAll in the Family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dell, the spot\u2019s owner, said he last saw Reiner on a visit last February, when it was cold out and the restaurant wasn\u2019t as busy as usual.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when he saw it so empty, he said to me, \u2018This is bulls\u2013t! Get some f\u2013king people in here!\u2019 And we all laughed,\u201d Dell said. \u201cHis delivery. He was naturally funny.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved to see it busy here,\u201d he added. \u201cBut it\u2019s hard to think of him and smile, and then think of what happened. I just don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A somber mood loomed over the iconic Manhattan pastrami spot where director Rob Reiner filmed his most famous…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":450298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,206926,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,118515,206927,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969,206145],"class_list":{"0":"post-450297","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-katzs-delicatessen","10":"tag-metro","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-rob-reiner","18":"tag-rob-reiner-murder","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-us-news","25":"tag-usa","26":"tag-when-harry-met-sally"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}