Est. 1910 Yonah Schimmel
Knish Bakery
The hand-painted Yonah Schimmel Knishes storefront sign — yellow board with navy script lettering and bold red 'KNISHES' text, mounted beneath an ornate pressed-tin ceiling

Since 1910 · Lower East Side, Manhattan

Yonah Schimmel
Knish Bakery

Since 1910, Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery has been baking the same hand-rolled, old-world knishes on New York’s Lower East Side — long before “artisanal” was a word anyone used for food.

Call to Order · (212) 477-2858 Ship Nationwide

137 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10002  ·  Open Mon–Sun, 10:30 AM–6 PM

137 E. Houston St, NYC · Est. 1910 · Certified 100% Kosher · Family-Owned, 3 Generations · Open 7 Days a Week

A History

The last knish bakery left in Manhattan

Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery is a bakery and restaurant, located at 137 East Houston Street (between First Avenue and Second Avenue), on the Lower East Side, Manhattan, that has been selling knishes on the Lower East Side since 1910.

Yonah was a Romanian rabbi who opened a pushcart with his wife in Coney Island in 1890. There they became famous for the potato and kasha dumplings known as knishes. In 1910, Schimmel went into business with his cousin Joseph Berger and opened the store that still sits on East Houston Street.

Over the decades, many notable fans have come by for a knish, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbra Streisand, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry O’Connell, Howie Mandel, and Larry David. Today the shop, which is the last remaining knish bakery in Manhattan, is owned by Yonah’s great-nephew, remaining a family business.

As the Lower East Side has changed over the decades and many of its Jewish residents have departed, Yonah Schimmel’s is one of the few distinctly Jewish businesses and restaurants that remain as a fixture of this largely departed culture and cuisine.

“No New York politician in the last 50 years has been elected to office without having at least one photograph showing him on the Lower East Side with a knish in his face.”

— The Underground Gourmet, Milton Glaser & Jerome Snyder
Inside the shop: a visitor poses in a shop T-shirt on the red-and-white checkerboard floor, beside red-topped diner tables and a wall covered edge to edge with framed photographs

Inside the original storefront — the same checkerboard floor and wall of photographs regulars have known for decades.

Kosher Supervised by CupK · Not for Passover Consumption · Rabbi Yisrael Mayer Steinberg z”l, Founding Rabbinical Director

Order & Ship

Get Yonah Schimmel Knishes anywhere in the US

For over 100 years, our customers have been coming to our little restaurant on East Houston Street. Now we ship our knishes to anywhere in the continental US in partnership with our friends at Goldbelly — and shipping is always free.

Order Online for Nationwide Shipping Order Local Delivery Call to Order · (212) 477-2858

Local delivery and nationwide shipping are fulfilled through our third-party partners above — we don’t run our own online checkout.

An overhead view of a boxed assortment of baked knishes with different toppings, ready for nationwide shipping A shipping box product photo for the sweet knishes six-pack

How to Prepare & Keep

Storing and reheating your knishes

Keeping them

  • Refrigerate up to 5 days.
  • Freeze up to 3 months.
  • Individually wrap in plastic wrap, then double-bag to prevent freezer burn.

Microwave

Do not microwave frozen knishes. From thawed: about 2 minutes, depending on your microwave. Serve with your favorite deli mustard.

Conventional oven

Preheat to 350°F. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. For a crispy knish, remove the foil after 8 minutes. Poke with a fork — when the fork is hot, it’s ready. Do not overheat.

From frozen

Do not defrost first. Remove plastic wrap, place on a cookie sheet, and bake at 375°F: sweet knishes 20–25 minutes, savory knishes 35–40 minutes, until hot. Serve with deli mustard and a Dr. Brown’s soda.

In the News & Yonah’s Celebrities

A century of famous fans and fresh coverage

“Anytime I’m in New York in the fall, I go to Yonah Schimmel’s knishes, which has been a fixture on East Houston Street since the 1890s… Yonah’s makes some of the best I’ve ever eaten… It’s one of those classic, authentic New York experiences that just seems to get better over time.”

— Michael Tilson Thomas, NY Times

“There’s Yonah Schimmel, and then there’s everything else. I don’t believe you’re allowed to use the term knish unless you’re eating a Yonah Schimmel.”

— Jerry O’Connell, New York Magazine’s Grub Street

As featured in

  • The New York Times — “Celebrating the Freshest 100-Year-Old Knish”
  • The Village Voice — “Nosh on Knishes and More than 100 Years of Tradition at Yonah Schimmel”
  • Atlas Obscura — “Love, knishes, and best wishes from this legendary Lower East Side bakery”
  • The Times of Israel — “At New York’s oldest knishery, nosh with a side of Jewish history”
  • Billions (Showtime), season 1, episode 5
  • The Bowery Boys: New York City History podcast

Famous fans over the decades include Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbra Streisand, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry O’Connell, Howie Mandel, and Larry David.

Best Knish in NYC — Yelp, Trip Advisor

What regulars are saying

“Absolutely delicious spot. The garlic potato knish was so good. And it was very hefty. It was packed with garlic and roasted to perfection. The potatoes were also very smooth. Would highly recommend.”

Alisa J. · 4/12/2026

“Best knishes I’ve tasted since I was a little boy. I’ve always been partial to baked knishes. The bakery makes them and they are wonderful. And absolutely GREAT customer service. Really appreciate Yonah Schimmel!!”

Howard F. · 3/17/2026

“Yonah’s is the best kinish anywhere. So tasty. Always fresh. We also sent some to friends in Arizona and it only took 3 days. Amazing service! Everyone has to try it at least once. Good ol fashioned atmosphere in the store too. And very clean.”

Linda K. · 2/14/2026