Citarella Gourmet Market - Upper West Side

Had terrible experience on new year day! Bought cheap salmon and steak for my doctor yesterday. Today I found out salmon was labeled and charged higher red snapper price. Also steak was changed to a higher quality as well. Made special trip to store and explained to manager. Then I was bought a cashier to help me. Then the cashier shouted to me get in line! It seams I cut in line, but I was bought there! Can they speak with respect? Not sure if it’s discrimination to Asians!

Nice selection of seafood and meats. The store has a large selection of cheeses as well. The produce department is inconveniently located, and the store layout is a nightmare. I ordered fresh winter truffles and requested it packed in rice, yet I was given the truffles wrapped in paper towel in a cheap takeout container container. At nearly a thousand dollars a pound- I expected that simple request to be accommodated, yet I was disappointed with the lack of service in that department.

We love their side dish variety and the entrees too... and the Turkey Chili is AMAZING!!! The Beet Salad... simply DELICIOUS!!! Roasted Root Salad... NOTHING LIKE IT!!! There's just too many of them to describe!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Uws upper west side Manhattan gourmet grocer! They have things you never knew you'd be splurging on initially that become apart of your regular. I didn't say they were a grocery for the price sensitive. That's what trader Joe's is for down the block. if you want a mainstream grocery with 1980s nutritional value and hasn't changed much since try gristedes.

Excellent all around as one might expect having paid top dollar. But you get what you pay for, and in this case it's worth every penny. Plus, they will take it back if you return it in a timely manner.

Well stocked with quality products. Super friendly staff very knowledgeable about products and answered any questions that I asked about items I wasn't familiar with. Overall a very pleasant shopping experience, and will certainly be back

What a nightmare. On Rosh Hashanah of all times the staff was too incompetent to fill my order. Plus they butchered my name. No concern. So sorry, too bad. I am now a former customer. If you can't rely on a place at Rosh Hashanah they do not deserve your custom.

Great shop love citarella . High end not cheap now more exspensive than ever . Still a wonderful shop . Know as fish market before it was ever any thing else .

Before I moved to the East Side I lived on West 74th Street and Broadway. I spent a lot of time in Citarella. I love the Bakery! I always return when I'm shopping in this neighborhood. While it is pricey, to me it's worth the price. Everything is fresh. The store has always been clean. Friendliness of employees can be hit or miss. They just want to give you what you want, not make friends or chit chat. I don't blame them. I love the gift baskets. When I have the need for a gift for someone special this is my go to store. The receiver of my gift has never been disappointed. There you have it. It's a NYC Classic. If you live nearby or are just visiting, take a walk through. I bet you can't leave without buying something.

The Italian almond bars are always a hit when I bring these to work or to a party! You can always find boxes of these cookies in front of the deli section near the store entrance. It's not cheap, close to $20 for a box, but these are the closest to my favorite Sienese ricciarelli cookies that I've tasted in NYC. If you love anything almond, almond extract, chewy on the inside, a bit solid on the outside, you're going to love these.

Gino at the fish counter has a serious attitude problem.... I've been shopping at citarella since I was a child and was fine paying an arm and a leg for high quality seafood and produce but expect a certain level of service.

A wonderfully run store especially on hectic shopping days like Thanksgiving! Special shout out to Frank who was extremely friendly and helpful today. Thankful to have Citarella in the neighborhood!

Who needs sweeteners in chicken salad? Give us healthy food without added sugar, dextrose, and honey! Not much chicken taste in this either.

Terrible situation. I purchased a soft cheese here which I consumed some of. It was the only thing I ate that no one else in my household ate that day, and it really tasted off. Several hours later, intensive GI symptoms started and launched me into a full 48 hours of food poisoning. When we called to inform the store and ask them to remove it from the shelves, we were told that the team "tried the cheese" and that it was fine, and also that my symptoms are "not really what food poisoning is like" and so it likely was something else. We were offered a $25 gift card for our troubles, which we declined. I would urge you to shop at another place where your health is taken into consideration - I certainly will not be back.

On July 7, 2023 We bought three dozen little neck clams $29.97. When we got home there 28 clams instead of 36. We submitted a complaint and they told us to send a picture of the product and receipt which we did. They then told us they were issuing a refund. It's three weeks later and no refund was issued. They will short you and then tell you they will make it right but don't. They are dishonest and we will never go back. If you choose to go I would make sure you carefully watch the scale and recount your shrimp or shellfish before you leave the store.

Critics may ask "why do we need another gourmet grocery store" in this neighborhood. To be honest, the UWS is rife with overpriced & underwhelming restaurants and shops. Last week, I spotted a box of strawberries for 11$. The strawberries were average, but for that price I'd expect them to hop out of the box or perform some sort of trick. Being able to find customers willing to buy them definitely is! It's an expensive area, but the prices really are testing the upper limit range. To be able to survive the constant onslaught on my wallet, I'm happy to go elsewhere. Still, Citarella has certain unique items at a relatively decent value, given the high quality of their goods. It takes time to figure out how to shop this store but I'll say one thing - I'll never buy the salads here. For salads, I head over to the Just Salad over on 71st street or Whole Foods. I've tried Citarella's salads and they're disappointing. Even a small box of arugula is priced high. So why four stars ? Because Citarella sells some outstanding 5 star products & that's why I shop there. What I love = The Russian Tea cookies - great price & delicious although sweet, coated in powdered sugar. Watch out! If you eat these at work, they might think you have a substance abuse problem. The powder goes all over the place. Don't eat these with dark clothes. But I love the nutty flavor combined with crunchy cookie & sugar. The fresh fish section. I made clam sauce from their selection, very fresh & delicious. I've also tried their packaged white clam sauce - it's fine but nothing beats homemade. The pastry section upstairs. It's good they have it upstairs, because at least I have to hike up one flight before going to stuff my face with their delicious selection. The woman who works there is very classy & sweet - she creates beautiful bows too! The "limited edition" blueberries. These were pricey but worth it. Not sure if they still have them. The staff - Very helpful & available to answer questions. The biggest negative ? The checkout line is poorly designed. Actually it's torture! It's very cramped, people are crowed & weaved together past metal bars. The bars & shelves are too close to the registers. On a crowded evening, it's very hard not to bump into people. Aren't we already crowded together enough in this city? They could use a "smart" checkout area where customers could order electronically & go to pickup their order - like the a system they have at McDonald's or something more user friendly.

Have been shopping at Citarella for over 20 years, and generally really like the food they sell. My complaint is how they have been running their Thanksgiving turkey program the last couple years. First the customer is charged a "flat cost" for the bird regardless of weight. In 2022, for me it was $48 for a 10-12 lb turkey. And the one they brought out was only 9.5 lb, which meant mine was at an even greater cost. That doesn't seem right because the store could probably figure out a way to charge a per pound price. Plus there was an extra $8 fee just to buy it. That's about an additional $1 per pound more. I imagine the store managers will say it makes everything move smoother, but that type of reasoning is based on what's better for Citarella (profit, reducing costs), not the customer. Hope this review gets enough attention to effect some change for the future.

Beautiful two floor market - the very phrase "Citarella" evokes feelings of luxury. The South Hampton Citarella has provided me sustenance many a hungover morning. Those times, I don't care how much it costs. But it does cost, believe that. And that's my biggest criticism of this place. I love the layout of this store. Everything is so carefully placed. The fruit pyramids, the cuts of meat, even the dry goods are so perfect. The baked goods look fun and would be nice to bring to someone's house if they invited you for din. But you totally lost me at $16/lb for string beans. I pay $16/lb for steak. This location is conveniently located on Broadway near lots of other businesses so it's a quick pop by if you're running errands.

Horrible customer service from cashier "Allison" When I walked up to the cashier to check out, she walked away to do something else which was very odd. I was left standing there for two minutes. She was the only checker so I found that to be bizarre behavior. When she returned to the stand she was rude and didn't bother to greet me or say anything during the transaction. Of course, she didn't thank me for my purchase at the end of the transaction. This is not good customer service nor how I want to be treated as a customer who spends hundreds of dollars a month at Citarella. This happened today, 11/01/21 at 8:56 am at the 2135 Broadway store. NY, NY 10023

Reno so needs this grocery store. Period. A gourmet food shop slash gourmet grocery store. Very clean and bright store so full of many choices- cheeses, meats, and fish I have never heard of. You can treat the place as a regular grocery and get your supplies to fix yourself. Or choose from an incredibly huge selection of prepared gourmet food items. Everything looks so fresh. Walking around, several of the staff asked if we needed assistant in finding anything. So great staff. Be careful shopping around 5-6 pm, as that seems to be when the crowd comes in and the check out lines get long and slow.

It's a rather upscale supermarket but I think their chocolate swirl cake was amazing deal for $8. Boy is it rich in flavor.

The quiche is like runny custard and very overpriced dompared with Fairway.l

I like the fish here, and the people working in that section and the cashiers are great; but I'm writing a bad review because I had a very bad experience with the person that works in the cold meats sección. I tried to order some salami, and he would basically make fun of my foreign accent. And of the fact that I was not familiar with the specialized vocabulary for cold meat buying. Pretending he did not understand anything I said. Quite unpleasant. I left not buying a thing and even though this happened a while ago, and that I live in the next block, I have never stepped on Citarella's second floor again. Citarella's immigrant past should not allow for something like this to happen.

Had terrible experience on new year day! Bought cheap salmon and steak for my doctor yesterday. Today I found out salmon was labeled and charged higher red snapper price. Also steak was changed to a higher quality as well. Made special trip to store and explained to manager. Then I was bought a cashier to help me. Then the cashier shouted to me get in line! It seams I cut in line, but I was bought there! Can they speak with respect? Not sure if it's discrimination on Asians!

Deceptive pricing. Went into Citarella's two weeks before Thanksgiving and was given a catering brochure. I ordered a filet mignon tray which was priced at $269 in their brochure. When it was delivered they charged me $449 - $180 MORE than the brochure that they handed me two weeks before. Their excuse was prices are subject to change. I can understand that if they were to charge me $25 or $30 more but $180 more on one item!!!!! I was never informed that there would be a price change. I called multiple time and each time I was told that the person would talk to a manager. A week later I had to call again and I was told it is what it is. A manager refused to talk to me about a $180 price increase with no notice! Beware of ordering from here!!!

The best selection of prime meat and top grade seafood on the UWS. Prepared food is delicious. Large selection of cheeses, deli meats, produce, etc. Well worth paying a little extra for fine food.

Great store stuff always fresh the only down side is they don't except Ebt

I had Citarella cater all of my parties this past week and everything was always delicious and enjoyable. The staff was wonderful!

I started to shop at this store more regularly in recent weeks because I need access to a good butcher. For 4 weeks in a row, I discovered one spoiled item or more in my shopping bag upon returning home. Among the items: pate allegedly 4 weeks from expiration; a container of barely pureed and edible pea soup; foul-smelling broccoli rice; a plastic bag of overripe, almost black bananas; rotten chopped sirloin (completely brown and malodorous, except for redder meat packed on top to obviously conceal the beef's condition in the case). If only one or two incidents had occurred, I would have just let the entire matter go. But 4 weeks in a row??? Something is very wrong at this location. It is quite clear that the current store manager is not making a credible effort to ensure the freshness and safety of the food on the floor. To express my upset, I phone the store today. The customer service rep with whom I spoke could barely summon the concern to offer a sincere apology. I had to essentially shame it out of him. Upper West Siders, do not continue spending your money at this overpriced store. The owners obviously no longer care about serving their customers or maintaining quality. It's all about greed. Farewell, Citarella UWS.

Love it all Fresh fresh produce, fresh fish and meats, prepared food is delicious and service is both knowledgable and always helpful!!!

Food here seem fresh. The girl on the end of cashier line today was rude. She didn't bother telling me the total cost of my purchase, threw the receipt into my bag and while I was talking to her about the receipt, she said "next one!" No basic manners.

Warning: Black and White Cookie review only. Locating them was challenging. Found them by the registers. Overview: The black and white is thin but baked rather long so you don't taste the moisture. Icing wasn't overpowering. Tasted more of the cake than the icing. The icing broke off in chunks and controlled the size of the piece you broke off. Dough: rough, somewhat dry, tasted hints of lemon. 4/10 Icing: crisp, thin and dry layer, not overflowing over the rim of the cookie. The vanilla was the best part of this because it complemented the lemon hints of the cake. Chocolate side tasted out of place. 3/10 Verdict: below average black and white. Pass 3.5/10

My mother "discovered" Citarella when they first opened, and what a find. Great place, always, East and West Side both.

Do not shop here. We ordered a "Passover Feast" that was not delivered. We ordered this entire meal for our seder, but there was no seder because there was no food. The people who take orders said they could not reach the delivery person, and they said they had no information about our order. It just disappeared! There wasn't even anyone in charge to talk to. This is Saturday night, and they said the customer "service" head would not be available until Monday. You can't trust this store.

We bought 7.610 pounds of lamb shanks (5), priced at $10.99/pound or $83.63 total. There were 3-4 shanks in the case and butcher said he had to go to the back to get more shanks. He came back with 5 shanks all wrapped up and ready to go. We didn't ask to see them because it was very crowded and who wouldn't trust Citarella? We should have insisted. When we opened the package at home we found them to be entirely untrimmed. After an hour of work we weighed the excess fat - 1 pound 2.5 ounces. Or $11.00 of trash. I'm all for supporting Citarella and it had become my go-to place after ShopRite took over Fairway but this is just plain robbery and not nearly up to what Citarella's standards were and should be.

Their rotisserie chicken is everything, and I'm black and trust their potato salad. That is all

It is worth the 14 block walk from home to buy the fish from Citarella. Their fish is always fresh and they have cleaned and prepped veggies to round out a meal.

Citarella Gourmet Market you are truly outstanding, I had a wonderful experience here today. This place is unbelievable. Everything I have ever gotten here has been fresh and tastes fantastic. Team ensured that every thing was all right. Citarella Gourmet Market... Can not ask for more.

I confess, I'm a regular. The best prepared foods especially the lasagne, duck, crab cakes, terrific! Their BREADS and baked goods are the best in the neighborhood and of course their produce is always perfect. I don't have to worry about picking out the ripest fruit or best vegys.

Their prepared food selection is mouthwatering whenever I go there with a shopping list I always end up buying more than my list. If you want to bypass the overcrowded and tight MTA feel of Fairway next door, stop by Citarella it just has a better vibe and it's less of a maze. I gave four stars to the store but five stars go to their customer service, their manager Lara is a gem.

Not what it used to be. Just got some Gorgonzola cheese (been buying it for 20 years). It was old way too sharpe and overdone. There was no expiration date on the packaging. Through your way of course!! Will never buy cheese here again!

I absolutely loved this neighborhood gourmet market during my visit to New York. Everything from fresh flowers, gourmet packaged food....basically everything in a grocery store but better. Because it's so popular it was crowded but the check out lines kept moving.

As has probably been written previously, this is not so much of a market as it is a place to get meal staples, with the intention of filling other needs, elsewhere. For that it serves its purpose well. We were able to find cheese to bring to a party.

I used to go to Citarella's butcher regularly, for best quality meats. However, the prices have gone through the roof, with several increases recently. I didn't mind paying a bit more, but it's gotten out of hand. $12.99 lb. for chuck roast! One thing the increases have done for me is that I've discovered that Whole Foods at Columbus Circle has meat of equal quality, at much lower cost. Even Fairway, next door to Citarella, has a pretty good chuck roast for $8.99 lb., but Whole Foods is actually the same quality as Citarella and had chuck roast on sale last week for $4.99 lb.!

Hi Citarella: I bet you get a lot of comments on this account. Well, I guess now it's my turn. This morning I picked up the Turkey I'd ordered about a week ago. That part was fine. I got excellent assistance from the lady taking my order, didn't mind the $5.00 shopper fee paid the bill and went on home. This morning I arrived @7:30 to wait in line. There was no signage telling me and other shoppers we need not go into the store to get the Turkey but could (would have to) pick up the turkeys outside from the back of the truck... so after learning that inside the store, I went back outside to wait in another line. It wasn't long, just 15 or 20 minutes, so, no big deal, a surprise, but not a big deal. But when I got home and opened my turkey I got my disappointment. The Turkey was frozen, and there is a huge bruise on one breast and on the other breast there is a very large hole in the skin over the breast leaving it quite vacant of heat protection. (I guess it will be ok because I can cover it with pancetta that I purchased on Sunday. (I'd be happy to send pictures if it would help.) I know you hear this all the time, but my partner and I are long, long time customers maybe twenty five or so years of relying on your stores for the best quality food we can imagine. Through the years we have entertained hundreds of friends and visitors with great food and ideas from your store. So today, my disappointment is palpable and painful. Don't worry we're not asking for anything, just wanted you to know about my experience. Hope this is the only disappointed letter you get. Have a great holiday, you all work so hard each day you deserve a good, well fed holiday. -a oakes

A tale of two aspects. An amazing place. Every food item is remarkable -- fish, meat, veggies, prepared foods, cheese, etc. Challenge is going in covid world. They limit people in the store but checking out isn't distanced at all. People in line one after the other and checkout registers are right on top of one another so no impossible to check out distanced from other customers. Go for the food if you are comfortable with the covid risk.

This place has a great reputation but it's overrated. I don't eat meat, so I can't judge that. But don't ever buy steamer clams. I love them, and hadn't bought them in many years, so I went and bought a pound. An hour later, at home, I saw that half were dead. Then I remembered why I hadn't bought them in years: same thing happened 5 or more years ago--they keep them too long and sell them anyway! I have to keep the smelly things in my fridge until I can take them back. It's outrageous that they sell shellfish waaay past due! The tiramisu tasted like whipped Kool Whip.

Overpriced? For some items, even considering the neighborhood. Overrated? Not in my opinion. Staff ran the gamut of friendly and eager to please, willing to please with no personality, and slow because they obviously didn't want to be there. But this is par for the course in most grocery stores. I loved the selection in their bakery, the breads, the prepared foods, and can't wait to go back to try the Rotisserie Duck (which I felt was reasonably priced). A good selection of high-end to mid-level products across the board. Really nice butcher case, and great quality. The check out is the single worst I've ever experienced. It would be cramped for children, let alone grown adults of any size. Absolute cluster fuck. They would be far better suited to expand the spacing in that area even slightly and lose a little product space to increase customer comfort. It is ludicrous to give just enough space for one person to stand, and expect two people to maneuver hand carts and bodies. Still, I plan to return.

I picked up two yogurts from this place- from the refrigerated section upstairs. They felt slightly warm but I figured maybe I was being paranoid- Well I'm now on the second round of stomach issues - the first round happened when I ate the first yogurt and a week later- it returned after eating the second yogurt. I should have listened to my gut twice but ... I also thought Citarella would know the right temperature to store their dairy.

Love the cookies and the sandwiches!!! Tasty , classy and healthy !!!! It's not expensive too

The smallest of three grocery stores on this stretch of Broadway, Citarella is my quite respite from the crowds at Fairway and Trader Joe's down the street. I don't have to push or be pushed here. I can get my groceries, not bump into anyone and get good customer service. And for that I am willing to pay a bit more. Citarella is probably priced the same as Fairway (but more expensive than Trader Joe's), but their selection is quite limited. I used to get food from their deli section all the time here, but it was starting to add up so I had to start cooking my own meals at home. But do visit them if you need a quick, delicious, prepared meal. Their salmon is phenomenal, as is their chicken parmesan. They also have a variety of pre-packaged salads and those are great too when you're too tired and/or lazy to cook.

Back in NYC after being in PA. Couldn't wait to shop Citarella. Food is still good but not happy with new Person. Woman in butcher department not as professional as I expected. Food was ok but service very unprofessional.

It was the wife's birthday end of September and I was throwing her a surprise dinner party for 10 people. I wanted something special as an appetizer and chose Wild Jonah Crab Claws. I searched from Alaska to east coast and finally found them at Citarella. I placed order with Peter who was very helpful. As party was on a Sunday, he would ship overnight on Friday for Saturday delivery. Never made it. Being mad as hell I first drove some distance to Whole Foods to find replacements and the best I could do was nice cheeses and breads. I shot off a very pissed email to Citarella knowing they were closed for the rest of the weekend but I had to vent not expecting to hear back until Monday. Again, I was mad as hell. Much to my surprise I received phone call from Lara Shnorhokian the customer service manager Sunday morning. She listened. Let me vent. Then she was quite apologetic and understanding and asked if she could do anything to lessen the ill feelings that I had. We worked it out to the point that while my dinner party was missing a crucial component which raised my stress level to volcanic heat, Lara did the right thing in many ways. Thank you Lara.

Now charging $ 0.46 for bags. Doesn't seem like much, and they're nice bags. Also charging $14.00 for fresh OJ, which you can get up the street at Zabar's for $8.00. No more demi-glace. Out of lamb. No more duckling, quail or other fowl -- just chicken. Times are hard.

Quite the disappointment. I came in here the other day and asked one of the fishmongers to recommend a fresh, flaky white fish that didn't have a strong odor that would make the house or clothes smell. The fishmonger recommended Canadian Turbot, which was on sale. I went home and baked the Turbot in the oven with some olive oil, as the fishmonger recommended. The house quickly filled with a very strong, fishy aroma, and when the fish was done, it was nowhere near flaky or tender as was promised. It had the consistency of grits. My girlfriend and I spent many hours cleaning the house afterward to no avail, and the smell lingered for at least two days. I suppose we should have simply consulted google, instead of relying on the advice of the fishmonger. But for a place with this price point, you expect the fishmonger to know what they are talking about. I won't buy fish here again.

Compared to any other supermarket in the vicinity, Citarella is the very best, hands down. Fairway is for when you're feeling aggressive and want to have a fight with someone in their too small, ridiculously overcrowded aisles. Food Emporium is like, oh crap, I forgot to buy eggs, but you want no part of their orangey tomatoes and soft cucumbers and bland herbs. Citarella, meanwhile, has the best of many things. Their fish is just superb and the guy behind the counter actually knows about all the fish and can offer suggestions on how to prepare it (the fish guy at Fairway was only vaguely aware that there was such a thing as "sashimi grade tuna"). Their meat is pretty spectacular too. And they have a strong selection of cheese but here is where they lose me a little. Their mozzarella, as well as other cheese I've bought there, goes bad after like 2 days. Same for their fruits and vegetables. So, basically, go to Citarella for their meat and fish, as well as anything that can be used to flavor meat and fish, but skip the cheese and produce.

Their fish is practically alive (only they are very, very filleted). Amazing, fresh fish that'll make your mouth water even raw. We stopped in here just after doing the heavy lifting at Fairway Market next door and I was so amazed at the selection and brilliant, bright colors. I want to eat fishes for every meal. Also let me brag about what we walked out with: Spanish Mackerel which we baked with blue corn flour, shallots, pepper and a dollop of sesame oil. Served with a side of amaranth grain prepared with sundried tomatoes, dates, olives, honey and feta cheese on top. Maybe it sounds weird but it was goooood.