Russo's

This place, perhaps with previous owners, was the place to get the best fresh cheeses. No longer. Their pricey fresh ricotta is one or may be 2 steps below Polly O. The mozzarella is still worthy but the attitude behind the counter makes it not worth going there. What nasty faces and attitudes! Maybe a little further away but Etaly has everything that Russo's has and with a pleasant atmosphere.

Delicious and fresh food, but there are hardly any prices visible. I got a grilled chicken deli sandwich, a small container of pesto, parmesan cheese and the 12ct short rib ravioli for $46. Everything tasted fresh, but please list prices. They could also be a little friendlier in there.

Perfect pairing to go along with Veniero’s next door. Sandwiches are absolutely delicious and great amount of food (each sandwich lasts me two meals). And on a nice day, you can take your sandwich to Tompkins Square Park down the block for a nice meal outside (no indoor seating).

A perfect, charming, old-timey Italian deli. No BS. Amazing sandwiches and Italian ingredients for sale. I don’t want to say too much so that it doesn’t get too busy!

Store for Italian specialty items is what the store description says. I bought the following from this store: Fresh Pasta: Foe unexplained reasons, I failed to check the ingredients in their "Fresh Pasta". Disappointed to see a bunch of unnecessary ingredients in the pasta. Soybean Oil in fresh pasta? From what I know, pasta doesn't need oil. In case of using oil, anything other than olive oil should be a crime. Guanciale: What I thought was Guanciale turned into pancetta by the time I got to my apartment. If people tell me oh it's the same, not it's not! Not cool to sell pancetta as guanciale. Parmegiano Reggiano: Cheese looked fresh. I liked it. I will not be coming back here again.

Hi, I would like to start that I make it a point to support small businesses, especially Italian family businesses (see my previous reviews). That said, I am extremely disappointed with my experience today. I came by around 10:30 this morning and bought 2 baguettes, a sausage that was hanging from the ceiling, and a smoked mozzarella. The baguettes were both stale and the sausage was rock hard. The smoked mozzarella was good quality. I do feel like I was robbed of $36. I very much would have liked to leave a positive review and have had a good experience, but unfortunately today’s products were sorely disappointing.

Will be coming again for my groceries. there is a wide selection of fresh ready to make pastas. italiano panino is amazing for lunch $10 with fresh ingredients. Love it, i want to get their fresh hot sausage next time. Overall, one of the best italian groceries in manhatten

best authentic Italian pasta, and amazing vodka sauce, the subs are to die for, as is the breads, cheeses and rice balls, olives and stuffed artichokes and meatballs .

Huge delicious sandwich! No wait for me, so the service was very quick. Freshly cut the prosciutto right in front of me. Around $18 for a huge sandwich, easily able to be shared between 2 people. They also have a variety of grocery items, pasta, sauce, etc. definitely recommend!

Delicious sandwiches and such fresh ingredients. Perfect to grab and eat at the park. One note: double check the number you're telling them and that it lines up with the sandwich you want. Online and in person doesn't match exactly.

we searched the internet for the best fresh pasta in NYC and got turned onto Russos. Small shop friendly enough staff. a bit pricey but we're willing to pay for good pasta. got home with a box of fresh pasta, opened it to find mold growing in the center of the pasta bundle. 0/5 stars would not go back

We've been coming to Russo's for years! Love the artichokes, mozz and the sausages! Today we got a sandwich for the first time and it was amazing!! Amazed the others said they didn't like the bread, that was something that stood out, totally different then a stale hero at a deli, it was like the texture of focaccia, soft, but firm and really delicious! We had fresh mozz, which is hand sliced and thick and juicy, but not wet, fried eggplant, roasted peppers and prosciutto. Big enough to share, but so good you might not want to! Highly recommend this Italian sandwich shop, there is nothing else like this in the neighborhood! LOVE!!!

If you don't live in the area, be prepared for delays on the L train, or your taxi. But PLEASE go to Russo. Bring bags, you think you go in for one thing, like a 1/4lb of pepper seed salami, and you walk out with 30lbs of pasta and cheese you just can't live without. (Don't forget to buy the salami.) I have only gone early in the morning, so I don't know how busy it gets if you want to get a sandwich. I have heard the sandwiches are phenomenal. I live on the other side of the city and this is worth the trip (and Venerios is right next door. So be prepared to drop another $30 you weren't intending to spend).

As an Italian store next to Veniero's, Russo's sandwich innards are quite dandy. Beautiful mounds of prosciutto and fresh mozzarella and a nice roasted red pepper mixture make up one of their several deli sandwiches. At $10, the price for this gigantic sandwich is a great deal, until it all comes apart for one reason, the bread. I will not be too critical on the bread, as mentioned above, this is more a small Italian market; not quite a sandwich shop. Russo's is like Rosario's; without pizza. It is a soft hero roll, with absolutely no crunch, but all chew. A good hero roll has that crunchy exterior and chewy interior; too much chew soaks up the whole sandwich and makes it far too messy to eat. It is a disappointment because the rest of the sandwich really tasted great. Recently, I learned there is a hero shop in Bensonhurst that is supposed to be the best in the city, Lioni's. I am not comparing Russo's to them, just suggesting how their bread should be. After all, that would have made this an awesome lunch deal. But this is what I have to work with. Oh well. *Sigh*

Very good pasta and many good Italian products. The cheese and meats are affordable, I thought the pasta were a bit expensive ($6 for regular pasta and $12 for raviolis) but it really is good quality It's definitely not the place you go for every day food, but definitely the best place to go to prepare a delicious meal for a date night at home!!

A tiny spot and a small street footprint. The second time I went, it was on the late side, already dark, and as I was approaching it looked so dark I assumed it was closed, but checked anyway. Only when I had a clear view into the door did I realize it was still open. The interior is tiny too, with a sales area in front of the counter of maybe 10 feet by 10 feet? That could be an over-estimate of the usable floor space. On two walls there are refrigerator/freezer cases of fresh-made pasta. Lots of different kinds of frozen ravioli, tortellini, etc., as well as fresh spaghetti, etc. There is a refrigerator case with grated cheeses and miscellaneous other foods. In the counter beneath the registers, there is semi-prepared food, including crab cakes (cooked already), brasciole (ready to be cooked), and other items. In my two visits, I bought grated parmesano romano, crabcakes, and various pastas. The cheese and pastas were great. The crabcake turned out to be made of crab sticks, not crabmeat. Not sure whether it was real or imitation crabmeat. I knocked off a star for that.

Russo is a fine pasta, cheese and anti-pasta postage-stamp sized store. They have a variety of specialty pastas, many stuffed pasta types and a few sauces that are very good. The staff is essentially not helpful other than to ring your purchases. You would think w/the very steep prices service would be better. For a special lunch or dinner you will find something delicious to wow your guests with here.

Second Food stop in Guides of NY Tour of Little Italy. According to our guide, the place started in 1905. This place is known for their mozzarella and sausage. They also have many types of pasta, cookies, olives, herbs, cheese and meat. They know their stuff since the store is 100+ years old. I can only comment on the cheeses and sausage. We got to try 3 types of cheese: fresh mozzarella, smokey and forgot the last one. The sausage was smokey. Everything was good though I love fresh mozzarella so this is a 2 thumbs up!

Purchased some fresh pasta here tonight and I won't purchase pasta anywhere else! It was only $4 for a box of pasta and gave us 4 good size servings! They have all sorts of pasta along with cheeses, cold cuts and they make sandwiches

Only go here for fresh pasta, maybe meat and pantry stuff etc. One of the worst italian sandwiches I've ever had. The quality of the meat was not very high, bread was blah and it overall did not come together nicely at all. AND it was very expensive for what it was. I had a much better on from my bodega even though its boars head. ALSO the mozzarella was flavorless with very little moisture and a weird texture. IF you want the real deal hero make the trek to Defonte's, Lioni or Federoffs or like anywhere in the Bronx or SI. Sorry Russo. Somehow the one in the east village still slaps though? ‍

What can I say, other than what a find! Randomly walking last year, as I often do and stumbled across this gem!fresh mozzarella, sausages, fresh pasta, great selection of cheeses, and a staff that knows their product....all in a little bitty tiny space My girlfriend Tresa foundit for meagain this year. Her friend was having a Christmas party and I was able to get much that we needed. Including a great prosciutto!

Best local option for Italian specialty meats! Great Italian sandwiches. They have the works- fresh pastas, special cheeses, fresh mozz, fresh Italian bread. Everything is fresh and reasonably priced!

Sadly, Russo's is living off its reputation, built over many decades of friendly quality, but these days, simply isn't what it used to be. Sandwich prices have escalated way past inflation to $14 each from under ten bucks recently. And that bill stacks higher with even the slightest request: one extra little thing like a spritz of vinaigrette or a piece of basil, and after tax, the sandwich goes past $16 (and more if you dare to use a credit card, well past the actual credit card processing fees they'd incur). As others have noted, the flagship ingredient of mozzarella isn't being prepared the same way anymore, a noticeable decline in quality. Even asking about any of this politely, and you get anger from the manager instead of explanation. It might be that there's an owner-in-hiding as usual, orchestrating these changes without face-to-face accountability, but altogether it makes me sad to never go back. I'll be on the lookout for alternative recommendations, but in a city like New York, shouldn't be a problem.

The shop is great with excellent products so today I tried a sandwich. While the individual ingredients were excellent, trying to eat it as as a sandwich inside of a massive hunk of tasteless bread was truly awful. There were slabs of mozzarella, too big to enhance the sandwich, and overall not satisfying. Next time I'll get what I need ala carte, and make my own lunch at home.

Love this place. Been a customer for maybe 35 years. The store has changed over time, but the fresh pasta is still the best in the city. Go for the smells alone and you'll be happy.

Russo's is a part of old New York that I wish there was more of. In an age of rapidly declining product quality through major supermarkets like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, I often long for a day of individual experiences. If you want meat, go to the butcher. If you want bread, go to the baker. And if you want homemade pasta, cheeses, and sausages - go to Russo's. Thankfully this hasn't changed for Russo, but your target destinations are much farther apart. I've purchased their homemade rigatoni, Italian sausages, and so much more. Always so inexpensive, but I would never use the word cheap. The quality is way too high to use that word. If you're looking for a great spot for your dinner - start here.

I can't believe I live around the corner and hadn't visited this shop for the last few years. What a gem! It's now a staple for me if I want to make Italian food and get ingredients or get a sandwich or lasagna to go. Russo's experience is unique and individual. I have been wonderfully delighted in the food I have gotten from here. From the fresh pasta to the frozen pasta, you can taste the quality of the food is different. One notable ingredient here is the ricotta. Wow. It absolutely blew my mind. I refuse to shop for ricotta anywhere else now, and who would have thought how varied ricotta cheese were. My roommate and I were absolutely blown away by the cheese here. It is so fresh and it taste nothing of preservatives. I am so happy Russo's exists. Coming and shopping here will forever change your Italian food cooking, and pasta, cheese and sausage shopping. Don't sleep on this place - check it out.

Delicious eggplant and mozzarella. Big sandwiches, great value. Definitely recommend!

Best spot for house made pasta of all types, along with fresh mozzarella in Manhattan.

Now that's a sandwich! Old school Italian, I would give 10 stars if I could and they have great pasta and sauces too. Heaven..!!

Amazing fresh pasta, the best I've found in the city! Haven't tried one of the sandwiches yet but its next on my list.

I would pick up their sandwiches for lunch every time I visit a nearby job site. All their sandwiches are quite delicious!! Order either #1 or #2, felt like ordering Chinese Food

Russo's makes a great sandwitch! I highly recaend the "Caprese" prepared with fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomato, basil leaves and drizzled with olive oil. Russo's sells outstanding mozzarella, raviolis, sauces, sausages and so forth.

We went with intention to get a platter or two of sandwiches for a family gathering On 10/5/21. It was our first time there. Though the place had only one other customer who was being attended to by another worker, the counter person who we approached for help was downright nasty. Instead of answering our question about the choices of condiments or toppings are there to add unto the sandwiches, he yelled our, "Look at the menu!" He also told us in a scolding tone, "Make up your mind!" We walked out of the store minutes after entering it. Never had such horrible nasty service in any places or eateries along 5th Avenue in Park Slope before.

Longtime neighborhood customer......will not be returning......horrible customer service Guy with mustache behind counter was rude and condescending to wife while picking up our weekend order last week. And was the same to me this week with no other customers in store he was doing me a favor by packing my order and answering questions....actually left my order on counter and walked out

This place was good! I've only tried one thing but I would go back for sure. I got the Italiano sandwich and it was delicious.

Great place for homemade pasta. Needed to get fresh pasta quickly for a foodie at work, (we had an Italian lunch) and it didn't disappoint. Great prices too, oh and the cheeses!!!!

Prosciutto, Provolone, Peppers, oil and vinegar on a hero. Manna from heaven. Make sure to come here for the best Italian sandwich in east village!

Tiny place BUT always have what i need, fresh bread, mozzarella, great sandwiches. The guys are no nonsense which is fine u don't want to be in there too long because if another customer comes in it's crowded

I love this place for specialty Italian food. However, however when it's busy make sure they get your order correct. I ordered a #1 Caprese and asked for only sun-dried tomato and basil as toppings. It comes with a bunch of other stuff my son doesn't like. I GOT only sun-dried tomato's and basil NO MOZZARELLA CHEESE, seriously???????

This place is truly amazing. The best cheese in the city. Old school New York if there ever was one. Truly classic Italian dishes and food quality. I truly hope they are around for another 100 years.

Oh man, ohhhhh man. I came here to pick up a sandwich before I flew back to the West coast so I'd have something to nom on during the flight. Great decision Penson, seriously. I had the Italiano sandwich (prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, some sort of vinaigrette??), and even after sitting in my bag for a good number of hours it was phenom-nom-nom-enal. The salty bite of the prosciutto nicely balanced by the creamy mildness of the mozzarella, with the tomatoes providing a bit of juiciness and basil coming in for an herby kick. Uhhhh salivating just thinking about it. Definitely a must have again when back in New York. Oh, and there were a bunch of firefighters in here when I visited. Not b/c there was a fire, but to pick up an asston of food. Firefighters know good eats right? Oh yea, they do.

Their food is amazing! The blend of mushroom for antipasti is insane! They have fresh pasta too which is delish!

Russo's is a great neighborhood standby that's been there forever. Most of what they sell contains meat or cheese, but the things that don't are truly stellar, like the olive bread: a light, round loaf full of kalamata olives. That's worth the trip alone. They also have several varieties of olive oil. Their staff is friendly and helpful--but not too in-your-face--so this is a great little shop for provisions.

So good . Best sandwiches you'll ever have. A must try!! All the pastas you've ever dreamed of & more. This is the real deal

Russo (not Russo's) is a gnarly little spot run by a couple nice dudes on the Friday evening I dropped in for some butternut squash ravioli and half-pound of their very-good mozzarella. Stop in before entertaining or just to pack the fridge/freezer for a satisfying night's meal or two. Russo illuminated two Yelp issues: 1. It ranks 7th on Yelp results list for a 'Russo's' query in its own zipcode, with the BK location first and some other less- or even non-reviewed spots in between. 2. I understand that Yelp's logo is red, but 5 stars should not be red, it should be green. Elsewhere in ratings red indicates 'stop, do not go here', yet here it indicates 'as good as it gets'. I-Italy segment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z624qlhoDRo&feature=player_embedded

I'm from out of town but in NYC often. I shop here every time I'm in town and I'm usually pleased. However, the last time I shopped (about a week ago) I purchased my usual hot sopressata. It was so horribly hard, it literally couldn't be cut with a knife. I presume this indicated that it was hanging in the shop for way too long. I had to throw it out. Couldn't return it since I was already home in Michigan. May or may not try again at this place. Just beware to squeeze your dried sausage to be sure it's not too dried. OK I went back again to give this place another try. The same thing happened. I asked for a dried sopressata and a dried sausage. Both were so hard they were basically inedible and I will be throwing them out. Will never go back

Russo's is Awesome! It's the kind of cool little place that sadly are disapppearing fast. They make great Fresh Mozzarella and have a wonderful variety of Italian Cheese and Salumi, as well as imported Italian Pasta and Olive Oil.

I went to Russo Mozzarella and Pasta to buy fresh pasta for a family dinner. When I opened it after I got home, it smelled really terrible. After a closer look, there was a sheet of white mold across the top, and then green mold in the middle of the package. Obviously this was far from fresh and I'm definitely not going back.

This review is for the mozzarella only! I'd rather eat a sneaker! OMG! For a store in NYC to have the word "Mozzarella" in the title and serve this rubbery white crap is a crime and they should return my $10 !!! What a disgusting, vile excuse for cheese this is! Tasteless, bland, rubbery chunk of crap that is worse than Polly-O! I thought I've seen the worst of NYC's "Italian" cuisine but this garbage brings things to a new low. if this store is what NYers think Italian Mozzarella is like there's a serious problem in the taste and education in the city. Awful, Awful, Awful!!! I wouldn't lose sleep if this shop closes down!

i used to buy portugese pine nuts from russo's, they were long grain, plump and packed with flavor (pinus pinea). when i went back this week i saw the typical short grain chinese nuts which are clearly inferior and cheaper (pinus koraiensis), but the fat guy behind the counter reassured me that they were from portugal. once at home i tested them and they are clearly the shitty chinese pine nut. being dishonest with your clients doesn't pay...u made ur extra dollar but i will never go back

Michael, who helped me decide to purchase the cheese pasta because it is the only one that is not frozen, has not only worked there for quite a while, he is a descendant of a family that has worked there! He could not have been more helpful, so forget about snobby New Yorkers. I tried the walnut and cheese frozen ravioli which was good but I still want everything in the store, so ........

This is a cute little Italian deli (let's edit little to: TINY!). They stock fresh pastas and all sorts of packaged imported Italian goodies. I had some of their house-made mozzarella, regular, marinated, and smoked. I appreciate the fact that they are made right next door, but they didn't strike me as anything special. The marinated was the best but the texture was a bit displeasing on the regular and smoked. I also had some of their sweet dried sausage and didn't care for the texture (very dry) and found it lacking in flavor.

A fantastic hidden gem! The mixed olives are fantastic and a great deal. Wonderful sauces and freshly made pastas along with dried imported goods. Love coming here when I'm making an Italian meal at home. They take credit cards too.

I would call this a gourmet cheese store although they masquerade as an Italian deli. The mozzarella cannot be beat and they have a nice selection of cheeses and pasta.

I've been coming here for the past 3 years at least once a month. Last week I made a delicious meal on the fly with less then $15 worth of goods... Puttanesca gravy : They have San Marzano tomatoes, fresh pitted Kalamata's, anchovies, capers - and I always have hot peppers, olive oil, and garlic on hand. fresh handmade spinach linguini 1 large semolina loaf to mop it up. Not to toot my own horn but the meal was delicious and smelled so explosive the neighbors were asking what was cooking and groveling for leftovers. I've yet to try everything in the store, but everything I have had is legit. I prefer East Village cheese for cheese, Parisi's for cold cuts, Esposito's (NOT Faccio's) for sausage, and Frankies Spuntino for my olive oil, but I'll come here for my pastas or canned goods. Guys who work here are very cool too. Once it was pouring rain, past closing time and I needed a certain ingredient for whatever I was putting together. Guy closing shop let me in while mopping, turned on the register and hooked it up. So to the yelper who claimed he got short changed - ya got short changed cause you're a mook.

Yes. Fresh, delicious pasta, sauces, cheese. Hard, spicy sausage (I dare you to take one home, and not finish the entire thing within 24 hours). Crusty, oil-drizzled sandwiches, with thin sliced, marbled cured meat, sundried tomatoes, thick-cut fresh mozzarella, basil, wrapped in butcher paper. Olives (awe-lives). Oh, definitely.