Citarella

Citarella's meat and fish counters are among the best in the city. The prepared foods are lackluster and the recipes are dated--they really need to up their game with healthier ingredients and new, contemporary recipes. Bread counter good, cheeses good too, desserts nothing special. Produce average, especially when compared to Whole Foods. The stock is kept low and they often run out of things. Overall the customer service is pretty lacking and the people at the check-out counters are just plain nasty! Every time I go there I'm reminded of how much more pleasant it is to shop--like it or not---at Whole Foods. Pros: Great fish and meat counters Cons: Mean girls more

Citarella is a nice place to find prepared food. The employees in each department are nice but the cashiers?These girls need to work on the way they speak to clients or simply to have a smile on their faces. Since I go there, for a few years now, I never had a nice cashiers, NEVER! more

Do not expect the fish at the West Village Citarella \r to be fresh. They always say it came in that day,\r but that is what they are told to say. The workers\r encourage you to buy the filet rather than the\r whole fish because the filet most likely is not \r fresh. Try to get them to clean the shrimp\r properly after the shell is removed. It is never\r cleaned well. When asking to filet the fish, there are\r always bones left in it. This place should\r checked out by the appropriate agency. There are very few fish\r stores in NYC. Buying fresh fish is a challenge.\r I have complained to Customer Service about\r this at Citarella. It is a waste of good time.\r \r Cons: Old fish, unclean shrimp, bones left in fish more

This isn't the closest gourmet market to our house but it's worth the walk. The Upper East Side store is shaped like a horseshoe beginning with a nice selection of nuts and fresh produce. A walk around the cheese counter brings you to a big selection of delicious hot prepared foods (the Couscous Primavera was so good I had to get the recipe.) On to the bread section for our favorite whole wheat pullman loaf and one of those delectable cranberry muffins. The cakes in the display case always seem too fussy but Citarella's pre-wrapped pastries are yummy and surprisingly reasonably priced. The poppy seed cake and chocolate swirl cakes are our favorites for a treat with a cup of coffee or an afternoon tea. Finally we queue up to pay as we stare at the display of imported chocolates, some of which always seem to end up in our basket before we get to the cashier. :) more

I've read so many, many great things about this market, that I made shopping here a planned part of my planned weekend daytrips thru the city. The employees are extremely snotty. The prices are astronomical for what you get, and what can be gotten other places in the city with comparable quality. And despite popular belief, the quality is not as advertised. I've gotten fresher food items from whole foods, dean & deluca, Russ & Daughters, and depending on what neighborhood you shop A&P, and Pathmark. Only shop here for items you can't find elsewhere, they do have a variety of things hard to find. Otherwise, I'm so so very very dissapointed. Pros: Hard to find items Cons: Quality, Prices, Service more

then spend it here. fresh seafood is good, but they're not perfect. saw some 'fresh' fish where eyes were cloudy, I asked dumb Q? 'how fresh is it', they just gave me a stare & wiseacre answer, a bit snooty, I was testing their reply, they should know better than to display this, all nicely covered in ice. but to pay 16.99/lb for fish when there are nice korean/chinese seafood sellers that will do you justice. I had their prepared foods, fried fish & fried shrimp were dry & not so good tasting. crab & shrimp salads were so so. also, if not a regular, they have little patience in answering Q?'s. SUM IT: I think it's over-rated but who am I but one opinion? they're making a fortune! so go ahead spend your money, you're bound to get something good. Pros: mostly freshness, teat regulars well Cons: price, can be bit snooty more

Citarella, my savior!! I have the best of two worlds, Citarella across the street from work on the upper west side and 2 blocks from where I live on the upper est side! The quality is superior to any other store in New York City. All our birthday cakes come from there (45 cakes+ a year). After shopping at Citarella, there is no going back to shop at a ""regular"" store again. For the high quality of all their foods, the pricing is very fair. Pros: high quality , freshness, excellent service Cons: ?, ?, ? more

If you care about the quality of food you eat, there isn't a place to go. Citarella is premium quality, but its real stand-outs are fish (best in nyc that I know of), bread, and produce. The butcher is quite good, although there are better butchers on the upper east side, such as Albert's and Lobel's. I actually have no issues with the prices at Citarella. Sure, it's more expensive than a grocery store, but it's also ten times the quality, and if you know anything about cooking you will spend about 1/3 at Citarella what you would in a nice restaurant for a good meal. And if you don't know how to cook, there are plenty of great prepared foods from which to choose. The service is good, although when it gets crowded they get a little tempermental with you if you don't know what you want right away. Pros: Top quality food, Convenient location, Huge selection Cons: Crowded; long lines, Staff a bit moody more

A culinary dream! Although pricey - and sometimes the lines can get waaaay out of hand (Avoid holidays and Saturdays), the selection and quality make up for it. The fresh pasta, prepared foods, FISH DEPARTMENT (one of the best in the WORLD), meat department (also excellent IF you are a regular and get to know the butchers), plus a decent array of imported and domestic cheeses. The cakes and pastries are delicious, too. Again - bring lots of cash (or credit cards) and be prepared to wait if it is crowded. Pros: Fresh Produce, Delicious Foods, Fish Department Cons: Pricey, Long Lines, Crowds more

Nice store but expensive but not as ridiculous as Eli's Manhattan or Dean & Deluca Pros: nice seafood Cons: expensive, expensive, expensive more