Citarella Gourmet Market – Upper East Side

Citarella is a dream.
What surprised me, though, is how reasonably priced (as in under Whole Foods) much of the food to go is.
I bought a pint of pea soup, beets (a pound and so good), and great tatziki (a pint), plus a scrumptious rotisserie chicken, and blinis all for 30 bucks. That is a hell of a lot of food for many lunches.
Some stuff is insanely pricey but it’s actually an affordable way to avoid cooking as well as restaurants.
75^th and 3^rd is not around the corner from me but if I hop the 6 to 77^th, it’s pretty close. Today I walked it on the way back from Mei Jin ramen on 82^nd and 2^nd.
Stopped at Corrado Bakery for cannoli on the way back.

There is something very New York about Citarella – both in a good and a bad way. Good stuff, terrible prices, and somehow you feel like you aren’t good enough when you are in there. But you still go back, because what else are you going to do?

Convenient gourmet market! Perfect if you need some fancy things to spruce up a dinner party (or when you just want to feel fancy!) Huge fan of the cheese/​meat and seafood counters! Really helpful employees too. Pretty good selection of produce too.
I’m not going to lie, you will pay a pretty penny for your purchases, but some are definitely worth it. I recommend their fresh pasta selections if you want a quick and easy dinner– ranges from $ 7~12 depending on what it is, but its guaranteed fresh and delicious.

Out of all the stores this is the one I wish I lived closer to. It is inconvenient for me to get to but so worth it. I mainly go there for their seafood. U cannot beat their selection AND very fair prices compared to other places that are not nearly as good. Also very nice staff which is very important to me. Full service for any preparation
I don’t buy prepared foods so I cannot comment on that. I have purchased meat in the past and remember it being excellent quality. Also am limited to what I can carry. If it weren’t for that I would definitely buy more of their produce as well as other items
Due to the hot weather I have been buying my seafood at Whole Foods (live a block away) but it cannot compare. Much more expensive, not as good and no service (even though they claim to). I am not going to settle today and am taking the bus to Citarella. Highly recommend

Wonderful and helpful lady from customer service. Lara was very kind and friendly and quickly addressed my problems. I will continue to shop there because I’ve only ever had one problem and it was fixed in a very suitable way.
THANK YOU LARA

I love their rotisserie chicken; much better than Whole Foods dry sad rotisserie chicken (ugh, gross). I don’t get why WH is charging more for their hideous food while food here is much better. Other prepared food was good too.
FYI Their cookies and sweets are to die for.

I usually do all my grocery shopping at Food Emporium, that’ll change now that I found this place. The produce is far cheaper and of better quality. I did a quick price comparison of some other products and find that things like sugar and spices are cheaper too.
Meats and fish are more expensive, and balling on a budget means I’ll have to keep hitting up Food Emporium, but the quality olds way better. If your having a dinner party or want a really good steak or piece of fish (all very fresh) this will be the place to go.
Great selection of cakes and other goodies that are a little bit pricey, but again, good quality stuff. They also have some great pre-​made foods like quesadillas, humus and salads. Worth checking out.

Absolutely the place for meat, fresh fish, and fresh produce on the UES. Many reviews complain that it’s not a full grocery store with limited variety. That’s because it’s not trying to be all things for all people. It is a high end place with the highest quality products. The fish dept is particularly impressive. Not only does it have a bigger variety than any one else, and the freshness is incredible, but for no extra they clean the fish any way you want. Oysters? Great variety that for only a little more will shuck for you and put on ice bed.
Other depts like bakery and deli also way above average. I’ve never left disappointed.

I like Citarella a lot. They’re very friendly and helpful. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s good quality and convenient. Sometimes the checkout line stretches almost around the block and outside the store, but it always moves fast.
Unilocal seems to have 2 separate listings for the same store.

Summary:
Not the go to place for everything but they do have some good deals on certain things. They are pretty good quality.
The Food:
In my mind this is a little like Wegmans if you know that. They have pretty good quality fish and meat and you might luck out with a sale. The bakery items are also decent.
The Value:
For certain things, at certain times, this place is great. Again, it’s all a matter of shopping around. If you have the time, you can use this place and others to get all your groceries.

I’ve been going to Citarella for many years because it is right around the block from my grandmother (I think this neighborhood has a high concentration of grandmothers!) In any case, I typically pick up groceries whenever I visit, and it’s good stuff. I typically grab a quiche, some of the excellent desserts, and some seafood among other things. All of these are much better than you can get at other supermarkets in the area, and very convenient.

My go to store for good quality meats and pre-​made soups, sides or other dishes. Prices are high but often worth it because of the quality.
It’s not a full grocery store and doesn’t sell the basics like a large selection of cereals but for good quality ingredients this is the place. Check prices carefully. Yesterday strawberries were $ 8.99 (ouch).

I’ve lived here for years and never went in. Tonight, I needed some soup and decided to make this my stop. When I walked in, GOD himself said, «my child, you have arrived!»
I only needed soup, and boy do they have soup. I only purchased 2, That was a mistake, lawd Jesus… I’m going back for more. The prices are really ridiculous, and the only minorities there are employees but it’s worth it. I doubt that I’d ever buy anything else there. I’m way too fat to walk down the aisles.
Meet me in the soup aisle…

Good prepared foods and salads at decent prices. Good butcher counter and cheese options. Not good for baked goods. The babka someone brought to a dinner the other night was awful — dry with no texture, it was like eating a loaf of white bread with chocolate on top.

Paradise for anyone who chooses to feed their bodies with healthy food from plant & animal sources.
You want veggies? 100 varieties
Fruits? 100 varieties
Fish? 35 varieties
Meats & poultry? Variety on variety
Of course, they have tons of junk food as well, but I stayed the course :)

an epicurean paradise– but watch out, if you get over zealous stuffing your basket with all the stuff you want instead of what you need and actually come in for in the first place, it could serious leave you over-​budgeted for your month’s food bill.

Unless you need something specific, Citarella isn’t worth enduring the. springloaded door that almost knocked a pregnant woman out, nor the fragrant-​in-​the-​bad-​way fish section.
PS Dupe of

Came here after reading a recommendation of a fellow Unilocaler! The staff was friendly. I would come here for their great selection of cheese, fish and prepared foods. As another reviewer said, a lot of their meat and chicken is prepackaged now which limited exactly what you can get. The produce dept. isn’t bad, but due to the stores smaller size, selection is limited and expensive.
Great place to come for some prepared food, fish and/​or couple select gourmet ingredients. I wouldn’t plan on doing a large grocery shopping here though.

Most everything I have tried here is really good!
If you don’t have time to cook, they have every kind of cheese, meat, seafood, side dish or dessert one could hope for.
Here are some of my favorites:
1. (Top of my list)… The small package of oatmeal cookies. If I’m gonna grab a cookie, usually chocolate is involved however the oatmeal got my attention this time! Even if you are not an oatmeal cookie fan you will like these… Medium size soft chewy, sugary oatmeal cookie with golden raisins. The golden raisins are key! Thank u citarella, not everyone likes brown raisins.
2. The sea salt chocolate chip cookies. Soft and chewy chocolate chip with a touch of savory. You can find them next to the oatmeal cookies
3. Salads (have only tried the chopped salad) with garbanzo beans, feta, tomatoes, lemon vinaigrette — this is my «go to»
4. The sides (in the case) — vegetable Rosetta… Perfect side dish for any entrée
5. Pre made sandwiches– curry chicken salad wrap. They have other wrap roll ups that are good too… Like Low fat chicken salad and tiny cold cut wraps cut into rolls like sushi
6. Fresh fruit — they don’t have organic fruit here so I buy the organic necessities elsewhere
The only thing that i tried here that was just okay was the quiche.

Citarella has a really nice atmosphere, and the food is fantastic. We came for a late brunch on a Saturday, and were really impressed by the place. Since it’s a typical «drunk brunch» place, it was pretty empty around 3 – 4 when we arrived. The wait staff was really helpful and very friendly (although it IS one of those places where they will refill your glass every time you take a sip) and the menu had some good choices. I really enjoyed the fresh flowers everywhere, and the open atmosphere of the table set up.
It seems like the kind of place that has «regulars» and I could definitely see myself becoming one!
** Whether or not it’s a reflection on the restaurant, the woman behind us were also very friendly, which added to the entire experience.

Truth be told, one of the reasons why we bought our apartment was because of its proximity to Citarella.
The seafood is tops. Always fresh and delicious. They sell the whole fish and will filet it for you. That being said you may suffer from sticker shock when you get to the register to pay.
The cheeses are so so here. They can be a bit ammoniated. The deli meats are pretty good and the men behind the counter are very nice. The coffee is ok, but I prefer some of the local gourmet shops or Fairway. Their desserts look better than they taste.
Their breads are very delicious, especially the olive bread.