Leonard’s Market

Best crab cake I’ve ever had, free delivery is amazing when the weather is poor. Shrimp was good too, but I cannot pay $ 50 for a pound of shrimp! Get the crab cake and have a gourmet dinner at home.

Delicious quality food perfectly prepared.
Yum!

Ordered online a veal chop and some potatoes. $ 40. Tiniest veal chop I’ve ever see. Called and was told that is what they serve. So for a $ 29 veal chop, I give this place the award for worst value in New York City. (Potatoes were also over salted)

You are stepping back into time when you enter Leonards — and in fact few people do. They only have a handful of customers who actually shop here each day. Their business is mostly done by phone with the food delivered. My fantasy is that they serve mainly the wealthy on Park Avenue and Fifth but perhaps their ken is wider than I think. This is the kind of fish and butcher store I remember from my childhood — one in each neighborhood. But this is among the aristocrat of NY butchers, only a notch less prestigious than Ldbel’s on Madison. The service is highly personal and the manager and staff are more than glad to give you foolproof and detailed recipes for whatever you buy. As a novice cook I appreciate the respectful way they answer very elementary questions about cooking steaks and salmon. Of course you don’t come here for the staff but for the fresh meat and fish. The shell steak is unequaled — even when I am cooking them on the grill — and I can vouch for the four or so varieties of salmon, the fresh squid, the scallops, the clams and oysters — both of which they will shuck for a surcharge in a jiffy). Such quality food and such quick, knowledgable and personal service does not come cheap but there are actual bargains if you walk in rather than phone in an order. They have pretty good cooked chickens for a few dollars each almost every day and they almost always have pound and a half steamed lobsters at about $ 14 each. Check the window for each day’s walk in specials because they really are items priced especially low. Otherwise everything is pricey. But you knew that when you decided not to go to Gristedes

I was in a jam and needed a big slab of pork belly. They were the only place within 15 blocks that had one. They were really nice too. Now my friends get to eat delicious porchetta!

Extremely clean with a very friendly staff. You can call in your orders too which is great. I just love knowing where my meat comes from because i feel that it makes the butchershop better quality. They are Zagat rated!!!

I noticed the «lobster rolls» sign on Leonard’s door and decided to give it a try, very excited about the possibility of a good, to-​go lobster roll on the UES. (I never cook meat, poultry, or fish, so I would never have thought to walk into this shop had the sign not caught my eye.) The lobster was super fresh, with just the right amount of seasoning, mayo, and chives on a basic bun. The guys who work here are very nice. For $ 16, the price is comparable to that of other take out/​away lobster rolls (including Lukes’s, Red Hook Lobster Pound, and Homarus), but Leonard’s wins on flavor. The quantity is not enough to make this a meal by itself (nor is the quantity at any of the other vendors listed), but that’s easily solved by purchasing two or pairing it with sides. The only downside at Leonard’s is that there are no sides to pair with the lobster roll, but a quick trip to Citarella to pick up their delish potato salad and crunchy string beans sautéed with garlic, and you’ve got a winner!

I love to support local butcher shops, but wow is this place overpriced. And not like Lobel’s, overpriced because it’s incredible, just priced higher than you can get elsewhere. Further, they don’t appear to do enough business for adequate seafood turnover. If I need to get something in the neighborhood you can find me at the citarella around the corner (especially for seafood), although increasingly i’ve been picking up meat from the Union Square farmer’s market.

I really want to give Leonard’s 5 stars because everything that I’ve had there (primarily pork) is so amazing I can’t eat pork from anywhere else now! It is SO good. They get 4 stars because they are pricey, but hey it’s Heritage breed pork so… you get what you pay for! Delicious, everyone in there is nice, I love the butchers. Totally worth the trek!
Also, they deliver in the area, very quickly, which is a huge plus!

I was looking for a boneless turkey breast for Thanksgiving and was having a hell of a time finding a decent one. I live in this area and I walked by Leonards Market (now on 2^nd and 74^th?). I knew this was going to be the place to get my turkey breast.
Immediately I was offered help when I entered and as I explained my situation to one of the butchers, he knew exactly what I needed. About 5 minutes later I had half a breast (perfect for 2), he de-​boned it, and he was explaining how I should cook it as well. He was super nice in a very grand-​fatherish way.
The only reason I took one star off is because it’s a bit pricey. I think the quality is on par for the price, but $ 13 for a half a breast later I felt a little milked. BUT, for Thanksgiving I didn’t mind.

Leonard’s Market (meats) will be moving to Second Ave, bet E 74^th & E 75^th Sts.
If you don’t feel like trekking over to 2^nd Ave, there’s Eli’s Market on the NE corner of Third Ave & E 80^th St. They’re open later than Leonard’s too (9pm vs. 7pm).