Parma

If you like chicken or veal Parmesan… This is the place to be. It is a very cozy atmosphere, with a friendly wait staff and delicious food.
It is always consistent in quality and they have a nice selection to choose from.

This is the sister restaurant to Nicola’s, and the food is very similar. The negatives are similar as well, although in my experience the service at Parma is better, and the prices are somewhat more tolerable, as they do more accompaniments (almost everything at Nicola’s is pure a la carte). That said, just like at Nicola’s, the quality of the food overwhelms any negatives — their chicken parm in particular is one of my favorites anywhere.

Love the ambiance — good neighborhood joint. It seem everyone is a regular. The food is solid. Wasn’t a fan of their Ceaser salad but loved The spaghetti Bolognese.

After reading a few reviews my husband and I went the Parma for dinner. We live on the UES and wanted to try a new place. As soon as we walked in we knew this place was not for us. The crowd is much, much older. The staff is friendly, and the food was just ok. The presentation is terrible. I ordered Buffalo Salad, and was given 3 sliced tomatoes and 3 pieces of sliced cheese. We will not be back.

The food quality varies between very good and excellent. But really this is a neighborhood place for the well-​heeled locals who reside on UES. Either it works for you because you live locally and are not price sensitive or it won’t because you can get equivalent quality at more well known Italian restaurants.

Been eating here for 17 years and the quality has been consistently excellent. Have never had a bad meal here.
Wait staff have been here many years and they treat you like family.
Good desserts and a generous pour of wine by the glass make this a great place to bring all generations.

Gran gran gran lugar en el Upper Manhattan. Muy recomendable. NO es caro, la comida es buena y la atención excelente.

My boyfriend and I love Italian food. He more than I. We frequent Carmine’s out of comfort, but I was interested in trying a new place. I asked around and a co-​worker of mine told me he had the best Chicken Parmesan ever from a restaurant on 80^th avenue named Parm. I «Googled» and « Unilocaled» the name Parm. Tons of related results, which was confusing. When choosing between Parma and a restaurant named Parm my boyfriend and I opted to stay on the east side. When we arrived at Parma, we noticed it’s very intimate setting and that it was almost empty, which excited us as we often go places that are crowded and noisy. We were served immediately, we didn’t have appetizers. I had the Malfatti stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese with mushrooms and my boyfriend had the chicken Parmigiana served with spaghetti. When they delivered our meals, the portions were small and we expected bigger portions for the prices. My boyfriend complained that he expected more chicken. However the meal was very authentic and tasted great. We continued to enjoy attentive service of the waiters, and the cozy environment.
Upon completion of our meal we were given some cookies as token, which were very yummy. It was a very nice experience and we both agreed to go back soon.
(PLEASE NOTE: MY BOYFRIEND AND I ALWAYS DRESS FOR COMFORT. WE WERE WEARING SWEATPANTS AND SNEAKERS, AND WERE TREATED EXCEPTIONALLY DESPITE THE FACT THIS WAS A VERY TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RESTAURANT on the Upper Eastside.)

tablespoon or 2 of reggianno parmiagano and you are in a pasta coma for hours. Staff is great also.

The food is fair priced and tasty. Service is ok but stodgy. The crowd is older or family. The décor is outdated I’m 60 and was my first visit. I’ll return. Needs updating to survive. No Bronzino or eggplant or” fruiti del mar «at other Italian eateries that are in same mid upper category. Maybe couple attractive young waiters too

Parma is one of the best retaurants that I’ve ever been to and I have been to them all. All over the world. The common thread from people that do not like it is because they are not from NY. Go back to MT and CA and see if you get any good food at all. It’s a neighborhood place. It isn’t Daniel or the George Sanc… Get over it. Don’t come. Better for us. We’ve never, ever had a bad meal or service there and we’ve been eating there for 15+ years. At least once a week and a lot of week, two– three times. It’s good, solid food.

Several weeks ago I dined at Parma with a friend. It was a Saturday night and we arrived early so we could get good service which we did. I ordered scallops and after a few nibbles became aware of a chemical taste to them. Because I often give restaurants the benefit of any doubt, I was somewhat reluctant to have the plate sent back, but finally decided to do so. It was graciously taken by the waiter. Offered a different entrée, I thought it would be safe to order meatballs with pasta. This was basically ordinary bordering on tasteless. I ate a small portion and after we finished our meal, we ordered cappuccino coffee. Again, nothing special; nothing that could come close with the delicious cappuccino that I frequently drank in Costas (in Beijing) or in any Starbucks.

Some of the best Italian food in the Upper East Side. The service is consistently top notch. The atmosphere is also great, if at times a bit loud. Great for family events and large groups. Maybe not so much for first dates.

I’m beginning to not trust Unilocal.It’s like this restaurant was only reviewed by employees and family members. Average food at best. Less then hospitable service. The gentleman who sat me was polite. I went for the pasta carbonara. How do you screw that up? It’s the simplest dish. It came in a pool. Good flavor but was like a soup. Seems like a neighborhood spot that’s hood winked its neighbors.

Two friends and I were wandering around the Upper East Side and looking for Italian and found this place. It is definitely as others have described it – old school, in its menu, décor, and service. The service was just alright, and the bread that came out was cold and a bit too hard for my liking. The food, however, was pretty good – I had the gnocchi, which was very good and fresh with average to slightly higher-​than-​average prices. The small dessert plate at the end of the meal was a nice touch, as well. It’s a decent place to eat in the area, but not some place I’d go out of my way to eat.

This was a wonderful place for a 2^nd date… I say 2^nd only b/​c I feel it doesn’t have to be a chic place for a 1^st date. The overall look of Parma is very upper east side. which I love. The penne a la vodka was so delicious and their Merlot was great as well. My date was from Boston and he said that Parma was the best Italian cuisine he had in a while. I will most certainly go back for a girlies luncheon date very soon.

After an exhausting, but super interesting trip to the Met — I was in search of a decent restaurant for dinner within walking distance. When I discovered Parma, which is incidentally the name of one of my favorite SF restaurants, I figured it was kismet. As I made my way through the Upper East Side, the walk was pleasant, but I had definitely worked up a healthy appetite.
While the décor was nothing to write home about, I did enjoy the bevy of Italians that immediately greeted me and my gf and who continued to dote on us for the entirety of our meal. I ordered my standard gnocci and it was delicious and satisfying. I found the prices to be very reasonable for NYC and I would definitely dine here again when I’m in town.

Seriously disappointed with this place. The service was very nice, and I really liked the atmosphere, but $$ and **** is extremely misleading. The food was mediocre at best, and it cost $ 90 for two of us to have 1 entrée each, share a salad, and have 1 glass of wine and a bottle of sparkling water. No dessert or coffee.
The arugula salad was very nice, if very simple and somewhat overpriced for what you get — arugula, salad dressing, and some delicious shaved Parmesan. The saltimbocco (sp) — veal with a sage butter sauce and prosciutto over sauteed spinach was uniquely flavorless, the gnocchi were tasty, but the tomato sauce and mushrooms they were served with was bland and tasted like it was out of a box.
The other diners seemed happy with their meals, but overall, I cannot recommend this place.

Parma is the kind of restaurant that initially earns a healthy dose of Unilocal skepticism.
After all, there are all of 9 reviews about a place that’s been around for 30+ years.
I suspect Parma’s aging demographic isn’t exactly likely to check-​in here with a smartphone.
And that’s fine as the food at Parma is the main attraction. You can come here and not worry about distractions such as trendiness or youthful escapades.
Parma, like its namesake city in Italy, is known for ham and cheese. I experienced both by ordering the prosciutto di Parma with melon and then chicken parmigiana. (Geographically, parmigianas are more of a southern italian standy than northern but I digress…)
The menu probably hasn’t changed in 30 years except to adjust to the rate of inflation.
An appetizer isn’t really necessary as the generous bread basket and fresh butter provide enough sustenance while waiting for the main. It’s the kind of italian bread that is perfect for sandwiches– crusty yet airy in the interior.
I’ve had prosciutto with melon many times and usually the melon is the sideshow, the relative you cover up, send to the corner and maybe see once a year for holidays– proscuitto’s poor relation.
Not so in this duo as the melon was every bit contributing to the goodness as the star prosciutto. Juicy melon, salty prosciutto, happy Tom.
My chicken parm occupied almost every inch of the plate. It’s easily large enough for two servings given the side of spaghetti. The mozarella was evenly distributed and lacked the goopy excess of past parms I’ve tried.
The layer of cheese best resembled that of a french onion soup but with bread chicken underneath. Just the right amount of sauce and each bite was downed with gusto.
$ 22, when compared to other chicken parms from say a pizzeria may seem high but given the size and quality, is well worth it.
The tiramisu dessert was use the spoon to clean the bowl worthy.
Think of Parma as the kind of place Gordon Ramsay may visit for Kitchen Nightmares, sample the food and then get up and leave because it’s just too good and his efforts at changing menu and interior would be futile.
Parma is good karma.

I really wanted to like this restaurant. From the moment I step into the restaurant, I was greeted warmly like I was a member of the family. The restaurant was full but I was by myself and they quickly sat me in the back of the restaurant.
I ordered the beef carpaccio as an appetizer and the chicken parm as my entrée, based on other Unilocalers’ recommendation. The carpaccio was served on a bed of mixed greens. It was fine but honestly not memorable. The chicken parm came out with a great cheesy, almost burnt crust. I loved the way it looked and was expecting a very good dish. Unfortunately, the chicken was too thinly sliced, the sauce was modestly sparse and as a result, I tasted mostly the crust and nothing else. For $ 22, I’ve had better chicken parm at numerous other Italian restaurants. I hate to be the first contrarian but I honestly was not impressed. Maybe I hit the wrong night with the wrong chef but the dishes were very ordinary.

I almost took one star away from Parma for atmosphere but I simply can’t do it. The food is too good.
I’m going to throw my vote in with the other Unilocalers that this is a family place, a neighborhood spot. No trendy color scheme, streamlined décor, or fancy lighting. In fact if I were to be really judgy I’d call the interior confused and even ugly. It looks a little thrown togetherr. Somehow the brass fixtures don’t mix with the stained glass windows which don’t mix with the dark, laquered wood… but I digress.
You’re going for the food, right? Well it’s phenomenal. The gnocchi was some of the best I’ve ever had. My good friend ordered chicken, mushroom and veal stuffed ravioli that was to die for. The waiter even customized our sauce selections, allowing us to deviate from the menu. My boyfriend got veal and judging from his clean plate it was great also (I didn’t get to try it). The wine was also delicious and the service was fast and attentive.
This is a great place for a family dinner, even getting together with friends.