Ariemma’s Italian Deli

Wow ! I really don’t know where to start because everything was just fabulous from start to finish with this outstanding establishment ! I waited 5 months to write this reveiw and it was well worth it to share our outstanding experience .This past October I threw a massive Halloween party here in Dongan Hills. We decided to get the food from Ariemma’s and met with Mario the owner. He was very busy when we got there but still made time to sit down and help us order the food.. We ordered 2 5 foot hero’s and macaroni, potatoe and cole slaw salads, .
1 was an Italian hero and the other 1 was a grilled chicken hero with all the fixings on both. We also hired 1 server from there as well. It was a fine young man by the name of «Santo» who was his son. Since it was a Halloween party I had asked if he could be in a costume and he did just that. Just a few days prior to the party I had called up Mario to confirm the food, delivery and help. He said yes and much to my surprise he told me that he would be sending a 2^nd server as well. He just wanted to make sure my party went smooth by giving an extra hand which by the way happened to be a fine young lady as well who was his daughter «Gabby». «I thanked him and said i’ll see them the day of the party.
The evening of the party they arrived exactly on time. Extremely punctual. They even made little banners for the hero’s and decorated them halloween themed. How nice of them to take that extra step. Now let me explain the exemplary service from this sibling duo. We pointed them to where everything was and they were on their way. They even helped with a faulty porch light that wouldn’t work and took the extra step to fix it. Who does that for you? That was beyond their call of duty and yet they did it ! Taking the initiative when they did not have to. I noticed it and was extremelly impressed and thankful.
Then they were off and running like 2 jet engines at an airport ! It was like 2 sharks who smelled blood in the water ! Precise, polite and extremely effective at multitasking ! Serving everyone in a courteous manner with a huge gleeful smile ! They never lost a step or felt overwhelmed even though we had up to 50 guests ! Very professional and very kind with real elegance and charm ! We was extremely fortunate to have this fine family help serve our party with their mouthwatering food ! Everyone repeatedly said how great the food was and the help !
So if you’re thinking about having a party this is definetely the place to do business with. Highly, highly recommended !
Thank you so much Mario, Santo and Gabby for making our party run so smoothly
Tommy n Maria !

Great guys! Great food! Great service I order a ham and Swiss hero with more Swiss than ham and they actually do it the way I ask! Owner and workers super friendly! Thanks boys!

This place is the best. When I was away for college, I thought about them all the time. The guys that work there are extremely welcoming and attentive. The prices are reasonable, and the quality excellent. Ignore the décor and just enjoy the food.
The penne with vodka sauce is awesome. Their $ 5 heros are great when I am looking for a cheap bite, a good amount of hearty and delicious choices. But their special heros are well worth throwing down an additional 5 bucks. My favorite is the what a mess hero, a fantastically indulgent sandwich. It’s loaded with fried eggplant, chicken cutlet, mozzarella sticks, sauce and mozzarella cheese. This hero will put you in a food coma with no regrets.
If what I mentioned doesn’t entice you, they have a large selection of other foods that will satisfy any palate. If you haven’t tried this place yet, please stop in. Your tastebuds and belly will thank you.

Nice Italian place. All food fresh. Home of the chicken Lulu. Huge sandwich selection. If you never tried them you don’t know what your missing. Family run and very friendly.

Amazing shop. Owner is a comedian and just puts out 5 star sandwiches daily. Fantastic first experience. Amazing bread, eggplant Parmesan was delicious. Lulu is next on the list.

A few hours into our drive back to D.C., my boyfriend and I realized our increasing grumpiness and hunger were not coincidental. He said he wanted a «good sandwich,» and I knew what that hangry Maryland man needed: an authentic Italian deli. We found our hero in Staten Island at Ariemma’s. Actually, we found three heroes: store owner Mario, the Chicken Lu-​Lu, and the Bronx Bomber.
This place is exactly what I wanted my bf to experience. While we were there, we saw locals, construction workers, EMTs, and a family of three come through for fresh meat, produce and delicious sandwiches. You can buy imported Italian goods and even get red, green and white fuzzy dice for your car. People said «ciao» and «gratzie» and chatted amiably like they’d been coming here for years… They probably have.
I recommend ordering in advance, if you can, as there was a bit of a wait for the food. The meal did not disappoint, however. We saw multiple Unilocalers praised the Chicken Lu-​Lu, so we ordered that. The gravy was rich and delicious and the chicken was perfectly fried. You know how sometimes a breaded chicken cutlet turns soggy OR is basically all fried breadcrumbs and no meat? That wasn’t the case here. The sandwich was tasty, but it was a real belly buster. If you have a few hours for a food coma, go for it.
We were super impressed with the Bronx Bomber. Something about the Worcestershire sauce and coleslaw and fresh roast beef combined together so well. It was a perfect blending of flavors served on great bread, moistened up by that tasty slaw. Napkins were utilized. Also, for a heavy sounding sandwich, it was surprisingly light… or at least it didn’t weigh us down. I would 100% come back just for this sandwich, but I’m so curious about the other items on the menu, I think I’d have to explore the options a bit. They all sound great!
Finally, we had the macaroni salad. It was good, not too tangy, pretty standard with small bits of celery for a crunch. The homemade (and homegrown!) pickles by Mario Frank were really unique. They aren’t sweet, but they aren’t a kosher dill either. Maybe half-​sour? We bought a MASSIVE pickle, cut into slices, and enjoyed every refreshing, flavorful bite.
SO glad we stopped. This place was a real treat. I wish them success and hope they keep serving up great sandwiches (and pickles!) for years to come.

Phenomenal. The chicken parm hero could easily go for double the price. It is a bad idea to write this when I’m this hungry, because it is only making things worse. Service is quick, and the people are very friendly. I implore you, if you have the opportunity, get a chicken parm hero. It will change your life!

I came here because of great Unilocal reviews and now I feel compelled to leave one myself. I was welcomed in and made to feel at home even though it was my first time here and I had no idea what I wanted (testament to the owner). I decided to get The Bronx Bomber on a wrap and man, I was not disappointed.
He told me he could put anything on a wrap and have it done in 5 minutes and was not lying! I can honestly say this is one of the best wraps I’ve ever had… so much meat and melted cheese… I will definitely be coming back!

Mario makes you feel like you been friends for years! So welcoming and fantastic service, he’s funny, nice and of course ALL STATEN ITALY :-)
Heroes are nice big size and so great no matter what choice you choose to create your little masterpiece. He offers lots of different names and choices just like the Cara Mia which is homemade turkey, American cheese, salt, pepper, oil and jalapeños or the Chicken LuLu which is chicken park with mozzarella and brown gravy or maybe you wanna go for the eggplant parm or have yourself a nice Reuben but Ariemma style! You can’t go wrong with whatever you choose!
He also serves small sides like fried prosciutto balls, seafood salads, tuna, chicken salad, even has different type of olives!
Very old school classic Italian deli from the good luck keep away the bad spirit key chains, huge Italian dice for the car mirror, or maybe you need yourself a nice deep dish oven dish to make some homemade chicken parm and they got huge tins of tomato sauce if you need it !
I will def. come back to this place! Love the staff and I loved my food even more, plus he has special lunch specials for $ 5 sandwiches and you def. cant beat that especially when it’s stacked and you might not finish the whole thing because your so full from the nice size delish scrumptious filling first half you just gulped!

Everytime I order a sandwich here it is hard as a rock and tasteless. While everyone else in my household loves the sandwiches when you can’t eat it because yours is harder than everyone else’s it’s a downfall. I refuse to order a sandwich from here.

I’m writing this review 3000 miles away in sunny California. We lost a loved one in Staten Island and with the storms I was unable to attend the services of my Aunt. I called Mario the day before of the services. Told Mario my budget and he put together a great spread for my family. Chicken Cutlets — two side dishes. I even asked Mario to attach a note to my family sending our condolences from across the country. He arrived on time. Delivered the food. Everyone enjoyed it. Mario I can’t thank you enough for helping us. Your A plus in my books. Will stop by next time I’m in town for a cutlet sandwich

Wow, stumbled onto this place of a trip to SI for business. There are not many genuine old-​school italian delis left in NY and boy this is a gem! I had a wrap with chicken cutlet, tots, steak, onions, mozz which awesome, forgot the name. They had tons of specialty items and all the deli meats looked fresh. The owner and his son were super nice and very friendly. Want to back to get some fresh cavatelli and another specialty hero!

Great «old school» family run Italian-​American deli. The place has alot of history. Great sandwich prices.

Oh man this place is so good. The Chicken Lulu sandwich is just one of those things that you have to try, it’s awesome.

I’ve lived in the Bronx, Brooklyn & Manhattan and Ariemma’s is the best, most authentic deli I’ve ever been to. Easily the best sandwiches and cold cuts I’ve ever had. The family that runs it are always friendly and their staff is also.
The Chicken Lulu is becoming popular but every sandwich here is fantastic.
They’re huge Yankee/​Sinatra fans based on the names of some of the sandwiches. (Would it kill ‘ya to name 1 sandwich after a Met! :). Kidding. Still the best deli in NYC.

I had the chicken lulu sandwich it was fantastic. Chicken cutlet, mozzarella and gravy on a hero. Old time sandwich shop, I would recommend to anyone.

The food here is fantastic. The gravy they put on the eggplant or chicken parm tastes like what my grandmother used to make on Sundays.
Alot of the reviews say old world… but it’s more like outdated and just plain old. Worn out floors, old (er) refrigerators (hello 1980!). Don’t look too closely because you will see alot of shmutz that you may wish you didn’t see. It could really use a nice scrub and some sprucing up. I guess this could be a dive deli?
There are alot of chachkas around the deli for sale, or newspaper clippings with their comments. It adds a nice touch to the place. The lunch specials are all made to order. They are hot, delicious and fresh!
The employees are all friendly and their sandwich and lunch specials are priced really well.

Great place for a nice lunch to go. My favorite from here is their chicken salad sandwich… Just a little salt and pepper and it’s perfect. The chicken is real chicken breast they cook and make for the salad — not canned chicken. Meatballs and eggplant prepared are good from here as well.
Very old school Italian deli. Creaky floors and old refrigerators. Nice selection of cold drinks. They even have some old style Italian trinkets and t shirts for sale. Check this place out. Great place to get a sandwich

Best chicken salad I have had in a long time! All fresh and white meat. There are not many Italian delis left on the island so it’s a nice change from top tomato or any chain. Staff was very friendly and prices weren’t so bad depending on what you got.

They make a nice sandwich alot of ingredients and items imported from italy… staff is friensly but if your in a hurry this isnt the place for u