11/13/09

Smile???

by secretgirl1

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!

06/07/09

Declining?

by scarletmacaw

I make a trip to Citarella's about once a month to buy fish, free-range chicken, and specialty items that are hard to find, such as farro whole wheat pasta and Scharffen Berger chocolate. In that past couple of years it seems the quality of their fish has been declining. Often fish labeled "fresh" has obviously been frozen. Maybe some people can't tell the difference, but if you eat fresh fish you know the texture and flavor of fish that's been frozen is different. Moreover, once fish has been frozen once, it cannot be frozen again or it is ruined. Another annoying aspect of the store is that they sell prime meats and the only differences between prime meat and choice meat is that prime meat has more fat and is more expensive. Most of us are trying to watch our fat intake, and our wallets!

• Pros: Free-range chicken, specialty groceries
• Cons: mislabeling

05/13/09

Citarella's Fish is Never Fresh

by HighLo

Do not expect the fish at the West Village Citarella

to be fresh. They always say it came in that day,

but that is what they are told to say. The workers

encourage you to buy the filet rather than the

whole fish because the filet most likely is not

fresh. Try to get them to clean the shrimp

properly after the shell is removed. It is never

cleaned well. When asking to filet the fish, there are

always bones left in it. This place should

checked out by the appropriate agency. There are very few fish

stores in NYC. Buying fresh fish is a challenge.

I have complained to Customer Service about

this at Citarella. It is a waste of good time.

• Cons: Old fish, unclean shrimp, bones left in fish

03/03/09

A Gourmet Favorite!

by hungrycouple

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. :)

10/13/03

Shockingly Dissapointment

by jeep4x4enthusiast

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

09/18/03

if you have the bucks...

by nycritic00

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

09/08/03

spa owner

by ingvor

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: ?, ?, ?

A famous fish market offers more than just fish.

by Contributor

The Scene
Widely considered to be among the best fish markets in the entire city, this gourmet grocery chain now includes locations on Upper East Side and the Hamptons as well as the original Upper West Side location, along with a fine-dining seafood restaurant in Rockefeller Center.

The Goods
The presence of a butcher has put the quality of Citarella's meat in line with the quality of its fish. There's also a prepared food section in this bright and airy shop, with an emphasis on the sea. As it continues to strive for one-stop shop appeal, Citarella has added charcuterie, coffees, pickles, smoked fish, cheese, chocolates and pastries. The Upper East Side location is particularly known for its produce.

01/05/03

Second to none

by PigOutNYC

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

12/18/02

A great resource for the Upper East Side

by kflam

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