Citarella

There was a notice on the door that they closed in mid-​April. It will be missed. I thought something was up, as the last few times I was in there, it appeared that the food selection was getting smaller and smaller.

Great grocery store in an unexpected location. I work at 129^th and Amsterdam, and there aren’t many lunch options in the area. Many props to a coworker who suggested we check out Citarella one day. In addition to being a great grocery store in general with lots of organic and natural products (it’s pretty expensive, but it’s a hot commodity on 125^th), they have some great prepared food products. Particularly good are the sandwiches, wraps, and salads. They also have tons of cheese and a yummy looking deli counter. One day, they were giving away free pieces of cake at the cash register. All in all, it’s a great place for lunch if you’re in the area and the other options are Dunkin Donuts or Subway, and a great grocery store if you’re sick of Pathmark.

Meh is right… sparse and it smelled funny. I have been to several other locations and they are all better. I probably will not be back to this one.

This place is great, everything is fresh. Yes it is pricier than the pathmark, met, c-​town, etc but Citarella items are great. Plus I don’t have to deal with the crowds at Fairway when I shop here. They don’t have the largest selection, but a great selection of items is still available. Besides the price, this is definitely my go to place.

Good selection. Could use more authentic Italian items.

High quality cheeses and other organic and/​or hard to find food. like a miniature specialty whole foods. The cheese selection is wonderful and while I have not had any of the prepared foods yet, they always look delicious. The produce is usually pretty good, although there have been a couple of times when it looked pretty pathetic and I passed and went to the Met instead. Some things are pricey (don’t go here for the staples — i.e. milk) but other things are a great deal such as produce, herbs and spices, cheese
Bottom line: Go here if you are looking for a specific hard to find or high quality ingredient. Don’t go here to do your weekly grocery shopping.

I work AND live in the area, so I am offended by previous comments that this Citarella won’t reach out to people who enjoy quality foods. With that said, I expect more when I spend an arm and a leg to buy fine produce. The past few times I have stopped in for fruits and veggies I was REALLY disappointed to find mold growing within a few days. I’d much rather make the trek to Whole Foods on 59^th if it means my food will last an entire week! However, I might still come by for frozen/​ready to eat goods that WON’T go rotten on me for sheer convenience.

Ready to make at home escargot in Harlem. That right there makes it a five star establishment.
It’s super duper expensive but the produce, meat, deli and bakery selection is of a quality that cannot be beat, tied or neared by another grocery store within a half mile, which in NYC, is a significant distance.
A delicious olive bar, fancy pastries, truffle butter, crusty french bread, pre-​made stuffed artichokes (get these! they’re amazing!) Hawaiian pink sea salt, extensive cuts of fish and meat or fresh herbs and varied gourmet produce.
If you’re in the area and have an extra chunk of change in your pocket (which you obviously do, at least for the moment, as you are interested in any of the pricey items listed above) Citarella Harlem is the place for you. It will make you happy.
And shoot, any day I can find a deal at Marshall’s, see a $ 6 matinée at Magic Johnson theater, walk by Popeye’s and get a biscuit, hit the Rite Aid for a reload of shower products and then walk into this dreamland to finish off my day of leisure picking up some truffle butter on my way home, well that is a five star day.

Hi,
I am writing about the lousy service that Citarella has. I love the food but their delivery service is atrocious. First of all, the service reps don’t know anything… the guy who took my order said it would be delivered at around 6:30pm…when did it arrive? 7:50 pm and then they claim there is this huge window (bet 6 – 8).
The bread was damaged and the food was packed in this crappy plastic bag. When I go to the store, they have really nice bags.
I don’t get it!
they suck

Hmm interesting social commentary going on here. How about I get to the point as a first:
Who gives a shit whether the other Citarella’s around the city are 50xs nicer? This place is a lovely gem in the midst of Met Foods and Duane Reade’s and is the only store at which I feel completely thrilled buying my meats without trekking halfway across the city.
Yes it’s still expensive which is why I limit Citarella to things of a meat and produce nature – red kidney beans are the same up the street. But it’s a lovely option that I am so grateful to have and the hating should cease. If you have a nicer Citarella nearer to you, go to that one and stop bitching. In the meantime, I’ll be there buying delicious salmon steaks right across from the projects. HOLLER.

First of all, FUCK you haters who think the location of this Citarella is whack. What, folks who live in the projects can’t appreciate quality produce, Italian specialty foods, and fresh, locally-​raised fish? They’re so poor that they should stick to enriched bleached flour-​based breads and pastas, generic brand frozen veggies, and Kool-​Aid packets?! Classist assholes! Years back, my broke-​ass best friend fucking took her food stamp card and tried to buy shit at Citarella (Upper Westside location though) because despite the fact she was making $ 5 a week, the bitch NEEDED truffle oil, OKAY?!
So with that said, Citarella Harlem is a nice oasis of fresh and expensive produce, imported food goodies, and decadent desserts in the desert landscape of C-​Towns and other crappy grocery stores in Harlem. I selfishly would want it one or two blocks east, just so it would be closer to me, but I’ll walk the extra distance to get fresh baguettes! The only true downfall is that it is a small store, so there isn’t the biggest selection like the UWS location.

Apparently Citarella started in Harlem in a location close to this one before moving to the west side and expanding from there so I think this store is a bit of a nostalgia play for the owners. I agree with previous reviewers however that the location leaves something to be desired. Not that it is in Harlem, because I think there is enough of a gourmet clientele in the area and certainly below them in Columbialand to support the store, but their choice of block. It is far from the 125^th street hub of st. nicholas-​lennox and around a corner so it isn’ teven visible from the ABCD. It is also a few blocks over from the 1 so it is sort of in no man’s land sharing a block with some hair places, a bodega and a shabby pet store. (and yes it is across from housing projects). They do seem to have customers when I am in there but not a ton, and they close on the earlier side (8:00 and 7:00 on Sundays) so they are sort of limiting their chances. The store itself is great, with typical citarella quality produce and fish (the fish is way nicer than at Fairway or any of the local markets). Their prepared foods counter looks appealing and their meats are extremely good. I actually had a long chat with the butcher about how good their buyer must be because they had $ 9/​lb beautifully marbled strip steaks that were rated as choice when they were clearly prime or better. Also despite the reputation I don’t find them to be much more expensive than other places (Fairway included). The location is a bit daunting though. Unless you live in the immediate one or two block vicinity or seek it out like I do, you are highly unlikely to walk by this place ever. At least Fairway attracts the suburban driving crowd with their highway entrance. I do hope they make it though b/​c it is a nice shop that I visit often and could be a sign of the neighborhood really turning a corner.

People travel to Fairway in Harlem, so why not CItarella?