Nicola’s

The sandwiches are a little on the expensive side but the quality of the ingredients is excellent. Place has a nice neighborhood feel to it. Service is pleasant in a NY kind of way! Reminds me of delis in my old hood!

Amazing little store! It doesn’t look like much from the outside but inside is filled with all sorts of European treats that you can’t find anywhere else in this neighborhood! Fantastic selection of cheese and cured meats including jamón from Spain and prosciutto from Italy. There is also a selection of prepared foods. I highly recommend it checking it out!

Family owned and run neighborhood gourmet shop with delicious meats, cheese, coffee, prepared foods and more. Friendly, knowledgable staff that always takes care of their customers.

Small dinky spot. A customer wanted lunch and suggested I try it. only one guy was helping while the other sat there eating. My order would have taken any nyc deli 10 min– FOURTY, yes 40 min later– I am out. I counted 5 leave, two said they would come back and the others looked annoyed. How they can possibly stay in business functioning like that I have no idea. No plates for the food, nothing to heat it in so anything from the counter is cold, I made the mistake of asking for utensils– that was 5 min more. You want a sandwich? No lettuce but they can give you tomato on it for $ 2. Just the whole thing is wrong. Again– I am not sure how they stay in business– I am sure they are lovely people but as far as the business– no way

As far as I am concerned Nicolas is the best store in the neighborhood. Quality and selection of product excellent. Somewhat limited due to small space. Wonderful, hard working owners. Review suggesting items out of date and rude service TOTALLY off base. Reviewer apparently has axe to grind for some reason. Highly recommend

This place is great. I live above the store and have for over a year. Freddy and Nic are great business owners and deep rooted in this community. The meat and cheese selection is impressive for such a small space. The prepared foods are what makes my life so much easier. I can pick up quality sides if I’m already cooking in my NYC kitchen which is small. Or grab a few meatballs and only have to cook pasta. But most of all the guys there are neighborhood guys that are quality over quantity. Great to have an espresso and light convo. Food from heaven with down to earth attitude. Thanks guys

products are often terrific… highest quality imports, exceptionally well kept cheeses. Agreeable staff can be on the slow side, which is frustrating if you are in a hurry but besides that only good things to say. Negative comments stem from misplaced price expectations and probable frustration with staff… ALSO BREADS AND BAKED GOODS (PROBABLY BALTHAZAAR, NOT SULLIVAN STREET) VERY GOOD

Great neighborhood shop/​deli serving Italian food, sandwiches, etc… went in for lunch had a great genoa salami and provolone sandwich, as you can see from the photo, they don’t skimp at all! The bread was imported from Sullivan street bakery. Overall, great sandwich and service.

Seem like nice guys but $ 13 for a turkey sandwich with cheese and tomatoes. (broken out as 8.25+1.75 for cheese and 2.00 for a slice of tomato). He should have warned me before he took 15 mins to make the sandwich.
When i complained he said, well our prices haven’t gone up and the turkey is $ 14 lbs.
Humm I guess I will not return because these guys are just there to hang out not run a business. $ 13 for a turkey sandwich, even for manhattan these dudes suck

Not good. Eek! Me thinks not is probably the best verbiage to describe this place. The only way I would ever go back to Nicola’s is if all the prosciutto in the US was depleted. The guys working there were extremely rude and corrected my pronunciation of mozzarella going as far as to say it is annoying. The food is old and the meat selection is very weak for an Italian specialty store. They do not even stock roasted red peppers because «they can’t can’t keep them fresh longer than a week» which leads to believe that the food is old and the guys are cheap. The store itself is small, dirty, full of expired prepackaged goods, and simply unappealing. I don’t think that these gentleman put any effort into running this shop. I was extremely excited to get an homemade Italian sandwich today and would not have wrote this honest review had the gentleman not been rude. I’ve been eating at Italian specialty shops since I can remember and Nicola’s is on the very low end.
As you can see from Nicola’s comment, his arrogance and inability to address any of my honest claims is a testament to him and his lack of service one should find in a «high end specialty store.» Instead of educating one about the products Nicola was rude and arrogant. His comments about not being an «immigrant store» and «the Italian Americans» are completely inappropriate. Nicola has showcased his lack service and respect for his customer. I said earlier that I would not have wrote this review if Nicola had not acted in the manner which he did because I wouldn’t want to hurt any ones business. However, now I feel even more just in writing my honest review about the establishment.

I call the brothers that own and run this place Mario and Luigi. My mom tells me that they used to be successful hedgehogs on Wall Street and that they quit to open up this teeny tiny specialty food store, but they have not confirmed this. They are my Italian butchers, and they more than satisfy all my salted meat needs. There is usually a little wait if you need something sliced, but no one in here minds. There is no better source for salted meats, and fine grocery items. In addition to the meats and cheeses they carry all those great little grocery items that you discovered in Europe and thought that you’d never see again. This includes the prepackaged nutella filled croissants that cost me ten pounds in France.
If you’re not in the market for grocery items, they have a daily selection of ready to eat specialties, or they will make you a sandwich with anything you want. If you are having a party and need supplies, just tell them how many people, and they will outfit you with all the hor d’oeurves.
Nicola’s is one of the many reasons I love living in this old established neighborhood.

I lived over this shop for many, many years. Nick and Freddie were always a great source of knowledge for all my queries. They had the greatest selections of Italian hams and sausage. Cheese selectons were unusual and in prime condition… I now live in the Hamptons… but I find I miss their always friendly greetings and most certainly their wonderful prosciuttos and Black Forest hams. In fact, tomorrow I will phone them to say hello and find out whether I can overnight a care package of delicious foods from this wonderful and sorely missed (for me) store… a true gem. I miss them terribly!

It’s always nice to see bits of Little Italy scattered, seemingly displaced (and often overlooked) across the city.
Briefly walking past Nicola’s in Midtown East, I decided to drop in and take a look around. It’s a small and narrow Italian-owned-Mom&Pop pasta/​meat/​cheese grocery store/​deli. On the door was a hand-​made sign which advertised «Will be Closed on May _​_​for Family Wedding.» Clearly, it’s an old school shop with a regular following.
On the register were cheese sticks sold individually and there’s a freezer and fridge section for fresh pasta.
If you’re in the area and looking for some Italian groceries, I’m sure Nicola’s can help you find at at least some of what you’re looking for. And I guarantee you they’ll do it with a smile.