Barzini
“I love the fresh FETA from behind the counter and their olive bar is way cheaper than Whole Foods or Zabar's. The cheese selection is good.”
“And unlike Whole Foods, Zabars and Fairway, Barzini's is open 24 hours which is fantastic.”
“It's cheaper than Zabars so that's a plus, but Dean and Deluca's is cheaper than Zabars these days so what does that really say?”
Barzini
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range Moderate
7 reviews
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I have been meaning to write a review for this grocery store for some time now. After I purchased a bundle of bananas ($2.75) the other night and came home to find they were completely rotten ( couldn't tell from the outside of the bag), I felt it was time. As another reviewer said, it seems it takes one day, if that, for whatever you buy there to magically expire. I bought a pre made salad one day and checked the date to be sure it was still good, which it was, but upon opening it up to eat, I literally found white out in the salad!! I returned it to them and they gave me my money back but to my surprised, they didn't even seem bothered or shocked by the paint in the uneaten salad! This market, while closest to my apartment, is not good for anything except maybe their iced tea or cold and closed drinks. Food is moldy, tasteless and often just poor quality. Bummer.
STAY AWAY!
Well, I love the cheese samples and I've bought a good portion of it. Interesting fruits like golden raspberries which I haven't seen in any other store in Manhattan.
Why only 3 stars? Huge, fricking grey rat dashing across the aisle.
Why still give them 3 stars? Just like the rats, I like the cheese samples.
Staff's ok. No one seems excited to be working there. Who would be when you're working with rats.
Okay lets be honest — barzinis isn't the CLEANEST store in NYC but its 1) open all the time 2) has plentiful cheap produce (even if you have to check for mold and bruises) 3) cheese samples! As long as you know you should only buy prepackaged food and you're prepared to navigate skinny aisles… You're good to go at barzinis!
Gross. Just say no. Their problems are fixable but they don't seem to care. Until they clean up the place, discard the old cheeses and produce and then hire decent help, Barzini's is a waste of time and money.
Go to Zabars.
Aside from the fact that they're selling expired food and never clean their floors or cases, they are constantly blocking up the sidewalk between 90th and 91st. How freaking in contempt of people are you? Rotten food and now no sidewalk access?
I know the prices are great for the area, and that some of their stuff out front is OK. But the fact is…they sell expired food people! They also relabel expired foods with new dates!
You can never be sure if what you are getting is good or not. Why take the chance of eating something not fit for consumption? Also, should you really be eating things from a place where the floors, shelves, and cases are literally filthy? No way!
If you don't believe me, take a look around to see for yourself. There are rotting vegetables in the inside produce cases, dead bugs on the floor, live bugs on the walls (check back near the potatoes and onions), and rotting yogurt, butter, and sour cream in the dairy section. It's just beyond comprehension.
When you patronize a crappy business like this, you give them a license to continue on with their dirty, disgusting, and obnoxious practices.
If you're see the same things I have, then you should call 311 to report how unsanitary this place is.
Well, I probably wouldn't not come here for actual groceries (especially fresh produce and whatnot), but the beer selection is A-mazing. In fact, it's the reason my girlfriend insisted that we stop here during a long, COLD walk back up to our apartment after catching a movie. The store itself seems kind of dirty and dingy…no thanks.
Seriously, just about any and all atypical beers you can find here. They even have the giant 2-pint bottles of anything from Coney Island's Freaktoberfest to Goose Island's Pere Jacques. Not to mention plenty of 6 packs of both local and import ales and lagers to keep any beer snob happy. And the prices are decent for an upper west side location and the quality that you're getting!
So really, when I feel like a decent 6 pack of something non-Coors Light (as if I'd drink that anyway), Barzini's the place to go.
Terrific Upper West Side grocery store!