Park East Kosher Butchers

I am not Kosher, but for guests and holidays I often find myself getting food here. Especially for Passover. The staff is always incredibly helpful — the gruffness is definitely schtick. They cater to all kinds of special orders, so I even got my Thanksgiving turkey here!

Always come here for food for the holidays and on Friday’s to bring my grandparents food. The service is always lovely thanks to Stephanie and the staff and really you do not get better chicken noodle soup in all the five boroughs.

Prices are outrageous. I bought food for Shabbat this week — spinach kugel had mold, turkey meatloaf had already gone sour. Counter people swore was cooked that day. This is the second time this has happened. Shame on them for selling soured food for Shabbat.

44 $/​lb ! More expensive than any kosher restaurant; better ask the price before placing an order !

We don’t keep kosher but every once in a while we need kosher meat for holidays and special guests. Even though we’ve moved to another part of the city we come back for their hot dogs. They are fantastic! All our suburban friends ask us to buy some for the BBQs we attend. It’s worth a trip just for the hot dogs, but while I am there I also pick up brisket which is always good.

So sad to give a negative review. But get it together! With so many people behind the counter and only 2 people waiting to be served there should be no reason for a 15 minute wait!
The place is literally filthy! See my photos for proof please. The meat trays are not cleaned before restocking and I can’t even imagine the amount of bacteria is all over the old meat grunge at the bottom.
The freezer temperatures are not set to New York City health codes. Which is not good for the food.
And upon politely requesting service. Three guys turned around and said your going to have to wait. What? Now all of a sudden people want to be attentive?! Insane.

Great Jewish deli. Fast pace and action packed all day. This is a true New Yorkers deli. You have to be vocal and aggressive in here or you will never get your order in!

Stopped in for the first time, and was amazed at their amazing customer service!
Everyone is very helpful and friendly, great neighborhood shop that builds personal relationships with each customer. Selection of products is unbeatable.

the food is decent enough. HOWEVER…, there is a huge problem with this place when it comes to service and overall experience. going there is a complete cluster-​f. no space, poor service, and a manager that is obnoxious to staff and patrons alike– actually find it hard to be around (especially as this person’s behavior/​attitude is an embarrasment to members of the faith and paints us in a horrible light)-maybe not growing up in nyc, i’m more delicate and not used to this type of character. LOL.
so i figured i would order online. ordered the night before for friday night shabbat dinner. supposed to have been delivered between 12 – 2. at 2:45 i called to check on the order and was told that it would be there by 3:45 at the latest. Absurd as that is, i had no option but to wait for the order. at 3:45 i called back and was told by a different staff member that it was delivered and was with my doorman, and then was hung up on. odd, as my building usually would call up. checked with the doorman, and they of course never received the delivery. called back (a third time now), and they said that it would be there by 4:30. they stated that they couldnt reach their delivery guy, and a multitude of other excuses and lies. was told that it was right before shabbat so they had a lot of orders. duh. thats why i ordered it thursday night for a 12 – 2 delivery. its offensive to have to wait 4:30 hrs for a simple delivery. asked to speak to above manager (murray), who lived up to his crassness and low quality customer service. never thought to ask what he could do for the inconvenience, continued with the excuses/​lies, and upset that i was wasting his time. if they simply would have said, hey, we messed up, sorry, we understand that its pretty ridiculous to have waited this long, what can we do to make it better (or even just take the initiative and say, we will knock off x % of your order) then all would have been forgiven. however, no apologies at all. hard to believe that they can stay in business with they way they treat customers. they are not the only game in town. supersol-​now seasons delivers and there are plenty of places on long island. park butchers is right there as well (though more expensive). its a shame that i will have a hard time patronizing this place, as the food is pretty good.

After placing a complaint with Park East Kosher, I was pleasantly surprised with an immediate and courteous response. The manager, Mr. Murray, provided me with a complimentary meal (exact order as the previous order) and the results were much better — 4 Stars. The corned beef was not dry, the coleslaw was very good (not sweet) and the service was excellent. If the pickle was good I would have given it 5 stars — I don’t care for the taste of the pickle that is provided with your meal. Overall — very good and I’m now satisfied customer and would place an order with Park East Kosher in the very near future.

You might be scared away by the staff’s gruffness, but it’s largely shtick. Once you get their attention, they are unfailingly polite and helpful – and often very funny.
The meat and chicken are good quality, and the prepared foods are fine, if a little bland and heavy.
There’s are cold cases with a nice selection of cheeses and frozen foods, and a reasonable showing of grocery items, especially Israeli products.
My main problem is that the store is incredibly crowded half the time. The layout is a series of dead ends, so naturally everyone is in a bad mood by the time they leave. If you know what you want, call ahead and have it delivered. If you want to hang out and shop, go midweek or go to New Jersey.

I keep kosher and live around the corner – so this should be my match made in heaven. It isn’t. The lack of stars isn’t for the lack of quality – I generally am very satisfied with their selection and quality.
But the wait? I understand you’re a small place – but c’mon. For the rudeness and amount of time I’m made to wait to pay for a simple order – I could have gone cross town to super sol and back again. Twice.

Delicious, down-​home, chicken soup is surprisingly hard to come by, but you can find it here. The soup includes very generous portions of shredded chicken, fresh herbs, and tasty matzoh balls. The broth is not overly salty and nicely seasoned. It’s the simple things in life that are often hard to get right – you can get it right here.
(After writing the review above, I returned for the pastrami sandwich. One of the worst I’ve ever had in my life. Taking one star off the review for the trauma inflicted by miserable, tasteless, $ 13 pastrami sandwich.)

I’ve always wanted a butcher. I’ve never really liked buying shrink-​wrapped, styrofoam-​packed meat at the grocery store. Where did this chicken come from and how did it get into this styrofoam tray, I ask. Now, at Park East, I can get exactly what I want without worrying about where it came from. The best part though are the helpful Jewish butchers. Maybe I have a lost-​and-​confused look about me, but every time I go about 5 guys ask if they can help me. They’ll cut whatever you want for you, show it to you before they wrap it up, and even give you advice on what to do with it.
Besides meat and helpful Jewish men, this teeny-​tiny place has all manner of Kosher cheeses, breads, prepared food and packaged food. The only downside is that the hours are somewhat inconvenient if you’re not an observant Jew — they close for shabbat a few hours before sunset on Fridays — and they’re only open until 7:30 Mon-​Wed. But if you live in the neighborhood, it’s worth taking the time to stop in on the way home from work or to make a trip on Sunday.