If you don't live in the area, be prepared for delays on the L train, or your taxi. But PLEASE go to Russo. Bring bags, you think you go in for one thing, like a 1/4lb of pepper seed salami, and you walk out with 30lbs of pasta and cheese you just can't live without. (Don't forget to buy the salami.) I have only gone early in the morning, so I don't know how busy it gets if you want to get a sandwich. I have heard the sandwiches are phenomenal. I live on the other side of the city and this is worth the trip (and Venerios is right next door. So be prepared to drop another $30 you weren't intending to spend). read more

This tiny pasta and mozzarella shop has been around since 1908. Get a huge Italian specialty sandwich made on fresh homemade bread to bring home for lunch. You can find an assortment of homemade pastas in the fridge along with a selection of sauces and other Italian meats and specialties. Worth a visit if close by. Some things are fresh and homemade while others are mass produced or pre frozen. read more

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All my favorite Italian things to eat! They serve it with attitude even better! Come early to get a freshly made sandwich. read more

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Maybe I ordered poorly, but I was disappointed with the Times Square sandwich. Filled with turkey, smoked mozzarella, and pesto, the sandwich was actually quite plain and a slog to eat. I did not think the quality of the bread was particularly good. The overall balance was off with a lot of dry turkey, some cheese, and not enough pesto. While it was a large sandwich, I would stick with other Italian sandwich shops like Paisano's, Regina's, Parisi, or All'Antico Vinaio for an Italian sandwich. Russo's offers an array of homemade pastas and other imported Italian specialty items that may be worth returning for in the future. read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Sandwich menu - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

They sell frozen (!) buffalo mozzarella and they do not disclose it to their customers. read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - BEWARE: The buffalo mozzarella sold here is previously FROZEN! - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Tiny store offering amazing fresh breads, Italian specialties, homemade pastas, and to go massive to-go sandwiches. The staff is quick and friendly. It's a small store that offers lots of great items! read more

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Love this Italian deli! Great sandwiches, mozzarella, sauces and pasta. This has become my go-to stop when I am cooking Italian at home.

Huge delicious sandwich! No wait for me, so the service was very quick. Freshly cut the prosciutto right in front of me. Around $18 for a huge sandwich, easily able to be shared between 2 people. They also have a variety of grocery items, pasta, sauce, etc. definitely recommend! read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

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Very disappointed with the prosciutto i bought here yesterday - very dry slices both to touch and to taste, possibly not fresh! I buy prosciutto all the time, and this wasn't expected from such an old, reputed place like Russo. read more

As an Italian store next to Veniero's, Russo's sandwich innards are quite dandy. Beautiful mounds of prosciutto and fresh mozzarella and a nice roasted red pepper mixture make up one of their several deli sandwiches. At $10, the price for this gigantic sandwich is a great deal, until it all comes apart for one reason, the bread. I will not be too critical on the bread, as mentioned above, this is more a small Italian market; not quite a sandwich shop. Russo's is like Rosario's; without pizza. It is a soft hero roll, with absolutely no crunch, but all chew. A good hero roll has that crunchy exterior and chewy interior; too much chew soaks up the whole sandwich and makes it far too messy to eat. It is a disappointment because the rest of the sandwich really tasted great. Recently, I learned there is a hero shop in Bensonhurst that is supposed to be the best in the city, Lioni's. I am not comparing Russo's to them, just suggesting how their bread should be. After all, that would have made this an awesome lunch deal. But this is what I have to work with. Oh well. *Sigh* read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Store front - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Delicious sandwiches and such fresh ingredients. Perfect to grab and eat at the park. One note: double check the number you're telling them and that it lines up with the sandwich you want. Online and in person doesn't match exactly. read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Turkey mozzarella - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Great authentic Italian Deli right in the neighborhood. I stopped in for an Italian hero: thick sliced, fresh mozzarella (still warm), prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, basil & olive oil on Italian bread. While I was there, I picked up a loaf of bread, a salted mozzarella, roasted peppers, a bag of tortellini and a nougat bar, imported from Italy. Too bad I was in a rush, or I could have ducked into Veniero's right next door for Italian pastries . . . oh well, next time read more

Used to like this place but theyve gotten super stingy on the portion sizes lately. Compare my pic of the sandwich from today (1/18/25) to any of the pictures of previous years. And prices have gone up! Used to come here bc it was good bang for buck, but after paying $15 for this sandwich....I think I'm done. Sad read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Portion sizes are just sad now in 2025. This is a $15 sandwich! - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

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We've been coming to Russo's for years! Love the artichokes, mozz and the sausages! Today we got a sandwich for the first time and it was amazing!! Amazed the others said they didn't like the bread, that was something that stood out, totally different then a stale hero at a deli, it was like the texture of focaccia, soft, but firm and really delicious! We had fresh mozz, which is hand sliced and thick and juicy, but not wet, fried eggplant, roasted peppers and prosciutto. Big enough to share, but so good you might not want to! Highly recommend this Italian sandwich shop, there is nothing else like this in the neighborhood! LOVE!!! read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - 2nd Avenue Sandwich, we added Prosciutto, and it was delicious! - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Very good pasta and many good Italian products. The cheese and meats are affordable, I thought the pasta were a bit expensive ($6 for regular pasta and $12 for raviolis) but it really is good quality It's definitely not the place you go for every day food, but definitely the best place to go to prepare a delicious meal for a date night at home!! read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Cheese - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

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Second Food stop in Guides of NY Tour of Little Italy. According to our guide, the place started in 1905. This place is known for their mozzarella and sausage. They also have many types of pasta, cookies, olives, herbs, cheese and meat. They know their stuff since the store is 100+ years old. I can only comment on the cheeses and sausage. We got to try 3 types of cheese: fresh mozzarella, smokey and forgot the last one. The sausage was smokey. Everything was good though I love fresh mozzarella so this is a 2 thumbs up! read more

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What can I say, other than what a find! Randomly walking last year, as I often do and stumbled across this gem!fresh mozzarella, sausages, fresh pasta, great selection of cheeses, and a staff that knows their product....all in a little bitty tiny space My girlfriend Tresa foundit for meagain this year. Her friend was having a Christmas party and I was able to get much that we needed. Including a great prosciutto! read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Just a little bit happy. Love this place! - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Only go here for fresh pasta, maybe meat and pantry stuff etc. One of the worst italian sandwiches I've ever had. The quality of the meat was not very high, bread was blah and it overall did not come together nicely at all. AND it was very expensive for what it was. I had a much better on from my bodega even though its boars head. ALSO the mozzarella was flavorless with very little moisture and a weird texture. IF you want the real deal hero make the trek to Defonte's, Lioni or Federoffs or like anywhere in the Bronx or SI. Sorry Russo. Somehow the one in the east village still slaps though? ‍ read more

Russo's makes a great sandwitch! I highly recaend the "Caprese" prepared with fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomato, basil leaves and drizzled with olive oil. Russo's sells outstanding mozzarella, raviolis, sauces, sausages and so forth. read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - The "Caprese" sandwich prepared with fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomato, basil leaves and drizzled with olive oil. - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Best local option for Italian specialty meats! Great Italian sandwiches. They have the works- fresh pastas, special cheeses, fresh mozz, fresh Italian bread. Everything is fresh and reasonably priced! read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - #6 with prosciutto and #3 - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

we searched the internet for the best fresh pasta in NYC and got turned onto Russos. Small shop friendly enough staff. a bit pricey but we're willing to pay for good pasta. got home with a box of fresh pasta, opened it to find mold growing in the center of the pasta bundle. 0/5 stars would not go back read more

A tiny spot and a small street footprint. The second time I went, it was on the late side, already dark, and as I was approaching it looked so dark I assumed it was closed, but checked anyway. Only when I had a clear view into the door did I realize it was still open. The interior is tiny too, with a sales area in front of the counter of maybe 10 feet by 10 feet? That could be an over-estimate of the usable floor space. On two walls there are refrigerator/freezer cases of fresh-made pasta. Lots of different kinds of frozen ravioli, tortellini, etc., as well as fresh spaghetti, etc. There is a refrigerator case with grated cheeses and miscellaneous other foods. In the counter beneath the registers, there is semi-prepared food, including crab cakes (cooked already), brasciole (ready to be cooked), and other items. In my two visits, I bought grated parmesano romano, crabcakes, and various pastas. The cheese and pastas were great. The crabcake turned out to be made of crab sticks, not crabmeat. Not sure whether it was real or imitation crabmeat. I knocked off a star for that. read more

Purchased some fresh pasta here tonight and I won't purchase pasta anywhere else! It was only $4 for a box of pasta and gave us 4 good size servings! They have all sorts of pasta along with cheeses, cold cuts and they make sandwiches read more

Russo's is a part of old New York that I wish there was more of. In an age of rapidly declining product quality through major supermarkets like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, I often long for a day of individual experiences. If you want meat, go to the butcher. If you want bread, go to the baker. And if you want homemade pasta, cheeses, and sausages - go to Russo's. Thankfully this hasn't changed for Russo, but your target destinations are much farther apart. I've purchased their homemade rigatoni, Italian sausages, and so much more. Always so inexpensive, but I would never use the word cheap. The quality is way too high to use that word. If you're looking for a great spot for your dinner - start here. read more

I can't believe I live around the corner and hadn't visited this shop for the last few years. What a gem! It's now a staple for me if I want to make Italian food and get ingredients or get a sandwich or lasagna to go. Russo's experience is unique and individual. I have been wonderfully delighted in the food I have gotten from here. From the fresh pasta to the frozen pasta, you can taste the quality of the food is different. One notable ingredient here is the ricotta. Wow. It absolutely blew my mind. I refuse to shop for ricotta anywhere else now, and who would have thought how varied ricotta cheese were. My roommate and I were absolutely blown away by the cheese here. It is so fresh and it taste nothing of preservatives. I am so happy Russo's exists. Coming and shopping here will forever change your Italian food cooking, and pasta, cheese and sausage shopping. Don't sleep on this place - check it out. read more

Russo is a fine pasta, cheese and anti-pasta postage-stamp sized store. They have a variety of specialty pastas, many stuffed pasta types and a few sauces that are very good. The staff is essentially not helpful other than to ring your purchases. You would think w/the very steep prices service would be better. For a special lunch or dinner you will find something delicious to wow your guests with here. read more

The shop is great with excellent products so today I tried a sandwich. While the individual ingredients were excellent, trying to eat it as as a sandwich inside of a massive hunk of tasteless bread was truly awful. There were slabs of mozzarella, too big to enhance the sandwich, and overall not satisfying. Next time I'll get what I need ala carte, and make my own lunch at home. read more

Oh man, ohhhhh man. I came here to pick up a sandwich before I flew back to the West coast so I'd have something to nom on during the flight. Great decision Penson, seriously. I had the Italiano sandwich (prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, some sort of vinaigrette??), and even after sitting in my bag for a good number of hours it was phenom-nom-nom-enal. The salty bite of the prosciutto nicely balanced by the creamy mildness of the mozzarella, with the tomatoes providing a bit of juiciness and basil coming in for an herby kick. Uhhhh salivating just thinking about it. Definitely a must have again when back in New York. Oh, and there were a bunch of firefighters in here when I visited. Not b/c there was a fire, but to pick up an asston of food. Firefighters know good eats right? Oh yea, they do. read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - The Italiano. In my haste to stuff my face this is the only shot I have. - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Russo's is a great neighborhood standby that's been there forever. Most of what they sell contains meat or cheese, but the things that don't are truly stellar, like the olive bread: a light, round loaf full of kalamata olives. That's worth the trip alone. They also have several varieties of olive oil. Their staff is friendly and helpful--but not too in-your-face--so this is a great little shop for provisions. read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Da store. - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Russo (not Russo's) is a gnarly little spot run by a couple nice dudes on the Friday evening I dropped in for some butternut squash ravioli and half-pound of their very-good mozzarella. Stop in before entertaining or just to pack the fridge/freezer for a satisfying night's meal or two. Russo illuminated two Yelp issues: 1. It ranks 7th on Yelp results list for a 'Russo's' query in its own zipcode, with the BK location first and some other less- or even non-reviewed spots in between. 2. I understand that Yelp's logo is red, but 5 stars should not be red, it should be green. Elsewhere in ratings red indicates 'stop, do not go here', yet here it indicates 'as good as it gets'. I-Italy segment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z624qlhoDRo&feature=player_embedded read more

Russo Mozzarella & Pasta - Cheese Shops Near Me - New York, New York

Sadly, Russo's is living off its reputation, built over many decades of friendly quality, but these days, simply isn't what it used to be. Sandwich prices have escalated way past inflation to $14 each from under ten bucks recently. And that bill stacks higher with even the slightest request: one extra little thing like a spritz of vinaigrette or a piece of basil, and after tax, the sandwich goes past $16 (and more if you dare to use a credit card, well past the actual credit card processing fees they'd incur). As others have noted, the flagship ingredient of mozzarella isn't being prepared the same way anymore, a noticeable decline in quality. Even asking about any of this politely, and you get anger from the manager instead of explanation. It might be that there's an owner-in-hiding as usual, orchestrating these changes without face-to-face accountability, but altogether it makes me sad to never go back. I'll be on the lookout for alternative recommendations, but in a city like New York, shouldn't be a problem. read more

Now that's a sandwich! Old school Italian, I would give 10 stars if I could and they have great pasta and sauces too. Heaven..!!

Best spot for house made pasta of all types, along with fresh mozzarella in Manhattan.

Love this place. Been a customer for maybe 35 years. The store has changed over time, but the fresh pasta is still the best in the city. Go for the smells alone and you'll be happy. read more

I would pick up their sandwiches for lunch every time I visit a nearby job site. All their sandwiches are quite delicious!! Order either #1 or #2, felt like ordering Chinese Food read more

Longtime neighborhood customer......will not be returning......horrible customer service Guy with mustache behind counter was rude and condescending to wife while picking up our weekend order last week. And was the same to me this week with no other customers in store he was doing me a favor by packing my order and answering questions....actually left my order on counter and walked out read more

Great place for homemade pasta. Needed to get fresh pasta quickly for a foodie at work, (we had an Italian lunch) and it didn't disappoint. Great prices too, oh and the cheeses!!!! read more

I've been coming here for the past 3 years at least once a month. Last week I made a delicious meal on the fly with less then $15 worth of goods... Puttanesca gravy : They have San Marzano tomatoes, fresh pitted Kalamata's, anchovies, capers - and I always have hot peppers, olive oil, and garlic on hand. fresh handmade spinach linguini 1 large semolina loaf to mop it up. Not to toot my own horn but the meal was delicious and smelled so explosive the neighbors were asking what was cooking and groveling for leftovers. I've yet to try everything in the store, but everything I have had is legit. I prefer East Village cheese for cheese, Parisi's for cold cuts, Esposito's (NOT Faccio's) for sausage, and Frankies Spuntino for my olive oil, but I'll come here for my pastas or canned goods. Guys who work here are very cool too. Once it was pouring rain, past closing time and I needed a certain ingredient for whatever I was putting together. Guy closing shop let me in while mopping, turned on the register and hooked it up. So to the yelper who claimed he got short changed - ya got short changed cause you're a mook. read more

Yes. Fresh, delicious pasta, sauces, cheese. Hard, spicy sausage (I dare you to take one home, and not finish the entire thing within 24 hours). Crusty, oil-drizzled sandwiches, with thin sliced, marbled cured meat, sundried tomatoes, thick-cut fresh mozzarella, basil, wrapped in butcher paper. Olives (awe-lives). Oh, definitely. read more

Prosciutto, Provolone, Peppers, oil and vinegar on a hero. Manna from heaven. Make sure to come here for the best Italian sandwich in east village! read more