Russo's — Local services in New York

Review for sandwiches only.

I’ve come to Russo’s before to grab charcuterie items, and it’s always great. Today, I decided to give their sandwiches a try based on good reviews. I was the only customer in the store, so service was prompt and the person behind the counter was nice and professional. I ordered the President St for my partner and debated between the Portobello Mushroom and the Broccoli Rabe sandwiches for myself. I asked which sandwich they recommended between my two veggie options and so we went with the Portobello sandwich. I was excited for my partner and I to be devouring these massive sandwiches on our commute to Boston later.

President St sandwich was a solid 4/5. Tasted fresh and had a great bite with the roasted peppers and balsamic vinaigrette. Nothing too exciting but worth a repeat order since we know what we will get.

Unfortunately, my Portobello Mushroom sandwich was lacking. 2/5. Literally. It didn’t have any roasted artichokes or broccoli rabe in the sandwich. Missing such key ingredients! Plus, it had a non-listed ingredient, mozzarella. Luckily, I eat cheese. Pretty disappointed since I was so excited on the recommendation. I’m not sure what went wrong.

So overall, we average out to be 3/5.

I would still recommend for fresh pasta, meats, cheeses! Hopefully, my next sandwich experience...

Russo's is living off its reputation, built over many decades of friendly quality, but these days, sadly isn't what it used to be. Sandwich prices have escalated way beyond inflation to $14 each after being under ten bucks even recently. And that bill stacks higher after 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). This is opportunistic and tacky because the whole menu of sandwiches is a varied combination of those various ingredients anyway, and the simple fact is, they used to happily let customers customize until the owner got greedy. (There is also no information posted anywhere about customization costing more, and how much.) 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 rage 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 I'll never go back anyway -- and will be on the lookout for alternative recommendations, but in a city like New York, shouldn't...

Way back in the early 80s, my mother sent me to the “deli” to pick up some “suprasat” (soppresatta) and a loaf of bread. I picked up the meat and the bread and stepped out of the store and realized it was 2023! Russo’s takes you back to the good old days, before the generic supermarkets offering the same repackaged products. Everything is fresh including the deli meats, homemade pastas/cheeses and the bread (oh, the lard prosciutto bread is the Bomb!). Come prepared for a large purchase because you’ll want everything! Prices are steep but “hey, it’s New York.” Counter service is the same mumbling, rude old man that still yells at you like you’re ten years old. That’s why the 4 stars (not 5). Swing by to get yelled at and to pick up some delicious old-school Italian...