Prime Butcher Baker

Some high end stuff here definitely a must go if in NYC and want to have some select cuts of meat!

A beautiful shop with some UES-​oriented prices for quality kosher product.

The products I tried here were all good, the meat was fresh. The selection is one of the best that I found in NY for house made sausages. The reason why I am not giving a 5 star rating is prices. A lot of products are very expensive, especially the prepared foods.

This is one of the most unique kosher specialty stores I’ve ever patronized. I primarily purchase things here for Passover, and I purchase their charcuterie. (I’ve yet to purchase any of their fresh meat, leaving that to Fischer Brothers and Leslie). The lahmabagine and kibbeh for Passover were delightful and replicated their chametzdik counterparts almost perfectly. What keeps me coming back are the superb kosher prosciutto, veal spalla, and other such items, which one can not really find elsewhere. The goose prosciutto is as close of an alternative to its porcine cousin as you’ll find anywhere, and the taste is out of this world. The pates are authentically French, and go splendidly on some of their house-​baked baguette, with dijon and cornichons. I’ve used their prosciutto, bresaola, and other products in making many Italian dishes, including antipasto platters. This is my go-​to place for kosher Italian meats and pates. Many items in the store are geared towards Syrian palates, as well.

I have been a good customer at Prime Butcher since they opened. The butcher and catered food are quite good.
The problem is that the store is poorly managed and staff can be quite rude. As an example I have ordered food to be delivered on three separate occasions. These were very large orders. The first time the food was delivered 30 minutes after Shabbat started. The second time was for Thanksgiving and I specifically said I would pick the food up… when I was on my way to get it the food was delivered to my home causing a lot of disorganization and extra travel.
This morning (at 7:30am) I placed a big order and specifically asked when I would get it. I was told 2pm. It did not arrive and when I called they said 3pm. At 3pm they said 4pm. Shabbat starts at about 5:20.
This place is not reliable and it does not matter how good the food is if you can’t depend that you will get it when you need it. Also the staff including the manager talks to their customers in a very rude manner.

Ordinarily I would visit a butcher at least twice before writing, but although I am the grandson of a kosher butcher I am not kosher and don’t live on the UES so it may be a while before I return. But return I shall because the bone in rib steak was great by any measure -! it came out magnificent in a Thermador. I can’t imagine how good it would have been over wood. Superb flavor great crust. To go with it we bought a small tray of spinach kugel pretty good. The other thing to mention is the impressive array of kosher cured meats, beef and goose prosciutto, basturma, assorted salamis, etc. Will update when I return.

I just stopped by here for the first time today as I was walking by and witnessed an employee spill a bucket of food in a highly trafficked area of the floor and then pick it up and put it back in the container. Gross!
Im not sure what they spilled (does it matter anyway?) but it looked like a 2 or 3 gallon container of cherries, they were small and red, but I doubt they were cherries though given its a butcher /​baker shop.

I waited until last minute to order a custom cake for my sons 1^st birthday cake and the baker usually needs 3 – 4 days and the manager Hassan, with the help of other begging employees on my behalf, made it happen! Not only did I get a custom cake but it was awesome! Yo Gabba Gabba characters– 3d and everything! And it TASTED amazing too!
I’m a regular customer here (although not huge spender since it’s just 2 of us and occasional company), so maybe that’s why he helped me, but either way, the staff is always awesome to me. I love Tanjy!!! She is the coolest, sweetest girl. It’s nice to walk in and get a huge smile and greeting. I love the little guy that cuts me meats and tells me how to cook it for shabbat or I’ll mess it up.
Their take out is good but I prefer my own home-​cooked dishes ;)
Their challah is soo good.
Prime is pretty, it’s clean, it’s a lil pricey but you get what you pay for!
Thank you for moving to my hood!!!

Listen to the majority of reviewers, they are correct! The place may look nice, but their service is AWFUL!
Called ahead about a product, was supposed to be a simple come in and get it. Turns out getting lamb shanks at this butcher is a production that requires next day delivery, no considerations for one’s work hours. Unacceptable! And its not because they did not have the product, they just did not want to open a fresh pack at night.
Went across the street to Park East Kosher, smaller place, less fancy furnishing, but the people who work there are great, very helpful, very accommodating. Offered to send the meat to my home within an hour for free just so I don’t have to wait in the shop!
I walked out of Park East Kosher in awe over amazing customer service!

I enjoy going here. The meat and poultry is always good quality and priced affordably. The bakery shop in the back has some nice things too, overall I’m very happy I live nearby cause I use this shop pretty often!

I bought 2 Guilt Vouchers to use at Prime Butcher Baker… the fine print said no butcher items, bread or dried goods. We went thinking we could get groceries (dairy) and prepared food. We were told that only prepared food (their definition of prepared food which did not include things that we considered prepared… i.e. cured meat etc.) and bakery were permitted. The girl who handles marketing got very distraught and told us that we were the only customers who came in this confused. Both the head of marketing and the main guy (probably brother of owner) were rude. I used to think Prime would put Park East out of business because the prices there are highway robbery but now I am heading back! At least when Park East Butcher made a voucher it was for everything in the store including butcher items. Prime is a rip off… if you go… go with caution!

It’s nice to see real butcher shops still around in the city. I was excited to see Prime Butcher Baker open up in Yorkville and have had a chance to shop there recently. Problem is, my wallet just can’t really afford it!
If you are looking for a true Kosher experience this place plays by all the rules. From the meats, to the prepared foods, to the freezer items, to bakery goods, and canned/​jarred items on the shelves everything is certified Kosher. They even have items that surprised me such as salads (quinoa and cous cous chick pea), rice (kobe beef fried rice and Mexican rice), kabobs (Korean beef satay and seafood) among others. Their meat selection is terrific and displayed in the front window so you get a good view of slabs of meat while walking by. The bakery items which are in the back half of the place are just delicious. Cookies, cupcakes, macaroons, rugalach, babka, muffins, etc, are all made here. This sleek looking designer store is fully stocked with all types of refrigerated, freezer, and grocery items.
As a Kosher gourmet food shop goes the prices are very high on certain items, with some causing sticker shock as soon as you lay eyes on them. Sure, you are paying for the gourmet quality and the fact that it is Kosher, but be a bit realistic of the neighborhood it is in. 2^nd Ave and 82^nd Street is not Madison or Park Ave over here!
Still, if you can afford to splurge now and then as I have done it’s worth a visit once in a while.

I had a totally different Passover experience. I started shopping here for prepared foods and raw cuts of meat when they first opened. When I saw their Passover seder specials I immediately ordered my entire Passover meal from them. My order was delivered the night before Passover — later than I expected, but still — I can’t complain when it’s door-​to-​door service! The food was amazing, the cakes were sublime — you couldn’t tell that they were kosher, let alone kosher-​for-​passover!
Aside from my pleasure with my Passover order, Prime Butcher Baker gets my vote for their wide variety of prepared foods (have the Kobe rice or miso-​marinated eggplant), raw meats and poultry, amazing baked goods (try the rocher chocolate thing — it’s AMAZING), and frozen and refrigerated items like the delicious mushroom soup. The store itself is beautiful, and I’ve always been treated well there — it’s interesting that Mel G. complained about the customer service because i’ve always been waited on hand-​and-​foot when I go in. The only thing I can think of re: Mel G.‘s experience is that maybe Passover, which is a hectic time for all of us, was busy at Prime Butcher Baker as well. I feel badly that Mel G. had a bad experience there and only hope that he’ll give them another chance — otherwise he’s missing out.
Welcome to the nabe, Prime BB.

I visited Prime Butcher Baker last week for the first time and had such a great experience. The store was fully stocked with a wide variety of prepared foods that were delicious and looked beautiful. Overall the service was great, looking forward to going back again!

I am truly dumbfounded by my recent experience here. I was so excited to have an option other than park east. I’d bought some good Shabbat food at prime a couple of times since its opening with friendly service and was therefore happy to give them a big Passover order. I placed it one week prior to pesach and was told it would be ready for pick up at 11am day of first Seder. I got there at 11:45 and was told it wasn’t ready. I asked when it would be ready. First I was told 15 mins, then one hour, then a half hour. Furious, I told the man helping me this was unacceptable since I was leaving the store and going straight to LI. He told me they’d been baking overnight and again that my food was not ready. No apologies. NOTHING! I ordered two fruit platters and even those weren’t ready!!! So I said I wanted some sort of compensation, discount etc for the inconvenience if I was able to wait around. He looked at me and said «we will not compensate you.» I SWEAR I thought the guy was kidding. He said «you think because you ask for a discount I’m going to give you a discount?» I was in shock. Wouldn’t you think a new store would go out of their way to provide good service? I asked to speak to the owner and he was not there. So while I will be calling to discuss the matter with him, I will never ever again return to that store and will cease telling everyone to go there as I’ve been doing. Perhaps, in its first year, the store was ill-​prepared for the holiday rush. All the more reason to apologize let alone offer to make up for it in some small but show-​of-​good-​faith way. Upside? I rushed to park east, gave the owner my credit card while I waited in my car and asked him to bring me any available desserts which he did and couldn’t have neen nicer. Now that’s smart — realizing he’s got competition and that customer service is more important than ever.

Discovered this great kosher butcher/​baker by chance. The meats just looked good from the window so I walked in to look, and it was fantastic. They were fully stocked for passover and doing business non-​stop with customers placing large orders for the holiday. There was a cooked food counter which displayed poached salmon. I decided to come the next day and eat that in the hotel room with a beer. Turns out that there is a good Chinese take-​out next door where I bought lo mein noodles. A super evening meal in front of the TV.
I’m rating this 4 stars instead of 5 because the salmon was way over priced at $ 36 a pound, even for NYC kosher. It also included a thick mushy topping which they did not have the day before. Still tasted good after I scraped off the topping, but I prefer it simpler with a wedge of lemon. I am certain that the meats and fish would all be fantastic. The challenge is to cook it perfectly.