Ottomanelli Bros. · Est. 1900 Call 212-772-8423
A young Ottomanelli butcher smiling behind the counter scale, holding up two large cuts of prime beef

Prime Meats & Farm Fresh Poultry

Ottomanelli
Brothers

Serving our community and beyond with fresh, authentic Italian meals, spices, prime meats, pasta and sauce — since 1900.

A family-run butcher shop in Yorkville · 1549 York Avenue

Call to order Shop the pantry
A sepia wedding portrait of the early Ottomanelli couple, a bronze memorial plaque, and a vintage photograph of four generations posing outside the Prime Meats storefront

Our Family

Four generations on York Avenue

The Ottomanelli family has been in the food business in Manhattan since 1900. As in any successful and long-established family-owned business, there is one generation that serves as the turning point: the generation that takes the best of its legacy, drops inhibiting old-world caution, and responds imaginatively to the demands of the marketplace.

Co-chairmen Nicolo and Joseph Ottomanelli have proven themselves to be just that — the innovative breakthrough generation that turned a family meat business into a multifaceted, thriving operation.

In loving memory of Joseph and Angelica Ottomanelli, whose humble wisdom, boundless generosity and steadfast love are the foundation of the Ottomanelli family. — Memorial plaque at the shop, 1999

Since 1900

More than a century, one family

From a pushcart in Lower Manhattan to a Yorkville institution — the shops, the milestones, and the flagship that still stands at 1549 York Avenue.

  1. 1900

    The first store

    Ottomanelli Brothers is founded by Grandpa Otto, who opens the family's first store at 1549 York Avenue.

  2. 1939

    A new shop on 2nd Avenue

    Joseph Ottomanelli opens a new store at 1265 Second Avenue, NYC.

  3. 1959–1990

    Expanding across the East Side

    A new store opens at 1155 First Avenue, serving the neighborhood for three decades.

  4. 1990

    The flagship opens

    The flagship store opens at 1549 York Avenue — the corner of 82nd Street, where the shop stands today.

  5. 2004

    Ottomanelli at Macy's

    A two-level flagship counter opens in Macy's Garden Plaza on 34th Street, alongside a steakhouse cooking school at 82nd and York.

  6. 2005

    Beyond Manhattan

    A joint venture with Friendly's brings Ottomanelli to Great Neck, Long Island.

  7. 2022

    The pantry goes online

    An e-commerce shop launches — authentic sauces, pasta, and spices a click away, and Ottomanelli specialty entrees hit the market.

  8. Today

    Still on the corner

    The flagship thrives as a longstanding hub for community and quality food, evolving to meet the modern needs of loyal customers.

Our Core Values

Around the table is where it starts

Through quality food, our intention is to bring community and family together. It is around the table that bonds, memories and traditions are made — and this is the foundation of who we are. We continually seek to create new products and craft meals that reflect our Italian heritage, sharing the essence of Italy with our customers. We consider our patrons and team members part of the Ottomanelli family.

Our vision To be a pillar in our neighborhood — providing local support through food, as members of our beloved Upper East Side community and beyond.

  • Honesty
  • Respect
  • Efficacy
  • Responsibility
  • Union
  • Quality service

Meet the Team

The people behind the counter

Butcher-cut diagrams for beef and pork beside a butcher holding large cuts of meat, under a hand-lettered The Butcher Cuts sign

Francesco Castrogiovanni

Butcher-in-Chief

Raised in Caltanissetta, Sicily, and thirteen years behind this counter — the shop's authority on prime cuts and dry-aged beef.

Eda Moncada, the shop's office manager, smiling in front of a colorful abstract painting

Eda Moncada

Office Manager

Keeps the orders, the deliveries, and the day-to-day of a century-old shop running smoothly.

Executive chef Johnny Ulloa in an embroidered white chef coat, smiling against a dark brick wall

Johnny Ulloa

Executive Chef

Cooks the homemade Italian entrees and specialty dishes that fill the case each day.

A seasoned, spatchcocked roasted chicken resting in a foil pan

From the Butcher-in-Chief

How to cook it right

A few words from Francesco Castrogiovanni, who has spent thirteen years cutting for this shop:

An Italian barbecue has to have sausages — spicy, mild, or with fennel — then you can add a New York strip, a porterhouse, or a prime rib to the grill.
  • Rest the meat outside the fridge for an hour before it hits the grill.
  • Marinate simply: olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary.
  • Judge by touch — rare is soft, medium springs back, well-done is firm.
  • For dry-aged beef, sear high then finish over indirect heat, and rest ten minutes before slicing.

The butcher's own pick? Prime rib over a New York strip — it's fattier, and it has more flavor.

The Pantry

Take a little of the shop home

Our sauces, pasta, and spice blends — made under the family name. Prices as marked; call or email to order, or pick them up in the store.

A jar of Ottomanelli Bros. Homemade Original Marinara with fresh tomatoes and pasta, the Prime Meats storefront sign, and a gingham-lined basket of capellini

Sauces

  • Original Marinara$9.95
  • Sweet Basil & Garlic Sauce$9.95
  • Savory Steak Sauce$6.95
  • Barbecue Sauce$6.95
  • Honey Habanero Barbecue Sauce$6.95
  • Hell's Habanero Hot Sauce$6.95

Seasonings

  • Seven Pepper Blend$9.85
  • Robust Steak Seasoning$7.85
  • Feather-N-Fowl Poultry Seasoning$7.85
  • Original Pork Rub$7.85
  • Sea Salt & Peppercorn Pack$8.85
  • Otto Crust$5.85
  • Peppercorn$4.85
  • Sea Salt$4.85
  • 3 Pack Spice Gift Set$21.85

Pasta & more

  • Spaghetti$4.95
  • Linguine$4.95
  • Capellini$4.95
  • Penne Rigate$4.95
  • Penne Ziti$4.95
  • Italian Dressing$6.95

Gift cards available from $25 to $200 — in store or by phone.

Call 212-772-8423 Email orders@nycotto.com

We deliver — call the shop to arrange delivery service.

What neighbors say

Where everyone knows your name

You walk in, Sinatra is playing, and it's where everyone knows your name. Uncle Nick has been here for over a hundred years.

Michael Carbone, longtime customer

The lasagne, the meatballs, the filet mignon, the lamb chops — the quality is unmatched. Nick has been in the business for sixty years.

John Benedetto, neighborhood resident

For more than a hundred years they've offered the finest meats along with homemade and imported Italian specialties.

Ron Sylvestri, family friend & customer

Thank you, Nick, for your generosity to our convent — it means more than you know.

Sr. Mary Catherine, Sacred Heart Convent
A shop worker holding a We Love Ottomanelli's thank-you poster covered in children's paper hearts from a local school class
A thank-you from the PK4A class at St. Stephen of Hungary School.

In the press

Recognized beyond the block

A New York Times Dining In clipping headlined Home Again On the Kitchen Range, quoting Nick Ottomanelli and listing the shop as a source for buffalo meat
The New York Times, “Dining In” Nick Ottomanelli on buffalo versus prime beef, with the shop named as a source.
A seared steak in a cast-iron pan with a Reader's Choice Best Online Meat award badge
Reader's Choice — Best Online Meat Recognized for the quality that fills the case and ships from the shop.
The Prime Meats and Farm Fresh Poultry storefront sign above a framed vintage photograph of the Ottomanelli family at the table, with a basket of pasta
“The Ottomanelli Way” Uncle Nick on the core values of the 121-year-old Yorkville butcher shop.

Visit the shop

On the corner of York & 82nd

Address
1549 York Avenue
(corner of 82nd Street)
New York, NY 10028
Hours
Monday–Saturday, 7:30am–5:00pm
Closed Sunday
Phone
212-772-8423

Call us at home — we'll be in the kitchen.

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