I like this place because it offers products that are difficult to find elsewhere. However, I have to say, the people and clientele definitely aren’t the friendliest. The cashier routinely lets her regular customers cut in front of me in line, and no one is ever nice. However, they do have good olives and avjar(spelling?) In all, an interesting place to explore Eastern European cuisine.
Ana H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New York, NY
WOW what an incredible place this is and I am not talking just about the products you can find there but also about the staff and the owner as well! I am a journalist and went to Parrot Coffee to do an interview and shoot some video for a story I am working on and of course I had to buy some of the products, especially the Romanian foods I grew up with and miss here in New York. Well, the service is incredibly warm(the Romanian staff was amazing, you can tell that’s more than a job for them!), there is a great diversity of Eastern European foods to choose from(I almost felt like I was in Europe, there were so many products!) and I had the privilege to meet and interview the owner, Ronny. I was thoroughly impressed with him, his story of success and his love and respect for Romania and its people! I am a huge fan, thank you«Parrot Coffee» for serving the European community in Queens and beyond!!!
Tonya J.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Ridgewood, Queens, NY
Absolutely my go to Ridgewood spot for smoked fish, Manuka Honey, Fresh prepared rices, meatballs, Olives, European cheeses, chocolate goodies & Herbal teas. Customer service is on point, friendly and priced fairly! No matter what; I stop in, the ladies behind the prepared foods counter is informative and eager to please and help you select from their finest! A lot of the Foodie goods are hard to find and not as a readily available on the market dependent upon your location and what not but I’m always in luck because somehow they have just what your in the market for always ! Cash & credit all good here, hours of operations and the stellar customer service is just perfect.
Jared D.
Rating des Ortes: 2 OZONE PARK, NY
The deli clerk here did not listen at all. I asked for a quarter pound of Hungarian salami, she says ½ a pound minimum — meh, fine, it was listed as 5.99 lb, but then she gives 0.58 lbs of CANADIAN salami which is $ 11.99 lb, so my original cost of $ 1.50 for what would’ve been a $ 1.50 purchase ended up being $ 6.95. I don’t know if she had trouble understanding me but it was a pretty lousy experience. The salami was edible but not what I wanted.
Luiza O.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Ridgewood, NY
As far as I can tell — and I’m Polish — this store has mostly Romanian, Bulgarian and Balkan products. They’re the place to get feta cheese, coffee, olives and halva, but also some interesting cold cuts, sweets, pickled stuff, fish and other goodies.
Lauren S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Manhattan, NY
I went to visit my friend in her new apartment, a few blocks from Parrot, and she fed me some delicious Bulgarian feta cheese, she got a giant block for 3 $. It was the best feta I’ve ever had. I went to visit her again today, and she took me to Parrot. We got some Romanian feta and jarred smoked sardines in oil. We spent 7 $ on the lot. The Romanian feta was even better than the Bulgarian. So creamy(and crumbly) and sharply yet delicately flavored. Went perfectly with the sardines, which were very rich and smoky. I look forward to working my way through all their cheeses.
Chris W.
Rating des Ortes: 5 RIDGEWOOD, NY
A Myrtle Avenue favorite for olives and other things brined, dried fruit, babka, fresh tomatoes, fresh baked bread, imported chocolates, tea, honey and soap. Love getting the fresh feta cheese and homemade stuffed cabbage as well.
Val K.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New York, NY
I love all the Parrot groceries but most of the time shop at this one since it’s closest to home. I can find lukanka, kebapcheta and the best Bulgarian yogurt ever — Trimona! Thanks Parrot for always having good food.
Micio m.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Los Angeles, CA
I really like this place. I travel there from Brooklyn for fluffy pita bread, ajvar, cheeses, sausages… I try to get something new every time I go –it’s not the only place I know of to get Romanian and Yugoslav foods, but they have a better selection than some of the smaller stores and it saves searching around. The staff is really nice when you have a question –come to think of it, I should ask more questions as I don’t know what 90% of the stuff is.
Silvia K.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New York, NY
A great little grocery store packed with delicious, fresh foods and groceries from all over Eastern Europe. It’s hard to find most of what they carry elsewhere. The staff don’t always speak great English, but they are very helpful.
Anca V.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New York, NY
Fantastic, fresh prepared food and a fairly wide selection of different cheeses, salamis, sausages etc. Their mici are phenomenal! The staff is always ready with suggestions, just don’t be rude. Especially if they are really busy. They’ll go out of their way to help you but they are most definitely not like their american counterparts– if you act like an ass you will get treated as such. My parents and I have been going here for 15 years and in all that time we have not had a single complaint about them.
Aleksandra V.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Manhattan, NY
Best authentic Romanian food around. Hard to find a place that makes food the way grandma makes it to take home with you. Everyone who works here is super friendly and my family and I have been relying on them for traditional holiday food since we moved to Ridgewood. Also great place to get Romanian snacks and deli meats and cheeses like back home.
Gordon F.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New York, NY
The person lamenting expired labels failed to mention that those items are marked down substantially and some of them are not even perishable like coffee in tins or jars. This is a great place by any standard and I feel lucky to have them(along with Muncan Food) in my neighborhood. Because the staff is all immigrants and their English is not up to par there are some comical moments. One should expect that at any local ethnic enterprise and have fun with it. I am personally sick to encounter more and more scripted sales help like: How may I provide you with excellent service today… then proceed to spool out more scripted bull and ignoring my questions.
Patt K.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Glendale, NY
Contrary to what the person who reviewed this establishment on 1÷21÷14 wrote, Parrot Coffee Grocery actually does sell coffee… in packages… unopened… for the customer to buy… and take home… and open… and make… into hot coffee… using some sort of coffee maker. You know, like a grocery store. Hence the name, Parrot Coffee Grocery. One can only imagine this person’s sense of betrayal and outrage upon attending her first flea market or white elephant sale. «What sort of Trickery is this?! How DARE they!!! I hath been CHEATED!!! This cruel deception CAN. NOT. GO. UN. –PUNISHED!!! ONESTAR!!!»
Joshel M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New York, NY
My go-to grocery for ethnic fare. Parrot Coffee Grocery is a shop that sells Middle Eastern and European products. The refrigerated sections sells goods such as smoked fish, sausages, dairy based spreads, drinks, and ready to bake goods suck as burek, filo dough, falafel, pierogis, etc. They also sell candies, canned foods, seasonings, sauces, spreads, junk food, cookies, sodas, and other standard grocery fair, but all are imported internationally. The grocery offers fresh food options as well such as olives, cheeses, and coffee beans. They also sell baked goods such as baklava, kanafeh, cheese and spinach pastries, etc. The baklava wasn’t the best I’ve had, but it was pretty good. I really wish they offered pistachio baklava though.
Sharleen S.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Queens, NY
Stopped in to buy a quick cup of coffee… they don’t sell coffee??? Then the cashier had the nerve to answer back at me like I was crazy!?! You’re a grocery store called Parrot COFFEE. Decided not to even continue looking around because of the cashiers nasty attitude. pssssh please!
Angel H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Queens, NY
Not expensive, but they get knocked back a few stars cause some of their items were expired. Astoria is still kinda better with European groceries than Ridgewood.(Astoria got the huge Greek supermarkets) That’s okay Ridgewood, you still win in some other departments. Got some German coffee on sale though. Staff is friendly. Not bad.
Tony B.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Dublin, CA
Great little Romanian store with a huge selection of Eastern European products from foods to detergents and deodorants. Definitely better than all other similar stores that I found in NYC. Unfortunately I can’t give it more than 3 stars since I have to check each product that I put in my cart for the expiration date. Yes — BEWARE most grocery items are either close to or already passed their expiration date.
Selina P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New York, NY
This place deserves all the respect it gets. They pack an amazing amount of interesting items into a relatively small space. I’m a big fan of smoked fish and appreciate being able to buy items like whole smoked mackerel and herring for reasonable prices. The cheese counter is amazing as are the deli meats and prepared foods. The service is typically eastern European — sometimes friendly, sometimes frosty, sometimes just bizarre. Bottom line, this place make Ridgewood a LOT more livable when it comes to food.
Milen B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 RIDGEWOOD, NY
They have all of my favorite foods and ingredients from home! If it wasn’t for that place I would have to go grocery shopping all the way to Astoria. Prices of different items vary, some things are cheaper than in my home country, some things are cheaper than I can find them in other supermarkets here and there’s things that are more expensive. In general if something is a little more expensive than in other places, it’s still worth it because of the convenience of having it locally, without having to travel to Astoria. I especially like the good selection of Lyutenitza and Eggplant salad. They even have homemade sour cabbage and eggplant dip. Last time I went there was around Christmas and it looked like they had even more stuff in stock than usual. If it wasn’t for them I would have had to do a lot more cooking but I was able to buy most of the appetizers I served from Parrot.