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I had been hearing left and right about how Parm was the new Meatball Shop. Well, the Meatball Shop it is not. We tried the eggplant, chicken and meatball kinds. The zitti was cold and the salad was some lettuce in a vinegar dressing. The parm I make at home is 100 times better and I don't have to wait 1:45 to eat it!

The chicken parm was decent, but way overpriced; it was so small (I got the roll) that I actually laughed out loud when brought to me. And the atmosphere? Let's just say that it seemed like every mid-20s, unshaven hipster was there overly enjoying their teeny sandwiches (to each his own). Do yourself a favor and avoid this place if you're hungry. This is NYC, there are dozens of places that have just as good and much larger sandwiches.

I went to Parm because I read that their chicken parm sandwich was great, and it is. Their service on the other hand, was probably the poorest I've encountered. The guy who took my order was one of the rudest people I've come into contact with in a restaurant. When I told him I wanted a chicken parm sandwich he told me it would take 30 minutes which seemed absurd since there weren't that many people there. I told him I could wait and he rung me up for the hero instead of the smaller sandwich which I ordered. When I told him I wanted the roll, not the hero, he told me that I said 'hero,' not 'roll.' I almost started laughing because I know what I said. He seemed aggravated that he had to ring me up twice. 10 minutes later my chicken parm sandwich was ready, even though he said it would take half an hour. Its almost like they don't want people to order food. I watched this guy be rude to almost every person who walked in the place. Who owns this place that they let the people who are supposed to be providing service act this way? As good as the sandwich was, I will never go back to Parm.

When I say "good rep" in the title, I am not talking about the critiques below, which seemed inordinately harsh. My friends and I agree: this is a fabulous place for what it is at lunchtime -- a cramped, noisy quasi-Italian deli venue with terrific food and better service. It is, in its way, pure NYC. My dining friend ordered our appetizers, which were uniformly to-die-for. The calamari is a must (recently voted best in NYC), and the chickpeas are a revelation. These dishes are just right to share among two. The "main" course for me, given its rep, was the Saratoga: a chicken salad club in name, but not in execution: there were a coupla raisins mixed in with the chicken, the iceberg lettuce became a kind of excellent slaw, there was unbelievably crispy toast, thick bacon, etc. The most interesting ingredient was a bunch of very-tiny globes which added a little cheat to the salad; I have no idea what they were. Major plus, BTW: the servers are nicer than those at a lot of top-line restaurants I've visited; mine actually offered to get a lemon slice when I told her I would be drinking only water my water. Bottom line: if you're looking for a white-tablecloth lunch, fuggadaboudit. If you want some EXCELLENT lunch time fare (really, worth a detour), try this place.

This is a small place to handle overflow from torrisi's . They have a limited menu of great quality foods. The roast turkey sandwich is outstanding !! If its not what your looking for there are plenty of other cheap eats within a half block. Have been here on three occasions for a quick lunch at the snack bar and they have exceeded my expectations. Just my opinion from a nyc foodie. Enjoy !!!

This was my first and last time with Parm. I was wary about ordering based on the reviews i read here on Menupages-but co-workers insisted that i at least try it, i should have listened to Menupages! They do not deliver-just take out-fine. we ordered-someone went to pick up-my order-completely wrong-so wrong in fact that it wasn't even something they offered on their menu-i called and explained and was put on hold-another woman picked up and asked how she could help me-i told her i was being helped and she said that it was transfered to her to take care of-but no one explained the problem so i had to go over it one more time-she apologized and asked what she could do for me-i said she could return my money as i had pretty much run out of time for my lunch break-she said if i came back she would return my money-i was outraged- you have no one there who can return my money? It's your fault the order's wrong. she said sir-what do you want me to do for you? i said don't bother i will waste more time picking up my money-she offered since you are coming here would you like us to make you your original order-i told her she was ridiculous. Never again.

I feel sorry for New Yorkers because we consistently believe the hype about ridiculous places like Parm. I went there the other day. Place was packed. 60 minute wait for a table. OK, I don't mind - I just wanted takeout anyway. So, after waiting 5 minutes for the guy who's supposed to be taking orders chatting with a co-worker and putzing around, I order three sandwiches - a meatball parm, a chicken parm and a turkey. It's going to take 45 minutes, I'm told. Well, of course, this is ridiculous, but I don't mind - it's a nice day to walk around Soho. Although it was disappointing that if I wanted an order of ziti, I'd have to wait 90+ minutes. Really? Brother, if you are running a restaurant where it takes 90 minutes to get an order of baked ziti, you are doing something very wrong. So I get the sandwiches and they are ... OK. The meatball parm is odd - not so much a meatball as an undercooked meatloaf-ish patty with cheese and red sauce. Initially, I thought it was sausage. The other sandwiches were fine. Better than some places, worse than others. Of course, what's so annoying about Parm is that these "other places" are every friggin pizza joint I've ever been in my life - where the sandwiches would be made in 5-10 minutes and cost 30% less. We go to places like Parm because this website or that magazine tells us it's the thing to do but in reality, Parm is a thoroughly ordinary place with average food. Parm sells itself as providing common, comfort food at an extraordinary high level. But the only thing that's extraordinarily high at Parm is their nerve at thinking they're better than everyone else. They're not. Not even close.