Restaurant in New York City, United States
No reservation needed. Reliably good.
Parm on Columbus Ave is a Pearl Recommended Italian-American sandwich spot with three consecutive years on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats list. Walk-ins are the norm, the format is unpretentious, and it delivers well above the average Manhattan lunch grab. Book (or just walk in) if you want a reliably good, no-fuss meal on the Upper West Side.
If you want a reliably satisfying, low-stakes sandwich lunch on the Upper West Side without worrying about reservations, Parm at 235 Columbus Ave is a direct yes. It earns its Pearl Recommended status and has appeared on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in North America list three consecutive years — ranked #393 in 2024 and #435 in 2025 — which is a meaningful signal in a city with this much competition at every price point. This is the right call for a solo lunch, a casual weekday meal, or a quick stop before or after a Columbus Ave errand. It is not where you take someone to mark a milestone birthday.
Parm is the sandwich-focused offshoot of the Carbone group, operating under chef Mario Carbone's broader New York portfolio. The concept is Italian-American deli sandwiches , think chicken parm, meatball, and similar classics , done with enough care to justify repeat visits. The appeal is clarity: you know exactly what you are getting, and the execution is consistent enough to keep it on a credentialed cheap-eats list for three years running. For food-focused visitors to New York who want to eat something genuinely good without spending $200, Parm fits cleanly into that rotation.
Right now, in the warmer months, sandwich-format spots like this come into their own. A quick, room-temperature-friendly format is easier to enjoy in summer than a heavy tasting menu, and Parm's counter-service energy suits a grab-and-go pace. That said, if you are visiting in the colder months, the hot sandwich formats here , particularly anything involving a braised or sauced filling , tend to be what the kitchen does leading. This is not a menu that rotates seasonally in a farm-to-table sense, but the way you use the space shifts with the season: summer leans toward quick pickups, winter rewards sitting down and eating warm.
Booking is easy , walk-ins are the norm at this format, so planning ahead is not required. That ease of access is part of the value. For comparison, if you were planning a sandwich lunch in New York and wanted to weigh options, Alidoro runs a tighter, more Italian-focused deli operation with a different energy, and Court Street Grocers in Brooklyn leans more toward American-style builds with a craft-pantry sensibility. Parm sits in its own lane: Italian-American red-sauce classics, executed cleanly, in a Manhattan neighborhood that skews toward convenience.
Google reviewers rate it 4.2 across 1,615 reviews, which is a healthy signal for a counter-service sandwich spot. That volume of reviews suggests consistent traffic and steady performance rather than a flash-in-the-pan moment. For context within the broader cheap-eats sandwich category, Pane Bianco in Phoenix and Bakesale Betty in San Francisco occupy a similar space in their respective cities , tight menus, cult followings, unpretentious formats , which gives you a sense of where Parm sits nationally.
Price range data is not available in our current records, but the Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats designation is a reliable indicator that you are not spending fine-dining money here. Plan for a casual lunch budget. Hours are not confirmed in our data, so check directly before making a trip , the Columbus Ave location can have variable weekend hours worth confirming. For everything happening around this neighborhood, our full New York City restaurants guide covers the wider picture, and if you are building a full itinerary, our New York City hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are all worth consulting.
Three consecutive years on a credentialed cheap-eats list is not luck. Parm has found a format , Italian-American sandwiches, no fuss, no reservation required , and executed it well enough to stay relevant in a city where new sandwich spots open constantly. If you are on the Upper West Side and want something better than a random deli grab, this is the answer. If you want a full sit-down experience with cocktails and a chef's tasting narrative, look elsewhere in our NYC dining guide. For what it is, Parm delivers.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Parm | — | |
| Le Bernardin | $$$$ | — |
| Atomix | $$$$ | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | $$$$ | — |
| Masa | $$$$ | — |
| Per Se | $$$$ | — |
A quick look at how Parm measures up.
Not really. Parm is a walk-in sandwich counter backed by Mario Carbone's reputation and three consecutive years on the Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats list — that's a credential, but the format is casual by design. For a celebration meal, look elsewhere in the Carbone group. Parm is the right call when the occasion is a genuinely good lunch, not a milestone dinner.
Yes, and arguably better solo than in a group. The sandwich counter format at 235 Columbus Ave is low-pressure, no-reservation, and easy to navigate alone. You're not holding a table for two while you decide — you order, you eat, you're done. OAD has ranked it on its Cheap Eats list three years in a row, which signals consistent quality rather than a one-visit fluke.
Bar seating specifics aren't documented in the available venue data for this location. What is confirmed: Parm operates as a casual, walk-in-friendly sandwich spot at 235 Columbus Ave, so seating arrangements are informal rather than reservation-driven. Check directly with the restaurant if counter or bar access matters to your visit.
Parm's casual, walk-in format is better suited to pairs or small groups than to large parties. It's a sandwich-focused concept, not a sit-down dinner venue — coordinating a group of six or more at a counter spot without reservations will create friction. For a Carbone group experience that scales better to groups, consider the flagship Carbone instead.
For Italian-American sandwiches at a similar price point, Defonte's in Red Hook and Pino's Prime Meat in SoHo are the comparison points serious sandwich eaters reference. If you want the Carbone group pedigree in a more formal sit-down format, the original Carbone on Thompson Street is the obvious step up. Parm's three-year OAD Cheap Eats run puts it ahead of most casual Italian-American counters in the city on consistency alone.
Parm's menu centers on Italian-American sandwiches, which means wheat and meat are structural to the format — this is not a kitchen built around dietary flexibility. Specific allergen or vegetarian options aren't documented in the venue data. If dietary restrictions are a primary concern, contact Parm at 235 Columbus Ave directly before visiting rather than assuming the menu will accommodate.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
