Say (Italian) Cheese! Celebrate National Cheese Day at NYC’s Best Shops

Few things can unite New Yorkers like the love of a good cheese plate.

The Big Apple, which recently ranked first on the list of America’s top cities for cheese lovers, can boast the most dairy farmers markets, the highest number of cheese and wine meetups as well as the most points at the annual U.S. cheese competitions.

So, in celebration of National Cheese Day (June 4), here is a list of some of the best (Italian) cheese stores in town:

• Di Palo Fine Foods (200 Grand St.).

The fresh-milk cheeses from Di Palo are adored by NYC pizza producers. At the intersection of Grand and Mott in Little Italy, this location has been a specialist in Italian cheese for over 113 years.

The business is run by Lou, Sal, and Marie, the great-grandchildren of Savino Di Palo, who founded the first dairy shop next door. There, he produced very delicate mozzarella and ricotta using five centuries’ worth of recipes.

• Murray’s Cheese (254 Bleecker St)

This renowned New York City dairy mecca not only provides cheese education and monthly cheese subscription boxes, but they also make over two dozen different varieties of their own cheese, some of which is aged in their cheese caves.

Operating since 1962, Murray’s Cheese is still among the largest cheese stores in the nation. At its flagship location, it offers hundreds of options.

• Casa della Mozzarella (604 E 187th St)

Arthur Avenue in the Bronx is the true Little Italy of New York City, lined with vendors selling authentic Italian products in every possible category.

Visit Casa Della Mozzarella for the freshly prepared mozzarella created by Orazio and Carlo Carciotto, a father and son duo making some of the best mozzarella and burrata in the five boroughs.

• Eataly (200 Fifth Ave)

Visit the iconic Eataly shop if you’re looking for fresh artisan mozzarellas or Italian speciality cheeses. It also delivers groceries locally for a range of products, including cheese.

• Bedford Cheese Shop (67 Irving Place)

Jason Scherr and Jason Jeffries established Bedford Cheese Shop in 2003 in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg district to provide artisanal cheese to the area. The Bedford Cheese Shop, run by additional co-owners Christina Earle and Samantha Fantauzzi as well as GM Katelind Kuhn, expanded to Gramercy Park in 2018, which has since become its only site.

Bedford has a small café where one may relax and enjoy a cheese board or sandwich off of their cheese-forward blackboard menu in addition to the necessary cheese accessories for purchase.