New Foods of India

New Foods of India is a small store jam packed with Indian groceries both fresh and frozen. This is my go-to place when I cannot make it to Jackson Heights. Over the years, I have seen many people working here, some nice and others difficult. I like to buy fresh vegetables, uncooked phulkas, Haldiram's paneer and imported Indian mangoes in the summer months. Often a mango was cut up for me to taste before I bought it. Unlike Patel Brothers in Jackson Heights, these Imported mangoes from India were often more expensive. Since bargaining is de rigeur in India, I have bargained royally in Hindi so was able to get a few dollars knocked off. Packaged foods are questionable that It's judicious to check the expiry dates here especially for tea. When I pointed out expired teabags the attitude was lackadaisical. I have yet to see anyone buying tea here. Service here is nice and I have often called to request a delivery and it has come quickly especially this summer. When one pays in cash dollars are knocked off. Psychedelic mithai (Indian sweets) are not the same as in India as the milk is different. These taste sickly sweet and awful to me and for years I would be given one to sweeten my mouth which I quickly passed on to a friend. Thankfully this has stopped now.

I have been on a quest for mithai and this place looks very promising!

This place is smaller compared to the Goliath Kalustyan's next door. Nonetheless, this place has quite the impressive curation of all kinds of herbs, spices, condiments, snacks, drinks, canned foods, cookware and more. They have fresh produce and of course a great selection of various mithai!!!

The staff/owners were really nice and offered free mithai samples and fresh dates!

It was my first time having fresh Yellow Barhi dates and I was amazed! The texture is super crunchy and crispy. Very sweet and delicious.

Sampled multiple different kinds of mithai: barfi, coconut Cham Cham, milk cake, kalakand, soan papri, coconut cutlet, saffron peda, jeelabi, kaju Kati, Stuffed Gulab Jamun. Overall very sachrine (I expected that from mithai in general), kalakand and saffron peda are my favorites as they are more milky and decadent (they are made from milk as opposed to the other ones made with flour).

Also got a can of Rasgulla - I've been meaning to try Ras Malai and Rasgulla and delighted to find both in giant can format!! The Rasgulla has spongy texture and very porous that's very fun to eat! The unique porous structure helps absorb all the rose flavored thick sugar syrup. It's definitely very sugary and overwhelmingly sweet, but sometimes you need that to hit the sweet spot (pun intended lol)

Friendly when you walk in, then overcharge you at checkout.
cashier even refused to give a receipt, when asked!
No expiration date on many items such as spices.
Some items were not fresh.
Cashier clearly thought of this
´little old lady´ as a mark.
Not a nice experience

New Foods is an upgrade relative to Sinha Trading Company, the erstwhile occupant of this store space next door to the venerable Kalustyan's.

While its legendary neighbor is a great choice for eclectic ethnic ingredients, New Foods majors in Indian foods. They have a large selection of all things Indian--snacks, spices, vegetables--in a packed space. The shopping experience is compromised with the small space and narrow aisles, but you will most likely walk away with what you were looking for.

I find the service here to be the winning feature. They help you find what you are looking for while suggesting alternatives, and the cashier always gives me a freebie sweet snack from the selection on display. This generosity doesn't seem to be linked to the ticket price of your purchases, which is irrational but endearing.

My frequency of visiting New Foods is about once every couple of months, but they deserve more. Maybe I will try ordering online and picking up from the store next time, since they seem to have a fully functioning web site.

spice up your life literally with the small South Asian grocery is packed with grocery items like snacks, desserts, frozen foods, and more. clean organized store, open late. bought a few items after exploring. the staff is really kind. after paying, the owner gave me a samosa as a "thank you" for shopping there.

I've been shopping here since the 80s. It's gone through upgrades over the years, but the store still has a neighborhood feel (unlike Kalyustan's next door, which has gone hipster). Service is very friendly and prices are reasonable. It helps to bring cash because they can offer very good cash discounts.

Situated next door to South Asian giant market Kalyustan, this shop is jam packed with most things you are looking for. What I like about this store is the personalized customer service unlike what's his name next door. Don't get me wrong, I like their neighbor but they can be a bit snooty/not helpful.

I was looking to buy Paneer and not only did they have a 14 ounce block in stock at $6.99, but also a light/low fat version! Jackpot for me since it was my preferred choice.

This store has every kind of spice imaginable as well as teas and other necessities if you're an Indian food lover like me.
I also bought a jar of homemade Mango Chutney though I was dismayed to see the addition of Red food dye 40 added to it. Dammit.
It is delicious though.

Since it was Diwali when I visited, they extended a sweet treat to customers as they checked out.
That in itself was a sweet gesture.

I'm going to visit this store more regularly.
BTW, I'll be making a Paneer Jhalfrezi with the paneer and spices I bought.

Great store.

Great selection and very friendly service. Made a huge run for dal, rice, various spices and was not disappointed. Used to frequent a more famous neighbor but I like this place and will be returning.

I'm not sure if the prices at this grocery store are comparable to other Indian grocery stores in Manhattan, but the prices on spices and other food items seemed steep to me. I was shocked that small 3 ounce packs of spices were $3-4 and other items like daal were upwards of $7 each bag. Again, I don't know if this is the standard in Manhattan, but compared to other cities, items are up-marked significantly.

A lot of the items at the store are also not clearly labeled with the prices. Most of the items are just arranged on the shelves with no price tags or indications of the price range for various types of products. When I asked the store keeper how much certain items cost, he gave me the most vague answer possible saying, "Don't worry." Um that's not really a helpful answer.. The store keeper also was following me around the store the whole time and being incredibly overbearing. I'm not sure about you but I prefer to do my grocery shopping without someone trailing me the whole time and forcing conversation. I also happened to be on the phone and when I told the shopkeeper, he still would not leave me alone.

I won't be coming back to this store and will keep searching for a more customer-friendly and affordable Indian grocery store.

What an all but hidden gem! I literally stumbled upon New Foods of India and am so glad I made the decision to stop in. The second I walked in I was taken back to my younger years traveling abroad and exploring wonderful stores all over the globe.

The customer service is top notch; they clearly take pride in the store and care in their work. Unfortunately a few unreasonable and rude customers came in while I was shopping. But these guys handled them expertly while remaining tremendously professional.

There is a good amount of variety throughout all their offerings, and the pricing fair considering the product. They have the single best gulab jamun I've ever eaten, and were even kind enough to offer me a complimentary piece of burfi after I waited a good amount of time for a customer who was being extra and then was further delayed by a slight hiccup with the register (all other register transactions I saw while shopping went quite smoothly and quickly).

If the shop were just the slightest bit bigger to allow for aisles that could easily accommodate two people passing without one person backing up, this would be a 5-star review. Still, that quirk is part of their charm.

I really can't recommend them enough for lovers of Indian / South Asian flavors, adventurous eaters, and for those with allergen concerns (so many rice-based gluten-free options)...heck...for any one and all!