I suggest this grocery for vegetarians and vegans. Berkeley Natural Grocery has less meats than…read moreanyone as far as I know.

Yeah no. Back in the mid 2000s, til about 2012, I regularly shopped in this small local,…read moreemployee-owned grocers because it was close to where I lived, I prefer small, neighborhood markets, and I liked that everything was organic. I liked the long-time manager Michael (now many years retired). I was out of state for about 10 years, and returned a few years ago. I have dropped in here now and then for an item or two (or just to use the restroom, which is always very clean), and left empty-handed each time because the prices are laughably exorbitant. You can tell a lot about a business - grocers or other - by the mood or attitude when you walk in. I don't know if employees have been burned by bad customers or if it is just more post-pandemic 'Weltschmerz,' but whenever I stopped in here I never felt welcomed, or as though the staff actually enjoy working here. I hear no customer-staff friendly banter, see hardly any smiles. It is just stony-faced, entitled (mostly white) people getting what they need, not interacting with or making eye contact with others, much less exchanging smiles or friendly "hellos." It is one more example of the bratty coldness that has taken over most of Berkeley, which breaks my heart. This used to be a lovely market to call my "neighborhood market," but absolutely no longer is. Before any employees or the manager chime in with a response to defend their laughably exorbitant prices by reminding me of how small a market they are - whoa there, little kitties - your prices are still higher than Monterey Market up the road or another employee-owned market, Berkeley Bowl. I can't even afford to puchase a bottle of mustard here, and must get it at Trader Joes. Be honest: This market is for VERY WEALTHY PEOPLE ONLY or for people who DON'T MIND MAXXING OUT THEIR CREDIT CARDS HERE so that they can feel like one of the "cool kids" for shopping here. Your produce is beautiful, your shop very spic 'n span clean, I appreciate that you offer non-GMO and Fair Trade groceries, but you could do better, truly, by making the less-than-ridiculously wealthy people feel more welcome here. You'd have to care about us first though.

Amazing place an they have fresh food and we have been coming here for years. Quality organic…read moreproduce, amazing selection of and the team is well coordinated and is run by an amazing family. The store routinely stocks thousands of distinct items. The layout features explicitly separated conventional and massive organic produce sections. From multiple varieties of seasonal apples to hard-to-find global specialties like fresh lime leaves, banana leaves, or specialized roots, its variety beats traditional retailers. The self-service bulk rows are massive. So many herbs, spices, loose grains, teas by the pound (such as loose chai and Yerba), dehydrated soups, and specialized nuts. The counter has an amazing selection premium seafood, fresh poultry, house-packaged meats, and an extensive cheese wall. There is also a robust hot food bar featuring quick bites like pizza, sandwiches, and sushi. The alcohol section should not be slept on. It has a vast local selection, and you'll find some selection you can't find in other places. Pretty much the best market place in the bay area. The amount of different items you can find here is astounding and whenever we are in Berkeley we have to go.

I never knew about Berkeley Bowl Marketplace until my wife told me about it years ago. We recently…read moretook a friend to BBM, and she was very impressed with their produce and variety. I mean you can find so many different variety of apples, oranges, mushrooms, etc. [From the internet] "Unmatched Variety: The store is celebrated for carrying dozens of varieties of single items--such as 15 different kinds of apples or half a dozen types of artichokes." For example, Chocolate Navel Oranges: a rare citrus tree variety featuring a unique deep bronze-brown rind and sweet, low-acid, bright orange flesh. The taste of a Chocolate Navel Orange is exceptionally sweet, rich, and mellow, often described as a "gourmet" upgrade to a standard orange. Starkrimson Pears: a striking, sweet, and juicy late-summer variety distinguished by its vibrant crimson-red skin and thick, stocky stem. Pink Pearl Apples: a rare heirloom variety featuring translucent, yellow-green skin and a striking, vibrant bright-pink flesh. Crisp and juicy with a tart to sweet-tart taste, offering tangy berry and subtle grapefruit notes. Come check out this local gem! Support your local businesses.

Three Stone Hearth (TSH) was recommended by Bauman College instructors, and some of my classmates…read morewere interns/volunteers who celebrated eating organ meats at TSH. As a vegetarian at the time, I just didn't go out of my way to try TSH. Fast forward: Attended TSH's 20th anniversary celebration, which had something nourishing and tasty for everyone - vegetarian, vegan, locavore, paleo, raw, gluten-free, etc. *Cherished TSH 20th anniversary recipe book, with fantastic photos from Mary Dee, featuring veg-friendly Three Sisters Chili, Gingered Greens with Butternut Squash & Coconut Milk, and Carrot Cake with Sprouted Spelt Flour. *Enjoyed all-ages friendly activities like Making Butter in Mason Jars with marbles, playing Weston Price is Right bingo (where all participants won snacks), Making Transit Bites (date bar with dried plums & coconut), etc. This activity space had bookcases filled with holistic health/nutrition/cooking books - many that I read while studying at Bauman. *Appreciated tour for behind-the-scenes look at kitchen and fermentation room. Learned more from museum-like display of The Lexicon of Sustainability (PBS series) photographs by Douglas Gayeton with TSH's local commentary. *Nourished with all-day access to sample chicken bone broth, chocolate olive oil cake (gluten-free), and sauerkraut (vegan). *TSH store featured Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions books, as well as curated selection of mostly locally produced artisanal foods and TSH's own wholesome foods made from scratch on-site. *My favorite purchase: Rize Up Bakery's Olive Parm Truffle Black Pepper sourdough loaf at 20% off! So delicious when spread hand-shaken butter over sliced sourdough. *Very welcoming space and community of worker-owners committed to sharing slow food ethos and yummy nourishing foods! *Conveniently located near AC Transit stop, walking distance from Downtown Berkeley BART station (also near Saturday Farmers' Market) as well as free parking lot. Totally worthwhile to make one's way to TSH!

Everything is so expensive. There was a tiny fair trade chocolate bar for 15$. If you go up the…read morestreet a few blocks you can get a fair trade dark chocolate bar from Trader Joe's that's four times the size for under 4 dollars. I think this places wants to seem down to earth and accessible to all but at those prices it's only accessible to people with a lot of disposable income. I get that it's hard to make really high quality food with good ingredients at affordable prices so I don't really have the answer.

Great store. Love the spot, and can find most everything I could possibly want. Can't say about the…read moremeat, since I haven't tried any from here, but their produce is excellent. Really fair prices, too, and pretty darn good bang for your buck in terms of quality. Highly recommend - if you don't mind occasionally long lines and a bit of a crowd, this neat little market is perfect.

I was overall very happy with Monterey Market and I found it to be everything I hoped Berkeley Bowl…read morewould be and was not. Tons of produce and most things were great. On a Saturday morning, I found parking without much trouble and checkout was reasonable too. They have a huge selection of Rancho Gordo beans, the local yogurt and milk brands (Clover, Strauss) I prefer, many varieties of produce, good quality bread, and some bulk goods. The variety of the produce beats most if not all stores I've been to in the area and the quality and freshness was great too. The only reason I give them 4 and not 5 stars is they do have some items on the more expensive side and that are less than ideal especially if you get them out of season. For example, I paid almost $9 for a few peaches and they were pretty bad. But as long as you pay attention to what you are buying and buy what looks and smells good, you should be good. As a bonus, they source from a few of my favorite Bay Area farms including the one my CSA is from. Huge mushrooom selection- they seem priced higher than some Asian stores and sometimes farmer's markets but the selection is very good. My one thing is they definitely seem to go for volume and breadth of selection so it seems like that means selling non peak produce that is out of season in some cases. Overall, I'm a fan and this will probably be a somewhat regular trip for me.

Really good prices and everyone is really helpful at the store. If I lived closer I would get a lot…read moreof my dry goods from here! I got a jar of honey and its soo good.

What a disappointment. This used to be my "go to" for food and health supplements, but no more. The…read morecustomer service has really gone downhill (rude and unhelpful and suspicious staff) and they're selling food that is NOT FRESH. Let me start with those sunflower and date cookies that are supposed to be "freshly baked." Not so. Stale as can be! And the store refused to take them back or offer a refund or store credit. The "organic" white and yellow popcorn. STALE! I tried 3 different methods of popping with stale results all 3 times. Staff's reaction? Defensiveness and no offer of a reasonable solution...had to "match" the price to another item of the same value. Ridiculous. Honestly, I thought I was in Farmer Joe's for a minute! Finally, that bulk "large flake" yeast can be sketchy looking. Strange dark blotches of who-knows-what mixed in. This I did not take back...I just threw it out. Never shopping there again...I detest rude and unfriendly staff at a business where I'm spending my sparse, fixed income money!

Alex is the epitome of cool. He took my (phone) order to ensure the shipping would get to us in…read moretime. He was SO friendly and I absolutely LOVED that he narrated the clacking the computer keys "do do do...doing computer stuff." If you're ever in Berkeley, stop by!

There are not many places to get supplements (besides Whole Foods), so I shop here periodically,…read morebut I do not appreciate the staff's demeanor, and have not met a helpful one yet. I think I need to stop going there...the treatment by the last employee has stayed with me for days. When going to a place to get healed it doesn't help to feel like crap after an interaction.

I love William's Natural Foods. The employees are always so kind and helpful. Kimea (not sure of…read morethe spelling) was super helpful to me in the store. She helped me find everything I was looking for as well as placed an order for an item that wasn't available. Thank you!

What a Richmond gem. Glad we stopped by on this Sunday morning. I feel like they have a little bit…read moreof everything. I really liked their bulk supply section and variety of teas. Id espeacially like to thank Maria for listening to the issue we were trying to address and providing her expertise. We will be back again.

I highly recommend the Kombucha on tap here. I tried the brand in Chicago and was able to trace it…read moreto this store in Berkeley. Too bad I don't go to school here or I'd drink it all the time. It's the Marin Kombucha in Pinot Sage! Also, give the Way to Life granola a try. I've never had such lightly crisp or fragrant granola before. I first had it at a Farmer's Market in SF so I was so grateful they had it here! I think Vanilla Almond is the best flavor. It definitely is a small store with select items. But the items they have are the ones the larger chains don't carry! I like the dedication to natural and wholistic foods.

Great values, nice people, very expensive, limited selection, potentially old/not-as-fresh produce…read more I've been coming here on and off for the past few years (lockdown excluded) on my way home after RSF visits. Convenient place to grab something like a spice, frozen meal, or miscellaneous kitchen item. But you'll pay for that convenience. I find items are marked up ~20% compared to TJ's or Safeway. That said, I recognize this place isn't a massive chain and goes out of its way to maintain certain standards/values that regular grocers don't. I recently bought some cookies (pictured below) and a pound of pinto beans which came out to $8 after a 10% discount (tip at time of writing: get discount by filling out survey). Cookies actually tasted fantastic. The dried pinto beans seem to be a bit old based on how long it took to prepare them, still okay though. I decided not to go for the fresh fruit because they looked battered. Overall, nice place that's conveniently located, but on the pricier side and doesn't have enough to cover all your grocery needs.

Maria the herbalist was such a great friendly soul. She is a great educator and a spiritual healer…read more She gave me and my sister great service, vibes and an experience. She brings authenticity great knowledge. I would recommend her to anybody. My sister had a great experience shopping here. We will be back. 5 stars all across.

They did not have the allulose sweetener I was looking for but they delightedly helped me find it…read moresomewhere else

This compact specialty market has been open for over a year, and I really like how the merchandise…read morereflects local purveyors with no corporate brands. Starting with an arresting blow-up of Italian movie star Monica Vitti behind the checkout, it's a visually pleasing emporium because it's not overcrowded with idiosyncratic products. The wine collection is particularly interesting with labels unknown to me. I've been tempted by the delectables in the Grab & Go section, but I've demurred for the sake of discretion. In fact, having almost no knowledge of any of these products, I only recently bought something here because I want to support them. I got a box of Rooibos tea and a jar of Hawaiian masala (Photo 10). I look forward to buying more in the future, though one thought I had was that this store would benefit from samples. On a previous visit, there was a bakery pop-up in front (Photo 8), and I think more of that activity could encourage more in-store traffic. It'll be interesting to see how this business evolves. RELATED - Exploring Solano Avenue? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/eyjAJU1VZv

I LOVE THIS STORE SO MUCH!!!…read more It's so lovingly & carefully curated with yummy items. I come in every week or so to check out new items. Great selection of gourmet goodies-- I regular go in for snacks, cooking sauces from around the world, ice cream, canned drinks, honey & condiments. Appreciate they have plenty of vegan options. They also have a good selection of wines. The owners & staff are super friendly. They love to chat & answer any questions you have. It's a small but mighty space. Very clean & cheerful (not sure how else to describe it? I always smile when I enter!) SHOP LOCAL AND SUPPORT OUR WONDERFUL SMALL BUSINESSES