Balducci's is fun to visit every once in a while to browse their selection of gourmet goods. The vegetables, meat, and seafood are always very fresh. They have an amazing cheese and wine section and even offer a variety of caviar. The employees are consistently kind and helpful -- I've never encountered anyone who wasn't friendly. My boyfriend and I always enjoy our visits... even if our wallets leave a little lighter. read more

Balducci's - Huge scallops - Grocery Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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I've always been a fan of Balducci's! This location, although small in size, is packed with a great selection of goods and gourmet finds. I mean, sometimes you're a regular grocery store just does not cut it. When looking for a unique item or specialty kind of meat.... In steps places like this. And, you realize you've made a great choice from the minute you walk through the door. This location has a lot of fresh product the day I came here and that's always a good sign and plus in my book. No rotten fruit on display, weird smells, bright, clean and more importantly ..... no fruit flies! For those that are picking shoppers, know what I mean!! lol. I was shopping for thick cut bone-in ribeyes. I had two in-hand from another grocery store and was shopping for two more. The butcher shop at Balducci's not only had them in stock but they were over twice the size, had better marbling and color, and overall seemed just more fresh than that of the ones I picked up elsewhere. Just browsing all their cuts of meats and seafood varieties was an experience to set any cook or home chef's mind to imagining the possible. When I need fine cuts of quality meat I will keep these folks at the top of my list that for sure. Also, you can't go wrong with the bakery items offered here. I oftentimes buy a couple of goodies that originally was not on my shopping list because everything catches your eye and entices you. In all, a great store and shopping experience overall. This location is not necessarily my favorite Balducci's location but it is quick and convenient to get to from my home and work location when heading home.....which makes it a winner in my book. Two thumbs up and I recommend! read more

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It is a treat to shop at Balducci's and unfortunately, it's a bit pricy, but I do shop there for special occasions and the variety and quality are outstanding and I'm able to find things that are unique and the customer service is helpful and pleasant. read more

Balducci's Soups Old Town takes justifiable pride in its unique shops, and for foodies, it doesn't get much better than Balducci's, directly across from District Taco on South Washington Street. The fresh prepared food is unlike anything I've seen in even the most upscale DMV grocery stores - made from scratch, comfort foods like meatloaf, coconut shrimp, short ribs - there's a whole line of expertly crafted and wholesome foods for lunch or dinner. I went there today to check out the soups and found a cream of roast turkey soup and homestyle chicken noodle soup, and in rotation I've found an outstanding turkey chili, broccoli cheddar, potato and ham, and a wholly unique and very tasty beef lasagna soup. The offerings can be a bit pricy, but not out of line with other upscale grocery stores, and a real bargain when compared to the price of entrees at the restaurants in Old Town. The meat and fish counters are an absolute joy to behold, and now that Safeway and Balducci's have merged I've been able to earn and spend customer loyalty points in a way that pretty much offsets the slightly higher prices in the meat department. read more

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Local grocery store, there is some street parking as well as parking garage. The prices are a little higher than what you normally would pay but I did notice some unique items that you might not find else where. The meat section and prepared food items looked like they have some decent food items. read more

I live nearby and dread going in here because the service can be so bad. There is one woman who works the register and wear so much perfume you smell her before you see her. She is also extremely rude when she checks you you. I usually opt to just go the extra couple of blocks to Safeway but today I needed something safeway didn't have. read more

The employees. Not helpful at all. The price is grossly high and the employees all have an attitude. read more

This review is about damage in the parking lot. Some of the spaces apparently have red metal sprinkler pipes installed above them. We pulled in, we are in a sedan, not even a higher SUV, I popped the trunk to get our shopping bags out to take into the store, and the trunk door went up, banged right into the sprinkler and the paint was chipped. If our lower sedan had that happen, a higher up SUV must have encountered that problem also. A warning, or putting some foam around the pipe would have saved us going to the dealer to get this repaired. read more

Balducci's - Shows the red pipe lower than the ceiling above our car trunk. - Grocery Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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An unfortunate update. I buy their vegan Mac and cheese pretty regularly but a few times there has been a weird aftertaste. This time I happened to look at the expiration date and the item had expired 6 days BEFORE I even bought it. Idk what what's going on at Balducci's but this is truly unacceptable and I just cant trust this place anymore. This is unsafe and putting the health of local citizens at risk. read more

Balducci's - Expired vegan Macaroni and Cheese - Grocery Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

The last few months the service there has been very bad. There would be people at registers only to tell you they aren't open and go to a self check out. Not even in a polite way. Some people are decent (people working in the allies) but some have no common courtesy and personal skills (most of the register people). They seem demotivated and not happy to work there. I hope you will find a solution for this as I don't feel like coming there anymore. It is such a bad ambiance. read more

Poor customer service and rude specifically the Ethiopian woman working the cash register (1) on 12/24/25!

Echoing other reviews of poor customer service by checkout crew. Apparently, I needed to be in the system to receive the sale price (fair enough), but rather than help me do that, I was just told I would have to pay full price. I felt like I was in Eastern Europe (not kidding - it was similar to experiences in Romania and Russia). Beautiful products, though. read more

At least at other expensive supermarkets they smile and treat you nicely while they take your money. I approached the only checkout that didn't have a "closed" sign on it only for the unpleasant cashier to say "Oh no, no, no! Only self checkout is open after 9pm" There are so many better ways to speak to your customers while you rob them. read more

Great food selections and high-end produce and meat, but the staff is always so surly and unhelpful. They often act as if it was an inconvenience to them that you entered the store. Always horrible service by everyone. read more

I have been going to Balducci since they first opened and service has reached a new low. Unfortunately, the employees seem miserable. The workers at deli counter seem overwhelmed and not able to handle the walk-in customers. You have to beg them for a sandwich, which takes forever to make. I encountered three people yesterday who were all unwilling to help me or even make eye contact. They seemed annoyed that I was even standing there. Clearly, management is not treating the employees properly and it is reflected in their work. For the prices you pay, it's an untenable situation. I can't imagine that they're making money at this location. The store is dingy and hasn't been updated in years. It is very disappointing situation for customers and employees alike.. read more

Picky back on a few reviews regarding service. People at the register were not friendly and rude. Nothing special about the products, I would say equivalent to Safeway. read more

If I can leave a 0, I would. I bought 3 pieces of grey sole fish tonight, and when I got home, I notice the smell was very bad. So I tried giving it a good wash then cooking it despite. However, I should have listen to myself as even after cooking, it tastes very spoiled, and have a terrible smell still. I ended throwing it away. I called balducci to let them know so that they can be careful and not sell it to others. They offered a refund, but I don't need a refund. I went to them for the quality and for as expensive as they charge compare to other grocery, this is below par. I don't mind paying quality. But they have high prices without quality, I am terribly disappointed. read more

I used to come here at least once a month and on special occasions for terrific fresh meat, seafood and cheese options. I knew it was expensive but it was always a treat. I noticed a trend of less friendly staff and lower quality food. Yesterday I went to grab some items to pull together a nice charcuterie board after a long week. I'd never had an issue with quality before but when I got home I noticed one cheese was over a month past it's sell-by date and the pate was just at its sell-by date but when I opened it, it smelled rancid. I also downloaded a 10% off coupon from the app and was chastised by the checker when I put my phone number in apparently rendering the app coupon useless. After her literally staring at me without a solution, a manager came by and helped. The checker said "we will give it to you this time." Her tone sounded like I was trying to scam them. I went back today with the two outdated items and asked the checker, an apathetic 30-something, if there is a customer-service booth. I started to explain the food was expired and he interrupted me and said "Give them to me. I'll just refund you." No "I'm sorry for your trouble" or even eye-contact. He was actually visibly annoyed with me. I should have said something but just needed to leave. I promise I was polite and since I'd never had an issue before went in thinking it was just a rare bad experience. Granted I'm not a regular but when I have gone in the past it has been fine. I believe everyone should be treated with respect but to add insult to injury, I have metastatic breast cancer in my bones, so a trip to the store for me is usually well-planned and infrequent. I feel like since they've been acquired by a larger company they just don't care anymore. I gave an extra star for the crab cake which was delicious but if I'm going to go out of my way to buy cheese that's over $20/lb it should be well-organized and not expired. And whether I spend $40 on a cheese plate (me) or $180 on a couple steaks (not me), I should at least get a "thank you." Just a really disappointing experience all around. Wegmans it is. read more

We decided to purchase everything Balducci's for Christmas dinner. From the beautiful sauce (delicious) to the fresh sausage, meats and cheeses (ricotta/mozzarella) we used in making in our lasagna, to dessert, it was all fabulous! We spoke to the bakery while we were there and the baker showed us delicious apple pies, too! It was easy to assemble my lasagna from these quality ingredients. Thanks Balducci's for making our Christmas easy & delicious! read more

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This store is conveniently located for us but hardly our first choice, mostly because the employees' attitude stinks. Nearly all the checkers are checked out, not saying hi, not making eye contact, not acknowledging your existence. By the looks of other reviews, we're not the only ones to experience icy service. This is bad business for any store, let alone one that charges a premium. read more

Meh. usually specialty markets are pretty good but this one not so much. i expected better. i came here for a deli sandwich. i was unimpressed. the sandwich took a while to make, and i asked the lady for coleslaw on it and she replied with let me check if we have it, even though there was a pile of it in the glass case. the sandwich was put together terribly. barely any dressing, the pastrami was bland, and 10 slices of Swiss with dry coleslaw. i grabbed a bag of fries- those were good and cheap. the other items in the glass case looked good but after tasting my sandwich, i am not sure if i want to try the other stuff. the meat counter looked phenomenal. i'm sure the meat is good. i grabbed a loaf of sourdough. I have had better at whole foods, wegmans, etc. i grabbed a prepared caesar salad with chicken, that was good. I wish it came with more dressing. it is a nice grocery store and i am sure you can find some good stuff here but its expensive. I feel like basic products are marked up just for the sake of it. I am not sure what makes their products better than any other place. but im annoyed at the sandwich situation. lol the check out was annoying too. there was only one cashier working, at least have two. I MAY come back if i want french fries for cheap, and if i want to splurge on some meat for a special occasion. but overall, meh. read more

Just a fancy grocery store with tons of stuff pretty much what'd you expect which is nice

I am giving a five star review for Balducci's cakes specifically. Whenever we have a special occasion, we always get a cake from Balducci's. And it never disappoints! We recently had one that was a coconut lemon cake and it was just delicious. We've also gotten chocolate with chocolate covered strawberries on top. The cake is moist and always has great flavor. read more

I was in the area and finally decided to go in. The last time I called the store was back in 2015 looking for Bubbies Mochi. They had an array of flavors. Tho 5 years later I'm hoping they would still carry the brand I was looking for. Alas they do not. Reason for the 5 stars is because they had something else that I found to be the Best Ever. Lemon Madeleines Their NY cheesecake was really good too Definitely recommend for a visit. read more

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I have been shopping from here for years and ordered grilled vegetables via instacart and found a grilled Maggot in my food. So gross. read more

Balducci's - Grilled maggot in my vegetables - Grocery Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Still the best deli counter - especially for Country Ham and Italian Dry Salami - but Wegmans is serious competition, with prices $2/lb less. And still the best cheese selection in the area. For holidays, the meals from the catering department can't be beat. Food is excellent, and between the cost of groceries, time spent cooking and shopping etc, it costs less than putting the meal together myself. read more

As indicated in many other recent reviews, the quality of the staff has really gone downhill in the three years I've shopping here. Today was the final straw: I had to wait half an hour for coffee after reporting that it needed to be refilled. A manager told me that the checkout clerk was new and didn't know that he was supposed to do something when I reported that the coffee was out. That's no excuse given what Balducci's charges - the 7-11 up the block has much better staff. read more

Deli staff needs serious improvement. Especially in the morning. Oftentimes there are not ingredients prepared. Staff does not have equipment ready if they are actually there. At least 50% of the time the breakfast item you request is not available for one reason or the other. Otherwise they do a decent job when they want to read more

Meh. I am not the biggest fan of over priced bourgeois food places. For example, one non-organic lime was $1, at Safeway around the corner .50c I did like the store brand sparkling wine. The meat and fish look as good or better than whole foods. This will be a place I go to only put of desperation or pure laziness because I can walk here vs a drive. read more

Has a nice selection of high-quality meats, cheeses and baked goods. But I would NOT recommend it. Cashiers seem to carry an attitude of "I don't want to be here" and are clearly not customer focused. Ran into minor issue with my account not be recognized, which meant my coupons would not work. Not a big deal but the 2 cashiers standing there just shrugged their shoulders and more or less pushed me on my way. Of course, that just compelled me to wait in line again to make sure my groceries were rung up correctly. Cost me a 5-minute wait, 2 signatures and a crabby look from the cashier! read more

Love this store!! Clean, well stocked and friendly and warm atmosphere! Meat department can't be beat!! Nice wine selection. Deli counter has lots to offer. read more

There is a cashier here who is so clueless that it's frustrating and mind blowing all at once. Today, was my second time dealing with her cluelessness and I'm astounded. Episode 1: green and yellow squash were on sale for the same price, say $2.99 per lb. As such, I placed both my green and yellow squash in the same produce bag. When I got to the register, I informed this cashier that the diff colored squash were on sale for the same price. She then proceeds to ring the single bag of produce up under the code for green squash, then rings the same bag up as yellow squash; IE she rang ONE bag of produce up TWICE so that I would've been paying double for a single bag. I'm shocked that a cashier who deals with money has done this, but she was young so I explained to her that since the squash were on sale for the same price, she only needed to ring the squash up once. Do you know this girl went back and forth me telling me that the same bag of produce had to be rung up twice to account for the different colors?! Mind blown. I finally convinced her to realize the error of her ways after about 2-3 mins, which is a long time to discuss a simple checkout issue. Episode 2: today, I grab a package of chicken salad which is prepared in house. Apparently, the package I picked up didn't have a barcode label on it with the price, so the cashier went over to look at the price. She came back and rang the item up at $10.99. I asked her if the item itself was $10.99 or if it sold for $10.99/lb since it's a deli item. She stated that it was $10.99 flat, which I know to be false, so I asked her to go double check. She came back and confirmed that the item was $10.99 per lb and proceeded to place the item in the bagging area-- without weighing it to determine the actual price! Unreal. I then instructed her that she'd need to weigh it to get the exact dollar amount. She then argued with me saying that she didn't have a scale at to weigh it (though the register has a produce scale built in), and seemingly implied that I'd just need to pay $10.99. Another cashier saw what was happening and chimed in, picked up the item, and said "oh yeah, this will be about $10.99 bc this is about a pound"... WHAT? This isn't rocket science. If something is sold by the pound, WEIGH IT! I don't care how much you think it weighs. This was extremely annoying so I told the cashier to forget it and take the chicken salad off altogether. She then voided the entire purchase and rang everything up again and nearly threw my receipt at me. Please train your staff better bc this cashier seems legitimately clueless. The examples above are situations that have simple solutions, yet she couldn't figure them out. Side note: Balducci's is cool, but overpriced. It's way more expensive than Whole Foods, which is expensive, yet its selection isn't any more gourmet. read more

Unbelievably disappointed in my "old love" Balducci's (Alexandria VA store). They have fallen hard. First of all, I absolutely hate the app for coupons. The old system of earning points was flawless. Why change? Now it's always a struggle at the checkout to try to figure out what coupons match what I have in my cart. I didn't plan my life around shopping once on the app then again in the store! Staff is still terrific, but there are not enough people. Biggest disappointment is of course quality. I'm happy to pay higher prices for great quality. That's now in the past. I've had to return rancid lobster meat, then rancid shrimp that I bought, trustingly, on the day I returned the lobster, and a loaf of clearly labeled "cranberry walnut" bread that turned out to be olive bread. My salad greens were wilted after a day in the fridge. UGH. What happened to you, Balducci's?! read more

Is it mind blowingly expensive? Yes. Is it an incredible grocery store with an insane selection of speciality items? Yes. So I think it's worth it when you need to make a great in home charcuterie board or make a special meal. I was able to secure Passover catering less than 24 hours before Passover, which I thought was incredible. Everyone loved the food and raved about it and wants to get catering there every year now. The desserts were especially enjoyed. read more

Great in a pinch but pricey with a limited selection. If you're looking to grab a bottle of wine and some cheese on the way home Balducci's will get the job done, but overall it isn't where I get my groceries. Even their prepared meals lack oomph. The price aside, I find their deli style counter to be quite bland. They do have a nice selection of cakes though, and they sell a variety of ice cream treats if you are looking for a little something. Overall pricey with a small selection. Usually fairly clean. read more

This used to be a great store. But it was recently sold to a large chain. Since then, they have created an app that is not only difficult to use, but offers rewards and then erases them when you get to the checkout counter. I have routinely spent around $1000 a month at this store over the last few years. I thought maybe they were having problems with their app, but after talking to the manager, it seems more likely that they are purposefully cheating their customers. They also leave food items on the shelves that are months past the expiration date. I don't advise shopping here. It also appears that they are abusive to their cashiers since they have new cashiers every week. None of the cashiers seem to stay more than one or two weeks at this job. read more

From local farms to delicious delicacies far across the seas, this Balducci's, and I would imagine all of them, bring together the finest, freshest, most extraordinary prepared foods and ingredients for foodies of every stripe; the passionate, the adventurous or the most discerning munchers among us! It really is a great place to enjoy the rare, the ripe and the fresh! Yes, it's a bit more expensive and perhaps not for everyone's everyday food shopping, but it's a great place to graze and gather and enjoy! read more

I have never had a bad experience at Balducci's ever. When I go in for a special item and it is not in the case there is always someone willing to check for me. Always a pleasant shopping experience . read more

I love overpriced bourgeois gourmet food places but unfortunately Balducci's is getting further and further away from the gourmet. Add to that customer service is getting worse and worse. After many years of having a rewards card all of the sudden a week or two ago they wouldn't take it anymore. Told me I had to enter my phone number but since my phone number was never entered in the first place that wouldn't work. People in the store couldn't help me. I tried calling the store and they never even answered the phone. So I tried to talk to customer service when I went there the last time and then they told me I had to call this other number. So I gave up. The last three times I was there I couldn't even get guacamole. They were out, three times in a row. (Edit, It's now the last four times in a row. I give up.) It's been a while but they also used to have really good variety of smoked salmons that you could order by the pound. Norwegian, Gravlax, Scottish salmon. No more. It's been no more for many years. I hear another gourmet food store called Foxtrot is going to be coming here later this year. Maybe that will be an alternative for me. I really hate going places, paying a lot of money and then being treated like my business isn't worth having. read more

I hate this store with all my heart. It's pretentious, overpriced, and the deli counter couldn't be any slower if they tried, but it's the only place in Alexandria I can find San Daniele prosciutto. read more