Ten stars. This is the best grocery store in the entire world. Great prices, fresh, local, huge selections, easy parking and all around amazing. I don't live close by, but purposely make a trip across the bridge to get my groceries here when I feel like treating myself to an awesome grocery store experience. They have the best apples, meats, mushrooms, and vegetables. I love getting the largest apples I can find because they are so much easier to cut than the teeny ones. I wish all grocery stores can be as great as Berkeley Bowl, and am thankful to be only a short drive away. read more

Place is horrible . Rude people and very expensive. Place is stuck in 2020 still . Not happy at all . Everyone here acts like they have never been in a grocery store before . People blocking isles place is horrible . Avoid at ll costs read more

Hmm I heard a lot of people raving about this place so it got me all pumped up to check it out. The first time stopped by to checkout the place was Friday evening around about 6pm, it wasn't crowded. I was overwhelmed by how much stuff there which I like. I was checking out the hot food items to bring home to eat for dinner that night. I notice the rice bowls with salmons the lids on top was damaged due to the heating lamp from above. I was thinking oh no this is terrible that means plastic must of fallen on the food. I'm surprised no one was aware of the lids being damaged (there was several of them). If it was any other grocery stores this would of never happened. Also that fact that its in Berkeley. Because of seeing that it actually makes me wonder if they given keep up with their inventory of items it's update to on expires and also how much their fresh meats, makes me wonder how long has it been seating in the back refrigerated. I would come back again but I was not get certain items. read more

There are no words to describe Berkeley bowl. It's on an island on its own, it's in a world of its own. Rightfully so, this place is absolutely a gem. How do you explain this place? The produce in itself is the size of a small grocery store, no joke. Full varieties of every possibly produce that you can think of in many different variations, split up by organic and conventional. Bulk items? Closest I can find a similarity to is rainbow grocery, but I also feel that Berkeley bowl is superior in itself. Deli department has ready made sandwiches, sliced meats, for meat eaters and even vegan. Ready made foods for every dietary restriction and clearly labeled, absolutely delicious. Hot foods, Asian, burrito bar, so much for the eyes, not enough space for your tummy. Grocery aisles are grouped differently but have every selection you may need. They have a separate cheese section for those interested. Meat department is large and has tons of variety. This place is superior, there is no grocery store that you can relate this to, none. Staff is super friendly, this place gets real busy and it's an obstacle shopping which is the biggest downfall. There's two Berkeley bowls and I've shopped both, this is the better one! read more

Today was a fortuitous day! I don't always buy meat at Berkeley bowl, but today I totally lucked out and got Christina to help me out. I was looking for a thinner cut of short ribs to make Korean galbi and all I saw in the display case was thicker cut. These would be great for braised short ribs, but that's not what I was looking for. Christina said she can slice them into thirds or quarters. She did say that the fourth piece would be somewhat of an a irregular size, so I went with the thirds. It turned out to be the perfect size! She even scraped the bone fragments off. I saw her doing it and thanked her for that. I always rinse them when i get home. Nothing is worse than chewing into a small bone fragment. The beef is marinating in the fridge right now and I'm so excited for dinner tomorrow. This is the choice Angus beef from a ranch in Minnesota. I appreciate that my butcher knows where my beef is from. Thank you Christina!! read more

Berkeley Bowl West - Snacking short ribs with marbling! Feb 2020 - Cafes Near Me - Berkeley, California

Amazing produce selection. Both organic and conventional. Could fish department this place is really a jem. Somehow though, I somewhat dread coming here and usually feel like I want to get in and out as quickly as possible. For some reason they have huge shopping carts with tiny, tight isles. It seems like there's usually a large number of older and senior persons who are noticeably uncomfortable with having to maneuver around all the shopping cart congestion in the tight quarters of the store. On an upside, they finally started caring, KUBE vegan ice cream so my frequency of shopping hear may double! read more

Love everything about the Berkeley Bowl! It has one of, if not the best, produce sections in the Bay Area, and I love that there is an entire separate organic produce section. Great selection of all kinds of products and very fresh meats and fish. They also have really delicious bakery items including gluten free options. read more

You pull into the location and see there are multiple types of parking for this store. We went into the garage. The elevators were easy to get up to the store and after you're done shopping. There is a huge cheese counter, dessert area, olives, and deli area. Don't forget about the food to aisle. I was also blown away with the fresh organic and no organic produce. If you're a huge fan of mushrooms, just wow! There are so many varieties. Some can be pricey. There is a litte something for everyone at this store. It can get very crowded at times and sometimes hard to get around but overall a cool place to shop at. Definitely recommend. read more

Great grocery store and fresh produce! Truly love their selection and the hot food counter! They definitely are great competition for Whole Foods ! Convenient parking as well and great customer service ! read more

Been here many times and never bothered to check-in. Never even knew this cafe section had a name. W? Haha! I was on my way to meeting and just wanted to sit down for a bit. I purchased a pastry and coffee from the bowl and parked myself in an open table. I throughly enjoyed just hanging out and getting the Berkeley vibe. The customary eco-bins are clearly marked so not to commit a fax paus. Biodegradable cutlery and recycled paper napkins are available. The cafe is nice and clean. Lost a star, because the bathroom looked like a high school gym shower. Obviously someone bathed there. This is Berkeley. read more

Berkeley Bowl West - Black Organic French Roast. $1.49. - Cafes Near Me - Berkeley, California

I thought place was very cool, like a bit more industrial Whole Foods. We ended up finding everything we wanted and bought a fruit tart. Parking wasn't too bad though maybe we were just lucky in finding a spot so quickly. read more

I'm not a Berkeley native, and in fact when I am visiting in the general bay area, I never go into any of the grocery stores. It's always about entertainment and great food. We literally found this place by accident. It's one of those stories where you make a right turn instead of a left turn, and you find yourself in unfamiliar territory. I do love a good adventure though. I ended up driving down a one-way street that led me to what looked to be a park and ride parking lot. As it turns out, it was the back end of this amazing store. Unless you know where you are going, there's no way to tell that this is a grocery store. There is an adjacent parking lot structure that looks to be three stories, and the store is equally as big. At the bottom of the parking structure is a café. Not a completely odd concept since many people will go into a grocery store ironically to grab a bite to eat and will sit down at one of the scattered table tops to enjoy their quick bite. This café however, is the size of a small restaurant and their offerings are sandwiches, a variety of drinks such as coffee etc., as well as, A variety of pastries. The entrance to the store is pretty cool. The exterior is filled with a variety of seasonal fruits, herbs, some potted plants, and a neatly formed line of grocery carts. I'm not even in the store yet and I'm fairly impressed with what I've seen so far... I grabbed a grocery cart in and I went. This place is a combination of upscale food stores, combined with items that you might find at an international grocery store. The price points vary from over-the-top expensive, too so reasonable you feel like you need to buy more than one. The bakery is filled with beautiful pastries and hand decorated cakes etc. There is an entire cheese section with a staff member who can answer any and all questions about which ever cheese you may be considering. And trust me, I don't know that I've seen that much cheese in one place in a very long time. I could've spent forever sampling and purchasing some of the unique cheeses. The fresh meat counter is one of those be prepared to have your mind blown. Fresh cuts of almost anything and everything you could possibly imagine. If I wasn't traveling, I absolutely would've purchased meat to take home. The produce section will knock your socks off. Numerous varieties of the same fruits and vegetables providing the shopper with the best variety of everything. I could go on, and on, about this gem of a grocery store. If you are fortunate enough to live in or close to the area, I envy your shopping ability here. This definitely will be on my list of places to stop at when I am in Berkeley! read more

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Favorite place on earth. There has been no grocery store that can compare to Berkeley bowl.

Huge selection of coffee beans that i got for my partner. Staff were courteous as well.

Berkeley has the last known grocery store that feels like a grocery store when you were a child growing up. Remember when there use to be a butcher that cut your meat? Berkeley Bowl has that service where a butcher would cut your meat. Whole Foods, Safeway, Lucky, and Sprout's does not give you a service that Berkeley Bowl has. The produce at Berkeley Bowl are fresh and organic. This grocery store maybe got the idea that Whole Foods has by serving fresh organic produce. Maybe this was the first Whole Foods before it existed. The bakery is amazing. Here are people that are willing to bake a cake the way the customer wants. I have seen beautiful cakes being made. The check out line is amazing! Four 10/15 items or less register being open. You don't see that at Lucky or Safeway because they have self checkouts. Whole Foods and Sprout's still don't have self checkouts and hopefully Berkeley Bowl will not invest in self checkouts. Berkeley Bowl is the last grocery store that feels like your childhood. read more

For the longest time, I've shopped at the original Berkeley Bowl location whenever I head over to East Bay. This was the first time I've been to this location, and immediately questioned myself "why did it take me this long?" First off, parking was not as painful as the OG spot. There's an outdoor lot and an underground lot. It's more spacious and less chaotic to park or even to find a spot. If you love a variety of produce, similar or even more than what you'd find at a farmers' market, this is your store. They have specials here and there on organic and non-organic veggies. Their picks are super fresh compared to what I find at other supermarkets. Have you ever seen a whole fridge of mushrooms and you don't need to go to that one place at the Ferry Building for them? Have you ever shopped in the produce section that's as big as some store's total size? No joke, but I was munching on a salad made with various ingredients from BBW, it was like one of the best salads I've eaten. You know that one meme with Schwarzenegger and a bunch of animals in the forest? Yea, that's how I felt after eating that salad. You can tell me Sprouts and Whole Foods carry the same stuff, but I don't feel like I've spent that much more here at Berkeley Bowl. They've got some good beer selection. My usual beer store is Total Wines, but they carry some interesting local brewery items too. They sell draft kombucha by the growler. They also have a limited selection of onigiri from B-Dama over on Piedmont, they're pretty decent. For a location that's not close to any Japanese supermarket, this is a good pick up for quick bites. They also carry this milk bread from Japan, haven't tried it but it looks enticing. read more

Maybe it was a zoo because we were here after Christmas but before the New Year. The parking lot was a hot mess. The store was jam packed. Or maybe it's just like that all the time! We'd only been to this store once before and it was just as crazy, and we stopped going to the first store for the same reason. read more

I typically show at the original Berkeley Bowl but this one is even bigger! They have a small room dedicated to items that are on sale and you can find great steals like a whole bag of avocados for $1. I think the selection of fruit is larger here than the original store. I love that they have a kombucha station where you can taste test them before purchasing. The kombucha section is huge here with every flavor you can imagine. The bulk bins are great for eco-conscious shoppers and for knick knack snacks such as peanut crackers and wasabi peas. The lines can be quite long here so I advise going during off hours such as early morning. Parking is a nightmare after work or before closing, but it's nice that they have so many spots! read more

Some places just don't need to be reviewed anymore when they completely trump the competition. This is Berkeley Bowl to me. I have fond memories from the days I lived in Berkeley, walking into this expanse of choice. If you've ever wondered where you can get a certain product you couldn't find at any other supermarket, chances are you'll find it here. The colors and variety do not stop. Only in Berkeley Bowl do you find 12 different types of apples, potatoes, grapes and blueberries. I almost want to flirt with the vegetable section here. The meat, fish and fresh food section are all great. It's one of those places that made me wish: A. I don't shop on my bike and B. I don't need to monitor how much I spend. Walking through the beer aisle, I definitely found myself mumbling this is f***ing heaven. Glad I came back here a decade later to find that this place is still the shit. It's pricey, but it's a food lover's dream. read more

Berkeley Bowl West - Cafes Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Hands down my favorite grocery store of all tine. It's a truly magical place and they have something for everyone produce is super cheap but everything else adds up quickly. So if you're on a budget this is a good place for quality fruits and veggies. They have so many artisanal and local goods. The kombucha on tap is really unique and I haven't had the pleasure of going to any other grocery store that has this amenity. Their bakery and prepared food sections --package and hot--are all of dang good quality. I honestly love this place so much, it's a complete treat to come here for groceries. Cafe across the way has a great variety of offerings most days and they even deliver on food apps! When I went most recently on a Friday morning though, the cafe had a limited menu. read more

During this pandemic, Berkeley Bowl West has been there to serve the community. This store has been my go-to for produce, fruits, bulk grains and dried fruits over the years due to its vast selection and quality and am giving them a shout out on this #ThankYouThursday. Following safety protocols, Berkeley Bowl has implemented from the beginning of the pandemic to this date, procedures for the protection of customers and its employees. Since the store controls the amount of customers inside the store, there is an organized socially distanced waiting line with 6 ft. markings along the pathway, sanitized shopping carts and baskets, availability of disposable gloves, enforcing the mask policy, organized waiting lines for checkout, safety shields at the registers and bagging stations outside if you wish to bag your own purchase. Thanks Berkeley Bowl for your service to the community during these challenging times cementing your reputation as a top notch supermarket. read more

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Love shopping here except on Sunday's. Sunday's shoppers lined up outside before they open. This place is always packed. ALWAYS! But, they have EVERYTHING that you need and then some. We frequent here at least 3 times a week. read more

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First time coming here was for their holiday meal kit. I got a traditional turkey dinner that consist of a turkey, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, and a pumpkin pie! I was so surprised how easy they packaged everything and everything was super tasty!! There was 4 adults and one child with lots of left overs left! I would recommend to anybody who doesn't wanna slave in the kitchen all morning!! I will be trying their rib roast holiday meal kit for Christmas! Happy holidays! read more

Produce is the best you can buy, meat/fish are all fresh! Workers are friendly! The best in the Bay!

In my heart, this is a 3 star location compared to the original Berkley Bowl. However, for the name itself, and (some) great options in organic produce for a decent price, I will inflate their review by 1 star. Their parking lot is a nightmare and you will be better off using the parking garage or parking on the street. The spaces are so small that you must have a compact car and be willing to be fairly aggressive to do right here. The main reason why I want to give them 3 stars is because their discount / dollar section SUCKS. Their parking sucks. Their outdoor section makes no sense for the direction the tape makes you walk. They have worse options and higher pricing than the other location. I don't understand. read more

Pre covid I tried to avoid this place due to the crowds and difficulty parking. But the other day I was craving sushi and was tired of the standard options in my neighborhood. While browsing Caviar I stumbled across a beautiful picture of Salmon Ikura Don from BBW (who knew - fresh sushi from a grocery store that actually looked authentic!) and decided to take a chance and try it out. It arrived beautifully and intact. Fancy and delicious. You can tell the food is fresh and "real" - without use of artificial ingredients or unnecessary sugars. The only nit is that the slices of fish were on the thin side so it felt a little like skimping.....I prefer meatier bites. I'm not sure what the red sauce is that they add to the sashimi bowl but omg please bottle it and sell it. Soooooo delectable and pleasing, esp when paired with sushi rice and sashimi. (It's under the salmon sashimi so not visible in photo). read more

Berkeley Bowl West - Pork Tonkatsu side ($8), Salmon Ikura Don ($14), Dragon Roll ($11) (clockwise from top L) - Cafes Near Me - Berkeley, California

Just want to say thank you all the staff for staying open. You are our heroes and thanks for your great service. BB came highly recommended to us by our Escrow officer and happy to share - it did not disappoint. There's plenty of parking. Several in front near the entrance, huge lot on Heinz St, a small lot before the entrance towards the underground parking. Came on a weekend (after lunch time) so line wrapped around the building, but only waited about 15 min tops to get inside. Heads up - aisles are extremely narrow (super tight) so just putting that out there. You will be bumping into shoppers constantly. But my experience however, was fantastic as shoppers were very respectful. They have tons of produce like everyone shared, and tons and tons of fruits (lucky me). Prices were surprisingly reasonable like Papayas for only $1.29 lb. Definitely much lower pricing compared to Wholefoods and higher end supermarket but you get the same high end experience. I didn't see any ready made wrapped seafood (so you will need to see the butcher), but there were limited ready packed poultry. I like their bulk dry foods like brown sugar, nuts and so on and it's a significant savings too vs buying the branded products. There is a good bread section, and I got a Nan bread (2 in a pack for $1.99) great for making quick easy meal like Nan cheese pizza. They have an "ok" selections of pastries - not huge - but fortunately, the good ones like Morning Buns and Cheese with blueberry pastries for only $1.99 each were available. Best of all - Sushi to go was available. Score!! I don't usually go for California Roll but with real crab, I couldn't resist. Their salmon and tuna roll was delicious also and for only $10 a platter, can't really beat the price. It's even cheaper than Safeway I think and taste much fresher too. Tips: Like most have shared - Make a list and know what you are buying a head of time. This will make your experience seamless. -Come after lunch around 2pm - if you don't like huge crowds -Hit the butcher first if you plan to buy your meat since I noticed that had the longest line -Familiarize yourself with the store layout (entrance goes right through the bakery, bread and pastries towards the Sushi, then produce and so on. -Park on the lot, but I was told by friends the underground parking is good too, more availability but can be tough to get out -If you think of more tips - please let me know and happy add this on. Cheers! read more

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Great selection and quality of meats, vitamins , and veggies. I enjoyed the prepared food, coffee, and pastries and they have tables to sit and enjoy. Actually, it's all good, mustards, ketchup, acme bread, cut flowers, parking, fruits, etc. we visit weekly read more

I'm very disappointed at the lack of management support. I had a very unfriendly encounter with one of the register cashiers by the name of Yesi. She rolled her eyes as I tried to greet her, refused to scan items because I had one more over the limit of items for the register. Even the customers around us was urging her to just scan the items because it's only one item over. She then spilled my soup on the conveyor belt and refuse to assist with cleaning up. I then cleaned up the soup myself and packed up all of my items and went to a different register. When I went to look for a manager two individuals that barely spoke English, refused to get a manager to assist. The environment was aesthetically pleasing, but the staff that I've encountered were very disgusting.. read more

Oh Berkeley Bowl West, you still remain my most favorite grocery store in the world. You even made it into my wedding vows. I've since moved away from the Bay Area and Berkeley Bowl West remains the #1 thing I miss most. The produce section here is amazing and there is nothing else like it. Trust me, we cook a lot and checking out grocery stores has become somewhat of a hobby/past time for us. Yes the non-produce items can be a bit more expensive. Yes it gets incredibly crowded here on the weekends. Yes the lines during the height of Covid were atrocious. But it's worth it! Where else can you take your pick of S, M, L, or XL avocados? Where else can you buy peaches from different farms/varieties? Where else can you get ethnic food and regular groceries all in one stop? I tried replicating a fancy dish from a cooking class and buying duck breast and the 3 different colored beets were a breeze here! Tried replicating the same dish in SoCal and could find neither duck breast nor all 3 colored beets anywhere. There is a parking lot next to the store, an underground parking structure, and a parking lot across the street from the store which makes this location superior to the original Berkeley Bowl location. This place will be my #1 stop whenever I'm back in the area. read more

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Just a reminder: "Free coffee for seniors over 65, fresh and sweet organic fruit in season, non-alcoholic beer, bulk non-sugar cereals, a new and novel inventory, and a pretty wide range of Asian food and seasonings. They also have an extensive selection of beautiful and well-crafted greeting cards. I usually park in the big outdoor lot on Heinz and walk across the street because I don't like waiting for parking." read more

I can't believe that I went to UC Berkeley for years, even came here on two short occasions to accompany a coworker to pick up an item and another time to browse to kill time, but this was the first time I literally "shopped" here! How could I have not known why this place is so well known? This place is amazing!! Stopped by here before a doctor's appointment because we had a lot of time to kill. And I found out it simply was not enough time! I had to pick up items for a family member who has a super strict organic only diet and found everything I needed to purchase here and MORE! Wooooow is all I have to say. This place is absolutely amazing and I only had enough time to go through PART of the produce section. They have practically every kind of fruit or vegetable you could possibly be looking for. Want potatoes? There's at least 8 different options/varieties/colors. Want Asian veggies? Take your choice of different sizes and varieties of bok choy or eggplant etc. There's roots of all different sorts and all kinds of fresh herbs. 1lb bags of arugula for less than $2. Massive amounts of heirloom multicolored bell peppers of various sizes. Have you ever wanted to pick out your own cherry tomatoes by hand like I do? You can here! The list goes on and on! Everything and anything you could possibly imagine finding in a US supermarket and more is here. I've never been so wowed by produce in my life. Never seen such a huge organic section. The organic produce is nearly 1/3-1/2 the size of the non organic produce. I felt overwhelmed by how many varieties of everything were available but in a good way. I literally felt like I was a kid in a candy store before I realized I was an adult in just part of a supermarket! If you come, don't forget to check out their clearance section room in the back of the non organic section. Many of their produce were about $1 for items that were still decent or even still very fresh depending on what it was. We got a huge watermelon for about $1.50. A pineapple that was just missing the stem for $1. 1lb of strawberries for $1. A bag of 5 large cucumbers for $1 when I usually buy 1 for $1.25 at Safeway. The one thing that we were not satisfied with was the bag of avocados on clearance that were all rotten when we opened them :(. Won't be getting those again for sure. Everything else was great. They also have bakery items there, like 2 day old donuts for $1 but I don't like day old donuts, so we didn't try them. Prices for organic are pretty steep, but organic tends to be expensive unless they are on sale at sprouts. I don't mind though because they have practically everything I need and the quality of the produce is excellent. The prices of the non organic items are actually pretty on par with maybe Sprouts' non sale items and cheaper than Safeway or Trader Joe's. The quality again is excellent. It was a bit crowded even coming on weekday morning but people were fairly good about social distancing and I witnessed the staff wiping some things down. I appreciated that they have a very strict (almost too strict) lady at the front of the store directing traffic and sanitizing every cart to ensure that you have a clean one. She even digitally marked how many entered the store and there was a lady who marked how many left the store at the exit to facilitate crowd control. There is hand sanitizer and boxes of gloves at the front for anyone who wants to glove up, which I appreciated. Would be nice if they enforced everyone to wear the gloves though like some Korean supermarkets. They also have a bakery, deli, and sushi section that I quickly walked by that I didn't have the chance to look into much. I hope to be back soon! But this time, i can't wait to browse through every part of the produce...and then actually look through the grocery isles to see what else is here! What a great place to shop! read more

Excellent stock of interesting and high quality groceries. I love shopping here for the variety alone. Prices seem reasonable and fair. However, an average of my visits interacting with staff for the most basic of interactions, primarily at checkout, has left with me with a less than favorable impression of the employees. I try to avoid engaging with the staff as much as possible because the majority of them seem aggressively unhappy. read more

When our climbing group climbs at Ironworks some of us come here afterwards for lunch. They have a great selection of foods in their deli section. Today I bought ribs and broccoli. You can get sandwiches, Chinese style foods, burritos, and a long list of other items. I've shopped around too for other items in the store and the selection of products is great. I haven't been there when it's super crowded. The lines do move fast. It's not like the chain grocery stores where they only have one or two registers open despite a long line of people waiting. They have always had several registers open when I've been there. I'll also add that I appreciate how friendly the workers are in the deli section. A little bit of friendliness goes a long ways. read more

My friend used to describe Berkeley Bowl as the Disneyland of produce. I've been going here since college, and would still make a trip to Berkeley just for Berkeley Bowl. Great produce and great assortment of different grains, nuts, antipastis, bread, etc. read more

Love the selection of produce, beef, and baby foods. They have a generous variety of cheeses. Keep an eye out for their sales too because they're easy to overlook. read more

Terrible during Covid-19! My family has been a regular customer for years, but with the shelter-in-place, we've minimized grocery trips and only gone to our closest stores, instead of Berkeley Bowl. I decided to try going back to Berkeley Bowl West today since it is really the store that has everything we need, and we've only been "making do" with our more local stores. Big mistake. They let FAR TOO MANY people in the store!!!!! It was completely impossible to even attempt social distancing. Only once was I able to be in an aisle with only a few other people. Most aisles were packed, people passing each other constantly, reaching over each other, etc., and with no choice but to do it. They do a really good job outside before you enter -- there is a line to enter, they have painted 6-ft markers on the pavement (not tape that peels up), and everyone was good about social distancing. They provide disposable gloves. It looks good so far, but when you get to the front of the line, that's where it ends. I entered the store and was immediately surrounded by people -- employees and customers all around me. I thought it was just upon entry, that the entry area was impacted and once I got into the store a ways it would be better. I went straight to the organic produce and bulk area. The store has done a great job of bagging up a lot of the bulk stuff, since they can't have people digging into bins during the pandemic. But this whole section was packed, and it was hard to keep 3 feet away from people, much less 6 feet! I got what I needed, having a lot of trouble even attempting social distancing -- I'd politely wait for someone to move so I could go get my item, but the person would never move!! People were shopping as couples and families in many cases, instead of having just one individual from a household go in, which is what I have experienced in other grocery stores. This store's produce and bulk area are usually (non-pandemic) almost impossible to get around in for crowdedness though, so I figured it would be better when I got into the big aisles. Wrong!! Every aisle was just packed with people. I decided to forego my list and just get a few each of the things that I haven't been able to find at other stores, since my main goal became to get out of the store as fast as possible, and never to go again unless the pandemic is over or they greatly reduce the number of people in the store. It was really hard, and I just felt "threatened" the entire time I was there. I wonder if they are letting more people in now than before; I did go in mid-March right before (like, the day before) the shelter-in-place began for Alameda County, and it seemed like fewer people were being allowed in and the line outside was longer. The big joke was when I got to the checkout and they have markers on the floor to stand six feet apart. Ok, I will gladly stand on your marker. But then people are constantly going past me. They have signs saying to wait and not approach the check out until the person in front of you has finished their transaction. That's a good idea. Unfortunately, the marker that said "stand here" was exactly in the middle of the main passageway, and people couldn't really get around me. I kept trying to move aside, and it wasn't working, because I had to get out of different directions at the same time. The checker finally told me to go to the further away marker for that check-stand. That helped, but it was in the aisle, and then people kept passing me in the aisle. So what is the point of spacing out 6 feet apart in line, if it forces everyone to pass you well within 6 feet like every second? I'm truly and thoroughly disappointed, because I really hoped I could resume shopping here regularly. They have a wonderful variety of organic produce, natural brands, non-GMO verified products, and their own brand of things like peanut butter, plus I love their extensive bulk section. Each member of our family has picked the one place they most want to go again when the virus is gone, and Berkeley Bowl West is what my spouse chose. But I think it will be a long, long time before we can resume going here, due to the virus. I hope management reads this and the other reviews that say the same, and greatly reduces the number of people in the store at a time. Until then or the virus is over, I will not be back. read more

Man, i write this review with a heavy heart. I love Berkeley Bowl but I hate the experience here. I've been an Emeryville resident for all 32 years of my life, and this location has been near and dear to my heart but this beloved treasure of mine has grossly outgrown the space. Preparing to go to Berkeley bowl has been comparable to bracing myself for a panic attack. Parking, trash. People to space ratio, trash. Service and assistance with finding items (including cashiers), trash. To say this grocery store experience is chaotic would be an understatement. Not only is it jam packed in here no matter what time you go, the aisle spacing isn't considerate of cart size or line waiting. This location is condensed to say the very least, and I believe with more space and staff training it could be a beautiful place to shop. The produce and products you find here is UNMATCHED. The butcher shop / meat market is incredible. Best fruits and veggies hands down and just about the only place I can find Rosa Banana Milk in the entire Bay Area. But I leave my visits to once every 2-4 months simply because I can't stand shopping as a pack of sardines. This is not a diss on the merchants or to say we don't need Berkeley Bowl. It's to say, y'all... let's find a newer bigger home and plan spacing accordingly. I would like to give you all my moneys lol read more

Love this place! Not only do they have all the unique and local products... they also sell many Asian veggies! I love stopping by their dried foods section and buying the snacks that Berkeley bowl makes. My favorite section is the beer wall toward the left side of the building! So many to try!!! The people here are always kind and helpful. The prices are fair. Plenty of parking. What more can a girl ask for? read more

Berkeley Bowl West - First arrival: in line at the end of the culdesac. Do not be intimidated by the line. We were in the store in 5 minutes. - Cafes Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great place for fresh produce due to the selection and reasonable prices. There's a sizable organic section even though I don't buy organic. The quality of fruit and vegetables are pretty good as well. Lines can be moderately long and parking can be tight but those never deter me from visiting this place. read more