This neighborhood Asian grocery is a Union Square cornerstone. They have a great selection of beer, wine, sake, snacks, and Asian specialty foods. The general grocery selection is a little smaller, obviously, but it covers the basics. I often go there to stock my freezer with dumplings, and my fridge often has a jar of their kimchee. The staff are very friendly. read more

I love this place. For its size, it's great. The staff are kind and lovely. I also got a free watermelon once.

Reliable Market has a great beer selection and very friendly service! They have a variety of nice Belgian beers, local craft and well known national breweries like 3 Floyds and Toppling Goliath read more

The selection is great here but everything is absurdly expensive - I didn't think I would find a place in Somerville that made Hmart look cheap... I was also interested in the hot foods section but everything was extremely overpriced and not as great as the listing I saw on Atlas Obscurica. I would recommend going to the hmart in central square instead read more

Reliable Market - $12 ramen pack - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

I've been here a handful of times when I lived in Somerville. They have lots of neat stuff. Prices were a tad high for me. I actually can't remember what I even bought. I just remember walking around a lot looking for something I could afford. Lots of neat drinks though. read more

Love this market - it truly is reliable. I didn't know what to expect when I first stepped into the shop, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. They have a variety of groceries (fresh, frozen, etc) and many Asian food items. They also sell beer and wine. I have to say, I was really impressed by the beer selection and often opt to shop at Reliable Market instead of nearby liquor shops when looking to grab beers. Above all else, the people who work here are sooooo friendly. This place is a gem. read more

This place is magic. It's super unassuming, and I've definitely walked right by it even when I've been looking for it. The name "Reliable Market" makes me immediately suspicious. Something about the time we live in that if a business advertises itself as reliable, I give it a week. But Reliable Market lives up to the name. It's reliable. So long as you're looking for delicious Korean prepared food, frozen food, snacks, random cooking utensils, extremely good and varied craft beers and reasonable produce. They have a really kind of wacky selection of things. Their prepared food section is reliable only in the sense that it's delicious, not in that it reliably has any particular item. I think I haven't been there where they had the same thing available twice. Revisiting the craft beer: Their selection is pretty astonishing. Every time I've gone I discover a beer I haven't seen before. And this is Union Square. Basically every other building is a brewery. Definitely top Korean grocery the area. H-Mart? More like Unreliable Mart. read more

As a Somerville resident, I love Reliable Market! I often just head over there to browse and see what inspires me for that trip. It's also a UPS access point so it's hard to avoid browsing when I go to pick up a package. Small space with a ton of variety in products. I always grab my Asian snacks and ramen here. They also have a GREAT selection of local beers, wine, etc. They fairly recently did construction in the space to accommodate more beers and wine. Great find. I also like their ready to eat section. I usually grab either some seaweed salad or a squid salad. If they have some sushi I'll pick that up too. The rice isn't the best but it's pretty good for a grab and go selection. I love their kimchi chigae as well. Huge portion size. Or their japchae is also delicious. It's clearly a family run business which is great to see and the younger staff is pretty friendly. Love this place :) read more

I was super excited at first to see all the variety of Asian products here! Most Asian stores are usually concentrated in the Chinatown area, so I was pretty excited to find one in the Somerville area. However.., the prices were much higher compared to chinatown. So I've decided I would only come here when I really need to or if I missed an item on my grocery list while I was in Chinatown. There's also a restaurant within that makes ramen and other Asian dishes fresh! I was excited about that. The reason for the three stars is because while I was in the fresh food section such as sushi and such. I found a pack of the seaweed salad covered in MOLD. I was really shocked because what does this say about their fresh food products. SO - if you are buying fresh ready to eat foods here, better beware and check if it's actually fresh. read more

To get some sake I came here. There are good collections. I got some nigorizake. Asian style but mainly Korean, and some Japanese. I also got pork buns and red beans buns. I am guessing the owner is Korean: I saw a lot of authentic kimuchi jars and got one. If you are for Korean and sake or Korean alcohol, here is good. More pure Japanese stuff and authentic Japanese stuff, Ebisuya is the best. read more

this place slaps, folks who work there are so friendly-- 1000% worth the higher, but not by much, prices to support the small business!!! always finding something new to try here :)) read more

Pros: free parking for up to 30 min. Good selection of asian goodies. They also sell soju. Cons: expensive!! And lots of things don't have prices clearly marked. I have been here a few times and I was literally fuming from the high prices today. I bought a bottle of lee kum kee sauce that had no price on it. It was $6.99. Went to starmarket after and saw the exact same thing for $3.99. Most dumplings here cost $12.99 to $14.99 per bag. Not cheap at all. My advice is to go to Chinatown, you can get the same thing for way cheaper. read more

Haven for your Korean & Japanese grocery needs. The manager is from Kyushu, so they even carried yuzu kosho 柚子こしょう for under $7 and Bontan Ame for under $2. They have shiso, eggplant, mushrooms, chilis, tofu at great prices for produce. Green onions/scallions are 2/$1. Their haircare depends on what they have in stock, but their SoMang shampoo/hair pack are $8 each for 620ml and 500ml respectively. Their Tsubaki line stuff is under $18 for the bottles, under $14 for the refills. They have damage care & shining (less expensive). They have a small selection of Palty dyes. Also pink & orange Gatsby for about $11 each. Their Perfect Whip face cleanser is pretty pricey, though, maybe nearly double the usual cost. (Used to be about $12, but went up to about $20 when it became the last bottle). Softymo Deep Cleansing oil is a similar price, but sold out within a month. They even have karintou snacks for just under $5! Their selection of rice is cool, all Korean & Japanese. I enjoy the Nishiki they sold me. On weekends, they have kimbap & scallion pancake samples out, maybe with the occasional sliced Asian pear. Then you can pick up a premade pack for yourself. So good. I really like this place, and come often for my groceries. I'd give it higher stars if they had slightly more consistent stock. I call ahead to see if they have stuff in. read more

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Reliable Market really lives up to its name. When I re-located to Union Square, I was intrigued by the offering of a Japanese/Korean market, especially after reading all of the positive reviews. But you really don't know how good it is until you check it out in person. So yes, first of all, it has all the vital Japanese/Korean market items you'd expect. And the prices are very good. My partner and I frequently come here for fresh produce like cabbage, bok choy, green onions, etc. They've also got many different varieties of rice to choose from, as well as noodles, sauces, etc. Though I haven't tried it yet, they also have a fresh, deli section in the back of the store. In addition to all of the normal staples, they also have an incredibly good selection of beer and wine. There's not exactly a deficit of places to get good beer in the area, but Reliable Market makes your shopping easy by stocking local, craft beer by the case full. I'm super glad this place exists and hope they have many years of business ahead of them. And whoever is their beer buyer, kudos to you! read more

Great selection of fresh Asian produce, snacks, kimchi, rice, sauces, and the owners are very nice people too!

My favorite Korean market hands down. I've been shopping here since I was in high school. They have a huge selection of Korean and Japanese goods as well as some other Asian foods. The prepared food selection is pretty big and everything is tasty. The restaurant section is also really good! The bibimbap is my favorite in the area. Staff here knows their stuff and is always helpful. read more

2 weeks ago, there was a ramen pop up event by Brooklyn Ramen. My husband was feeling really skeptical about getting ramen at a grocery store, but was pleasant surprised when the food was ready. We ordered the shoyu and tonkatsu ramen, both were good but the tonkatsu was a little too rich to eat too much of. The Korean ladies at the cashier were really nice and they asked us to take as many free mangoes as we liked. As for the grocery selection, while I didn't buy anything, I noticed a huge range of Korean products that I can't get at super88 (Asian store closest to me). Will be back if I need some Korean products! And for more ramen! read more

Reliable Market - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

I have to admit this place is small but is packed with a lot of variety of products and choices to choose from. The only downside is that it is quite expensive compared to other asian supermarkets like H-Mart or Super88, however the inflated price is likely due to the location. Also, there isn't really a food court, just a menu with pictures and they wiill cook when you order. read more

Kimchi slaps. Ate a whole jar with my friend on the kitchen floor. The owner gave us a quarter of a watermelon too just. Great family establishment, please support read more

Went to buy ramen (restaurant area, not market) and the woman at the counter said she didn't feel like making it. Wow... I frequent the market portion of the store quite often, which is great, but this is a new low for any restaurant I've been to. read more

Wonderful! Friendly staff and Truly reliable. Open during most snow storms. Good made-to-order food too. read more

Reliable Market - Pork Bulgogi (dine-in) - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

This is my favorite place the owners (Paul and his mom) are the sweetest and are truly "reliable." They always go out of their way to be kind and generous, and should be protected at all costs! (Yes it's expensive, but their location in union is PRIME, and people like them are being pushed out left and right. I would rather give them my money than fucking star market any day.) read more

This Union Square staple has been known to me for many years for having some high quality fish for sashimi since the days I took sushi making classes many years ago. As the area has evolved so as this market with high quality goods, delicious hot food & a great selection of craft beers. They even have a dining area that allows for in-store dining. In addition to free parking in their rear parking area plus a clean bathroom. I normally go there for some Asian grocery staples, some fresh seafood & a hot pork bun. Plus the proprietor always has good craft beer recommendations. If you happen to be in Union Square I would highly recommend browsing the jam packed aisles & you won't be disappointed. Hope they keep growing as the area around it changes at break neck speed. read more

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One of my favorite markets. Reliable Market is more than just an Asian market. They also carry fresh a good amount of fresh produce, sushi grade fish, some limited meat options, precooked items, and also some alcohol like soju and wine. I end up coming frequently because they stay open later than market basket. That is one of the many good things about reliable market. In addition to not closing super early, their staff is very friendly and I think their kimchi is better than Hmarts. Their prices are also generally affordable and they offer a 10% off discount to students on most items. If you are looking for Asian ingredients, Asian snacks, a few bottles of soju, or some basic produce, Reliable is a great choice. read more

After losing Yoshinoya market on Prospect Street in Cambridge I am sure a lot of us felt unhappy about the idea of no local Asian supermarket in the area. Well, this one most definitely fills the void. It's run by Koreans and has everything one could want from Japan. I can't speak highly enough of the store - please see my photographs to see what I mean. The only thing I can think of that I wish they had is tanks of live fish, eels, and crabs, in addition to lobsters - but this doesn't diminish the store at all. It's a really fantastic asset for Union Square in Somerville. The selection is great, the staff polite (even when they don't know much English) Everyone should check this great store out and shop often. You will not be disappointed. Hopefully this place will compete well with the new Korean supermarket, H Mart in Central square and stay open for a long time. DO NOT be fooled by the boring exterior of this store! Go inside to get an impression, even if you are not shopping during that trip. read more

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Great selection of local craft beer, soju, and sake. Friendly service and convenient parking in back

Fresh watermelon and fruit, lots of Asian drinks, misc groceries, and a surprisingly large beer selection (lots of IPAs and funky beers).

Love going here. Great Korean and East Asian wares, a fun take-out counter in the back, owners that care, fair prices (given the location), and a *serious* wine / beer / sake program. Yes, I called it a program. You'll see when you're there. read more

Come here for all my Korean grocery needs!! But actually, I do like coming here for Korean snacks and they have drinks that I've previously only found in Hawaii like Kona Coffee. When I wanna make sushi I come here for the fish as well and have tried the meats. All good, but sometimes some of their stuff is a bit pricey. For example we bought some fish and then needed some avocado for a sushi bowl but the avocado was pretty overripe and was $2 too. For fresh fruits and vegetables I wouldn't come here. The owners and employees are kind though. read more

Reliable Market - Cooked octopus and fresh tuna - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

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Great Korean market. Very cool shop to check out with fresh seafood and vegetables and the hidden Ramen shop inside. Those complaining about the prices should look at what Somerville commercial rents are these days. The prices are reasonable for the area. I like that it's in walking distance to Bow market, Himalayan kitchen, Union Square farmers market, and the Indian Nepali grocery shop a block away. read more

We stumbled on this store in Union Square. We were surprised to find hot food they sell. We tried tteokbokki and pork buns, and can't wait to come back for more!! read more

I can't say enough good things about this place. They have good quality and selection of produce and a sizable selection of Asian foods(obviously). But the hidden gem here is their beer selection. It's truly top notch with amazing micros from all over the country. And to top it off, the owner, who frequently works there is a super nice guy. If you haven't gone there, check it out, explore, you will be glad you did. read more

Whether shopping for sushi grade fish, attending a ramen pop up or just perusing the amazing beer selection Reliable Market gets top marks! Theres all of tjhe asian grocery store goodies (the GF picked up all the necessities for homemade poke bowls the other day) and also a full hot bar that I have yet to try. Last time I was there I was checking out beer options and it was better than most dedicated liquor stores I've been to. Produce might leave something to be desired at times, but you are just down the street from Market Basket for that. Don't give a pass on reliable market. Its worth the visit. read more

This is probably one of the best markets I've been to so far. I live in Allston, but was up here for the Fluffernutter festival which was right next door in Union Square. The place is packed with lots of goods though I didn't see my vacuum sealed package of soondobu that I normally get for a quick meal. The ban chan section is FREAKING amazing and I'm kicking myself for not getting some of it that day. My doofie friend said we'd come back the next day to also get some tuna for sushi, but he ended up being too lazy and we didn't go back. Freezer section has huge selections of noodles, dumplings, dumpling wrappers, etc. The fresh veggies are a little sketch, so I'm not exactly sure I would go there to get produce. But there is so much stuff packed in that little store. Wish I lived closer but I was happy to get my favorite brand of rice wine vinegar (picked up another brand at Super 88, not knowing that brand made that much of a difference, and it smelled like feet. No joke. Yummmy stinky sushi rice). read more

I love Reliable Market. They have parking in the back. They carry at least five different kinds of frozen edamame. They have delicious pints of green tea ice cream. When I needed some sushi grade fish for this beauty (http://bit.ly/evzQxQ), I was planning to hit the Medford Whole Foods when my roommate speculated that Reliable might carry it. Lo and behold, they had salmon, tuna, and some scary trout-like thing on hand. There's also scary looking fish, and fun looking Asian snacks. The credit card minimum is $10, but I seem to always find plenty of stuff. read more

Why aren't more people shopping here? This is a great Korean market with other Asian groceries represented. They have great liquor selection and we just picked up Dassai sake on special recommendation from the Japanese staffer and Soju from the Korean staffer. Picked up beautifully fresh seafood and soondubu kit to make a tofu stew. Also a variety of frozen dumplings added to the dinner menu. They also sell prepared dishes like banchan, kimchi, kimbap, japchae etc as well as meals cooked to order. Please shop here. I want them to survive. Nice people and fair prices and selection. read more

The main attraction of this place to me has always been simple proximity to where I live. Their prices are hit and miss; some items are strangely a lot more than the generally overpriced H-Mart near Central Square which has about 8x more floor space and selection. Produce is generally more expensive than Market Basket down the street, but then again MB kicks everybody's butt price-wise. Anyway, I suspect that you are paying a convenience store upcharge for most of the stuff there. Some of their ready made foods are quite good though, and that's what kept me coming back: the vegetarian Korean sushi with pickled veggies and the seafood pancakes are especially yummy, as is their sliced pork. They also sell an excellent quality 20lb bag of Japanese brown rice (Nishiki I think is the brand) for about the same price as Amazon, which is one of my staples and beats the pants off any brown rice sold at Whole Foods for twice the price. I like that the people who work there are always friendly, unlike at H-Mart (see my review of that joint)...it seems to be a family run business and they know how to take good care of their customers. Recently I discovered that they've become a UPS Access Point, meaning you can go drop off packages there with a prepaid return shipping label (like Amazon returns) which is awesome because they don't close so early like the stupid UPS store at Somerville Ave and Central St. which had me biking all the way to Harvard Square's Staples store...well, no more! Haven't asked yet if they allow you to receive shipments there without charging, or make you pay a whopping $10 receiving fee like the aforementioned UPS franchise store. Oh, and the icing on the cake: they have an actual (gasp!) PARKING LOT in the back! A precious and rare thing in this most car-unfriendly of places, lol. read more

Reliable Market is one of my happy places. Amazing beer selection, plus sake and wine. The people who work here are super friendly and helpful, specifically the guy who buys their beer. They sometimes do popup shops and tastings. Great candy, snacks, and Asian goods. And, bonus! They're a UPS drop off spot... read more

The gem of Union Square! Great mixture of reasonably priced staples and Asian specialties. The staff are always friendly. I love the little pop ups they do for alcohol and ramen. The only thing negative I could possibly say is PAUL PLEASE SWITCH THE COUNTRY MUSIC TO ANYTHING ELSE. The beer selection is also fantastic. read more

This is my favorite market in the greater Boston area. Reliable is a family-run market with a carefully curated, wide variety of Korean and Japanese products. The staff is always friendly, they have parking in the back, and have a rare liquor license, so they sell beer, wine, sake and makgeoli! In the back of the store (or technically to the left) they sell seafood, home-made kimchi and prepared foods. They have even more prepared foods on the weekend, and have recently started doing a mini-restaurant inside on weekends and the later half of the workweek. I love buying the older kimchi for that great spicy, sour taste, and I appreciate that it is packed in glass containers (I bring the extra glass containers back so they can wash and reuse them - they really appreciate that). Reliable Market has all the Korean and Japanese staples, and aside from the kimchi, banchan, and kimbap, I usually buy my seaweed, organic natto, oden ingredients, furikake, ochazuke, takuan, and tofu here. I also really appreciate their beer selection. They have a wide variety of craft and local beers. Locally run businesses like this one are treasures. I look forward to patronizing Reliable Market for years to come! read more