Really great prices, especially found in all the bay area. I actually feel SMART to shop here, and, you don't need a membership. In the old days, S&F was mainly where businesses shopped -- large size goods / commercial grade and packaging. Today, they still have LARGE, but also more normal size for the average consumer. You won't find a butcher here, but they do have freshly packaged meat. Lots of produce, frozen and refrigerated goods, and a ton of bottled and packaged items. They even have BOOZE: fine liquors, wine, and beer. Tips: ==== 1) Bring your own bags 2) Bring your own COLD storage bags for the gallons of ice cream you will buy (oh yes you will). The lines may only be 5-7 deep, but your ice cream will melt. Location specific: San Mateo, CA =========================== * Smaller location, they don't as much sku's, but they have plenty enough to reign. * Free parking is aplenty read more

First off, it's been a minute since I've been to the store. They've totally changed the inside. It took me a while to find what I needed, but they did had everything that I was looking for. I did take the time to go on their digital app and click on digital coupons. I bought the items, and went to the only checkstand that was open, even though that there was a line. I forgot to give the barcode for the digital items.. Nor was I asked for the barcode by the clerk. After I put everything away, I realized that I did not get the discounts. I went back and was told I need to bring everything back. They would need to delete it and then re-scan it. That didn't make sense since there is a barcode at the bottom of the receipt and the items purchased. Safeway has done that and in fact, they ask if you have a club card at the end of the checkout This store does not ask for your barcode so there wouldn't be any issues. The reason I hadn't been there for a while I bought mushrooms one time and the ones on top and the package were fine but they hid the moldy ones. I decided to give it another try, after the bad mushrooms and now this. It's too bad it happened and I cannot recommend this market. read more

Somehow it's always piss poor service from people here. Today's piss poor service with bad attitude was from Kimberley (i got the name from the receipt because she purposely was covering her name tag with a jacket). No bagging services ("they're right there"), eating food with gloves on and then touching my groceries, helped me very grudgingly with a digital coupon, unpleasant service. Not to mention unkempt appearance and poor communication. If I wanted to bag my own groceries i would have used self checkout. This location has a problem with bags. First they don't follow the law, now they don't bag for you. I only come here strictly for produce, and convenience. Nothing is actually wrong with Smart and Final products. It's the PEOPLE AT THIS LOCATION. Specifically Kimberley. Feel like I need to jump in a vat of holy water after entering here. read more

Love this Smart and Final and glad we have it in the neighborhood. Every once in a while you may see something funky or get a funky piece of meat but that has happened to me at Safeway, Lucky's and Target. The cashiers are friendly, some are unique but they are knowledgeable! They changed the layout since last time I was there but I was still able to find everything. Good prices and convient to peeps in the neighborhood. Thanks, Smart and Final! read more

They have remodeled their store and the prices have skyrocketed. I started to compare prices of coke and wine at Target and Target is much cheaper. Also bread is much cheaper at Target. I only go to Smart and Final now for a few items read more

Female staff at self sevice line rude, dismissive when I told her register not working,tells me to go to another register,which the scale does not work,again ask her for help,she makes it seem like its my problem,when she again has to put her code in to get rid of error messages,she clearly hates her job,why have such miserable employees dealing with the public?!! read more

I've lived in San Mateo and I don't think I've ever visited this place. I remember when it was liquor store back in the days. Anyways. Prices for food was reasonable. They had mangos there for 59cents and I was like score. When I went to pick them they were over ripped or bruised. The store was clean but when I went to check out there was like only two grocery clerks and it was slow like molasses. Maybe that is why I have never gone here. But price wise was good. read more

Things have not changed much here. Pretty great prices, but be very careful: ALWAYS check your expiration dates, they don't pull expired items as regularly as most grocery stores. ALWAYS check your receipts, sometimes things advertised on sale don't necessarily ring up on sale The store is BUSY, DIRTY, CROWDED, DISHEVELED, UNDERSTAFFED, UNDERSTOCKED, CHAOTIC, etc You need to do some work & endure some discomforts to get those low prices, if you cannot stomach or endure that hardship, then go to Costco or Amazon ‍ read more

I've come the conclusion that Safeway puts it's worse employees in this branch. I live near by, but have only come to these branch 5x in the 7 years I've lived in the area. 3 of the 5x I've been at this Smart&Final, I've experienced the rudest employees at a supermarket ever. 1st time: The cashier yelled at me about needing to speak louder, because he couldn't hear me. 2nd time: I asked if they had Midol for my wife, the cashier handling the self-check out area sarcastically said, "It should be in the medicine aisle right there. I don't know." 3rd time: I was checking out at the self checkout and we weren't sure if the machine took our payment, so we asked the cashier in the area. He yelled, "You're done!" Holy cow... Where do they find these people??? I'm done with this place. read more

Some of the sale items are really good. One of the customers told me that Grocery Outlet comes & buys their produce by boxes & resells it because it's so cheap. Hmmm, it's interesting, but I don't know if it's true or not. read more

This is a very interesting Smart and Final store, yet I am still able to find a great majority of things on my shopping list. There are still a few few things that cannot be found but that's okay. This store seems to be a very big favorite among the natives in the Foster City area because it can be really crowded. If you like stores with diversity, then this is your place. There is a really diverse amount of workers here. They are very friendly and are always happy to help. You will be Smart to shop here with these people working here. Pun intended. I would come here if I can. Drawback: Parking here is very slim because there are a lot of businesses cramped into one small shopping center. If you are exiting to Norfolk Dr. Please be careful because the driveway in front of the store is very tight. read more

I strolled in one Friday night since I was in the area and saw there were some goodies to pick up from the ad. I was a bit disappointed that they were out of quite a bit of things that I had wanted. There is a lot of variety and different options available at the store. It was later in the evening, so they had someone on the machines that clean and wax the floors. So I had to try to navigate around the worker quite a bit during my shopping visit. The cashier was very friendly and personable. We thanked him because he was kind and made the shopping experience nice. read more

Some employees are very nice but some not so nice. Been a long time customer I miss some of the prior workers. More helpful and friendly. The meat is well priced. read more

The ONLY available weigh scale is way off and not adjustable in the produce department, the aisles are really narrow requiring tremendous effort to maneuver, but the young self check out attendant Jessie is very nice and friendly. The weekly great low prices and ample parking spaces did make up for the imperfections. read more

Had a problem with their digital sale item in the midst of a huge influx of customers buying carts full of groceries all the while the store being short staffed. Cashier Jan remained helpful under great pressure attending to his customers in line. I don't know how he can do it day after day. Cheers to all the cashiers!! read more

This review is regarding Gino. I oversaw a shopper at checkout, and Gino berated him for not bagging his own items, as if a paying customer is supposed to do that. Witnessing what happened has left a bad taste, and it gave the place bad vibes right after. After exiting, I had a conversation with another customer who was disrespected by him earlier that Gino is the manager, and the fact that he said those things to a shopper over bags is just astoundingly unacceptable. Anyone who are managers and talks to customers are expected to have a sense of responsibility that includes NOT berating other customers, and this individual has show his true colors by disregarding that rule, and should not be there as a worker of any kind. As for that other customer, she said she wouldn't go back there because she was upset by how she was treated. You are advised to avoid Gino whenever possible. Otherwise you will get a very rude awakening if you are doing business with him. read more

This place does not care about the health and safety of their customers. As I write this my ears are STILL ringing after some idiot stocker decided it would be fine to just drop an empty pallet on the floor right next to me. To say this makes an incredibly loud sound in an enclosed space is an understatement. Workers shouldn't be doing something this unsafe (and loud) in the first place, let alone right next to where a customer is standing. This kind of thing exemplifies a stupid, callous disregard for others, and it's clearly a cultural problem at this store. I went to look for a manager to tell them about the hazardous situation their employees are creating for others, but of course I couldn't find one. Avoid this place if you value your safety. read more

The service I got from Michael was great and he was friendly and helpful and he's great

A kind and helpful cashier named Jen is my highlight shopping here! She's patient with my questions and quick service on bagging. Whoever trained her should be very proud. Thank you. read more

I've been so disappointed with customer service everywhere BUT today I had such a surprise! 'GINO' AT THIS NORFOLK LOCATION MADE MY DAY!! Asked for a product and instead of saying go to aisle so & so he walked me through several aisles To try to find it...just so nice! HOPE YOU GET A CHANCE TO FIND HIM THERE. WITH ALL THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS I had to mention GINO! Thank you Gino!!! read more

Have been shopping here for years because it's close to my house. Tonight I have finally had enough of this Sh*thole store. Not one cart available, of course only two lines open with at least 15 people in each. The shelves were half empty. I get home and check my receipt and the coupons that the cashier actually helped me scan did not go through. These have all been normal problems of this store. Management does not seem to care or try to improve. About a year ago my friend actually had his credit card kept by the cashier, at this location, and then used illegally at a local liquor store. read more

Extremely rude and passive aggressive 35yr old stock boy. I had a cart full of groceries today 1-3-25 2:45pm, and was trying to exit the aisle when he blocked me in LITERALLY, then raised his voice and said "IF YOU WOULD HAVE WAITED I WOULD HAVE MOVED" which was clearly a lie as he purposely blocked me in to where I had to physically move his cart, well he stood there giving me the death stare, playing a game of schoolyard chicken as if we were on the playground. I am a 53-year-old man FYI not a child. I don't have time for these games when I merely trying to buy groceries for my family.. And this is their employee FYI. Completely unprofessional. I still tried to be nice to him and help him with his cart, giving him another opportunity to see the error of his ways, but instead he puts his hands up passively aggressively yet again, basically stating to leave him alone. I'm the customer here, and I am the one trying to be polite SMH. Something is really backwards about this place. Management needs to address this IMMEDIATELY. Your stock boy/man clearly has anger issues, probably upset at his place in life at his age still stocking shelves. But that is no one's fault but his own. Taking his personal issues out on innocent customers who are simply trying to shop is unacceptable & asinine at best and explains why he is working the jobs he does. Low self-awareness and needs anger management ASAP. Should not be working around customers. I'll be forwarding this incident to corporate as well. read more

I contemplated for a while whether I should write this review or not, but I figured if it was still weighing heavy on my mind 6+ hours later that I should probably just write it. I will start by saying that my intention for this review is to NOT get anyone in trouble BUT I'm hoping this can be a learning opportunity. This review is for the employee named Gino. I don't know why this triggered Gino so much but today at the checkout line, there was an older gentleman who was buying one box of Ritz crackers and one box of Graham crackers. Gino did not ask if he wanted to purchase a bag. As the the older gentlemen was entering his payment information (i.e. near the end of the transaction), he asks for a bag. For some reason, this made Gino REALLY annoyed and he starts scoffing and saying rudely under his breath (but loud enough for 3-4 people nearby to hear) "why do you need a bag, you don't need a bag" all while huffing and puffing, and scoffing as if paying for a bag is not allowed. Poor older man, did not look up at Gino once because Gino was berating him publicly. He just wanted a bag for his crackers. Why do you care so much to make him feel bad for it? He was going to pay for it anyways. To make matters worse, as the older gentleman with his bag full of crackers leaves, Gino turns to the other customers in the checkout line and continues scoffing and saying "why did he even need a bag, he could just carry it"........my man, Gino....maybe he needs to walk home for 10 blocks and doesn't want to carry crackers in his hand. Or maybe he's riding a bike home and needs both hands. Who cares! He is paying for the bag. Gino, perhaps you had a bad day or maybe that guy who wanted a bag really triggered you. But in the future, if you are repeating yourself to other customers in line 4 or 5 times about your annoyance, the customers aren't saying anything because they didn't hear you. They are silent and not reacting to you because it's freaking awkward. I felt so bad for that man and even tried looking for him in the parking lot to see if he was alright. There should be no reason to make anyone feel bad for anything, especially buying a plastic bag for groceries. I won't forget how embarrassed the old man looked and how sad I felt having witness that. To whoever this review may go to, I'm not sure what you'll do with this information but maybe a training session on knowing when to step away if your employees are feeling annoyed or grumpy. In a customer service facing role, I understand how difficult it can be to be "nice" all of the time. You don't have to be nice, but just don't be mean. Especially to old people. PLEASE. read more

Prices are the slightly better but very comparable to Safeway. Not worth the extra couple dollars when the line is 30 minutes at the cash register read more

Generally a good place to shop. Prices are fair. Checker "D" is a bit obnoxious and less than helpful -- Likes to micro manage the people in line with how they place items on the belt, insert their card, where they stand, when they can step forward, etc. This behavior pattern is chronic and could be fixed with coaching and mentoring. Lady in produce is fantastic and helpful. My advice is to give checker "D" some behavioral and customer service training. The rest of the crew seems solid. read more

As an essential worker, I am appreciative of the workers that keep essential business open. They have quickly made distancing markers visual, inside and outside the store, at check out. Workers are wearing masks, controlling the spacing at checking. Available disinfectant spray and wipes when grabbing a cart. We all have to do our part to be safer. At time we may need to load up on supplies. But when we do be mindful of the workers and each other. This location was running bare on certain items. But they had fresh goods and friendly service. read more

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I have been here a few times explicitly for produce and have always been disappointed. 1) They almost always are out of the simplest items in produce 2) Items available are really bad quality. Almost rotten or about to go bad in a day or 2. 3) Given the quality of produce, prices are unjustified. read more

The cashier/supervisor Donald has some serious issues - misogyny being one of them. As I approached I heard his conversation with a fellow employee/supervisor about how, "Yeah, she showed up a half an hour late, but I can keep her for at least a half an hour." He said it like three times, all while ignoring the customer in front of him. He literally didn't say even the total to the customer in front of him. Then he tosses the separator in back of my items with a CLUNK! I looked at the customer behind me who goes, "Well, I guess we're awake now..." First of all, don't talk about your fellow employees in front of customers - it makes YOU look bad, not your employee who was late. I'd rather a late employee than an unprofessional one. So I'm up - I'm buying some cleaning supplies and a broom. He says to me, "So, you going to take that out for a test ride?" or some stupid joke like that. I said, "Excuse me?" He goes, "You know, if you get a running start and bank it to the left..." I said, "That's not funny." Instead of apologizing, he DOUBLE DOWNS, and starts repeating, "Oh, I"m just trying to make you laugh..." To which I said, "By insulting me." HE NEVER APOLOGIZED. Then, as I'm leaving he says to the gentleman behind me, "Oh some people just can't take a joke!" To which I hear the young man say, "You basically called her a witch, I didn't think it was funny either." I have seen several encounters with this cashier...now some type of SUPERVISOR???? None of them pleasant (see my last review). Had we been on friendly terms before, I wouldn't be writing this review. I probably would have laughed at his joke, but because this is one in many times he's been rude to me - it wasn't funny. You want to make your customers laugh - don't insult them. This wasn't very smart of them, but it is my final time in this store. Edited to add - he is not an 18 year old kid right out of high school who doesn't know any better. He's a grown man who has been at this store, and apparently in the grocery business for many years. If you want to make your customers laugh/smile, smile at them. Say, "Hi". Be present. Be nice. Don't insult them. read more

On Thursday Dec 21, 2023 I brought in my $425 worth of scratchers to redeem. I gave them to a male employee working the self check out area. He then went to scan all 16 of my scratchers. He had stopped scanning n walked away. With leaving all tge scratchers on by scanning machine and then someone stole them whilr he was away. With talking to Lizbeth, an employee that had contqcted store manager to see what they could do. She had informed me that they could not give me my einnings as the tickets were stolen. They could however provide me with the $50 in scratchers that had already been scanned plus $100. That didn't satisfy me at all, when I had a total of $425 to redeem. I had asked Lizbeth to contact the San Mateo Police and she replied with, you can contact the police. I was flabbergasted by what had occurred so I contacted the police to report what had happened. I have a police report and also looking to file a lawsuit against the company as well as the employee that was responsible for my scratchers as he took possession of them from me. I find it ridiculous that this store had no made an effort to get this resolved. I have contacted the California Lottery Office to report the matter as well. They suggested that I submit a claim form, any photos I had of the scratchers as well as the Police report. That is what I will be doing and hopefully will get the remaining $275 from my winnings. Anyone going to redeem scratchers, I would definitely avoid cashing them out at this Smart and Final. I was a former shopper of Smart and Final but this has caused me to go to other stores instead of shopping there. read more

I've been going here for 15 years - the customer service and prices are 5 stars. Tonight there was an issue with checkout. Lots of customers not able to use self checkout because they have more than 10 items or as I saw using $100 bills. So I'm writing this to give 10 plus stars for Donald - he was the sole cashier (except the self checkout attendant) his line was very long while self checkout often totally empty. The guy in front of me had his daughter put away a couple items then went to self checkout with his 10 items. By the time I got to the front of Donald's line I had spent more time in line than actually shopping. Donald deserves a raise. He kept his cool while he was slammed with work. He was his usual self though, pleasant despite being overworked. Customers who are frustrated from waiting in line but he really kept his cool. I was a cashier a long time ago - it's very hard work. He was doing double the work with all those empty cash registers - I expressed my frustration to Donald and instead of saying anything negative in response he was very professional about it. read more

They wait too long before opening up another check stand. If you've got eight people in one line and seven people in another, you waited too long. And with my dumb luck I ended up in the slowest line and took over 10 minutes waiting to buy two small items. Next time Target read more

I've been a fan of Smart & Final for a while but since it became Smart & Final Extra the place is even better. Where it used to be like a mini version of Costco it's now more like any other regular Supermarket, It has all of the old stock plus a crap load more. There is a large fresh produce section, fresh meats and even baked goods and dairy now. The Fruits and Vegetables are really fresh and at a fraction of the price of my local Safeway. A few of the great deals I spotted: Torani Syrups $4.99 Haagen Dazs 14oz $2.49 Green Bell Peppers 0.79 lb Broccoli 1.19 lb Ginger Root 0.69c lb Flavored Water 0.69 Ghirardelli Square assortment (large bag) $8.99 - These are $10.79 in Costco! The one thing I was hoping to see more of was healthier options. Although I can now get fresh Chicken here I was also hoping to find some lean Mince too, some 97/3 but I think the best I found was 80/20 maybe higher. I'm definitely going to be coming here more often! EDIT March 2013: I still really like this store but they need more people on checkouts! Too many times now I've been stuck in line waiting to pay for ages because there is only one person on checkout and the person holding up the line wants to separate their purchase into multiple transaction.. This shouldn't be allowed when the store is busy. Also, I notice Rebecca C has ''taken off'' 2 stars because of the parking lot and their being no stop sign or light on the main road. I have to say this is slightly unfair as it isn't the store's fault. There was even mention in the review that the City of San Mateo needs to do something. There was a reason why nobody else mentioned the parking lot situation... read more

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Be careful! Check your receipt when you finish purchasing your products. They charged me sweet onions instead of yellow onions that is what I purchased. I just did a quick check of the receipt and thought everything was correct, but when I got home I read it more in detail and saw that it was the wrong onion. However, it is probably too late to complain, and my mistake for not checking the receipt completely right there. So watch out when buying products...they might charge you more. read more

This is absolutely crazy, the two lines are not moving, there's s absolutely no management that even cares and I think this indicates how and why retail brick and mortar is doomed. read more

Smart & Final Extra! - Grocery Near Me - San Mateo, California

Shoppers BEWARE!!!The absolute worst chicken I ever bought comes from Smart and Final. They need to delete the Smart part and keep Final because that's last and final time I will purchase chicken there. Its old brown and rotten smelling. And this is not the first time this has happened. It's horrid check expiration dates because they sure don't! They deserve a negative ten!!!!! Food poisoning Alert!!!! I threw it away disgusting my house smelled like a dead corpse!!! read more

Smart & Final Extra! - Old chicken that I tried to cook but decided it wasn't worth the food poisoning!!! - Grocery Near Me - San Mateo, California

Shoutout to Jeff Goldblum at self checkout for his excellent customer service, helpful attitude, energy, and reliable leadership capabilities on Christmas Eve day, way to make the holiday special! read more

Prices are fine and the selection is fine. Isles are really tight but other than that, this is a great place for groceries. Every checker has been incredibly fast so it's nice to be in and out quick. read more

Not your regular grocery store they have bulk items here some just left me your regular bulk warehouse store and they have some regular grocery size items. No meat or bakery counter but they do sell package meats and package breads no fresh cut or baked Items They do have a fruit and vegetable section which has your basics and plenty of desserts to choose from in the freezer section The store usually is not crowded but the lines are usually slow but the cashiers and employees are usually very friendly and willing to assist if needed The parking lot is big but it the lot is used by every store in the center so you may not be able to park right in the front of the store but the walk is not usually far like other grocery stores read more

I was just shopping at Smart and final and I was next in line and I was in Angel's line and me and my cousin we're making a purchase and these people just come out of nowhere right to the front of the line and just pay for their flowers or what not didn't say excuse me or nothing I thought that was completely unprofessional and rude if it had been myself or my cousin to do that you would've stopped us immediately and I know it because I just know it anyway that's not the way you treat a good customer..... before letting that happen again learn how to say excuse me first read more

The smallest things make me happy. I looked almost everywhere for a food portion scooper, similar to an ice cream scoopers I see most of the bakers use on "Cupcake Wars." Target, Williams Sonoma, and many other specialty cooking stores didn't have the scooper I needed. Chef and Yelper Linda L. told me to go to Smart & Final. I never dreamt they would have the exact scooper I'd been looking for, in just about every size I could possibly need. The prices here are decent and the employees are helpful. I used to slop batter messily into the muffin pan or griddle and now cooking goes so much faster. So much so, this is what happened between me and my 5-year-old. SCENE: WE ONLY HAVE 20 MINUTES BEFORE MY SON NEEDS TO LEAVE FOR KINDERGARTEN AND HE HASN'T EATEN BREAKFAST YET. ME: "For breakfast would you like a bagel, waffle (toaster kind, we're not fancy), or cereal?" SON: "Pancakes." ME: *groan* "We don't have time for pancakes." My homemade oatmeal pancakes are not from a mix. SON: "Pretend you're on 'Cupcake Wars,' Mommy." Ooh - he knows how to work me, and really threw down the gauntlet. Challenge accepted! I grabbed my trusty Smart & Final scooper and got to work on those pancakes. That scooper is almost like my kitchen superpower for increasing speed. I channeled my competitive spirit and cooked those suckers as quickly as I could and won Pancake Wars - woot. So what if he ate some on the way to school? The right tool for the job makes cooking more efficient and fun. Smart and Final has a surprising amount of cool stuff, from paper cups and plates, to food, to the cupcake carrier I bought to keep my muffins fresh. The cupcake carrier was an impulse buy that I'm not sure I really need, but what the heck. Smart & Final reminds me a bit of Costco, but without the long lines, membership fees, and parking hassle. A quicker in-and-out store. read more