I come here to get snacks for my work. They literally have a great variety of candy, gum, snack mixes, nuts, and chips. I have to get someone to unlock a cabinet every time so that's annoying but it's CA! Ryan helped me last time and he was so sweet. The store is clean parking is available. I keep coming back for it's convenient location too. read more

I do t like this store there was a lot of expired food everywhere and the bathroom was disgusting I will never come back to shop there again read more

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

This place can be a lifesaver, especially during the Covid crisis when kids eat everything 24/7 during this shelter in place. Smart & Final restocks most things quickly. They've been open everyday to accommodate all our needs. We get most of our necessities here, and sometimes you can find great deals on paper plates, utensils, and napkins for last minute parties or potlucks. One can even find flowers and cards here. Hubby even found a small thing of draino, who would've thunk? Spacious parking lot unlike the madness in the city. Open late enough to make last minute trips to pick up milk, eggs, juice, bread, and peanut butter. Did I mention the kids eat everything 24/7? Keep up the great work Smart & Final. 'Til next time ~ happy grocery shopping & see you on Yelp (SYOY)! read more

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ITS HORRIBLE one time when i was going there for some cooking supplies a guy was hitting on me and calling me fine and after when i told the cashier he said "ya u are fine" read more

Good prices and selection. Good when you need large sizes, but maybe not as large as Costco.

This is a well run store with a great selection and good pricing. This store's management is excellent, and the employees are pleasant to deal with. read more

As a bachelor on a budget (aka a BOB), I can't recommend Smart & Final's First Street Oven Roasted Chicken enough. For just $6 bucks, you can get a perfectly cooked, moist 3 lb chicken to-go that will last you through the week. It's great as a main dish, but can also be used for soups, salads, sandwiches, you name it. There's so much chicken that I even share some of it with my dog! He gives it two paws up, BTW. There are a number of supermarkets out there that do rotisserie chickens, and they are more than adequate. I've tried them all. But the Smart & Final chicken is hands-down the best one around. It's perfectly cooked and seasoned, it lasts for a week without getting dry, and you definitely can't beat the price. And while you're there, Smart & Final has a bunch of other affordable goods for all your grocery and pantry/freezer needs. read more

need more cashiers! also, prices are not as competitive here as they used to be.

During the Shelter in Place Oddesey, I decided to go shopping at Smart n Final. Most stores were out of everything. Midday, I rolled in there to be pleasantly surprised. The manager had put a limit on buying items to prevent panic shopping. Because of this benevolent move, I was able to buy food for my family. What a blessing. I got very reasonable groceries. Milk, eggs, butter, cheese, vegetables, chicken, ribs, ground beef. They even had a table out with Matza Ball soup mix and other Jewish items. So nice not to be forgotten. A thoughtful gesture. I am happy to find real people prices south of Novato. I am very grateful. Thanks Smart n Final!! read more

A large loaf of white bread at S&F is $3.99, at grocery outlet it is $3.19 and at Safeway it is $2.49.

Cymande is great. Not surprising she is employee of the month. This place is best for certain South American sauces. read more

Smart & Final Extra! - a cold beer aisle - Grocery Near Me - San Rafael, California

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Just like their other 234 food & restaurant supply stores across six states and northern Mexico. . . . .this store has really great prices. Clean and well stocked store. Friendly service. You can't always find what you are looking for here, but if you do, it is usually at a much better price than anywhere else. My recommendation: Start by looking at Smart & Final before you try any of the other warehouse or grocery stores. With the $$ you save you can buy me lunch! read more

Avoid this place unless you need items specific to this store, such as bulk, party, or restaurant service items. I shopped at this store weekly for almost two years, and it's a total sh*t show. Staff: This store is very poorly managed--there are always blocked aisles and walkways; the checkout lines are usually quite long; and the employees clearly dislike working there. I regularly hear the cashiers cussing while working the registers and openly disparaging the whole operation. They also never offer to bag your items--don't get me wrong, I typically enjoy bagging my own stuff, but if the cashier is done checking and just standing around waiting for my card to go through, they could at least help a heavily pregnant woman bag a couple groceries. There is tremendous turnover of employees. Quality: Always check the expiration dates of your groceries because I have brought home expired items more than a few times. While shopping, I discovered a whole shelf of frozen veggies with 2015 expiration dates. 2015! I've picked up moldy cheese and rotten produce several times so I end up not getting everything I need on my grocery list because those items were literally rotting on the shelf. They are also often sold out of staple items like milk and bread. They also run out of carts all the time. read more

What's the point of having 5 checkout lines if you only ever have 2 open max? Constantly lines down the aisle. This place is the absolute worst. I shop here for my business but I'm looking for an alternative. read more

Watch out for that witch heather. She works on Sundays. She is a wanna be manager. She made my shopping experience worse than it needed to be. I don't know if it was that time of the month or what but don't take it out on your customers. Next time I'll shop at Safeway. read more

Went to this location it was busy stood in line for 10 plus minutes as we get to the front the cashier says he's closing we need to go to # 2 & 3 after waiting 10 plus minutes we have to go to the end of the line in 2 or 3 really !!!! I guess Smart & Final no customer service !!!!!!!! read more

They have some good deals here, thus the two stars. Everything else about the store is pretty much nightmarish. I just can't figure out any logic to the layout, so thankfully it's small enough that you can usually find what you came for. If you go while it's busy, be prepared to wait in a very long line. I went to check out today and there were two cashiers, one with a long line and one with nobody. So I went to the one with nobody and the cashier literally yelled at me, "I'm closed!" After which, he put the "closed" sign on the conveyor belt. What a jerk. Another employee saw it and opened up a new line, so another reason for an extra star. read more

When NOT to come: 1st of the month. Everyone gets their checks and makes their way down to the cheapest grocery store in the area. When TO come: any other time. Boom! Cheap groceries. Amazing weekly deals. I come here to load up groceries for my grandmother, and we get all the deals on Jiffy cornbread, Cornflakes, Activia yogurts, all kinds of deals on meats and eggs. We always get our avocados here. They usually need a couple days to ripen, but then you have a whole bag of avos for that good, low price. Can't beat it. I especially love when they have the huge fruit platters that expire that day, so they offer half off to get it off the shelves. I but those and make myself fruit smoothies at home with them. Cheap way to eat clean. read more

Horrible. Went 3 times and left 3 times without buying anything because they never have enough cashiers. I went on a Sunday and the line was almost to the back of the store. Update, went back twice and looks like they might have hired more staff. Upgrade to 4 stars read more

Now I know why my mom always liked to shop here, the prices. I never thought to come here, but was looking for a specialty product, which they happen to have. I checked out their fruits and vegetables, and the prices were about half what I pay at Safeway. I couldn't believe how reasonably priced the avocados were! I'm making guac tonight! The store opens at 6AM, which is perfect for me. No crowds, and the staff was friendly and efficient. I'm going to add this store to my weekly grocery shopping from now on! read more

They have gone through a major remodel and added the word 'extra' to their name. I can only presume they saw the impending competition from the new Sprouts in San Rafael and the soon-to-be Nugget Markets now that Paradise Markets has been sold, and realized they'd better do something if they wanted any customers wandering their aisles. The remodel is well done. The store has been cleaned up, the signage is easy to interpret and they figured out how to jam a lot more product into the space without having that 'Costco' feeling. There is now a much larger produce section with organic choices. Ditto for dairy, way more organic choices. You have the ability to choose what you want, it isn't all pre-packaged. There continues to be a large assortment of bulk items as well. Now, with all of that said, their prices keep inching up. A half-gallon of Berkeley Farms Manufacturing cream used to routinely be a tad over $5. Now, it's over $7. You have to shop very carefully for sale items here to truly get a deal. It's still worth keeping in the shopping rotation, but it isn't the bargain shopping experience it used to be. read more

Stopped by yesterday for a few items, found them, was in and out pretty fast

5 PM. Shelves were empty of the three kinds of cups and two kinds of plates I needed. Store employee just shrugged when I asked if there were more. I find expensive substitutes, get to the line. Nine people in front of me, one register open. "Ma'am, can you open another line?" I ask. "No." goodbye. Never coming back. read more

Just so-so. Prices are still pretty decent on many items- since the remodel. But getting in there is always a challenge- not a very smart set-up- you enter right at the end of the check out. I stopped buying their bulk bin items after several items were stale and I saw unsupervised kids reaching in to help themselves. One thing I just don't get is why the checkers will not bag your groceries. I feel bad for the person behind me when I hold them up by having to bag my own while the checker just stands there waiting for me to finish. They literally will stand there staring at you with a look that appears to say "hurry up- you are holding things up". Other stores that bag them for you are usually done with it before I can push all the buttons required of using a card to buy stuff! Lastly - the employees really look like they hate their jobs. read more

Surprisingly good selection of food items at a great price! Especially strong in sauces, marinades, ice cream, snacks, frozen foods, staple food items. Not so great with meat, and almost zero bathroom items (probably by design, but still inconvenient). The parking lot gets cramped easily and the lines can get long quick, but the employees will add cashiers quickly and are relatively polite. read more

Used to shop here a lot, but have cut way way back after the remodel. Why? Lots of reasons. Here's my top 10 pet peeves: 1. Prices have gone up, and are continuing to inch up as another reviewer has said. 2. The dairy case is so untidy I have to ask a tall person to reach for something way in the back. 3. Ditto on a lot of favorite items in the grocery aisles. Basically the translation is the employees have too much to do and this isn't a priority or they could care less. (I suspect it's the former.) 4. The entrance area is a NIGHTMARE. The right door's outside motion-activated sensor is broken, so you can only go thru the left door. Then when you get in, you have to maneuver through the carts and people that are at the check stands. It's an accident waiting to happen. 5. The $5.99 chicken sounds like a good thing, but the meat is mushy and doesn't taste right. 6. The popular staple items sell out really quick. You'd think they'd have that figured out, but nope. 7. The dairy/frozen foods aisle (the widest aisle in the store) is being used in the middle as makeshift aisle. Yesterday it was stacked high with Crystal Springs gallon water jugs, with no support except for cardboard. Another accident waiting to happen, and maybe even against code. 8. Bulk foods. Anytime I've bought peanuts in shell they've been stale. 9. The checkout area. I've been there when there was only 1 open and the line snaked all the way to the end of the produce department. 10. Scariest thing of all -- the aisles are too narrow and stacked way too high. I'd hate to be there when an earthquake hit. Before the "remodel" the store had great deals, was spacious, items were easy to retrieve, and it was a pleasant place to shop. Usually, progress is supposed to improve things, but in this case it took a decent store and made it a mess. read more

This store recently got a remodel and it looks way better than it used to. It's now an extra so they offer a lot more items. The staff are very helpful. I had a problem with an item and the assistant manager Chuck helped me right away. The sales are pretty good. The only downfall is the parking lot,it way too small for the amount of traffic this place gets. read more

Cashier was much more interested in her conversation with the other cashier then with processing my checkout. She did manage to nonchalantly scan one item twice, charging me an extra ten dollars. I actually watch as things go through, and when I pointed it out she knew which item to void without looking at the screen, so she seemed to know that one item was double charged. Another bonus is that the receipt is barely legible, and as this is a store catering to business, most customers will need to keep receipts for accounting purposes. Fortunately I rarely shop here, and today did nothing to change that. read more

If what you need is food, consumables and kitchen accessories, then come here, not Costco. The parking is less congested and the lines are shorter. read more

Cant complain enough about this store there bread its old and dry the meat it's almost expired or expired half the time the lines are long when we send instacart there out of stock on alot of things they show online who ever is managing this store obviously its dropping the ball constantly its a shame we dont have an affordable grocery store close by ! read more

I LOVE Smart and Final but this store is so poorly managed that it makes each visit a teeth grinding experience!!

Wow, I feel like sometimes I am always the last to catch on. Who knew this place beats bev mo for prices???? Not much of a selection, but my needs are usually simple. Quirky service but I like them! read more

Fast service, easy to get to from 101 and they don't charge you for bags like they do in SF. I also tend to stop here if the 101 is slow going south, it's a good respite from rush hour. read more

Smart & Final has come a long way from when they started here a long time ago. They have updated their produce to have a supply of organic fruits and vegetables along with some of the proteins... both chicken and beef. Their management staff is superb and I'll take a moment to call out Sonya who is fantastic.... and usually there whenever I'm there... and I'm there a lot! Heather is also very helpful. They have done a magician's job of making sure that if a line gets long (they do have great prices and so there are lots of shoppers) they get other checkers to help out even if that person is a manager. The managers don't ask anyone to do anything that they won't do including moving palettes, stocking shelves and cashiering. Once upon a time I would never go there but they've changed my mind and I'm there waaaaay too often. read more

Great, friendly, and helpful staff members! Cheap prices on organic foods and non toxic and organic cleaning supplies and detergents etc. wide range of items offered and the store is neatly organized and kept orderly. Convenient location, good for families and kids on a budget looking to stay healthy and protect their well being. Cheaper non organic and toxic household products are also for sale, if that is what you prefer. Would highly recommend!!!!!!! read more

The one star is for what the store has become since the remodel. It is HORRIBLE! The aisles are so narrow and stuffed with product you can't get through. No one can figure out what checkout lines are open so people and carts are everywhere. And getting in the store is ridiculous since they pushed the registers so close to the doors it is a logjam even getting in and out. I used to love this store and would come at least once a week. There are two items I always buy here since I can't find them anyplace else. I just bought these in bulk and will freeze them so I only have to come here once a year. read more

I have been shopping here for my small business/restaurant needs for 2 years now. The staff have always been very helpful and accommodating. If there is something I need not on the shelf, they check to see if there is more in the back. They help me with bagging the goods into my reusable bags I bought here for 99 cents. Sometime they even help me to my car when needed. They all know my name and the other regular customers that come in. I have seen many of the same customers there too when I shop. Love this place read more

You Guys are Number one I Buy mine Snacks and Sodas Pops for mine Snack Machine there

If you are not trying to save money by shopping at more then one grocery store, don't bother reading this comment. But as a newly retired baby boomer, Smart & Final has great deals. I buy the chicken, pork butt(mega-carnitas), and ribs for meat, freeze the extra - Farmer Johns and Foster Farms brand. Great prices on staple items too. The store isn't your local Mollie Stones or Whole Foods with its specialty items and crazy prices so if your expecting that or to be treated as if you're in Nordstroms, don't bother. It's a great practical store in these days of getting value for your food budget. read more

Jamilah Johnson is great with customer service! Highly recommend going to this location.