Over the summer I gave up (tried to give up) processed foods stuffed with preservatives and…read morechemical substitutes. On the hunt for natural foods I was delighted to find (read: finally notice) how close Nourish was to my usual shopping route. Here a jar of all-natural, salt, oil and sugar free skins-on smooth peanut butter is just €2.50! Here, cold-milled organic flax meal sells for less than €8 per bag. Then there's the soy, tofu, vitamins and wholesome beauty products -including hair dyes -all lining Nourish's shelves right to the ceiling. While on shopping trips I've noticed the staff leave shoppers to themselves, it took a few minutes for the lady stocking the shelf next to me to say hello. I realise it sounds a bit snobby, but I do expect to be greeted as the only customer in the shop mid-afternoon. I can't fault the selection or prices, but I do wish I felt a little more welcome when visiting.

Nourish on Liffey Street remains one of my favourite places to shop when I need to detox…read more Everything that it sells is good for you so you don't need to feel guilty about spending money here. If you're sick and you can't be bothered to go to the doctor and pay a hefty fee, then Nourish will help you get back on your feet with their vitamins, organic food and herbal remedies. I once got these magic tablets for hay fever and allergies. Nourish also stocks great cosmetic and beauty supplies from popular brands like Burt's Bees to lesser known ones like Dr. Hauschka. The shop assistants are never too busy so they're always on-hand for questions and advise. I went in today and a kind worker took the time to show me five different cleansers. She even gave me free samples with my purchase.

Restore is a lovely health food store packed with goodies that are good for you and your body…read more The staff are wonderfully helpful and seem to know a lot about the products in store, of which there are very very many! They're really good at explaining what each remedy does and really seem to care about their clients. They even have taste testers in store - something you don't find in most health food stores! The other day it was a tartlet with mushroom in it - ewww sounds weird, but it looked nice enough. I declined to try...

I just love me a good health food store. When I stumbled upon Restore I was pretty delighted. I try…read morereally hard to take care with what I put in or on my body. Restore not only carries food but also vitamins, supplements, and personal care items. Sweet! There is an obvious focus on natural and/or organic products and while these can sometime cost a pretty penny, Restore has a lot of options to pick and choose from. Their selection of healthy food items rivals the best. If you ever wondered where people by hemp oil and wheat grass, this is the place. When I went in the woman working was a little in my face - meaning she asked several times if I needed help or if I was looking for anything in particular even though I said I was just looking around. I know she was just doing her job but come on. I bought a load of stuff anyway, and managed to do it all by myself!

Have being looking around for sheep's milk for awhile as difficult to find then I found the hopsack…read morewho generously offered to order some for me and even got extra. I also ordered couple more items the week after and found the staff extremely helpful in finding products I needed and sent out a new batch of milk for me as previous one was near use by date haven't had such good experience before and so thankful for their assistance. Thanks so much. Would definitely recommend

So the swan center may be looking a little rough around the edges and slightly like a ghost town…read morethese days. However, the hop sack,which has been on the go for years is still one of its best and busiest shops. Back in the 80's. When it was nay impossible to get soy milk anywhere in Dublin the HS was there. So great for those of us with milk allergies. Despite being a modest sized shop the Hop Sack has all you health food needs, from gluten free foods to essential oils. Staff are attentive, helpful and highly knowledgeable. They ordered in stuff for me when I asked. Also check it out around easter, as they assued me they were one of the cheapest places to get Green & Blacks easter eggs this year.

There's no shortage of health food and natural supplement shops in this city, and I'll be looking…read moreto those before revisiting Health Matters. On a hunt for L-Glucosamine (or something like it) I dropped in here on a weekday morning looking for a small bottle of the stuff. Puzzling over the shelves for a minute, I asked a saleswoman for help... and have regretted it ever since. Brusque and condescending, she rolled out a long list of why my choice was wrong, asking me sharply what *was* I thinking and clearly whoever suggested it to me was uneducated in supplements (I wasn't winning any points, either). I was shocked to be spoken to this way in a shop, and numbly accepted whatever bottle of stuff she gave me instead (it's been put in the hall closet should I ever need... what IS that stuff, anyway?). €12 lighter and feeling quite harangued I walked out of the shop, vowing never to return. Worked out well so far.

Very good selection of natural products. No dyes, perfumes or sulfates. Or animal testing…read more Have a lot of nutritional supplements. Cary protein bars and some food products. Gluten-free, wheat free... Staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. Not the cheapest place in town but good quality.

Came here hopping to get some ingredients with a mate, and didn't find all we needed…read more Not a larger selection as promised, but overall a great place to buy some good food. All the vendors are super friendly and love to make conversation! Great way to spend a morning! The ambiance is very quaint and friendly! Overall a great atmosphere and way to buy. Will come here for certain vegetables and lunch when I'm in the city

Thank you for the recommendation, Fodor's! (yes, I bought their travel guide like a true tourist.)…read more My friends and I wanted to try some Ireland oysters because we heard they were supposedly super fresh. We were running out of time on our hunt to find them when I realized, 'I've got my trusty guidebook!!' And that's how we ended up here. It was 12 Euros for 6 oysters and a glass of wine. Since there were four of us, the lady was nice enough to give us 4 cups of wine (yes, plastic cups - it's a farmer's market, what do you expect!) They even threw in an extra oyster! SO FRESH! SO BIG! (cue that's-what-she-said joke). Compared to NYC oysters, these babies looked like they were on steroids! They also have this dipping sauce (had onions and was really vinegar-y, but good. But if you don't like the sour, you should just take the oyster straight.) Didn't eat anything else from other stands because we just had lunch. However, I believe they had shish kebabs, crepes, and bread. Oh and FYI - Sheridans Cheesemongers was there (saw this place on Anthony Bourdain when he went to Dublin so thought this might be worth mentioning). Definitely check out this farmer's market!

There are three categories of customers in Holland and Barrett in my book: The hypochondriac…read morestuffing omega 3, vitamin c and calcium tablets into their trolley, the crazy health nut with fists full of dried fruit and the enormous dude who has been pumping himself full of protein shakes leading to some poorly concealed moobs in his tank top. But crazies and voluptuous male bosoms aside, Holland and Barrett is fairly decent if you're looking for healthy goods. Their stuff is cheap and they have great offers on. I got a box of nettle tea for a quid recently. Tastes a bit like wee.

Healthy food dream! Such a huge range of healthy supplements and vitamins!…read moreI usually pop in there for some Omega Fish Oil and Spirulina food supplements, they often have specials on these products. They also have loyalty cards in place, I always use mine, sure why not to save a few bob!

I have a love-hate relationship with shops like the Health Store. I love the incredible selection…read moreof healthy goods, nuts, spirolina and other vitamins and remedies, soy products, muesli etc. I hate that I can't afford to shop here all the time. The prices for healthy organic products are quite steep, and the Health Store offers pretty similar prices to other healthy shops in town. All the same, you at least know exactly what is in your food. If you are conscious about what you eat, buying products without all the unwanted ingredients, that is worth the extra spending, if you can afford it.

Popped in there this evening to buy a vitamin and found it a gobsmacking €13 more expensive than…read moreanother well known Dublin chain of health food stores. Not only do I not like the vibe of this place ( more tesco that the more friendly helpful independent health food stores who are heartily vegan/nutritionists/therapists in training and look like they belong in health foods), the prices difference was crazy. As I was mentioning this to the staff, who muttered something about "Dundrum rents" another customer chimed in to agree. She never offered to take feedback, or heaven forbid, price match. So spoke with my wallet and left my vitamin on the shelf. Fine if you are just popping in for something specific, but there are far more professional and reasonably prices establishments more deserving of your hard earned cash.

I stumbled across this place yesterday and I love it! A fairly good selection of fresh fruit &…read morevegetables - and plenty of quite posh pantry staples that you would otherwise have to travel into town for. For example, I picked up organic polenta for a batch of cornbread I'm hoping to make today, and I spotted a box of turmeric root... I didn't even know you could buy such a thing. And there was a selection of Sheridan's cheeses In the fridge. That all makes it sound very 'foodie' - but it's great to find a place where you can buy a nice hostess gift locally!

Vegan cheese in Cabra! Good selection of produce and healthy foods. Some items were a bit pricey,…read morebut I suppose that is expected. Very friendly and helpful staff. I will definitely be back!

After an exasperating journey getting to Dublin, Listons welcomed me with its warm Irish charms and…read moremade me forget the day's earlier trials. In the same vein as my other beloved Dublin food hall, Fallon & Byrne, Listons has a wide selection of charcuterie, cheese, nuts, pastas, tea, chocolates and wine. I chose a tomato basil soup and a tuna, cheddar and sundried tomato panini for lunch and ate it picnic style back in my hotel room. The sandwich was absolutely glorious. The soup, while not incredible, was proficient. The staff at Listons also deserves a mention - they're super sweet!

I had the blues the other day. I'm not ashamed to admit it, everyone gets the blues every once and…read moreawhile. You know it will pass as quickly as it comes. I was at the blues stage were seeing an old woman being over taken by power walking younger folks whilst they listened to their i-pods lost in themselves and their outward image made me really sad. It actually brought a frog to my throat & made me slightly teary - yes it did. I started thinking about how impersonal people these days can be; yup I was in a rut. Because I have no friends I could not dial for a hug, and because hugging yourself is a rather futile action I decided to lift my melancholy with some tea. I got some mint infused tea, to give me more of a spring in my step. And to really treat myself I got the orange and coconut combination which is as delicious as it sounds. The layout of Listons makes me happy, it's warm and the staff are helpful & when you are feeling under the weather you can never ever underestimate the power of a stranger's smile.

The tell tale signs began to appear last night: sniffling, lethargy, a mild hazy feeling in my…read morehead. I reached for my Wellness Formula® ("a powerful combination of herbs, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals") to discover that only five capsules remained in the bottle. During "imbalance" you're meant to take six every three hours. I did what I always do in times of minor crisis while on the road, I turned to Yelp. Turns out, Nourish was nearby and open on a Sunday so I headed there (and actually found it thanks to directions from Yelp for iPhone!) While the employees there were not holistic gurus, after showing them my empty bottle of Wellness Formula® they were able to find me the closest available item in the store. I also picked up some zinc lozenges for good measure. Nourish's selection doesn't come close to my beloved Whole Body in Manhattan, nor really any location of Whole Foods in terms of vitamins and the like. And in future I will always travel with plenty of my own holistic remedies but I'm glad this shop was here for me in a pinch.

Nourish are chain of Irish owned and operated Health food shops. This store on Wicklow street is a…read morebit on the small side but features Nourish's range of whole foods. Homeopathic goods, herbal remedies and the like. They're a little on the pricey side and i'm generally only in here to buy stuff like soy Milk, so not the most exciting of customers but like most health food shops if your allergic to pretty much anything or a coeliac you'll probably find food here you can eat.