Ignore the haters, this is a solid grocery store. I live in Harvard Square and I come out here for groceries and have been for 20 years. The prices are actually sustainable, unlike most of the places in Cambridge/somerville, Boston. Many of the same folks have been working here for 10+ yrs. It's got the hometown feel and the prices are decent. Sure, it's not perfect or pristine, but it's solid. If you want curated dinners go blow your savings at Whole Foods or Wegmans. This is the kind of grocery store you want to stay. read more

Smells like dog poo? Like, overwhelmingly... Why? After smelling what I smelled in here I don't think I would trust eating their food. read more

Awful experience! It's clear that the staff do not care about customer service anymore. They are rude, dismissive. They are resting on their laurels of yesteryear. Overpriced and undeserved for customers. Do yourselves a favor, get thee to Whole Foods or even Market Basket ASAP read more

This just applies to the flowers/balloon area. I came in and asked her to blow up five balloons for my son's first birthday. It was 9 am on a Thursday. No one was in the store. She told me to come back in two hours because it would take a while to blow up 5 balloons - I'm talking normal, one color standard balloons. She was really bitchy about it. I said I'd go someplace where people wanted to help. read more

I like this grocery store. Never had a bad experience. Star Market has everything I need, the atmosphere is pleasant, the staff is always friendly. Today, I ran in to grab a handful of items mid-day, it was busy, but I was in and out, no problem. Prices are fine, prices are high everywhere. I avoid the Fresh Pond area because stores there are specialized and pretentious and the parking and traffic layout are nuts! I read some of these reviews and wish people would dial back on the judgy, snarky negative comments. I think businesses should be able to review/YELP! their customers...wouldn't that be fun? read more

Food taste bad, prepared foods bad, can't rebuy it is so bad. I wish there was a better option for quality food/ groceries near here.

I pick up groceries here once a week. Last month, I did not receive over half of an online pick up order. When I got home and realized, I called the store and was told the manager would call me back. They never called me. I then talked to customer service four different times over the span of a month. Each time I was told that a refund would take 5-7 days to process. It has now been over a month and a half and I have still not received a refund for the missing items. I am out $77! I will not be going back. Extremely poor customer service. read more

This review is primarily about the prepared food section which is enormous. It rivals Wegmans in terms of size and variety. Okay, Wegmans does have the edge, but the prices are far better here. From the delicatessen, to the La Carte prepared entries, bakery, Noodle bar, sushi bar, lots of chicken choices, many dozens of ready to eat meals plus many made to order choices in all these spaces. I've never had good supermarket sushi some reluctant to try but even that looks better than most. It's right next to the fresh produce section which I must say looks a heck of a lot better than any other Star Market I've been to. On the spectrum from Whole Foods and Russo's to Lambert's at the low end, I have to say this Market is closest to Whole Foods in terms of presentation and the freshness look of the products. They must do a big business in prepared foods because it's very well staffed. The cheese Shop looks pretty good too, and they sell wine. Okay, I tried the spicy tuna sushi because it was on promo sale for six bucks. I thought you wasn't bad but keep in mind I'm here at 11:00 in the morning. Your experience picking sushi after it's sat all day maybe different. read more

See all

I like this location because it's close to my house and because of my job I have to visit a few times a day. While some staff are very nice and helpful some are very rude. But what's really aggravating is when customers are checking out some cashiers are on their phones and ignoring the customers. In my opinion it's really disrespectful. When a cashier does that to me I don't go to their register anymore. They can use their phone but not when someone is checking out. read more

Mark, one of the guys who'd been here for awhile, with the dark hair and beard, helped me when merch is misrang. Really good employee. He says he knows the other depts are doing a shoddy job (bakery is absent, not pricing and also mispricing merch) and apologetic about the mishaps his coworkers make. Give the man a raise! He says the upside is since the product was mispriced, they refund the full price. I didn't realize what he said until I looked at my receipt. I think he's the only one following co policy and doing that. Good guy. Weeks later, and sale items STILL continue to ring up full price every visit. So again, straight to customer service. What sucks is despite wasting your time, they'll now only refund the difference instead of refunding it all back, unlike before. read more

See all

i've been going to this star market for the last 10 years...i think is a great market in general...the cashiers are great and very helpful....but there is one thng that bother me a lot....they have all the" silk"" products except one very important and healthy one....u have all the different kind of milks....but in ur almond milk yogurt u don;t have the very important and healthy ""unsweetened"" almond milk yogurt,,,why is that...??? i have to drive all the way to hannaford in waltham to get the unsweetened one...i live 5 mins. drive from the mt. auburn st. star market in cambridge ...can u tell me what is the reason not to have the """"unsweetened"""" one and have the one loaded with unhealthy sugar...??? sylvia read more

buyer beware if you're looking to buy stuffed clams, walk away from buying Matlaws , it is stuffed with more bread than clams, we couldn't even taste the clams it was like eating the stuffing you make at Thanksgiving read more

Star Market - Stuffed clams with no clams - Grocery Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Customer service is nonexistent. Also, beware of the discounted freezer at the end of the aisle as they've been selling expired frozen foods for 50% off the retail price. I'm not sure this is legal; but I am sure it is deceptive. Every time that I have had the misfortune of having to use the men's bathroom at this location; it reeks of urine and the floor is always sticky with who knows what. The sign in the bathroom door saying that they take pride in the cleanliness of their restrooms is equally ironic and disturbing since this place sells and packages food. I don't want to start to imagine what goes on in the "back of house" operations at this location. read more

As a community nurse working in the town of this star market, the staff were extremely rude. The power had shut down, but I needed to go to the bathroom badly. Sadly, the first people said nothing. Then some loud mouth lady with dark hair said no one could come in. I told her I just needed to use the bathroom but she said no again. I rely on public bathrooms to work in this community to serve Cambridge elderly and disabled. As I walked away, she had a good laugh. Devil woman read more

The absolute worst supermarket. I live less than 1 mile from this supermarket, so I've been here countless times. As others have mentioned, the groceries here are "high-priced garbage" and the shopping experience is "consistently bad." Due to one bad experience after another, I actually decided I would send in a formal complaint. The phone number on their site didn't work and after filling out the contact form, it wouldn't even go through. Yesterday after months of avoiding this place, I finally went back (like a fool). Today, when I cut my spaghetti squash open, the entire inside was rotten and moldy. I am not even going to go back to ask for my money back, because that is how much I despise this place. Avoid at all costs. read more

Star Market - My rotten spaghetti squash, rivaled only by the crap customer service. - Grocery Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

So I ordered from the app store market and I said 2:00 to 6:00 it is now an hour and a half late I called them up three times in the first two times they put me on hold for 30 minutes to an hour.... The second time when the manager finally picked up I asked him where my order was and he said no one ever picked it up well if no one ever picked it up why didn't you call me or call the company to find out why that's not happening I called them and I live chat and said where is my order and they said that to deliver is going to be on its way find out they never picked it up.... I had to run down to the convenience store just to buy mac and cheese so my kid could eat tonight cuz this groceries for tonight.... I don't suggest anyone ordering from the app... And I think this is the last time I'm going to shop at Star market because I've always had problems with them the one in Porter the seafood guy is extremely rude and doesn't care about cross-contamination.... If my order does not come in tonight's then I'm going to call corporate and talk to them to get my refund my full refund and I'm going to take my business elsewhere to whole foods or stop & shop.... So I called them back and has been now two and a half hours late ..I'm still calling corporate tomorrow morning first thing in the morning...the manger didn't do anything to make this better ....and every time I called him ..he avoided me and I had to talk to the front desk worker... read more

Like Ashley L., I was just overcharged for a bottle of wine by $4. Clearly this store needs to be investigated for inaccurate pricing. Because of state law, alcohol is exempted from the $10 rule. Coincidence? I think not. If I walked out of the store with $4 worth of inventory without paying I would be arrested. Why can't we have them arrested? Manager just said, "Those are the rules." E.g. no regrets. Didn't seem surprised. Didn't say, "We'll have that corrected right away." Get the picture? read more

Star Market - Take pictures of your sale items, particularly for alcohol. Otherwise you're likely to be ripped off. Consumer protection? None. - Grocery Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Hidden in Star Market is a little Starbucks bar, ready to fulfill all your caffeine needs without the crowds or the wait. Service is nice, drinks are standard, and there are even a couple tables if sipping on a latte in a grocery store is your cup of tea. read more

Produce is very hit or miss quality wise and can be very expensive ($1 per small pepper the size of a jalapeño) Star Market apparently has a policy that if you are under 25 and don't have a Massachusetts driver's license, you can't buy alcohol because they don't trust their employees to properly identify fake IDs... ok fine. I went with my boyfriend (who is 26, I am 24) and they still would not allow us to purchase alcohol even though he could have if he was alone, because I was there and had an out of state license. I told the cashier that I'm in the military- therefore will never have an in state license and he replied that if he was my boss, he wouldn't allow women in the military to drink. WOW. The manager on duty deescalated the situation a little and told me they would accept my military ID if I bring it with me in the future. Overall- weird and slightly upsetting experience. If I was Star Market, I would do what every other store in the area does for alcohol purchases- scan the ID and if necessary ask for a credit card to ensure the name is the same. read more

Has definitely improved! Self checkout is so helpful!!! Keep that forever please! Staff still great. Produce dept has definitely improved over the years. read more

No stars at all After an inexplicable series ownership shifts and signage changes including being shaws, being star, and not being shaws, not being star, and a massive expansion and renovation this store has: added a great deal of gourmet, and organic but stopped carrying organic butter stopped carrying many conventional items martha white cornmeal, pace picante sauce decided to place certain items in three or sometimes more places e.g. bread, yogurt etc. raised their prices on canned goods and frozen vegetables so significantly that all other local sources are cheaper. The changes are bizarre and annoying. It is true that the parking and floors have improved. Update 9/2008 After much whining to the company ( a year?) they have Finally restored free range eggs, organic cream, and organic butter to their dairy department. The store does continue to change weekly and so it's still confusing to shop there. read more

I used to patronize this Star Market location quite frequently when I lived in Watertown and although I never really could rave about the place, there was little negative to say about it either. Of course, then I thought frozen vegetables and any beef that bled were safe for human consumption, but then I read recently of how this particular SM was sourcing their produce from local growers. This wouldn't normally have caused me to drive from JP to go there but I've found myself grabbing breakfast in Watertown lately while my girlfriend teaches in Harvard Sq on the weekends. This past weekend, after my now weekly pilgrimage to W-town, I figured "what the hell?" and gave in to my curiosity to see if SM, in fact, had something to be proud about. Upon my discoveries, I'm afraid that they do not. Starting with the produce; hardly any of it is local, and I use "hardly" because it's hard to tell whether the "made in the USA" sticker means California or New Jersey. Most of the fruit was from South America or Mexico and the corn I had purchased was definitely not from New England. Shame on me for thinking corn season might have come early, but I find this bait-and-switch to be repulsive. The deli smelled of a mix between industrial cleaner and rancid beef carcass and the organic meats selection was outright pathetic. Some positive notes are that they have an extensive selection of beer, wine, and liquor although much of it is overpriced. Also, they have a decent amount of wild caught fish, most of which seem to be fresh, but again, the produce department was a huge let down for me right from the start and the rest of what Star Market had to offer... a supermarket, with very little emphasis on organic options. I found two bags of granola in the entire store, which should speak much less to the shopper I am and more to the type of eater I think we all should be. read more

I am not sure how to spell the noise of revulsion that I spontaneously make when someone mentions this store, but here is my best attempt: uh-huhhuh-aaaaawwwhhhh-huh-huh-blah-uhh. Why?: Poorly layed out. Produce selection that would make a rabbit not want to eat his vegetables. Cashiers that consistently prove that local area school districts are indeed leaving students behind. The overall malaise of the place is depressing. However, I give it two stars for two reasons: 1. Deli counter far more affordable than any other in the area. 2. Beer and Liquor. Not that its incredibly difficult to buy beer and liquor at another store, but I appreciate the one-stop game-time shopping. read more

This is an okay supermarket in general, and there are regularly pretty good sales both in-store and through the app, but there are some definite downsides. One, there is a persistent very gross sour smell around the refrigerated cases near the bakery/cheese department. It's been like that for years and I can't believe that no one smells it or has done anything about it. I just have to hold my breath when walking through. Two, the self-checkout has the most sensitive scales in the history of the universe. It makes it almost not even worth it to use, given that every time I do, the system starts beeping and yelling at me to "remove unscanned item from bagging area" when in fact I have properly scanned everything. Weirdly, it also yells at you if you *don't* put your item in the bagging area, so you can't just save yourself the trouble and bag on the floor/in a cart. And God help you if you try to use your own bags in the self checkout -- there's pretty much no way to do it without requiring employee intervention. But, self-checkout doesn't have to be this way! Somehow Target manages to have self-checkout that lets you scan and bag your items like a normal human and doesn't require an employee to come over and reset the system three times. read more

Promised people at work Red Sox cupcakes for a party. Lesson #1- Don't make promises grocery stores can't keep. There were none here. Not even anything with red & white frosting. The cupcakes were all yellow & orange for the fall. There were football whoopie pie cakes. I didn't need a football. I needed baseballs! Do you know I went to 3 Star Markets & a Shaws and none of them had anything? Only yellow & orange cupcakes. So I brought a big white cake and decorated it with red & blue sprinkles. Good thing art school taught me how to improvise! read more

This store has worse produce than Johnny's Foodmaster did (which is a pretty low bar) and for probably 4x the price. Everything I buy here looks good (and I try to find the most unblemished items which is quite difficult!), and then is rotten with 1-2 days of bringing it home. Shaws/Star Market is high-priced garbage. I have no idea how they get away with charging a premium as nothing they offer is on par with discount grocery stores OR more upscale stores like Whole Foods. CANNOT WAIT FOR MARKET BASKET TO COME BACK read more

My wife and I love this store. She grew up in the neighborhood and it's her old Star Market. Friendly staff,good produce and fish. Also beer and wine available as well. My wife tells me that Julia Child, who lived in the neighborhood, used to shop here and was on a first name basis with the butcher and fishmonger. read more

Last time ever in this shit hole. This is the most expensive star i've ever been in and although I usually shop at Market Basket or Stop and Shop i needed some stuff for breakfast . I don't mind paying for the convenience but fuck no am i going to pay for bags on overpriced grocers They now charge you 10 cents a bag if you don't bring your own. suck it Star Market. ARTIE rules. read more

I might be spoiled by Publix, but I've found most of the major supermarkets in Massachusetts to be poorly managed. My best advice for this store: 1. Always check the expiration date (even on boxed goods) or you'll get burned 2. Don't expect to find everything you're looking for The location of this store is the only reason I go. I'm just not willing to drive an extra ten-fifteen minutes to Stop & Shop or Whole Foods. read more

Yet again, convenience wins out over preference. This Star is literally around the corner from my apartment. It's really nice to have a grocery store so close to home. That being said, I would much rather it be a Trader Joe's (who wouldn't?) or even a Whole Paycheck, for that matter. I usually don't buy my produce here because their produce is somewhat lacking. Though I find that's common in most big grocery chains. They've got a decent little organic/natural section. Really nice selection of liquor and beer. Though I grew up in NY and am used to booze in grocery stores, it's a luxury here in MA. Unless I have a lot of stuff to buy, I usually go through self checkout. Though this can be really annoying as well, it usually beats the cashiers. They're all nice enough people I guess, but you have to choose wisely. You can't go through The Old Man Who Doesn't Care's line. Super Chatty Lady is nice, but, well, super chatty. There's also Grumpy Guy Who Always Gives Me A Hard Time About Using My Fiance's Credit Card. If you're buying liquor, this choice gets infinitely harder as at least half of the cashiers are usually underage. Fun Fact: there are two employees Gordon and I love spotting: Superbad and McLovin. You'll know when you see them. Also, the main entrance/exit (the Mt. Auburn St side, not the parking lot) bottlenecks super quickly. It's always annoying when you get stuck behind an older person or a mom with kids or, god forbid, the guy bringing the shopping carts in. Bonus: I love those little green trolley baskets. They're SO much better than the traditional baskets. Love 'em! I also use this Osco as my primary pharmacy due to the convenience. They're ok. There's one lady pharmacist who's great. Unfortunately, I don't know her name, but I'm always glad when she's there; especially if I'm picking up a new prescription. read more

It used to be what my roomie and I call "ghetto mart" but it's much nicer and sleeker now. I am still trying to figure out where everything is, but for now, my biggest complaint is service. I'd rather have the old crappy looking place back and at least have better customer service!!! Over the last few months, they must be understaffed or something. I keep getting attitudes from some of the cashiers and yesterday I had to speak to 2 managers b/c the young cashier wouldn't even bag my groceries. I don't mind bagging my own groceries since I know that is what you do when you do self check-out. But when the person on the other side of the conveyor belt has to get all huffy bc they are asked to do part of their job, it's annoying. This is how it went down yesterday . . . Cashier Grigor (I think that was his name) finishes ringing Betty up. His bagger has walked away to help the person in the next lane over so he's solo . I know this is bad news already since he Is grumpy the whole time I am standing there. When I greet him, he just grunts . . . usually another bad omen. So everything has been rung up, I have given my payment and Grigor just stares at me. He looks helplessly for a bagger but none is in sight. So G just starts ringing up the next person. This is where I jump in: B: Ummmm, aren't you gonna even bag my groceries? G: (stares blankly at me) What kind of bags did you want? B: I brought my own bags (I point to my cart) [Sidenote: YAY!!! I am helping the environment and one of the bags was even my Yelp reusable one.] G: Oh. (does not proceed to move a muscle) B: Do I have to do it myself? G: Um where are the bags? B: In my cart still. G: Well, can you give them to me? I will end there, but let's just say Grigor was so mad and lazy at this point, he is just throwing cans of tomatoes on top of my bananas, etc. I ended up bagging the rest of the groceries myself. At the end of my shopping trip, I did track the managers down. They were just as upset (or so they seemed!) as me, and I told them this has literally happened at least 5 times in 2 months. I mean, I know the cashiers might hate their job, but isn't this task part of their job? I don't ask my clients to write their own proposals!!! So Manager Jim tells me that if this ever happens again to come find him and they will step in. I don't think it should ever even happen again and that I should need to find a supervisor to constantly remind their employees to do their job OR at the very least, serve a smile up with their customer service. If I didn't get to meet Tedy Bruschi at this Shaw's location, I would have deducted a star in my review, fer sure! read more

There is a lot of negativity here. Yes it is no Trader Joes but compared to the Star Market in Brighton Mills this place is the best. It is a Boston supermarket so yes prices are high. This supermarket is large, they have a decent produce section, large bakery, a very friendly fish man and a full liquor store. More then anything else it is convenient. Liquor, groceries and a decent pharmacy all under one roof with a large parking lot not far from Cambridge, Watertown or Brighton gives it a couple of stars alone. read more

Even if this Star Market (or Shaw's? I'm confused!) sucked, it's the closest one to my house, so I'd probably go here anyway. However, I do think it's a good supermarket. It's huge, has plenty of variety, and is never out of what I need. They made the aisles bigger so I'm not always getting blocked by people who can't decide which brand of beans to buy (fyi -- that person is frequently me). read more

If this wasn't the closest grocery store to my house, I'd never go here. The signage is plain white, I'm pretty sure that goes against all Star/Shaws conventions. The store, despite being renovated, is kind of dingy. They couldn't have gotten rid of the 60's paneling in the front and side entries? The layout (as with many Shaws Markets) is confusing with really long aisles with differing signage on both ends. You can find cheese in about 5 different places, which, hey I love cheese, but why do I have to look 4 places before I find Cabot? But perhaps the worst part of this store is the staff. The giant fat surly queen behind the customer service counter should be the tip off here, but every single member of the staff avoids eye contact, use of the english language, and pleasantries. read more

This is not even an average supermarket, but they have one thing that is good hands down when it comes to liquor. A turkish drink called: Raki, there are many brands for that liquor but the best price I got for an "Efe Raki" is here. Apparently the manager has no idea about Raki and has a fixed price like $25 for three different types. (I recommend green or the black bottle) read more

This is my local grocery store, and while it is not perfect, it gets the job mostly done. The produce section is my biggest issue since it is hard to find anything really super fresh, but if you cook/eat the produce the same day you buy, it should be fine. I try not to buy produce here if I'm not going to eat it within 1-3 days. My guilty pleasure here is the rotisserie chicken. Not the lowest price point (Stop and Shop is almost always $1-2 less), but usually juicy and tasty. I also enjoy the well-stocked organic section and the abundance of wheat-free foods (I have a wheat allergy). This location stopped selling the gluten-free baguettes that I love, and a few other items are frequently out of stock. Service at the cash wrap is okay with some cashiers better than others. The lines are usually tolerable on a busy night. The parking lot can also be dicey. I can walk to this store so it is where I do the majority of my basic needs shopping. The deli is great, a gallon of milk is cheap, and there are always deals to be had in the meat section. read more

This is my favorite local supermarket, large enough to stock everything I need yet clear enough not to get lost in. A great selection of fruits, vegetables, cereals, beverages, discount breadloaves and bulkie rolls, medical and body-care supplies, and vegetarian sandwich alternatives such as tofu and Tofurky veggie cold-cuts. The discounts are generous, and I'm glad they're now letting everybody benefit from them, rather than just "Advantage Card" holders. For more discounts, the bottle and can redemption center is great, too, though the receptacle machines are somewhat outdated and don't always work properly, and I wish the center were open later at night. But, overall, this Star Market is a great place to shop, and well located on the Cambridge-Watertown town line by a stop for buses 71 and 73. read more

Redid the store again...still confusing. Still a good beer selection read more

Can we all say, like Beyonce, "UPGRADE YA"! SINCE the very, very recent remodeling, this store ranks right up there with the best of 'em. They fixed that horrible and weird parking, they re-did the floors, signage, shelving, added fresh cheeses, and a fresh meat counter, expanded their veggie/good for you section, and just made numerous upgrades! Wow! That's why it gets 4 stars, and hey, it's right near my house, and who doesn't love a place where you can buy liquor and your groceries. Now, before the upgrades, it was pretty pitiful. It smelled, everything was ugly, it was even ugly on the outside, the cashiers were all, well, nevermind, and it just sucked. It was actually depressing- and expensive. But, not anymore!! Now, it's upgraded and expensive! Oh, p.s., I've found on two occassions that when I wanted a product and took time to find out who managed that section, that person ordered the product for me. Kinda small town, neighborly service, you know. read more

I like this Star Market. The alcohol selection is great, the aisles are big -- the store is big -- and there are often free samples. Produce is only so so, and the salad bar is pretty sad. read more