This is a one-stop superstore for the organically and healthy minded. There is a great selection…read moreof fruit and vegetables in front and a couple of isles full of vitamins, supplements, milks, breads, oats, cereals and other groceries down back. There is a decent selection of meats and dairy as well. They stock informative books and magazines and even cater those with a sweet tooth with a great selection of chocolate. The prices are pretty good too if you start to compare with other organic retailers. Some of their prices are even the same as the mega chain supermarket just down the road. Situated on Smith St and servicing the healthy for the last 20 years, this family owned business is a pleasure to come and shop in. There is a very earthy feel with passive staff and smiles and positivity all around. If you can't make it down, they also have an online shop and even do home delivery.

Firstly, a confession…read more Although I occasionally brought organic produce, I had not signed on to the organic way of life. I thought it would be too expensive, boring, and not flexible enough for my student life. How wrong I was. I discovered Organic Wholefoods on Smith Street a couple of weeks before, and am now prepared to make weekly migrations to stock up on fruit and vegetables and a few other products as well. Organic Wholefoods boasts some beautiful regional produce (juicy oranges, enormous mushrooms and free range eggs) as well as an enormous range of cereals, flour, tea, nuts and more. I was particularly impressed with the wide range of tea and coffee, and had to get my hands on some of the Mount Zero Extra Virgin Olive Oil (under $20!). I was surprised to see that the produce was pretty reasonable (a couple of dollars here and there more than Coles of Safeway) but after buying and trying out the food I could definitely tell the difference. Although I may not have the budget to buy organic for everything, visiting and trying the produce stocked at Organic Wholefoods was an eye-opening and enjoyable decision.

There's something about little family run businesses that give them a superior edge over all other…read moreoptions. The Grange Mini Mart, which I always called the Milk Bar until I asked for a business card, is no exception to this. The service here is impeccable and always friendly. The store itself is warm and inviting from the moment the bell tinkles above the door to signal your arrival. There is a great range of products on offer including: fruit, chocolate, lollies, ice-creams, magazines, confectionary, milk, cake, cigarettes, bus tickets, phone credit and my personal favourite - Willy Wonka Nerds. If you are a regular customer here you won't get called by name but you will get special privileges. The amount of times I race down there to find that I'm ten cents short or my eftpos card declines have piled up in a corner where I store all my embarrassing moments. Fortunately, the owner of this Mini Mart is super nice when this happens. She pulls out a notepad and takes down your name and phone number before writing down how much you owe. Let her know when you will be down next and she'll pop in a date of expected payment too. Be nice and try to pay her quickly. The shop is always clean and well stocked and best of all - it is open until 9pm every night of the week.

This is my local milk bar and has been for 20+ years. The owners of the store take no pride in it,…read moreid usually recommend a local store but not in this case.

Another overpriced health food store that I've been completely sucked in by. Chances are you'll pay…read moretwice as much doing your groceries here than at a standard supermarket. For this reason I save my visits to Gum Tree Good Food only for special occasions and moments of weakness. If only I had the budget to make this place my regular because the produce they have is just amazing. Highlights include the thinnest of pizza bases that you can take home and make your own gourmet inspired meal with. Not to mention the range of delicious dips, sauces and chutneys. There are also crusty sourdough loaves by the dozen and pre-made meals that leave Lean Cuisine et al for dead. This is the place to go to pick up nibbles that will be sure to impress.

Expensive yes. Over priced no…read more Gum Tree is an excellent gourmet grocer stocking an curated selection of vegetables, groceries, meat and alcohol. Although a small store they provide the 'necessities' for a gourmet quick meal. I found the prices to be very good for a store of this type. Yes, you are going to pay $45 a kg for meat but, prices appear to be about 10% cheaper than gourmet grocers like Broadbean, Passion Foods and Essential Ingredient. Gum Tree is a great one stop shop for the time poor local resident who can make it to South Melbourne Market, with the added bonus of Toby's Estate coffee served while you shop. All very civilised :)

I love the Fruit Pedallers. It is a little bit like a little rabbit warren with lots of nooks and…read morecrannies to find yummy tidbits of organic produce. It can be hard to find exactly what you need if you are after something specific, as the shop is not laid out in a methodical manner, but for me this makes the shopping experience all the more enjoyable. Sometimes I think the staff at the Fruit Pedallers must think I'm a little fruity myself, when I spend hours browsing the shop only to come up to the counter with a bottle of milk and a cucumber, for example. Up until recently their fresh fruit and veg have been very very expensive. But with a recent change to their buying strategy, they have dropped prices significantly. Yay! Now we can all eat more organic food. Who knows I may even come up to the counter with a cucumber and a head of brocolli. They also have naturopaths on staff - where you can get some free advice (as long as you buy their awful tasting herbal mixtures of course) on your lingering cold etc.

The Fruit Pedallers is a ditty little health food shop on Westgarth's High Street selling all…read moremanner of organic whole foods alongside natural therapies such as naturopathy, homeopathy, massage, reflexology, aromatherapy, kinesiology, art therapy, acupuncture and more besides. In foodie slash health conscious Melbourne, where organic food stores are ostensibly a dime a dozen, The Fruit Pedallers is notable for its friendliness and excellent range of herbs and vitamins alongside fresh organic fruit and vegetables and a ruddy good selection of organic and fair trade chocolate. Its staff are helpful and extremely knowledgeable and although The Fruit Pedallers can be a little dearer than its competitors, this little Westgarth health food haunt is a local favourite, and with good reason. The Fruit Pedallers is a particularly good health food store to visit if you're in the market for vitamins or supplements and don't quite know what you're looking for. Excellent all round.

I love that scene in The Simpsons where Otto walks out of a shop called Stoners Pot Palace and says…read moresomething along the lines of, 'that's a flagrant case of false advertising'. Hilarious. Naturally On High conjures images of those shops in NZ where you can get 'party pills' over the counter and they get you high in a sick kind of way for about 20 minutes, then you come down for five days and it's worse than any actual drugs you've ever taken. Reality is, they only sell organic dry goods, grains, nuts and produce here. Boring. But not really. They also do bread and it's pretty good, though you never seem to be able to get the same one twice, which kinda sucks. And they do all these sweets but then you get them home and you realise the chocolate's actually carob so you try and pass 'em off to you stupid nieces but they're wise to it and turn their spoilt brat noses up at them. But this place does do great healthy stuff. And they do know their shit. But you gotta put up with some pretty flaky service and narrow aisles and shit. I'm on the fence about this one...

Bulk goods and organic products are the calling card of Naturally on High, despite the inevitable…read moreassociations its' name conjures up. Not everything is totally organic and there's some gelatine based lollies down the front end, but all the bases seem to be covered from skin care through to dried fruit and nuts. The prices are very reasonable and there are some interesting brands on offer. However, the place is always ridiculously busy, so you end up spending a longer amount of time in a queue than you would at most other places, and the service can be a bit impersonal and spacey at times. It's also a very cramped store that's difficult to navigate if you're carrying a lot of stuff, but it's not too impossible a quest.

We recently spent a few weeks in Melbourne, and I was here every few days for coffee, groceries,…read morework, or all three. Hidden away down a downtown alley, this place is awesome! Such a great vibe with all you could really want from a grocery store and a great coffee spot. There were plenty of tables inside and out, and the staff were all really friendly. Prices were as high as expected but worth it for the quality of groceries and household items. The coffee was also excellent! I think the only downside is no wifi; it is listed but does not work. Not a huge deal, I just tethered my phone.

Here is an organic grocer that still has that new car smell. The guys have only been open 4 days…read morebut quickly established themselves as a valuable addition to the Southbank community. Southbank has been a bit of a grocery wasteland with ample convenience stores but no real alternatives for healthy and fresh food. In steps Broad Bean with their selection of fresh food and groceries. As expected organic supplies are pricier than the average store but given the lack of alternatives and the very high prices charged around Southbank they are a very welcome and appreciated. With a beautiful looking store, friendly staff and good selection I'll be ducking in occasionally to check out their wares.

It's bad enough being ripped off by national supermarkets but I never thought I'd be ripped off by…read morea local shop that I've been loyal to for years and years. They have recently changed their loyalty rewards scheme, I had so many points as I hadn't used them for years and years, even since the old shop. The value was big $ for me and my shopping. With no opportunity to spend them as no notice was given prior to the change to the new loyalty program, I am now told I am entitled to just $5 !!!!! I have raised my concerns with the owner and been ignored, I am also aware that the staff have too. I am now in touch with the ACCC to see if they can assist, but I will never shop there again as I will not be mugged off by greedy business owners.

Wow. How good is this place?!…read more On a random Sunday afternoon stroll in our neighbourhood, we stumbled in to Organic Wholefoods on a whim. While it is on Lygon Street, it is set back from the main road and all-but-hidden behind two tiny doors. However, once you walk inside, it's like you're in downtown Los Angeles and are just picking up lunch ingredients after your canyon hike. IT'S TRENDY. There's fresh fruit and veggies, fermented goods as far as the eye can see, and practically a whole aisle dedicated to grains. Yikes. Beyond that, they also stock organic pet food, organic soaps, shampoo, even organic hair dye! And, if you're wanting to make sure that even your boozy Saturday night is health-conscious, they have organic booze available too. Everything here is of absolute top-notch quality and definitely worth a drive if you live in a neighbouring suburb. Just be sure to wear your Lululemon and clutch a freshly squeezed green juice upon entry.

This is the newly-opened sister cafe to the Seedling Cafe on Flinders Lane. Everything here is 100%…read moregluten-free and "paleo inspired" which generally means no grains, no legumes, no dairy, and a focus on fresh, unprocessed vegetables and proteins. As a vegan, usually when I go to a paleo place, I shudder at the amount of meat and eggs on offer -- but Seedling Cafe's not like that. Their menu dovetails nicely with a plant-based diet, offering plenty of vegan options. For breakfast, vegans can choose from smashed avo, blueberry porridge, and four different kinds of smoothie bowls made from coconut milk. They also have a variety of fancy-pants lattes (turmeric, matcha, etc.) and coffee with almond, coconut, or soy milk. For lunch, there's not much on the menu for vegans per se, but check the display case where they have their fresh salads and there are usually a few vegan salads, which you can mix and match to make a nice healthy lunch (that's what I did -- I had a pea thing, a cauliflower thing, and a vegan coleslaw thing. Yes. Thing.) And of course they have some healthy treats by way of raw vegan bars and energy balls and stuff like that. These vary so just check the display case. I had the peanut bar and while it wasn't decadent like peanut butter, I wasn't really wanting or expecting it to be -- it tasted mostly like ground up peanuts and a bit of sweetness and a bit of chocolate. In other words, it tasted healthy, which is what you're after anyway if you're going to this place. Their menu and the food in their display case is clearly marked with vegan, paleo, dairy-free, and nut-free options. V* means vegan, and staff knows what exactly "vegan" entails. (They even know that honey is not vegan, which is impressive because a lot of non-veg restaurants/cafes don't know that one.) In terms of atmosphere, this Seedling Cafe is lighter and brighter and feels roomier than their Flinders Lane location. It's in the Equitable Place laneway, on the corner with Little Collins Street. Not much seating so this place is mostly take-away, but there are a few small tables and chairs.

Found this little cafe 3 days before leaving the city and the food was simply delicious! I ordered…read morethe açai bowl which comes with granola, bananas, coconut and berries. I asked them not to put the granola as I'm allergic to nuts and they offered to replace t with more berries and extra coconut for no extra charge. Also got their lemongrass ginger tea and it was divine. If you're looking for a great meal not too expensive and healthy this is definitely the place to go!