Consistent A+ customer service. I recently came to return some bread that had grown mold after purchasing it a few days prior. The manager took it without question, offered some tips to keep it lasting longer (keep in fridge during hot days), and I was out the door with a new loaf of bread. I appreciate their 'no questions asked' return policy. In addition, the lines are never long, the crew members are in good spirits, and it's an overall 'fun' shopping experience. Thanks Trader Joe's Team in the U District; you have a customer for life. read more

Trader Joe's is pretty consistent. Strong wine section, and friendly service. What more can you ask for? They even take Apple Pay which is a lifesaver if you forgot your wallet or don't want to deal with the stupid pin system failpile. =) read more

I just had the BEST experience at Trader Joe's the other day. I was having trouble finding multiple items at the store and one of the employees, Annie, was very friendly and extremely helpful. I plan to come back to this Trader Joe's location again, thank you Annie and the rest of the Trader Joe's team for your service *salute* read more

Attn trader joe customers: get the hell out of my way! Seriously! Is it necessary to bring your 3 yuppy kids and your stupid yuppy shopping cart and camp out in the aises? Or better yet- aimlessly push your cart through the skinny aisles paying no attention to where you are going and hit me with it while I dart in and out of your way. I mean who really needs more than a basket here? I guess in some ways I should be greatful. Shopping here is an artform I have nearly perfected, I take pride in my ability to get in and out in 5 min or less. Plus I get a little excersise dashing and weaving my way out from under the wheels of shopping carts piloted by absent minded cheese conoissuers. This isn't the kind of place I come to do my big grocery shopping trip. More of a last minute or quick stop shop, its right by my house and very convenient. You can't count on anything being there for sure. Its like the less ghetto version of a grocery outlet. You do find the occasional treasure. The prices are usually pretty good. Much better than whole foods and even competitive with some of the regular grocery chains. Also, as I've stated before they have a higher percentage of organic produce at this location than whole foods does, and its cheaper! Just way over packaged. Good selection of raw nuts, and trail mixes, dried fruit, produce, tofu, soy, rice and nut milks, baking supplies, olive oil, and condiments. Lots of veg stuff. The staff are usually very friendly except this one guy who I always end up being rung up by. Seriously dude, if you hate customers and your job so much you probably should find somewhere else to work and stop being so miserable. All in all tj's is cool. BUT absolutly under NO condition try and shop on a saturday between the hours of 11 and 5. You will either kill yourself or someone else. Or perhaps be run over by a shopping cart. Just pay the extra 50 cents for your clif bar elsewhere! read more

I love the TJ's but the produce is awful and the organics for the most part are the Wal-mart type of organic. That being said you can't beat their prices on a lot of really nice stuff. read more

I think this is the first Trader Joe's I've ever been to. Seriously. This was not a large grocery store by my standards, but given the fact that it's inside a large city, I'm not surprised. There was a good selection of produce, bread, and cheeses. I'm also in love with their ginger snaps and chai tea latte mix. I need a Trader Joe's in the town I live in! read more

This is my favorite neighborhood grocery store. Only complaints are the size, the sometimes challenging parking and sometimes the produce isn't the most fresh. The employees are very helpful and personable, which is important to me for feeling at home. They've accomplished that for me, which is why I keep coming back. The prices are amazing, they offer organic foods and I like their store brand items. Their cookies are dangerously addicting, they have travel sized snacks and you can't go wrong with food samples! I was able to find some freeze-dried fruits for my backpacking trip too!!! read more

Besides the obvious benefits of incredibly cheap organic items of all sorts (organic nonfat plain yogurt has become a staple for me), TJ's is also a clever place to get deals on gifts that people will appreciate - wine and flowers, of course, but also natural bath items, a few housewares, organic coffee and tea, and plenty of interesting treats. And if they say, "Oh, would you mind bringing an hors d'oeuvre?" at the last minute, TJ's has you covered. read more

Everyone knows Trader Joe's for a reason: it's cheap, delicious, healthy (for the most part) food. If you're looking for a good meal on a dime, you've found your destination. You should be prepared for battle, though, as the parking lot is quite crowded; to say nothing of the aisles in the store itself. Some of the staff are wonderful and helpful while others are borderline rude and obnoxious. Ultimately, it's a great store that I recommend. read more

Great store with surprisingly reasonable prices. I always thought of Trader Joe's as an expensive hippie store, but I get almost all of my grocery essentials from them and consistently spend less money and feel better about my purchases. Only probably is the distance they are from my apartment with no direct bus route between the two, so it's a long walk when you're carrying heavy bags. read more

Love TJ's. Not just for their great deals, but for their subtle racism.

I feel like a hippy when I shop at Trader Joes...I stock up on granola, fruit, vegetables, cheese, and other random snacks. The U-District location is always busy but well stocked and staffed and the people working are friendly and sample-tastic. I walk all the way there and come back with a paper bag of goodies that never last me as long as they should. I've never been disappointed by the prices or the quality of the snackalicious yet mostly healthy products, just by the overall feeling I get from the whole shopping experience... it's hippy-rific and I'm not sure why. read more

I love Trader Joes in general and specifically love that even though this location is in the dense U-district, it has its own private parking lot (along with some street parking) a major plus when you need to get something and want to get in and out quickly (as opposed to circling for parking longer than you actually intend on being in the store). The employees are all very nice and the store is well stocked. I'm a fan! read more

Walked in here to grab a snack, very clean, well-stocked and a nice selection of yogurts...

I've always liked Trader Joe's. They have good prices and unique items. It's crowded a lot of the times but that's because the place is cool. Good prices and great selection. read more

I give this 4 stars because the size of the store is far too small to accommodate the surplus of consumers. The prices are great, but it's so damn crowded that it makes a nice experience a little tiring at times. I like the stuff they offer, but now I like safeway better because they carry the Organics line of food, and Organics is very affordable which I like. And being that I have access to other stuff at Safeway that TJ's doesn't, it is more efficient time wise to go to Safeway. If it's busy at TJ's, like on the weekend, parking may not happen for you easily. Although generally speaking, it hasn't been a problem. read more

I love the prices, the free parking, the assortment of goodies, I've even forgiven you for raising the price years ago of 2 buck chuck. This store is crowded and with good reason. Shop here, you'll like it. read more

Pretty small compared to other locations, but the garage is definitely bigger...I think. It guess it's all relative. I think this location doesn't have as much as the one on Madison. The meat selection is pretty sparse. Of course the staff is friendly and helpful which is the reason for the four stars. read more

Always friendly cashiers, great priced healthy foods. This place beats Safeway and QFC any day. Their bananas are only 19 cents for normal and 29cents for organic each. That's pretty great pricing if you compare to the UW where 1 fruit=1$.... Mangos and avocados could be cheaper though. The avocados are so small I would not recommend buying avocados here. But everything else is a definite recommendation :) read more

Indeed they are a chain, yes that is a bad thing. At least their food is free of the added nasties that you'll find in most national brands. Of course a diet of Trader Joe's frozen food isn't healthy, BUT you and I both know its better to bust open a box of chicken drummettes or taquitos than it is to head out for some of the late-night filth that can be found out and about. TJ's also has a few random good cheeses, wines, vitamins, natural soaps, etc. Its a good grocery store to hit before you go to the PCC, Whole Foods, and QFC's of the world. read more

The only thing missing was cutlery & paper plates. Otherwise this would be a perfect place for visitors. They even referred us down the street to get those. Enjoyed our breakfast goodies & drinks from there. read more

i agree with the other reviewers about the over-crowdedness at peak shopping times, but hey, there's a reason it's crowded--it's awesome! it's not a huge supermarket, so they won't have everything you need. but what they do have can't be beat in terms of quality and price. their organic items are the cheapest i can find around town. they have so many good "instant" meal choices: frozen dumplings, cioppino soup, burritos, punjab eggplant, etc. etc. and they're all pretty healthy! i also like their packaged veggies/salads. the people who work there seem to enjoy it, and they're all super nice. one more thing about quality: you know how sometimes you buy those frozen broccoli bags from the supermarket and they turn out to be a in tiny little pieces and mostly stems? well, TJ's organic frozen broccoli florets are soooo much better: green, fresh, intact, cheap & actually florets! that's just one of many examples. it's the perfect place if you know what you want to get and go at off-peak shopping times. i myself go there every other week. read more

Trader Joes is awesome. All the employees seem really happy and are always super helpful. They don't have the largest selection, but the quality and speciality items is a huge plus. read more

I called to see if they had something in stock. The gentleman on the phone placed me in a brief hold to see if there were any left. He apologetically said that there were none at this time, but checked to see when they were due to come in. He offered to place some items on hold for me at the time or asked if I'd like to call back to make sure that the shipment made it and place a hold then. Very friendly and helpful. read more

Always crowded, usually missing the items i'm looking for after 6pm, mostly average grocery goods, and par-to-bogie on the produce. But, who cares really-it's cheap as hell. My overall grocery bill is what motivates this "4 star" rating. But truthfully, if I had the means, and money wasn't an issue I'd really only shop at PCC and Whole foods. trader joes falls nicely inbetween for the time being. read more

Nice clean place. Sometimes the staff can be a bit rude. But its rare. The price on the produce is high. Oh and awesome shopping music :)

I like shopping at Trader Joe's. It's right across from my work so it's convenient too. Their prices are affordable and they have so much selection! The staff is always very helpful and friendly. The only drawback is that it's not that big so it can get quite crowded during prime shopping hours. The lines can get a little long, but the staff will sometimes come around with samples to try and it really does help the time go by. I love samples! read more

I love Trader Joe's and recently went to this location after always going to the location in Lynnwood. The service was nice when a fellow who was working helped me figure out what butter to buy, but this lady who was restocking bread mad it her job to not get out of the way when I was trying to choose was tortillas I wanted! She then said excuse me and plopped down a loaf of bread in the tortillas I was looking at and didn't even turn around to me. Other than that I love Trader Joe's! read more

I really like this Trader Joes, which has great parking! I wish they'd open earlier though -- 9am is kind of late!

Some things are great about this store--such as the canned salmon, olive oil, and frozen foods. But stay away from perishable goods! I have had multiple issues with the dairy--moldy cheese, goat cheese that tasted moldy, and have seen moldy cheese on the shelf. I have heard similar comments about their milk, and tales of moldy bagels. And the produce section is a joke. Most of the produce looks a bit nasty...and I once bought an orange that was all moldy on the inside (never seen that before). But if you stick to things that can't go rotten, there is some great food and deals to be had. read more

We are so LUCKY to have Trader Joe's in the Seattle area. "nuff said......

Trader Joes, oh how I love thee. The parking, not so much. (Yoga To The People parking moochers ---- we see you! Why don't you take the bus instead of steal TJs parking?) Good selection, awesome return policy (they really do stand behind their stuff) & upbeat staff. read more

A little lacking on grassfed selection (compared to, say, Wholefood Market), but I love the 19c bananas. Price that simply can't be beat!

Trader Joes is pretty good about providing the same experience from one store to another. This particular store is no different. While I do prefer TJ's over Safeway, the prices are sometimes obnoxious and drive me to shop elsewhere for some items. The selection of beer seems to vary store to store and I don't think I've visited one yet that actually refrigerates the beer, which is sometimes bothersome. Also, they need a club system that offers discounts to the members. B+ read more

Love Trader Joe's! Their prices tend to be better than other stores and they have lots of unique items which are great. This location (and most others) are always busy and packed with people which is kind of a pain given that their stores are usually on the smaller side. This fact plus the fact that their produce is not always the best, is the reason for one less star. Overall though, Trader Joe's is great and staff tend to be helpful every time. read more

I like getting specialty items here every once in a while, and I like the atmosphere! The employees are super nice, friendly, it's awesome.

We attended store to get some fruits and coffee. Awesome store, nice cashiers! Prices are affordable, products are fresh. And free coffee shots! I would like to be there often if I would live nearby! read more

Very convenient location. It's a block away from my apt. It's easy to get sidetracked in this place even when you come ahead with a game plan. Lots of options. Always hit up the sample lads and ladies to see what they got for free. And the coffee sample is always good. I like this store better than Safeway due to the lack of homeless hanging out outside but you still have to dodge people asking for money for various charities read more

Does anyone know a good time to go the U District Trader Joe's in order to avoid the insane mobs? I made the mistake of going there around 5pm on a Tuesday and it was completely ridiculous. Maybe right when they open or close? read more

I've been to this location many times over the past few years and also the one on Cap Hill and a few times to others. This one is probably my favorite in Washington. The staff are good, except that it seems they have to stock shelves when it's rush hour so be prepared to be alert if you're in here. The only TJs I've had an issue with is the one on Cap Hill. The parking garage there is much more of a KlusterFuk than the one in the U-District and Cap Hill's location has a very creepy employee. read more