Berkeley Bowl Marketplace

Jennifer F.
1 review
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Love Berkeley Bowl. Yes, it is always crowded, but where else can you find durian, fresh starfruit, edible flowers, 19 different mushroom varieties, 10 potatoes, 5 eggplant varieties, cactus, lotus, fresh garbanzo beans, fava beans, chinese long beans, daikon, liche, pomelos, local brussel sprouts on the stalk, dinosaur kale...... Also agree with the prior review of small, medium and large options in the produce department, rhubarb, galangal, fresh young ginger, and lomi salmon, taki poke, limu and taro for poi???? The meat and fish department people know their specialties, and around Thanksgiving, you will appreciate the Willie Bird and so many organic turkey options. As far as dairy, the Strauss Creamery and St. Benoit jars are always fresh. Consistent fresh pasta, honey, peanut butter options, and good bulk herb/seasonings selection. If crowding is a problem, evenings during the week, especially Monday are a better option. If you are looking for supermarket feel, this is not it.

Jenn A.
378 reviews
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The reason it's crowded...

...is that nobody thought about user experience. Berkeley Bowl is one of the most over-hyped grocery stores around -- the parking situation is terrible and people are unnecessarily competitive, rude and often oblivious. The whole vibe inside the store is one of unnecessary competition for limited resources and space. You can't pass two carts in any aisle side by side and the produce section is like a mosh pit most of the time.

Berkeley Bowl's prices aren't better than Whole Foods or local farmers' markets. The cashiers are overworked and surly and they close at 8pm - proving that they really do just cater to privileged Berkeley housewives.

Regardless, I do find myself popping in there from time to time -- Whole Foods didn't have rhubarb and Berkeley Bowl did have it to my great relief. I make my trips there as quick and targeted as possible and entirely avoid the packaged food section which tends to be more expensive than Whole Foods.

Jenn's keywords: grocery store food natural grocery

Eliza G.
34 reviews
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There's a reason it's crowded

Shopping at Berkeley Bowl can be a challenge, no question. If you can see the floor, it's not crowded, but there are a lot of reasons to join the rush.

The produce department is the best, they have Everything, a lot of it organic or local or both. The fish counter is excellent, they carry grass-fed beef, a good vitamin selection, and a wide range of basic groceries.

Probably the best reason to shop here, though, is price. BB is usually cheaper than almost anywhere else, and on organic produce they put the competition to shame.

A high-energy place, yes, but it's positive energy.

Eliza's keywords: grocery beef fish produce fruits vegetables

Yvonne F.
5 reviews
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The fruits and vegetables department is a dream

This store has a huge collection of organic and local products. But I really love the fruits and vegetables department. Everything looks very fresh and the variety is enormous. But the problem is I don't know how to prepare some of these fruits and vegetables.
I give only 4 stars because it is very crowded (yes it is popular) and it is closing at 8pm, so it is hard for me to go there after work.

Yvonne's keywords: market grocery store fruits vegetables

Ken O.
115 reviews
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No Doubts: Love the Bowl!

This is the biggest and best bowl of yummy goodness in the yay area. Any section here rocks harder than at a chain grocer. It's packed w/ people because it's affordable! And because I generally shop on weekdays or off-peak hours on weekends, I don't waste too much time there. And the time I do waste, I'm usually reading a nerd chic magazine in line. (The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, MoJo are examples.)

Just about everyone who works and shops here "gets it" about sustainability... except for all the car drivers I guess (75%?)... well, that used to be, and sometimes still is, me too. Anyway, I love each section of the store. For example, the dairy section stocks glass-bottled grass-fed, crap-free Strauss milk (which rocks!!), St. Benoit yogurt in ceramic pots (rocks too!), and brown cow yogurt, among others. The meat crew are knowledgable and quick. And not to knock Safeway (it's closer for me most of the time) but there are many selections of grass-fed everything here. Except for fish.

Ken's keywords: berkeley b-bowl cool people cheap good yummy food co-op

Ashwin S.
27 reviews
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This place at first sight seems great. It is filled with all kinds of local and organic produce, and it's huge. The problem is that it's insanely popular, and shopping there turns into a multi-hour experience. It sucks because it always cheaper than Whole Foods and is way closer than Monterey Market for me, but I always end up at Whole Foods because it's not always convenient to spend all the time at the Bowl.

Ashwin's keywords: Berkeley Bowl grocery produce

Rebecca M.
1 review
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One of the first for local and organic produce

Berkeley Bowl is like shopping in a Farmers market, but it's open all the time and has a huge selection of organic and local produced foodstuffs. It was one of the pioneers in local / organic, and it still retains the local feel. I like the fact that the fruit and veggie selection is huge. For example, for some of the fruits and vegetables, you can buy the "smaller apples, pears, oranges, avocados etc", which you can't find at regular stores which have the larger fruits only. Sometimes you don't want to each 1 monster size piece of fruit, you know what I mean?

Rebecca's keywords: grocery food

Robert L.
1 review
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Local, Organic,High-Quality Community Grocery

The greatest. Like Whole Foods but cheaper, local community involved.

Robert's keywords: Produce Grocery