Harris Farm Markets

This is the closest thing to Trader Joes I’ve ever found in Australia — AND I LOVE IT!
They have a lot of speciality items, ethnic items, gourmet items, they aren’t overpriced. Produce is very good. The staff are always friendly and courteous. This is where I prefer to do a big shop.
Forget Coles & Woolies. the big two behemoths can fight it out to the death, I’ll be oblivious. I never set foot in one of those unless I have to. Between picking up bits and pieces at Aldi (convenient to where I work), and doing my big shop at Harris Farms, I’m set.

Why is it that when I go into Coles and Woolworths, I never feel like cooking or baking? But I love the Harris Farm formula. The vegetable and fruit look fantastic, and I start, right away, imagining the things I can make with them. This, plus a luxurious selection of other goods and specials. The cheese section is amazing. They’ve got some really high-​quality dried goods. Ah, and the buckets of cheaper fruit for juicing. For a staple like cream, it’s likely to be more expensive here; and some of their luxury products are pricy too. But choose what you buy, and this is a really great place.

Considering I live right in the centre of the city and have numerous supermarkets (Coles, Miracle, Woolies, Thai Kee) and Paddy’s all within walking distance, I still find myself jumping in the car and heading to Harris Farms at Broadway. Luckily the Broadway shopping centre has 3 hours free parking!
They have great produce and also harder to find ingredients and importantly for me, they have duck pâté at the deli. Not many other places in Sydney would you find this and it’s quite decently priced. I remember being in French Canada and eating baguettes and quality pâté from the local marts and have been craving this back here in Sydney. Now to find top notch fresh baguettes around central Sydney ! The artisan breads at Harris Farms aren’t bad though.
I love their selection of grass fed beef and lamb and the fact that they do heaps of pre marinated cuts means that if you’re in a hurry to have a classy dinner party or bbq, this is the place to go! Between Harris Farms and Peters Meats upstairs, Broadway is spoilt for choice when it comes to quality meat offerings.
I know people might shoot me for this comment, but I think of Harris Farms as the Aussie version of Wholefoods (on a much smaller scale) where you find quality alternatives to the offerings at the big 2 chains.

A complete wonderland of fresh fruit and veggies and gourmet produce (international foods, dried fruit & nuts, deluxe yogurts). I LOVE that I can find things here that I can’t find in most other places — chipotle peppers (ok, in a can but still), tangelos, currant grapes, samphire! Total heaven!

Fancy a glowing box of mangoes with your groceries? How about 3 cartons of pert, ripe figs?
Harris Farm in Broadway is crowded and confusing, it’s a small space and there is a LOT of stuff crammed in there. But we are talking about GOOD STUFF here. I’m willing to put up with a bit of shopping-​trolley-​bumper-​bar-​congestion in order to shop at Harris Farm.
The place has fresh produce (sometimes quite cheap) and gourmet delectables. I tend to avoid going here regularly because if I did, I would be heavily in debt. This is not because Harris Farm’s goods are overpriced (they’re usually pretty reasonably priced) — this is simply because Harris Farm have so many delightful comestibles on offer. Yogurt, olives, cheeses, pesto, nuts, herbs, meat, fish, olive oil, bread, chocolate… you get the idea.
It’s a family business, although I haven’t been able to confirm whether Harris Farm was named after the Harris Family of Surgeon John Harris, the surgeon and magistrate who was given large tracts of land by Governor King in the days of early Sydney. Harris owned the areas around Five Dock and Ultimo, and used them for farming. There was a nice symmetry in that, but I don’t know whether it’s true.
An added plus: Harris Farm saves us from buying produce from the BIG TWO supermarkets, hurrah.
PS: The box that holds the mangos isn’t actually glowing. It’s a trick of the eye. I don’t know how they do it. Mangos ahoy.

If there was a Farmer Harris on Farmer Wants a Wife, I would be jumping right on the back of his ute. The prospect of a constant supply of fresh fruit and veg is to good too pass up, especially if it’s at Harris Farm standard.
Harris Farm is my favourite Inner West grocer. They sell fresh produce at modest prices and have specials every day, including set-​priced buckets of ripe seasonal fruit/​veg, meaning that it’s easy to get carried away with the prospect of eating fresh and healthy for cheap, and consequently buying more produce than your fridge can hold.
Harris also sells a great range of pre-​packaged dry foods including pastas and pasta sauces, curry paste and coconut cream, an array of gluten free goods (San Remo and Schar) and a selection of self service nuts and grains. They stock the best, all natural giant bags of corn chips and a great range of dips to make the coupling complete. Harris Farm is also filled with a range of breads and frozen pre-​prepared meals, a surprisingly good selection of meat-​free and soy products and their deli section sells raw meats and hams too. But I’ve saved my favourite section until last so as to allow for ample gushing. The cheeses and yoghurts from Harris Farm are divine. Divine. They have a great range of soft and hard cheeses (a particularly good range of fetas) and the Harris Farm plain yoghurt is dangerously delicious. I will easily devour a half litre tub of yoghurt within a day and be left wondering what happened. So whilst it is delicious, I warn that despite thinking of yoghurt as a healthy choice, excess consumption can lead to excess weight gain.
The staff here are extremely friendly and will greet you genuinely when they serve. Harris Farm also does its bit for the environment, encouraging customers to bring their own bags or use boxes.

Whenever I’m making something special, I usually end up popping into Harris Farms for the finishing touches. Yes, it might not be as affordable as some of the larger supermarkets nearby, but the freshness and the quality jump is pretty undeniable.
I particularly like the nuts and dried fruit here at Harris. Because they have the help yourself bins, you can avoid that «life time supply» sized bag you’re forced to buy at Coles. They often have very good sales on prepackaged nuts also.
While I’m getting product specific, it’s worth noting that their basil hommus is totally and completely amazing. It’s lemony and creamy and just tastes right.
Lastly, at the checkout there is a unique selection of imported chocolate that’s the perfect topper to a nice homemade meal. I bought a half milk, half dark South American bar one time and had it actually made it til after dinner, I’m sure would have made an amazing dessert.

For fresh vegetables and fruits in a convenient location, I go to Harris Farms. It is much more approachable and at times cheaper than the mammoth Coles located in Broadway a level above. They have great produce, tons of local products, a wide range of deli meats and cheeses. I highly recommend the Harris Farms yogurts, which you can find plain or mixed with fruits or nuts. They are absolutely fantastic. You can also find a variety of imported treats.
Emphasizing the aspect of convenience, it is great that there is gratuitous 3-​hour parking in the building so you can run in and out without fretting over where to park. All in all, it is an intimate grocery shopping experience in a shopping mall.