Rowe Farms

Best bacon ever, and I find it handy to get organic produce here too.
They sell Mad Mexican guacamole which is excellent.
Sadly, have not liked their sausages or meatballs but other meats have been good.
Love the variety of roasted chickens!

Not much has changed here. I decided to check it out again after I got a long reply message from someone telling me how wrong I am. I didn’t know an «opinion could be wrong», might not be what you feel, but it is mine. The eggs are not «free range antibiotic free grain fed» at Rowe farms. So I took the advice of another Unilocaler and headed back over to Meating On Queen. They have free run antibiotic free eggs for less money then the Rowe Farms imitation version of the eggs. And it is true, the chicken is about half price of Rowe Farms. Do yourself a favor and check out Meating on Queen. You will also save on the HST. Rowe Farms charges HST on items that are suppose to be exempt. I went to great lengths to show them the items that were to be exempt and provided them with a phone number to call and printed material. They had absolutely no interest. That is the extent of their customer care. They simply don’t care.

It may be expensive, but the bacon. My god, the bacon.
I really dig the new location and the staff are always friendly.
They have a surprising amount of gluten free items as well and their sausages are now all wheat free.
I’ve never had a bad experience here and any meat I’ve bought from here gas been stellar.

3.5 stars. For now.
I like the new location. It’s bright, open, and well organized. The staff here always seem to be happy that you are there, filling yourself full of healthy organic goods, and appear ready to help should help be needed. 3 stars alone for that.
Yes. It’s a bit more expensive, sometimes markedly so, however, I do find that the quality of the beef here is quite good. 1 point for the sausages as well as the perservative free dips in the cooler. I’ll be test driving the free range eggs this week, to see if they add up to the $ 5 price tag. ($ 4? Whatever.) The roast chicken has yet to be sampled, however, I’ve noticed that they do sell out quite quickly. Next time I have a hankering for some quality roast bird, I’ll be back to see what is in store.

I’m a local to the area and Rowe Farms is a total gem! It has great opening hours which is super important as often more speciality grocery stores don’t.
The staff are amazing and the food is second to none, we get sprouts for sandwiches from them weekly and the have everything from broccoli sprouts to arugula sprouts. Know that it is slightly more expensive than your standard No Frills but the quality is truly outstanding.
My absolute favorite from Rowe is the steak, the beef is all local and organic and I can firmly say that I have never eaten a better quality steak in my life. You’ll pay for it, but god dammit you’ll enjoy it. Go on, treat yo’ self!

I still really like Rowe Farms. It’s improved since the expansion. The store is now bigger and brighter. They also have a wider variety of prepared foods, and I think a bigger freezer section.
The quality of the meats and stuff here is good. I come in mostly for produce, like onions and garlic and stuff like that, and their eggs.
They don’t carry tofu or tempeh, if that’s something you like to shop for. For those items, I head up to the Big Carrot.
On the weekends they’ve started to have demos, so businesses come in and set up sample stations for items like salsa or some tomato sauce or something. I think they have cheese, (but quite frankly, Leslieville Cheese Market is right next door, and it doesn’t take that long for them to help you out).
It’s super convenient now that it’s beside the cheese place.

I have to update my original review.
I still love the idea of Rowe Farms, I am happy they are close to me, and I still visit almost weekly. However, now that Meating on Queen carries Free Run anti-​biotics free eggs for almost $ 1 less, and Meating gives you an entire chicken for the Price of two breasts at Rowe Farms, I just have to demote them down a star. Have to be fair.

Rowe is very expensive… $ 32 for two steaks yesterday — Lord have mercy!!! Every time I buy meat there, I feel like my bank account has been drawn and quartered. So why go back? The quality is excellent. The last time we bought Rowe steaks and threw them on the BBQ, they were the best I’ve ever had. The rosemary marinade was absolutely perfect.
Similarly, the curry chicken kabobs, the burgers, and the sausages were all delish. We picked up Mad Mexican nachos ($ 5) and avocado salsa ($ 6) and totally enjoyed them too. It’s pretty convenient to find all sorts of interesting artisan products as well as decent local produce in one store.
The Leslieville store is a bit problematic because it’s so damn crowded all the time and the space is small. Still, the employees are very friendly and the line moves fast.
I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re on a tight food budget, but if you want to treat yourself or guests to some quality products, it’s worth it.

Eggs, meats, poultry, vegetables, and dairy — you can find most of your basics here — along with local produce to boot. I regularly pick up the fresh eggs and in-​season fruits and vegetables.
Like many shops in the area, Rowe isn’t the cheapest way to knock-​off your grocery list, but Rowe offers some high-​quality meats, as well as being convenient.

This review is mostly about Rowe’s bacon.
I have yet to find better bacon. Rowe bacon truly is «as good as it gets». It frys up beautifully. There is not much Georg Costanza shrinkage going on here.
With being hormone, antibiotic free, you really do taste the difference. Yes, you are going to pay a bit more, but once you have the good stuff, you won’t be able to go back to mass marketed «stringy bacon».
As for the store — it is quite small and specific. Which is good — they don’t try to stretch themselves thin but jumping into all kinds of hippie, granola, incense stuff.
With bacon in hand, I was tempted at the check out when I saw a package of Golden Hearth Baking Co’s Belgian Crackles. Fuck, this shit is like crack. These cookies are so good. Smooth, light, airy, soft chocolate bundles of joy.
If you are at Rowe, see if they have these on hand. After all, bacon goes with everything. Bacon is the new black.

If you ever want to experience one of the best homemade burgers (excluding my own of course!) go to Rowe Farms, they are second to none and well worth the price!

Rowe farms situates itself among likely brethren. Along its right side sits the ever status quo starbucks; across the street we smell the leslieville cheese market and in front of its window sits a stop for the better way of toronto, the ttc. Yes, Rowe Farms is just that, trendy like starbucks, luscious like leslieville cheese and trying to exist in a better way like the ttc. Across the province of ontario, Rowe Farms has their own farms from which they produce their own meats in an antibiotic, hormone and nitrate free environment. Obviously with this setup they support locally grown foods. This includes other products as well like produce, sauces, dressings, etc. They have a wide selection of kinds and formats of meats, as in lamb, beef, chicken and sausages, steaks, chops, ground meat, etc. They also store frozen goods like homemade/​locally made empanadas, pet food, other vegetarian pies or rolls, etc.
It’s a very clean place, small but organized in a spacious way and the staff is pretty helpful, affable and knowledgeable. In the centre of the store youll find fresh, sometimes organic fruit and veggies.
Basically it is a place that has many different carnivorous choices, with veggie, fruit and condiments to round out a full meal. So if you are looking for a healthier way and a way to support your own community go to Rowe.