Natural Cafe

Place sells good food but my god the staff is the worst. The two asian ladies who work behind the deli HATE HATE HATE their job. I ordered a BLT and they just made it without asking me if I wanted anything else on it. When they handed me it I was like umm can I get a few more things on it? When I asked that one of the asian ladies went crazy and said «I already made it, take it» I mean literally all I wanted was some mayo, no need to go crazy because you don’t know how to do your job. Anyways the other asian lady grabs my sand which all angrily and just unloads it with a ton of mayo… At this point I couldn’t believe that this is how they treat their costumers and operate their store, I walked out and had the asian ladies screaming something but I didn’t care because no way will I give this terrible deli my money. Have lived in Ballston for over 17 years and have seen all the ownerships that have taken that deli and this one currently is the worst. Hire people who are friendly and enjoy their job, not people who will bring your business down. Will never go back again until they hire new workers.

Love this bodega in my building. The owner is very friendly and they have the best fresh, cut to order sandwiches & salads. I have always been impressed with each salad or sandwich I have eaten. I also noticed that they don’t prove gauge even though they are convenient enough that they could. I find their prices similar to a big store like CVS. Also they have a pretty good and again, well priced, wine selection.

With So many good things to say about this place, it’s hard to pick somewhere to start. I live in the apartment attached to this place and it’s my go-​to stop for a quick sandwich or a convenient item.
But, what stands out are their delicious deli sandwiches. My personal favorite is their grilled chicken with bacon sandwich topped with LTMO and mayo. Classic combo done right!
Even better, the owners and staff of the café are always cheery and helpful and frequently greeting me with a warm smile and conversation. This is a definite win!

Just a regular deli that you can find in every corner and cafeterias. Nothing extra ordinary to warrant a 4.5 stars.

It’s a deli, not a restaurant as I thought but the sandwich was very good. The service was quick and polite and prices were reasonable. I went by at about 6pm, nice to be able to get a sandwich that late.

Nice place, very clean, and their sandwiches are good. They also have beer and wine. The young guy who appears to be the owner is very personable.

Went here because of Unilocal review and was not disappointed. Fresh Cobb salad, good value, friendly service.

Best turkey club at the best price. The owner is nice and proud of his shop. The service is quick. The selection and quality are stellar.

you have to try the bubble tea. This place is very convenient for people that live near it.

Love this place. Friendly service and reasonable prices. Highly recommend the Isabella — might be my favorite sandwich in Ballston.

Natural Café is a great little convenience store, but it’s more than that. It offers soups, sandwiches, and a decent wine section. While I’ve never had the sandwiches, I really like their soup. The chicken tortellini and chicken noodle are my favorite, but I also like minestrone and chicken curry. It’s very reasonably priced for lunch and draws a good crowd. I definitely look forward to my «soup days».

I like that the store is so close and always got what I want.

Simply put, this place is dope! I live in the building above it and besides the convenience factor for me, they have some of the best gourmet sandwiches in the area and for a very reasonable price. Their soups are also very good. I probably get something from this café every day.

***Update: I’ve been here a dozen or more times and excellent every time! I’d give 10 stars if I could.
This place is a secret gem. I walked by sweetgreen or Taylors with the line going out the door but not one person in Natural Café. The sandwichs here are better, priced well, and overall better experience here. But no one knows or gives this little place a shot.
This place feels like a little family owned store. The difference here is they have talent and actually know how to run a store instead of all the other disgusting little shops like it.
I’ve been to 3 other little shops like this, they seem to be some kind of café/​grocery mart/​sandwich shop. All other shops are dirty, cramped, and totally discussing. Natural Café is the only one that is good.
***
This place is great! Prices are low for a small shop and the food is actually very good. I went into a couple other little markets near by and they were so dirty looking I didn’t even want to buy anything there. Natural café is very clean looking and the little old Asian lady can make a good sandwich! I highly recommend the New Yorker sandwich.

I used to like this place. I don’t know whether there was changing of ownership. The service is very slow. People working there seem don’t care about their customers. I am not going back to this place any more.

A year ago I loved this place — not anymore. The food I’d rate a 4.5 stars — good and fresh but the service has gone down hill and the prices have gone up. They no longer offer the card where you buy 10 get 1 free… as if that was SUCH a good deal –they’re so cheap they’ve done away with that. With so many options in the Ballston area, I’ll be eating lunch elsewhere from now on.

How in the world this place gets so many good reviews is lost upon me. It’s a yuppified convenience store with a deli that would go out of business within months if it were in NYC.

My boyfriend and I went there today for lunch.
I got the P15 sandwich which included cajun chicken, avacado, pesto, lettuce, tomato, and provolone cheese. It was one of the daily specials so it included a small soup. This cost $ 7.00 total.
My boyfriend got the reuben hot specialty sandwich. This had cornbeef, swiss, sauercraut, and thousand island dressing. He added a bag of chips. This cost a total of $ 8.00.
It was a really nice establishment with friendly people. The service was fast and easy. In addition, the soup, sandwich, and chips were delicious.
If you are looking for a cheap, easy, fast, tasty sandwich this is a nice place to go on your lunch break. They weren’t super crowded either so you don’t have to worry about a line. In addition, its half a convenient store and half deli so you can pick up any other things you might need (they sell beer and wine too).

There is a lot to like about this store. Its always clean and borderline OCD organized. Solid sandwiches and drink prices cheaper than CVS.
In addition to the sandwiches, they usually have a Korean dish or two on the list of specials. I figured since they can do American sandwiches well, they probably do Korean even better. Tried the bibimbap on a whim and it was a good life decision.
The chicken soup has big chunks of meat in it and has quickly become my go to post-​lunch pre-​gym snack.
They have a wide selection of snacks you don’t see everyday. I haven’t seen so many kinder products since I lived in Switzerland. No idea where they found them!
I really hope they stick around, great addition to Ballston!

YESSS! I am SO excited about this place. Boyfriend and I decided to stop by there and get some sandwiches for dinner tonight and made the glorious discovery that this is ATTACHED to our building! No more having to go outside! They have some basic groceries, Asian stuff that my boyfriend likes to cook with, some really good-​looking candy and ice cream, beer and wine, snacks, etc. A lot of the food here seems to be higher quality, and prob higher priced than what you can get at the grocery store, but it is sooo convenient. So this was a very exciting discovery.
Now for the sandwiches. This place reminds me exactly of West Wing café in DC, down to the sandwich names. They use boar’s head meat, and I think the prices are really reasonable and I like the sandwiches. Boyfriend and I both got cabbies without mayo. Delicious! And we got free soup — the chicken noodle was very good. I was checking the place out the other day and saw miso soup as well. I’ll have to get that one time!
Overall, I really like this place for many reasons and really want them to succeed! I will definitely be back again and again and again.