Natural Fruit & Vegetable

This is as gourmet for supermarkets as Forest Hills gets. Natural has been around for a long long time and their selection of foods and import items is great. Their fresh foods are actually fresh, compared to the rank and expired groceries of Key Food and it’s clean and organized. It does lack personality — you can tell this is a business. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it just makes me want to go in, get my things and leave. I guess it’s a grocery store after all…

This place is great — they have a lot of the organic items I tend to have to lug home from Whole Foods in the city so having something in the neighborhood is nice. Prices can be steep but I pick and choose, and frankly it’s no different than buying at WF. The checkout line tends to be long but it does move quite quickly. Clearly, people come here to buy items they can’t find elsewhere.
I didn’t opt to have my goods delivered (I hadn’t known it was an option) but I’ll certainly do that going forward since they offer it for orders over $ 30. This place is a tad out of the way for me but when you can’t get organic anywhere else in the area, it’s worth the trip. FYI — not everything is organic so you’ll find your household staples too.
AMEX not accepted.

As much as I appreciate that I can find the basics at Met Food and C-​Town, be thrifty at Aldi, and find some more unique options at Trader Joe’s, SS Naturals has become my favorite grocery store in the neighborhood. For what it is, it’s relatively fair in terms of pricing. Where else in Forest Hills can I find fine prosciutto, an unbelievable cheese selection, beautiful produce, Eli’s raisin-​pecan crisps (one of my favorite snacks to munch on growing up in East Hampton), divine pumpkin sauce, and so many other organic and/​or gourmet items, plus get a free citrus fruit when I spend over $ 20?

This is an excellent little grocery market featuring a good selection of gluten free dairy free vegan options as well as organic and natural fruits/​veggies and meats. An excellent selection of cheese as well as prepared foods. I think their prices are a little less than fairway and whole foods. Their organic meats are a little pricier. They are always very busy. They have real butcher but their butcher meats are not organic or grass fed, that is prepackaged.
I like that after spending any money there (there is some $ limit but I always reach it) they give you a free fruit. It’s small sweet token of making customers feel appreciated it. If this was in my hood, Jamaica Estates, it would be my main supermarket.

Best health store in Forest Hills — they have unique items not found in other stores in the area + customer service is top notch. Wonderful flower selection!

My Wife and I are always amazed at how much they stuff into this store without feeling too crowded. The quality of the fresh fruit and food is far superior to any other place I have ever shopped. There is always someone going through the fruit and vegetables to make sure there aren’t any bad ones in your package.
I know others feel they are expensive but I don’t think they are. The quality is what you are paying for.
The checkout line might seem long but move VERY quickly.

Solid selection of cheeses and meats but definitely in the pricey side of groceries. They give u a piece of fruit to make up for a high bill but it’s still pretty pricey…

BE STILL, heart!
This place is AMAZING. The food selection is vast, and they provide local and high-​end foods. Ie., from brownies and cookies from Protein Bakery, European chocolate, and Vosges chocolate bars. They also have funky organic snacks shaped like macaroni elbows (in case any of this is relevant).
Their peanut butter selection is also pretty superior (and at lower prices than Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s).
Ahhh

Glad to have this store in the neighborhood. Hope to see more organic products.

My go to grocery store! A nice selection of produce, packaged foods, and frozen foods. Also a fairly extensive organic section. This is my go-​to grocery store because they have the highest quality products of any store in Forest Hills. My only complaint is that the location of some items doesn’t make sense, and a reorganization of the products in the middle aisles is probably in order!

What I love about this store is its variety of organic produce and otherwise difficult to find groceries. It’s selection is akin to a Whole Foods, and there aren’t any Whole Foods in the area.
The staff is nice enough. They swipe cards and offer you a choice of fruit for free, as long as you spend more than — I think — $ 30. They don’t ask for ID, even if you request it on your card. I think that’s just NY retail-​culture, for you.
They store just got equipped with about 15 shopping carts, which is great if you’re buying a lot. Though they are tough to navigate in quarters such as Natural’s. I suggest investing in your own cart that you cam take back home, if you live in the neighborhood of course.
The store is closest to the 75 Av (F) train station, but Forest Hills-​Continental Ave (E) (F) (M) ® is also a good alternative.
I recommend this store to any friend or family member.

We shop here once a week and Trader Joes twice a week for cheaper organic fruit, nuts and chicken. If money is not an issue you should always shop here.
This place does have everything a healthy eater could dream of except their organic beef and pouty selection — it is really really lacking.
The staff is nice and you get free fruit for larger purchases. The other day they gave us 5 delicious oranges for spending $ 150 + or so…
and they give me the carrots tops customers dont want for my pets.

I was really happy to stumble across this market for organic produce and products. Some of the prices are affordable, and some extremely overpriced.
CONS: Fruit is very expensive here.

High end store, think D’Agostinos or Whole Foods, here in Forest Hills. Took over the whole end of the block basically a few years ago with Baskin Robins moving out. Prior to that my favorite deli, Koch and Nord, had occupied the spot for close to 30 years. Still have not gotten any chicken salad like they had back in the day.
On to The Natural. Very good selection, but goods are tough to find. Most of the selections here are organic, so if you are looking for a can of Campbells tomato soup, you will have a hard time finding it. It is there, but really they want you to buy the $ 3 expensive organic one, rather than the $ 1 Campbell’s. Not a bad thing, but just bring your wallet. The cold cuts are good, as are the various salads. They make a very good sandwich. Fresh lettuce and tomatoes, meats and bread. Wish the bread was more on the crunchy baguette side as opposed to a soft hero, but that’s just a personal thing. Not really a fruit eater, but they have a vast and ripe selection, always looks fresh. Exotic offerings as well. Same with vegetables, which I do consume. Always new and a great selection.
The place is always crowded, and there is a little confusion sometimes about the line. If you order at the deli, stay to the right, let the checkout line flow next to you at the left. After you are done, go to the back of the line, which at times, especially close to Thanksgiving and other major food holidays, will curl around the whole store, so be prepared to wait 15 – 20 minutes to check out. Once you do, the check out gals are fast and friendly, and you get a free orange, mango or grapefruit, if you have a high bill, which I always do.
The Natural is a very good, high end and expensive grocery store in the heart of Forest Hills. Again, do not drive here ever, no parking folks, walk or take a cab if need be.

The Natural is my go-​to market for most of our food. I love their selection of meat and use their friendly butchers for fresh ground sirloin, sausages and steaks. They carry my favorite Skinny Cow Vanilla ice cream sandwiches and a wide variety of yogurts, marmalade, peanut butter, Olive oil, oatmeal– heck, you name it, and they’ll most likely have it!

Love this supermarket in Forest Hills!
They sell a bunch of organic goodies here! It’s kinda pricey, but the quality is excellent. I especially like buying tea from here. There’s also a good selection of fruits and vegetables.

Great little organic market in the heart of Forest Hills!
A few of the things they sell are a little pricey but you will find lots of great stuff here that you wont find in the big name supermarkets. They also are very friendly and have great hours.

I’m going to assume this is Natural on the corner of Ascan and Austin St in Forest Hills. why isn’t there an address above? I LOVE this market and shop here at least once a week. I was giddy when hubby and I signed our lease to our current apartment, bc we’re now about 15minutes closer to Natural than we used to be lol.
For me, the highlight is the dependable produce– no matter what time of year, I know I can go in and buy perfectly ripe avocadoes if I’m craving guacamole. Their bell peppers, broccoli, and citrus fruits are also consistently ripe. (And in Forest Hills, land of dimly-​lit Key Foods, this is huge!)
Another thing I love is the availability of rare ingredients. I cook every day and often try new recipes, which means sometimes a bit of a search for an ingredient I haven’t heard of. I can always count on Natural to have it in stock! Natural’s also good for having an expansive number of Italian-​ish staples (pignoli nuts, sun-​dried tomatoes, quadratini and alessio brand snacks) that can sometimes be really hard to find in Forest Hills… I love being spared a drive to the stores I grew up with, D’Alessandro’s and Reali in Flushing, when I can help it!
Hubby loves meat, and although I don’t eat it, I make sure he has it a couple times a week. Natural’s butchers take care the most disgusting parts of meat-​prepping (butter-​flying chicken breasts, for example) for me, with a great variety of prepped and packaged (but super fresh!) meat (in addition to chicken, there’s a nice variety of pork, beef.). Thank god!
One of my very favorite things is that Natural vendors with TomCat bakery… they make the most delicious focaccia bread and deliver it daily! When I’m having company, I’d say 9 times out of 10 I cook Italian food. The focaccia is the perfect accompaniment to any dishes I serve, it’s terrific dipped in good olive oil or on its own! The only problem is it’s delivered at a different time every day… sometimes I’ll walk over around 9am and it’s not there yet, other times I’m there at 8:15 and there are only a couple loaves left.
The only thing holding Natural back from 5 stars are their prices. I know I just sang their praises for the last five paragraphs, and for the items listed above (ie, any specialty item) I’m happy to shell out the big bucks. But, they go overboard, charging a lot for everything. This is not the place to come for every day groceries like canned goods, dairy products, bread (other than focaccia.), cleaning products, etc. Like, at their deli counter, their prosciutto is $ 25/​lb! That’s ridiculous! At the afformentioned D’Alessandro’s and Reali, it’s around $ 12/​lb, and they’re genuine, authentic Italian specialty stores. I know most people in Forest Hills have tons of money, but I don’t, so I save some shopping for the dreaded Key Food ;p Other than the steep prices on regular items, I love this store!

This is the place to get your produce! You’ll pay more for most items here, but at the end of the day it’s just worth it. The produce is *always* fresh. There’s also a nice — extensive — selection of organic items. When I have serious cooking/​baking in mind, I get my supplies here.
Some areas of particular interest: there’s a rather impressive cheese selection here. I’m thinking if you don’t see it, you won’t be needing it. Olives? Fresh baked bread? Deli items (including fresh made daily salads and dishes)? Yup, look no further. Natural’s got what you need.
Not looking for anything fancy or just need the regular, weekly items? Head next door to C-​Town.

The owners are Korean it seems so naturally the fruit and vegetable selections are great but not at a good price. Everything in actuality is overpriced. I’d rather spend $ 5 taking the bus to Trader Joe’s which is 10 minutes away and get all of my groceries there. I actually did that just today.
Though I will say they have a decent bread selection. I always get my rye bread there. It’s a place I’d go as a last resort for last minute items I’d need.