Santa Monica Glatt Kosher Market

A great Persian market in West L.A., but closer to Santa Monica than the other typical Persian markets in Westwood. This market carries typical Persian produce, dry goods, canned good, baked goods, meats, deli items, spices, and even desserts. The produce is decent — not the freshest and brightest and a little on the expensive side, but not horrible. Also they carry certain vegetables, herbs and fruits that are necessary to make many Persian dishes and that can be hard to find in a regular supermarket. In fact a lot of their goods are also hard to find in regular markets and many are essential to Persian cooking. They have a good selection of Persian deli meats and other stew meats. They sell typical Persian yogurt and cheeses as well as the rose water infused ice creams and dry desserts.
You can find better prices if you price compare and shop around at some of the other Persian markets, but this one is open on Saturdays and convenient to those in Santa Monica or further west from the typical Westwood Persian markets. It is always clean and well stocked with friendly customer service.

I used Santa Monica Glatt Kosher Market to cater my twin sons’ 1^st birthday party, and they did an excellent job. All the food was delivered sealed to keep kashrut, the food was hot and fresh, and most importantly, it all tasted delicious! Many people at the party kept asking us who catered because they loved the different foods. Bob and Joseph, the brothers who own the market, were super nice and wonderful to work with as well. Both were there to answer all questions I had via phone and email, Bob took the time to meet with me in person to plan which foods to get, and Joseph took the time to plan how much of each foods to get. Our party was 100+ people but we didn’t have the biggest budget. When most caterers wouldn’t take the time of day to consult with me about my catering needs, Bob and Joseph put in the time and effort with pleasure. All in all we received amazing food and service. I would highly recommend them to cater your next party if you need glatt kosher food for your guests!

I don’t have much love for this place. The parking lot is a mess and they close too early. When you do manage to get inside, navigating through the aisles is a pain.
One Sunday I was driving by and the smell of the kabob they cook outside drew me in, but it was a let down. There was a bit of a wait, the people in charge weren’t very attentive, and once the order was ready, they didn’t yell out or anything. They just left the food on the counter. I had to go up and ask if my order was ready…
The meat looked yellowish and didn’t taste that great either.
Overall, there are some benefits and some serious issues they would need to address. They have some well priced items, and if they clean up their act, they could get more customers. I just don’t think they are making that serious of an effort.

I love kosher market! The produce is priced really well and is loads tastier than trader joe’s/Ralph’s. I also get my lavash and some other specialty items here. Some things are cheaper to buy elsewhere but it’s definitely worth visiting

This place should have been closed years ago !
Every single visit they over charge you and make mistakes in check out, last visit was 12.45 $ over !
The meat section so dirty and smelly, I don’t think Kosher meats means Dirty, I got a food poisoning twice from buying chicken in this place I can prove it !
The staff are very rude ! the store is very narrow and the shopping experience is horrific !

Find everything your looking for

Cheap groceries, nice people, etc. I’m one of those Asians that don’t need to shop Kosher, but I was looking for sumacs and pitas. I definitely believe in shopping at small local businesses and this is one that I would love to support from now on… it really helps that the groceries are quite cheaper than any other ones near by. :)

Great kosher, Persian market for those who live on the westside and don’t want to drive all the way to Elat Market. I come here for some specialty items, but their fruits and vegetables are very well priced. They also have kosher meats and even a hot station with prepared foods! I’ve heard the orange chicken is good, will try that next time.
Parking: Has a small lot in the front, but there are also lots of meters and residential parking as well.

i go there to buy salmon that they said its Wild. I bought it in two occassions and got sick from it. I went to change it and they gave me a hard time to give me my money back .they geve me the money back on the fish i brough back and not what i bought, even though i told him i trshed it. i think the wild salmon that they charged $ 13.50 a pound its the same that the regular salmon. They just change the price and charge more for the one they said its wild, but it had made me sick in 2 occasions. The place its dirty and there is no organic food available. I want proof that is really organic.

Update: MY MD DOCTOR SAID I GOT FOOD POISONING FROM THEIR CHEESE!
My wife bought Tnuva Swiss Cheese (sliced) from here yesterday. (expiration shows January 31 2015.though the exact brand usually has many months left in expiration at Costco). Anyways, I figured at least it’s not expired so this morning I ate a few slices.
2 hours later, without any other symptoms and having only had lavash bread with it, I had the most violent vomiting experience. I went to a Dr as I didn’t know if I had caught a stomach virus or what and after questioning she concluded that it could only have been the Santa Monica Kosher Market cheese.
I’ve told my extended family to stay away and hope the owners will protect their customers by having better food handling (refrigeration) and stop hoarding ‘closeout” cheese to save money.

I would agree that the produce is cheap but in general there isn’t much here worth grabbing. I got a decent roaster chicken there for a reasonable price other than that things look really obscure. not that I’m not cultured or anything but it looks like they bought out the 99 cent store sale rack and raised the price.
I would go back for onions or maybe a veal shank but not much more.

KABOBS, KABOBS, KABOBS.
I Fr***n Love this place, Great staff,
Nothing much to say but I like their stuff, If You buy something is better you inspected there. Not complaining latter-​on after you eat almost everything… lol
I always inspect my produce, Dairy and Bread before purchasing. This way won’t ended up regretting or complaining. Kabobs on sundays, You got to make sure to explain the person how well-​done you might want your Kabobs.

The owners wrote back to me so i figured i owed it to them to give this place a second shot especially since I live 2 blocks away.
Regarding the produce: Just as before much cheaper produce than any other major chain but you get what you pay for. Under ripe pomegranate with all clear seeds.
Tomatoes with black spots.
what looked and felt like very dry oranges (wasn’t in the mood to purchasing some to find out)
Milk is very expensive here along with most of their dairy. Expiration dates on many items are very close to their expiration date.
No BBQ today. No problem. Wasn’t feeling like temping salmonella poisoning today.

I first wandered in here just out of curiosity, since I live only blocks away. I’m Asian, so I really have no reason to shop kosher, and I usually get my shopping done at Nijiya and Trader Joes. But when I saw the produce aisle, I had to stop and congratulate myself for my awesome intuition.
They have a pretty diverse selection of produce densely packed in a small area. Moreover, their prices are just unbeatable. I really appreciate the selection of fresh herbs they have, especially when they can be so expensive elsewhere.
As someone else mentioned, their bakery section is AWESOME. I always buy their Mini Pita Puffs. They are so fluffy and delicious, I will never go back to buying them from Trader Joes.
Also, I really enjoy the cultural aspect of shopping here. Sure, it smells kinda funky, but it’s all part of the experience. Everyone who works here has shown me nothing but kindness.
I’m a fan.

Its too dirty and untidy. Its always crowded and It has big shopping cards in such a small store, just imagine how you should pass these to reach what you want. Its only good for buying vegetables, the breads are awful, always stale

Come here for basic staples for pantry and fridge. Produce seemed fresh and reasonably priced. Deli and butcher counter is busy, and they do a decent catering job. Fresh bread and lavash baked locally is probably the highlight. Overall, the place is friendly and clean enough but could use better parking (it is LA, though, so that goes without saying).

It is true that prices are cheap but the produce quality is cheap too!
There is no quality control and they want only keep the price low.
Orange was too dry and unbeatable.
Apricots were hard.
Peaches were dark inside.
Persian cucumbers were ok.
Long list short, There is no quality control and they want only keep the price low. At the end, it was the most expensive Persian cucumbers I have ever bought.

So, when you need Kosher /​Israeli goods & food AVOID this place at all cost. They are all liars and crooks. My husband is Israeli and keeps telling me this place is crooked but I refused to listen.
They have double charged me more than once at the register because the Persian lady at the register is too busy gossiping with her co-​workers to pay attention to what she is doing. One time she attempted to scold me and said I should have been paying better attention and then I wouldn’t have created more work for her (issuing a return for HER mistake).
The dairy products are off quite alot. The baked goods are almost always old. They remove the dates for good measure. They’d rather lose customers than money.
Today was the last hoorah at Santa Monica Glatt Kosher Mart. We went in for sufganiyot, the packages looked suspect, no date at all, so I was skeptical. I asked if they were packed today and they told me «Of course». I should have known better. I’ll bet these are from the first day of Hannukah, 5 days ago! Santa Monica Glatt Kosher Mart, you suck!
Save yourself some time and headache and schlep to Pico. Better selection, better prices, better quality…

I give this place a 4 star because that’s exactly what my mom would give it if she was grocery shopping for me. It’s got all our Middle Eastern essentials and some cheap produce and if you’re Middle Eastern, then you know whether we cook for one person or twenty we purchase food ie/​produce in the masses– there comes a point where Whole Foods and Trader Joes just won’t cut it with their 69 cent onion– it’s time to get 4 pounds for a dollar people and this is your place to get it.
Gotta love our culture what more is there to say?
Happy shopping foodies

I come here 2 – 3 times per week on my lunch break to take advantage of their hot Persian food section in the back. The hot food usually consists of three different types of stews, two different types of rice dishes, beef koobideh kabob, chicken kabob, chicken breasts, salads, marinated veggies, etc. They also have these amazing beef meatballs (koofteh) that seem to popular.
You tell the guy behind the counter what you want, and he puts everything in a to-​go container. He wraps it for you and then sticks on a price tag. You take your container to the register, pay for it, and leave. If you want, you can also pick up some groceries before you check out. There is an endless selection of produce, cheese, kosher items (of course), canned food, pastries, breads, etc.
It’s always busy, so sometimes you may have to wait 5 – 10 minutes before arriving to the cashier. However, it’s totally worth it because for an affordable price you can have delicious, fresh kosher Persian food. This place attracts all types of people: middle easterns, asians, students, latinos, senior citizens, working professionals, etc.
I feel so lucky to work next door to this place! It makes my decision making process so much easier during lunch time.
They accept cash and credit.