Whole Foods Market

I am not a big fan of this store, I rather go to Trader Joes.
Some of the prepare foods on the deli I do like and there juice bar is very nice!
There veggies and fruits quality was just low compare to Trader Joes, that was just my experience.

This Whole Foods is one of the nicest ones I’ve been to. I’ve never been to a WF with a poke bar, nor a smoked meats section before so that was cool finding out that they exist. I came here to grab a salad and a slice of pizza for lunch, and the salad bar was clean, stocked, and pizza was fresh and hot. No complaints. Lots of seating available all around the store which is great.

This Whole Foods is so big, bright, modern, beautiful and fully stocked. I love coming here to get their ahi poke, cold pressed juices, organic cat food (pricey but so worth it), cheeses and desserts. They have delicious cakes and mini desserts that are well priced and well baked! I wish I were living in the apartments on top of Whole Foods so that I can just walk down to grab my meals every day while I’m not dining out. They also have validated parking for 90 minutes although parking can be pretty jammed during lunch and dinner hours. They also have a cafeteria called The Eight Bar inside the store. I’ve had some drinks here and it was although not the best cocktails, the ambiance was chill and refreshing. This is such a wonderful addition to DTLA!

If you work in downtown LA, you could have lunch here everyday for a month and never eat the same thing twice. Half the store is catering to lunch-​on-​the-​go types. There’s even a Chego counter if you’ve been wondering what the hype is all about in Chinatown. (Yes, it’s good!)
If you happen to live downtown and can still afford gluten-​free, vegan, organic groceries after paying rent on your loft… you can get that stuff here too.

This is definitely one of the best Whole Foods I’ve been to in LA. The store is huge, and coming from Texas, pretty comparable to the stores they have there.
I really like their hot food and salad bar, which provides various selections and is constantly refilled. I also like it that they have a Chego (Chipotle-​style, Korean fusion) inside, which none of the other Whole Foods have.
I would say this location is pretty much your standard Whole Foods with a little something more.

I come here a couple times a week for salad. It’s expensive, but I love the options and I’ve managed to keep costs down by buying a bottle of dressing and adding that to my salad when I get back to work.
Now that the hype has died down a bit, I can say that if you come before 12 or closer to 2pm, the lunch crowd has died down and it’s no longer as miserable, fighting for space at the salad bar.
Things I like:
1) Salad bar options … fresh pineapple 99% of the time.
2) Salted Caramel Rice Crispy Treats in the cookie bar
3) Apple Turnover in the bakery case… it has crunchy sugar on it compared to the prepacked ones in the box that are sugarless and taste soggy.
4) Tipo Chai Latte at the coffee bar
5) The individual pieces of rotisserie chicken in the heated bar. Though I’ve only seen this once or twice. Really liked this option. While a better deal, I don’t want to eat a whole chicken by myself.

I was so thrilled to take the Gold Line for the opening day of Whole Foods in DTLA! All of my pictures convey my excitement.
The interior is industrial in its architectural style and I think it’s perfect for the location.
The fanfare that day was awesome! Moving back to Pasadena after 5 years on the East Coast, I can’t believe how much I love venturing, by Metro, to all that is blossoming in the heart of the city I love!

The new grocery store in town and boy am I excited. I heard rave reviews about this location from my classmates and this place didn’t disappoint.
Parking is plenty, just tricky to Waze your way in there because the area this place is at is under construction still.
From the array of flowers, food courts, juice bar, smoothie bar, bakery, and wine section. I could spend hours trying to dig up new finds.
Prices are still on the hefty side and I still have to figure the GMO vs. Certified Non– GMO so my grocery shopping took awhile.
However, this is the place to shop!

I love the fact that this Whole Foods opened up in Downtown Los Angeles. It was about time! Living in East Hollywood, I either had to drive all the way to Glendale or Fairfax and 3^rd to visit a Whole Foods. I absolutely love the fact that I can just hop on the freeway and be at this location in 10 minutes give or take.
Parking is free (for now). Hopefully that does’t change!
Everything is all organized and easy to find. The dairy section looks phenomenal!
There is bar right next door that serves brunch on the weekends (need to try it).
I really love it!

The new Whole Foods is great, but there is some room for improvement and other things that will be dealbreakers for me. I love their buffet deal, their readymade slow cooker meals, Roy Choi poke bowls, good wine selection, validated parking. The bar is good.
The carts are too big for the aisles. The vinyl lounge had to be moved to the dairy section, because there were too many thefts in the original location by the entrance. Now Sgt. Pepper is right by the cheddar; it would be fun if they swapped out the classic rock for more appropriate records like Kelis ‘Food’ lol. I do applaud the effort, though. Buying guitar pics there, I got into a conversation on flute playing techniques with the cashier that sounded like «one summer at band camp» :)
My big gripe, though, was Thanksgiving shopping. I found the produce was not as fresh as Ralph’s, who has an unbeatable rewards system and the liquor deal of six bottles gets you 30% off. Plus, they only sell weird hippie brands like Tom’s of Maine, which was sold and re formulated several years ago. The deodorant new makes my underarms peel, and the toothpaste is more saccharine. So, I like Colgate and Secret.
My Thanksgiving turkey from Mary’s was excellent, and I could get cheesecloth for cooking the bird and Australian puff pastry dough for the leftovers. Whole Foods will definitely be my go to for holidays and just stocking up on nice things. But for vegetables, booze and everyday staples, I’ll stick to Ralph’s.

Has your neighborhood made it when Whole Foods sets up shop in your area? Or does this signal the beginning of the end? I’m on the fence about it but, I suppose it’s nice to be able to buy $ 6 Papayas and not have to travel too far to get them…
This isn’t the most impressive whole foods that I’ve been to, but it’s a nice one. It appears that with this location they’ve decided to place more emphasis on ready made foods– meaning you’ll find slightly less of what you’re used to finding in your average whole foods location.
What I liked least about this location was that the selection of hot foods was pretty horrible. Usually in Whole Foods you’ll find a wide variety of delicious things to try to pack into one of their to go containers, but for whatever reason, the selection of hot foods here is borderline garbage. Hopefully they’ll improve the selection ASAP!
This whole foods has a full restaurant/​bar attached to it (unfortunately they were about to close when I went). The concept seems cool and fits the DTLA vibe.
The best thing about this Whole Foods is free parking. Free parking in DTLA is nonexistent so when it’s there you’ve gotta appreciate that.

The crowded and crazy Whole Foods Market in Downtown Los Angeles opened about a week before I arrived in grand fashion. This latest outpost has all the goodies on the corner of 8^th & Grand in DTLA. There is underground parking available with purchase validation and one of those cool cart escalators to bring your goodies below ground.
This location seems to have a smaller grocery section, focusing more on the prepared foods and liquor — which is appropriate given the location. You can still get all the basic items for any home chef. I was impressed with the quality of the prepared foods, but they have their A game for the grand opening. There is a restaurant and bar onsite and lots of specialty food events and offerings to tempt every mood.
I do not recommend using a shopping cart. There are just too many people to navigate the cart through the aisles. This location will probably print money for a long time, especially after high speed rail makes DTLA even bigger. Fortunately, Whole Foods has the substance behind the flashy new store.

Really happy to have another grocery store option in DTLA. Yes, we all know it’s a little pricier than say Ralph’s, but the atmosphere is so much friendlier and they have options you’d be hard pressed to find at other grocery stores. Plus their generic 365 brand is reasonably priced.
Came here to grab a quick bite to eat on Sunday around noon. Not overly busy but there was a buzz of excitement as people lined up for free samples.
They have an amazing food bar ($ 8.99/lb) and they had plenty of healthy options to choose from. I couldn’t decide so my plate was an eclectic combination of Indian food, quinoa, jackfruit, steamed broccoli, and Mac n cheese. Threw in some kale but it was really, really tart. Was really happy that they use compostable, bleach-​free food containers for the hot food but disappointed that they used plastic salad containers. Just use the former!
There was also a help yourself pizza area, sandwich selection, and much more. I wish I had seen the cooked brisket that’s located in the meat area but I’ll just have to give it a try next time.
The seating area also needed some cleaning as there were dirty counters smudged with food and used napkins sitting around. But the tables near the bar area were fine and they had a game on.
Great cheese and bread selection and a beautiful dessert area that sold fruit tarts and macarons. Juice bar was a major plus and on the other end there is an expresso/​coffee bar.
There was also a great selection of produce (elegantly displayed) and a bulk section that had plenty of nuts and grains to choose from.
The service there was also very friendly (though they just opened so they were probably more welcoming than usual). Nonetheless, there were plenty of wide open checkouts.
Free 90 minute hassle free parking which is essential for any downtown location.
Overall very happy with the addition of Whole Foods downtown.

You know your neighborhood has made it when a Whole Foods comes to town. But seriously, this side of town has made an incredibly fast transformation.
While I’m excited to have Whole Foods here, I don’t see myself grocery shopping here often because TBH… I can’t afford it. I live at the Roosevelt Lofts right across from Macy’s, and my rent has increased insanely in the past years. But don’t get me wrong, when I have one of those «TREAT YO SELF» Days, I’m coming to Whole Foods to indulge in some over-​priced groceries. $ 11 for orange juice??? TREAT YO SELF! Ok, if you don’t watch Parks & Recs, I apologize for how obnoxious that was.
The market isn’t as big as other Whole Foods, but it’s a city market and real estate in DTLA is limited. It seemed a lot smaller because the place was SOOOO crowded. I’ll have to come back when the hype dies down and I can actually walk down an isle and see what’s around. I did however walk down the beer isle and found my favorite beer in the world — BALLAST POINT SCULPIN HABANERO IPA! That alone did it for me.

This is a very large, brand new Whole Foods. They have all the usual suspects to buy in their well-​organized aisles. They also have a variety of take-​out food options, including Chego, and there is a nice selection of wines and beer.
The best thing about this location is their signature bar and restaurant. It’s a great little respite enclosed within the store with happy hour drink specials and daily food specials. It’s worthy of a trip in and of itself.
parking — free, 90 minute parking in the garage

Yup, Downtown is one of «those» neighborhoods now. One of those with a «Whole Foods». The culture in DtLA has definitely evolved. It sure wasn’t like this a number of years ago walking down where parking lots were empty on weekends and only full of cars during the week. No one walked these streets. It was a financial district until the loft boom came after the millennium. It was just a matter of time.
Aside from the Ralph’s close to FIDM, there are no other major markets in DtLA. With this new Whole Foods opening, it provides a new dynamic to eating in DtLA. This location is no ordinary Whole Foods, it’s one on steroids with lots of many options. There’s a coffee bar with cold brew on tap at the entry. Along with that what’s unique to this store is that you can find a poke bar, juice bar, smokehouse meats, pizza oven. Aside from the normal salad and ready food items, there is a Chego location located inside. Chego is a restaurant run by the infamous Roy Choi of Kogi who also has a location in Chinatown. The dessert bar is also a great option to the pricey Bottega Louie next door.
There’s good energy walking inside this store. You can hear the Dj coming from their in store bar called Eight Bar. Yup, order a craft brew on tap. Employees here are nice and friendly. Security helps with controlling traffic from cars and sidewalk pedestrians in peak times in the parking entry.
Pretty cool concept. I see this place changing a lot of food options in DtLA and hopefully making more eateries price competitive.

Back to the Future
I just got out of my DeLorean with my dog Einstein and here I am, the future of urban supermarkets. Flying cars whoosh by as I enter the store, awesome live DJ music blasting from the connecting restaurant lounge and iPads to order food from the cafes ahead of time for a later pick up. As I navigate the best designed super market for experiential shopping I’ve ever been to, I notice impeccable service from everyone I encounter and free samples everywhere. I love free.
The future of grocery shopping is here.

Came here with my coworker on opening day.
Shiny and new, as expected.
They stock a bunch of hard to find organic items like wheatberries and their prepared food selection is fantastic. They offer like, 5 different kinds of soup which is an improvement over the two options provided at the 3^rd street location.
I got two different slices of pizza and they were both tasty.
It has a Chego inside, which was manned by Roy Choi himself today, and an attached eating area/​bar.

Grand Opening Today! What a beautiful brand new Whole Foods! Love the free unlimited 24 hour parking in a brand spanking new parking garage.
This location has everything you would expect for a medium/​large sized WF but my favorite experience was trying a new concept for WF, the food from Chego in the hot bar. The pork belly and beef bowls are equally fabulous tasting served with perfectly stir fried Chinese broccoli and water spinach. The stir fry is served on rice and topped with a fried egg and all sorts of great condiments and sauces. I even got to meet Roy Choi, the founder of Kogi/​Chego, who was at the helm of the Chego hot bar today!
Other highlights of this location include a full service coffee bar with espresso and pour over options including service in real glassware for drinking in house, a smokehouse, premium fish and meat dept (I met founder Mary, from Mary’s Chicken), and a swanky beautiful large bar/​restaurant space where you can dine in from their restaurant menu or bring in food from the market to nosh on. Their M-​F 3pm-​6pm happy hour deals are quite a steal, especially considering this is DTLA.
When traveling through town, this will be definitely be on my list of stores to visit to pick up groceries or to grab a quick lunch or dinner consisting of one of those Chego bowls or something from their restaurant/​bar.

Hooray for Whole Foods! Walking through the brand spanking new WF in DTLA literally made me giddy! And while it isn’t as expansive as the Pasadena Arroyo location, it literally has everything I need and want.
From the heaping bins of fresh produce to the amazing seafood and meat department, it is clear Whole Foods is putting its best foot forward. The place was bustling with lots of staff, keeping shelves stocked and organized. The bakery section had an amazing selection of cookies, breads, and pastries. And the prepared food section had an impressive selection of pizza, sandwiches, sushi, etc. There’s even a Chego! Just past the cash registers is what looks like a restaurant/​bar with live music! It looked packed with an after work crowd.
Parking is free (yea!). And while there’s two levels of parking, it was completely full due to the grand opening crowds.
This Whole Foods has a good neighborhood feel. And I can’t wait to make it part of my regular life in DTLA!