Western Beef

This place has amazing customer service! I was scouring the city for a specific cookie for my sick husband. I had called and visited many stores, even going to one who told me they had the brand but when I showed up realized they didnt have the specific cookie I needed. When I called this store the gentleman who answered immediately told me they only had a limited selection, and before I could even ask about which types they had, he asked me which specific cookie I was looking for so he could see if they had it. He checked and then told me they had it in the store. I was so happy to be able to give my husband what he wanted! As I was walking down the aisle holding my 5 bags of cookies, a gentleman (who was clearly the one who helped me on the phone) made a friendly remark to me. Upon checking out, one of the checkers (sp?) opened a line for me. I described the gentleman who helped me and he said he was the manager, whose name is Ivan. I have never reviewed a grocery story before but have to say I was THOROUGHLY impressed with this one. I hope Ivan is appreciated by his higher ups.

Sleazy shady hell hole. Shop at your own peril here. Yes, the prices of items on sale are good HOWEVER the store will not take responsibility if your shopping bag of food is swiped by the person ahead of you! So while you are at it — watch out in case you are pick-​pocketed during your shopping trip at Western Beef.
The woman ahead of me in line LINGERED after she finally paid for her few items. My cashier kept bagging my groceries ignoring her lingering. This tolerance of shady behavior would never fly at Associated on 14^th St. & 7^th Ave. which is sadly closing. After I looked at my receipt, 3 items were not there (I can only guess that bag was taken by the woman ahead of me lingering around) and the manager refused to refund me the swiped items! He said that it was MY RESPONSIBILITY to watch if someone is hanging around and taking off with my bag of groceries! Judging from his response, this probably happens frequently at this store? Is this the 1970s NY where I am expected to chase after someone who took off with my groceries? Why wouldn’t the cashier be more careful and stop bagging if shady characters are hanging around my shopping bags?!
I have lived in NYC since 1992 and I’ve only been at Western Beef 4x b/​c despite the low prices, this store is depressing and there’s something shady about it. I’m sad to witness sleavy behavior defended by Western Beef which btw would NEVER happen at Associated but sadly Associated is closing. I will stick to my regular stores like Trader Joe’s where I never have to worry about shady people being allowed to hang around my groceries. Heck Chinatown is a joy compared to this sleaze pit. I’d be careful of my bag not being pick pocketed here as well. Geese, shopping at Brooklyn grocery stores in the 1990s (before Brooklyn was gentrified) was like Whole Foods (friendly staff, large aisles) compared to this hell hole.

They make good: pickles, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, maraschino cherries, sixers of Corona etc.
They make not so good: employees, lines, aisles, fresh food, and conversation.
**Bonus points if you find the economy size box of White Castle burgers.

Only been here once and I had never heard of it before until I randomly came across it while going to the Chelsea Market/​high line. I honestly thought it was a hole-​in-​the-​wall Mexican take-​out place or a bodega. The doors were open when I walked past and I saw it was a grocery store. Shocked, I walked in (also was out of peanut butter and couldn’t find my usual brand at Fairway, where it happened to be out of stock). I was shocked when I saw prices of items I’ve paid more for at other grocery stores, even Fairway which I consider to be the «cheapest» grocery store that has «everything» (vs Trader Joe’s having mostly in-​house brand and Whole Foods not having any «junk»). The peanut butter I was looking for was a whole dollar less than usual! I didn’t really look at the meat, dairy, or produce, but I don’t think I’ll really rely on this store for that. I also don’t live near here anyways. This is an excellent place to pick up non-​perishables, cleaning supplies, etc. Yeah, it may have the décor and personality of a Walmart, but you can’t argue with the prices. The aisles are kind of tight and the cashiers may not be the friendliest or super talkative, but I absolutely recommend stocking up on your pantry items here!

Well… you know Chelsea is changing when this place that for years had the best fresh Cuban bread around has stopped their own bread baking and now subcontracts for their bread.
Tried the Cuban and their whole wheat heroes… not remotely close to the fresh stuff and I was there early today.
Helpful deli folks but bread is no longer worth the stop.

I’ve tried to defend this place for a long time, having grown up in the neighborhood and now living around the corner for the past few years. This is also my first Unilocal review, but I feel so strongly about this that I just had to do it. Every time I walk in to «The Beef» now, my skin crawls just a little bit more than the time before. This place has gone downhill and fast, and it’s not surprising given the attitudes of 99% of the employees here.
I’m never one to look at meat expiration dates, since the shelves seem to be in a constant state of restocking, but three weeks ago I picked up what looked like a fresh batch of Purdue (name-​brand!) chicken, from the very front of the pile, only to get home, open it and smell something awful. Sure enough, the chicken had expired a week prior. I immediately took it back to the cashier who simply replied with «Wow that stinks so bad.» I asked for my money back and she just stood there with one hand pinching her nose and the other counting out my cash. No apology. No offer to exchange. Nada. I decided to then go back to the pile of chicken packages and found that more than half of them all had the same expiration date as the one I had purchased. On my way out I let her know and simply got an «Ok.»
Last week I stopped in for some deli meat and a small container of sour cream. At the deli counter they have boxes upon boxes of condiments. In the case of the one I wanted, none of the bottles had a price sticker. I asked the person behind the counter if he knew how much it was. He looked at me like I had three heads and replied «How am I supposed to know?» Well ok then. To make this specific trip worse, I then went to grab said sour cream. In a rush, I once again didn’t look at the expiration date. It was in the very front and seemed in great shape. I got home, opened it, it was completely covered in mold. It had expired two months prior. I went back to get a good batch of sour cream and return the moldy one, bought one with a later expiration date (again no apology offered), only to find that once I got home that it too had mold in it. I gave up and just tossed it. But given the conditions of the store in general, I’m sure these aren’t the only products that are going bad before their expiration dates.
Look, I fully admit that the prices are unmatchable and stopping in for non-​perishable items like spices, condiments and cleaning supplies are probably the only reason I’ll ever go back there. But when it comes to quality and service, I’d rather walk the extra few blocks to Associated or Trader Joe’s to get groceries that are actually edible and maybe, just maybe, a thank you or a smile.

I shop at Western Beef quite a bit for grocery staples like pasta, canned tomatoes, cake mixes, etc, and sometimes fruits and vegetables. The prices are great. However, the two times that I have purchased meat from here it has gone bad after being in my fridge for only one day! The first time was ground beef, and the second time was a steak. I opened it up after having just bought it the day prior and it was slimy and smelled awful. Moral of the story — DON’T BUY MEAT FROM HERE!

Worst grocery shopping experience I have ever gone through.
5 minutes being there I couldn’t wait to leave!
Aisles are extremely SMALL, product is very limited. Produce is VERY limited. Some shelves were empty. Couldn’t easily find what I wanted. You have to dodge people left and right. As well as dodging cardboard boxes because this store thinks it’s a brilliant idea to stock their inventory during PEAK HOURS. Boxes everywhere.
If you want to feel claustrophobic, anxious, and irritated come to Western Beef!!!

Good supermarket, kind a cheap not cheap cheap. I go to China town instead

I would give it a no star if Unilocal had it!
Today, i was in Western Beef to buy the fresh bread and when i went to pick up the white paper bags you put the bread in, their was mice droppings on it. And if you go there regularly you know exactly where i am talking about. Horrid, Horrid!!! There is no reason this place should have rodents like that.
I have been going to this place since it was yanked from 14^th street and reduced it to ¼ space that it used to be. Yes the prices are the best you can find in this overhyped area of chelsea. But I learned sometime ago, i may be wrong, but this supermarket was given funds by (?) to stay in the neighborhood because of the low income and elderly that live on fixed income who live surrounding this store area. I think its all good but what i have noticed is that their selection for healty foods is poor, at best, and its only in the fruits and vegetables section. You buy food brands that people dont hear of. Some of these brands you will have to go to the internet to find the nutritional value of the items. There are very few selections for people who have a debilitating disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure and other health proplems. Most of their items are high in salt, there are hardly any low fat, low sugar options. So these not so healthy food subsitute brands are probably saving all money.
The staff leaves much to be desired. I dont think these people are paid a decent wage for all the work they do. I can often hear them talk about their superiors in a negative way. The workers then turn on the customers. They are not happy in their jobs and it reflects onto the customer.

I’ll admit it, I’m frugal. So when I first moved to New York I googled ‘cheap grocery store, NYC’ (seriously, I did). The result was Yahoo Answers in which all the answers were ‘there’s no such thing’.
They were wrong. Someone opened my eyes to this fabulously cheap grocery store recntly and I now cringe anytime I have to to in to a Dag or Gristedes (what a rip off). Western Beef is simple, it’s small, the aisles are tight, and you might call it a little ghetto, but when the prices are literally half the price of all other grocery stores for the same EXACT product, who cares. I don’t need glitz and glam in my grocery store. Besides, dag and gristedes aren’t anything special AND they’re expensive.
And to top it off, the employees are always so nice and pleasant (unlike the Dag).
I like that this store is full of other cheap-o’s like me. Atleast we know how to appreciate a bargain. I’d rather give my business to a company that isn’t trying to rape you of your money. (not to mention every time I go there the fire crew is grocery shopping… another great deal)

If you’re looking for a normal grocery store in this area you’ve got this and the Associated Foods on 14^th. Even though the Associated Foods is a bit better laid out, I’d take Western Beef any day.
Yes, the aisles are tight and there’s always a worker in your way stocking shelves but the prices are excellent. I love the giant cold section that’s like a walk-​in freezer. The check-​out process is never easy but can be fast if you’re having a good day. A bad day and it can take a while.
I like the Western Beef brand too. Tastes just like the more expensive brands but for much cheaper.

Really really cheap prices for Manhattan. And a decent selection of items — as others have mentioned, you’re not going to get your locally grown, farm fresh stuff here. But they have most of the essentials.
Why the 3 star rating? The inside could definitely be cleaned up a bit. Just a fresh coat of paint — I’m sure someone could do it overnight for a few hundred bucks, not enough that prices need to be raised, but would really improve the ambiance. Some better lighting would help too. They have new carts that already have made a great improvement — thanks!
However, the checkout is a disaster. This is mostly because people have a myriad of ways of paying, but I’ve also seen cashiers just get up and walk away from their station for 5 minutes while there’s a line of 5 people — need better training here! Management might want to look into hiring some additional cashiers, especially at rush times like the evening.
If it weren’t for the low prices and convenient location near my apartment, I’d probably shop elsewhere (and give it 2 stars), but I think the prices make it worth it — for now.

This place sets a new bar for prices in Manhattan.
$ 3.89 for 30 eggs!!! You’ve gotta be f***ing kidding me. Two seasoned pork cutlets for $ 1.09?!? 2 liter of Coke for $ 0.79 and 12 packs of Coke $ 3.00? Yes, please!
You aren’t going to find your favorite organic farm raised meats here and the store layout is a tight squeeze, but every corner you turn there is a new amazing deal. I will definitely be back!

I’m from Brooklyn, so I have always been a Western Beef fan. This Western Beef being in Manhattan, has the closest prices to those of Brooklyn, than any other supermarket in the area.
The only problem is that, because the prices are reasonably low, and there are always tons of specials, the place can get kind of crowded really fast.
The isles are always consumed by boxes, working stockboys, and other shoppers with their carts, sometimes making it virtually impossible to maneuver a cart through. They have wonderful selections of everything, though. All kinds of deals and online circulars. The meat department is clean, and the meats are fresh.
The workers are generally nice and helpful.
Generally you will save a lot of money by doing your shopping here.
I definitely do the majority of my shopping here, whenever I’m in Manhattan.

One of the best places to buy pork in the city. They even sell suckling pig for under $ 4 a pound.
Great place to buy stew meats. Short ribs and brisket are both under $ 4 a pound.
There are always some unbelievable deals. Just got 14 limes for 2 bucks.
Food selection has a latino slant. Nice selection of Mexican cheeses.

Love western beef. It is the best place for mexican ingredients in the area. In the cool area they have mexican cheeses that can be hard to find. As well as fresh (cheap!) tortillas.
I agree that the aisles are too narrow but if you use a basket, not a trolley its not a big deal.

I agree Western Beef in the Meat Packing district is a hidden gem.
The grocery prices here is cheaper then the prices at Associates which in the same area on 14^th & 8^th.
I work in the area. I go here for lunch from time to time. They have inexpensive food. They offer hot food. A hot food platter can run you $ 4 bucks. You can get sandwhiches made here. They have delicious rotisserie whole chicken for $ 5. The offer a variety fresh baked bread.

you can only shop here for certain things. they do not have what I would call good beef. I think it is all Select Grade meat. Very lean. i do, however, use their $ 4.99/lb fillet mignon to make beef jerky! the store is super cramped and the quality of meat tends to vary. it is also usually messy in the meat section.
i would not order anything from the dirty deli.

Very affordable meat market and grocery store. When I was here the firemen were shopping too which is a plus. The steaks from the meat section were very good and cheap. Also nice deli section with their own brand of smoked turkey. Word of advice: make sure you have a sweater on when you go into the meat section as it is very cold in there like a freezer.