Westside Market NYC

The selection of cheeses is also impressive — I can often find things here I can’t find in other markets. They also have great huge cookies, a salad area with a lot of options for my-​your-​own, tons of fresh food options, a sandwich counter, and tons of microwavable options. They often have free cheese samples as well so it’s worth stopping by to check that out!

They seem to be running some sort of scam. I got charged $ 4.50 for ONE green pepper. Apparently organic peppers are $ 8.00/pound!
When I returned the pepper the cashier just said «organic, expensive.»

I have to catch up on my review of the WESTSIDE MARKET on 110^th and Broadway! I was mistakenly placing reviews on a different location further downtown. Sorry!
My group works with the team here for all our catered events in the UWS and we always have rave reviews about the platters and beverages. (It’s also a favorite lunch spot of mine!)
Here’s a quick listing of our previous WM reviews. Obviously more to come.
¹¹⁄₂₀₁₅:
Another wonderful set of catered for our group luncheons. Looking forward to our next one!
⁰⁸⁄₂₀₁₅:
Just had THE PERFECT lunch on the go thanks to you guys. I always come in with my specific list of specialty items but never realized the fabulous salad bar you have set up until today, running between meetings without a second to spare. Evxaristo Poli!!!
⁰⁶⁄₂₀₁₅:
Quick, friendly, reliable service. Catering without a hitch or hassle with very reasonable pricing. You’re officially on my Preferred Vendor list for anything along the UWS/​UES!
⁰⁴⁄₂₀₁₅:
I’ve been going here forever. Used to live just around the corner and loved the fact that I could just pop in for really fresh produce. Best compliment I heard today was from a top program director who coordinated with the team here to have a huge event catered. (First, I was at the event and the food was awesome. I should’ve known, haha.) The staff is very courteous and management is very accommodating in coordinating with me and my colleagues for major events. Many thanks for being a friendly and consistently high-​quality neighborhood resource!

Nicely stocked and easy to maneuver, but the cashiers are always rude. Not just your average New York rude, but beyond-​belief rude. Arrogant, lazy, and rude. Every single one I’ve encountered. Did I mention that they’re rude? I’d faint if one of them said «thank you» or smiled.
Last interaction:
Me: Hello.
Nothing from the cashier. She looks at her nails until she notices that I haven’t taken my items out of the small basket then:
Cashier (put-​out): I’m not taking those out.
Me (confused): What?
Cashier: The basket. I’m not taking those out of the basket.
Me: Sorry.
I take the five small items out of the basket and place the basket on the floor.
She rings up the groceries then glares at me.
Me: What? Did I do something else wrong?
Cashier: Twenty-​four sixty-​eight.
Me: Oh, sorry.
I hand her two twenties. She makes change and puts it in my hand.
Me: Thank you. Have a good one.
She says nothing, goes back to looking at her nails.
That’s it. The cashiers at Westside Market win. I refuse to go there ever again.

My FAV grocery store is NYC ahnds down, yes over Whole Foods and Trader’s Joe’s. Mainly because it’s a great place to get affordable cooked food over packaged and processed foods, since I hate to cook. I’m contantly there getting perfectly cooked and seasoned food. My Fav being the Salmon and two sides, usually sweet potato mash and greens/​veggies. Ans the BEST store baked cookies ever!!!

I’m so sick of the cashiers’ attitudes. They couldn’t be more uncompelled and uninterested in doing their jobs. Regardless of the time of day or night, I am an utter nuisance and treated as such; without as much as a mere «hello». This place has exceptional food, but exceptionally lousy cashiers. Tonight was the icing on the cake as one of them flailed her arms in front of me and reprimanded the employee in charge of guiding customers to the registers for sending CUSTOMERS to HER. HOW DARE HE. She made it explicit that she hated that she had to help me. I’m never going back.

Conveniently located in the neighborhood on 110^th and Broadway, 24 hours with a good selection of grocery items plus pretty good pre-​made foods, deli counter, etc. Space is super cramped though, and when it’s busy it’s really hard to walk through the aisles (so small they should frankly ban shopping carts). Also very expensive comparatively on some items, which can be $ 1 – 2 more expensive here than other grocery stores. Fresh produce and such, but shop around for other grocery items.

In an area with few decent lunch options, I decided to try the prepared foods section at Westside Market today… and was super disappointed!
For $ 12 – 14, you can get the «special» which includes two sides and a main dish. I sampled a couple things that looked good but were gross (the roasted carrots being one of them) and ultimately decided on the pot roast, roasted veggies and mac and cheese.
Everything was bad. The pot roast was 75% fat and I left the majority of it uneaten. The mac was flavorless and the roasted veggies were so oily I was practically eating them like soup. For that much money, I expected so much better!
Two stars for the great customer service though, the guys behind the counter are so sweet. Just wish the grub was better and the prices lower.

I’ve been shopping at this place since it opened again in 2007. I’ve finally decided to make an effort to shop here as little as possible from now on.
The extra star is for being open 24 hours. This is the reason I end up there 95% of the time nowadays. Everything else is mediocre or worse: outrageous prices for an unremarkable selection of food (yes, I know «it’s NYC» — even the damn Whole Foods on 97^th is cheaper), maddening layout and congestion if you’re actually grocery shopping, and more than a few indifferent or sometimes overtly hostile cashiers (I don’t need you to be my best friend while I’m checking out; just don’t glare and literally say nothing when I point out that you’ve charged me for something twice).
My guess is that this place thrives because of the prepared foods and the regular turnover in the student population. That’s fine, but unfortunately it doesn’t mean it’s also a good grocery store.

Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of these Manhattan rent raped, gourmet places (West side market, fairway, whole foods, etc) because they over charge their customers due to their rent being super high. But I have to say– I really did get more then I paid for when i ordered a BLT!!! I was expecting to pay $ 8 — $ 10. I paid $ 7 (includes a free bottle of water– very good deal) AND the person behind the counter actually put a huge slab of bacon on the slicer, sliced the fresh bacon, cooked it, and put together the best BLT ever. Toasted, gourmet-​ish whole wheat bread, green leaf lettuce and generous slices of tomato. Ok, I guess it’s ridiculous to rant and rave about a BLT. But I really feel that this was a good example of excellent quality for a very reasonable price. I will definitely come back to this store.

My favorite market! The employees are super friendly and helpful. Best salads ever. Love the fat free roasted garlic vinaigrette. Cold oatmeal is another fav, although a bit on the sweet side. Also a fan of the wheat berry fruit snack cup, the soup, and veggie burgers.

Went at 1130p on a Saturday. No one is there! I just got a carton of strawberries for $ 1.25! Wth?!? Hot diggedty! I love my homemade smoothies! When I went to best yet in Harlem strawberries carton was $ 6 something. I haven’t been this happy in a long time with grocery shopping. Go at night. No lines especially on a weekend night. My total bill was $ 33 and I got 14 items. Was a pretty momentous occasion!

The Westside Market NYC is a 24 hour food market located by Columbia University. They have a very large variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as salads, sandwiches, and other custom pre-​made edibles.
The late night staff is incredibly polite. Almost suspiciously polite as I am originally from the midwest, and people aren’t even that polite in my hometown.
The gentleman that made my bologna and cheese hero asked a question or two before making my sandwich to ensure he made exactly what I was asking for. After making the hero, he verified my acceptance before wrapping it up. All throughout the process using extremely polite gestures.
Side note, the lady ordering in front of me was a NYPD officer, and the gentleman thanked her for her service, and told her to be safe with her job. regardless if you are a fan of the police or not, I thought this was very nice of him.
The man that checked me out at the cash register was also extraordinarily polite.
Overall their foods are a little on the overpriced side, and they have a poor selection of processed food items. Their selection of non-​food household goods is practically non-​existent with the exception of emergency items. This place always comes through on late nights when you don’t want to hit up a bar or McDonalds.

This is similar to the other market on 98^th Street is which far superior. The salad bar here does NOT accept request to CHOP your salad. Weird. The register line is a bit unorganized. Definitely not as nice as the 98^th Street one.
Three star at best.

Review update. It looks like I was very strict on my first ²⁄₅ rating on the very first days I have moved in Morningside heights.
Pros: 1) Increbile variety in everything (especially groceries and cheese)
2) great salad bar
3) decent cooked meals
Cons:
1) Very pricey. All the products cost typically 1 – 2 $ dollars more than what you pay for the exact same product in nearby delis/​grocecies
2) Huge emphasis on edible products, but lack of variety/​products in other essential stuff for the house
3) Very packed all day long, very small corridors where it’s rather difficult to be crossed by 2 people holding their baskets.

Great Market with everything you need! The people serving the hot food are very nice and the portions are huge for 10 dollars. Other items at this market may be pricer than buying off street vendors, but it is all fresh.
Highly recommend!

One of my favorite grocery stores. Packed full of variety and fresh produce. I wish back at home (Sydney Australia) had all cooked food, packed and ready to go! So much variety.
Also thought this was quite lol, was on the M23 bus, and overheard a mom saying to their kids «who wants to go to westside market later?!»
Kids replied in excitement «ME ME!»
«We’re going for the free cheese samples.»
«Not again…» embarrassed by their mom
Iol they do have a lot of cheese at this market though!

This review is based primarily on the service. The food here is pretty good (my favorite thing is the pre made spinach salad) but overpriced — go figure.
I work on in the neighborhood on the weekends so I come here 1 – 2 times a week. Everytime I have an interaction with an employee they are rude. It’s not just one person or one department it’s literally everyone who works there. They are extremely unhelpful and dry. No smiles no nothing. If the salad wasn’t so good I wouldn’t even come back here. This also goes for the one a few blocks down. Same situation. I wonder if they are being forced to work there against their will because I get the impression they are screaming internally everytime they are forced to answer a question or ring someone up.

Most of the positive reviews are for the prepared foods. While generally I’ve had positive experiences with the fruit and produce, the past few times I’ve seen some moldy produce and fruit that definitely belong in the trash.
Moldy lychees in the bag with fresh ones — ew! And even a moldy artichoke! When I told the employee who grabbed it for me (he was organizing the produce and blocked the artichoke section) they just put it back! Horrifying but hopefully isolated incidents…
Their pricing is not too bad. Just be careful, inspect everything!

Out of all the grocery spots to choose from around my area, I am the most comfortable with coming to Westside Market. Inside it is clean, and definitely constantly packed with people. Sometimes it’s difficult to walk through the isles because there are so many people standing in there, but the wait and cramped-​space is worth it. Westside isn’t the cheapest spot for your everyday groceries, but it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. They often have deals on common grocery items as well.
They have such a great selection of what you would want to find in a grocery store and more! When you really explore in here, you discover that there are a countless edible options that Westside makes themselves to sell for their customers. From what I’ve seen so far, there are items ranging from various flavored pickles, salsa, guacamole, peanut butter, sandwiches, wraps, dumplings, chicken wings, chicken nuggets, popcorn chicken, sushi, panko crusted shrimp, juices, smoothies, salad bar, soup bar, cheesecake, cake, jello, parfait, cupcakes, fresh cookies, fresh bread, fresh bagels, roasted chicken, fruit infused water, the list goes on!!!
Another plus is that Westside is open pretty late. Great for those late night munchies.