Whole Foods Market

I purchased one thing of meusli cereal, but they charged me an additional $ 1.94 for a grapefruit that I did NOT purchase. I asked them to rectify over the phone, but they wanted me to come back to the store which isn’t close to my home. Isn’t it their job to fix their mistake? Another case of being overcharged by WHOLE PAYCHECK. Will not be a customer!

The Good: It’s got a nice size dinning area on the upper level. There aren’t any other supermarkets in the immediate vicinity so for me it’s convenient.
The Bad: It’s on the small side so you may not find as big a selection as the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle for example (which is a great store btw).
On more than one occasion I’ve had tuna salad at the deli counter that was kind of «fishy» (for lack of a better word). Not always, but enough times that I’ve stopped buying it at this location (also the egg salad a couple of times didn’t taste quite right to me). Again, never once had that issue at the Columbus Circle store.
The hot breakfast area is a disappointment. No taste and not very hot scrambled eggs. Lukewarm sausages and bacon. Yuck. Tried it three times since they opened.
Lastly, I’m sorry to say but some of the staff can be rude, and not always helpful. It’s curious, you would think they’d make up for the store’s short comings (because they’re on smaller side they can’t offer the same things as their larger counterparts) that they’d make up for it with great customer service. Or maybe because they have no competition in the immediate area there’s a meh kind of attitude?
In conclusion, I’m glad that they are there for when I need to make a quick purchase. But if I have time I’ll shop at the Columbus Circle location.

Love wf! I know it can be a bit oN the pricy side, but I think it’s worth it. The bakery is my favorite spot in the store with all the variety of goodies they offer. I also love coming to wf for lunch, it’s always something different to teu!

I walk here from my apartment to shop and eat upstairs when I’m tired of restaurants. Surprisingly, they don’t offer a wide selection of product and don’t carry many of the items Whole Foods is known for like the Sriracha, certain Kombucha brands, or righteously raw chocolate bars. They also have their own thing going for yogurts and eggs. The lines are efficient and electronically color coded so the «fairness» of time is equal across the board.
The place however, is filthy. Come on whole foods! How can you complain about the environment when your own is filthy?
The hot foods and salad is so sparse, dried out, and icky. Ew!
The prices are pretty amazing, given the location; they don’t jack up the prices, and in fact, some items appear to be cheaper than in other whole foods locations across the county. For those out of town, it’s not a happy place like Whole Foods Venice which is my FAV but you can at least, snag some familiar items. Watch out for angry ex-​models, they WILL shove you in the hips with their grocery carts if you aren’t moving as fast as you like. I didn’t know the aggressive French culture made its way to Manhattan… but it has at this Whole Foods!

I had asked Whole Foods East 57^th St to please order the latest FIRST EVER, FROM BEN & JERRY’S, NEW NON-​DAIRY CREATION. Four flavors exist & I found 3 flavors left on the shelf, & only 1 pint EACH! So these Almond Milk base frozen dessert pints with chunks of goodness & swirls, are quite popular! The only thing that does not make me happy is the $ 7.99 price. See my photos. The creation is yummy.
UPDATE: in the PREPARED FOODS AREA, where pizza is sold, I Just discovered & tried a delicious, scrumptious Panuzzo Tomato Caprese – I had never seen anything like this before. Fantastic!
Imagine a square pizza crust, that’s crunchy, the size of a small sandwich, inside this sandwich, meaning, «between the bread» (who remembers that yummy place on East 55^th street, & also one on West 55^th street… great muffins!!!& more. I digress, mmmm). So inside the Panuzzo was Mozzerella, tomato, balsamic vinegar, more shredded Mozzerella, & my Panuzzo had some pesto. The wonderful, & unexpected super crunchiness of the bottom «bread» was FABULOUS !! The combination of the fresh Mozzerella, & other ingredients was SUPER AWESOME! My small square was $ about $ 3.50. But most of the squares were a little bit bigger than mine, so I’d guess maybe in the range of $ 4 – 5.00. Really delicious. Especially, if you are in the mood for a strong crunchiness. & yummy flavor sensations. Thank you to the very nice lady who heated the Panuzzo up. And did not allow another woman to cut in on line ahead of me. THANKS! I highly recommend this yummy snack/​meal. Enjoy! See my PHOTOS of my Panuzzo.

I had totally turned the second floor of this whole foods to a library when I was preparing for the GMAT last year and it worked out perfectly. There was space for me to study, a not dead quiet environment that would create unnecessary pressure for me, and a great selection of food downstairs for me to rejuvenate whenever I needed to stress-​eating.
If I were a millionaire, I would totally hire a personal assistant to make whole foods his/​her second home by visiting everyday for the freshest lobster, salmon, pink tulips, organic vegetables and packaged figs and deliver them to me while I binge watch House of Cards.
Since I’m a pragmatist and try to save for business school, I shop at whole foods with moderation during non-​peak hours, for during peak hours you will be all but mentally crushed by how long the line can be at whole foods– part of your soul dies when waiting in an endless line while checking annoying work emails with an empty stomach. For the sake of staying sane and saving time, I highly recommend shopping at whole foods after 8pm during weekdays.
I like their yogurt deals for which you can get 2 gourmet noosa yogurt for $ 3 (which is cheaper than that at a lot of other supermarkets in New York).

I love to get some deli here. Handy. Love the colorful chairs on the second floor.

I never thought I would write this review as my meal was absolutely terrible can’t even describe how bad the turkey and the risotto (rice is as hard as a rock) wer … Gonna throw up and can’t finish it

More than any other supermarket I know, you have these Whole Foods Haters and Whole Foods Zealots that are ready to take sides and argue with a passion when you just mention ‘Whole Foods’, For me I am in the middle of the road, I think of convenience and which market is better depending on what I am looking for.
Working in Manhattan and living in NJ, I commute by bus, I somethings don’t want to jump in the car when I get home just to pick a handful of items, Plus unlike NYC and the bright lights and ²⁴⁄₇ people outdoors in NJ it’s spooky at night.
So there are a few markets near my NYC job that I can go when I need something. Whole Foods is hands down the best when I need meats, fish, dairy, fruits and veggies, even plants like orchids too.
The bakery is good for sweet cakes and pastry. I would skip the breads, bagel and cookies, they are just to plain and inferior to me especially when I compare them to what’s available in midtown.
The hot foods and salad again are plain and lacking variety. Packaged cold cuts and bacon are good but the deli’s cold cuts and sandwiches are of quality, but are real bland also. There pastrami tastes no different than the rousted beef, bland, bland, bland. As for the processed food items, they are missing a lot of the brand names, but then again they have some items you will not find in local market. So it depends what you are looking to get. You can get some imported pasta sauces that the locals markets don’t have, but Whole Foods has no Lay’s chips or the common brands I grew up with.
Now beware if you go to Whole Foods during lunch or between 5 and 6 O’clock, expect a big crowd. And if you stand still for 30 second expect to be bumped or knock over. The good part is that they have a four line queue that runs pretty well directing you to the next cashier by alternating between each line. And of course Whole Foods means you pay more $ than the local market and more than what you pay in Whole Foods NJ.

Five stars for their cakes. I LOVE WHOLE FOODS BAKED GOODS… there I said it, I got it off my chest. I LOVE IT!
Their cakes are reasonably priced (especially when you’re looking at cakes from other bakeries on the UES), the cakes are NOT too sweet, it all tastes so fresh and made from quality ingredients… further they do not top the cakes with tons of frosting. I am such a fan, you have no idea.
Go try it! You won’t forget it.

High quality ingredients and quick checkout lines. Price is a little high but I’ll take the quality and proximity to other places of interest over cheap food.

Honestly, New York needs more large scale grocery stores because the small neighborhood ones have such limited selection and exorbitant prices. I understand that rent is high, but the larger stores are more able to absorb the cost and offer reasonably priced items despite the higher rents. Not that Whole Foods is a cheap place to get groceries, but it’s not bad for the area and they have really good selection.
This place is not huge, and pretty well organized. The people know where things are so they are helpful. I just went to get some cookie dough. What I liked was the checkout system. There are four lines next to each other, and a ton of registers beyond. There are screens that prompt which line to go to which register. It’s great because it’s fair for everyone. No one «chooses» the wrong line. Great system!

Not as good as the one in Union Square, but solid. I’ve only had one bad experience with the customer service, and it’s not even worth mention unless it repeats itself in the near future.
They almost always have what I need. Not having to stop at several grocery stores for one recipe is a welcomed relief.
Their fresh cookies are pretty good, and I believe locally made.
Can’t beat the produce. On only one occasion did I question its quality, and that’s probably because I went in shortly before closing time, after it had probably been picked through by previous customers.
I love the olive bar. Cornichons and peppadews are two of my favorite snacks to get from the olive bar.
The guys who work in the meat department are very pleasant — if I were going to rank the customer service based on the department, they would take the gold medal. Always smiling and telling customers to have a great day.
Also, I would like to point out that on a few occasions, I’ve had difficulty finding what I was looking for, and anytime I’ve asked someone to help me, they’ve been able to show me exactly where it is.
Surprisingly, the prices at Whole Foods aren’t bad, especially for Manhattan. If I’m going to pay Manhattan food prices, I might as well go for quality.

Yesterday was my lucky day. I walked in and it was this store’s birthday! There was a huge cake they were sampling and I got a huge piece. I went up to the lady afterwards to ask what this cake was — this was, to my surprise, the best cake I have had in many years. better than any good bakery I have tried. I am not even a cake person but I am now dreaming of this cake!
It was the black and white cake with buttercream frosting… and I can’t wait until the next birthday so I can get it for someone!

If you would like to further your descent into misanthropy, then shop here at rush hour.
Small selection, bizarre layout, and extremely narrow aisles. The most aggravating aisle is the soft cheese aisle. There is about 1.5 feet of space between the soft cheese aisle and the pastry aisle. Leads to many traffic jams. I would recommend popping a xanax before dealing with this section of the store.
Crappy ice cream selection.
I’m really lazy and I like to buy their plain grilled chicken, it’s very good.
Really though, shopping here is a contact sport. Take that xanax.

This is probably my least favorite WF location in NYC. Yes, I even think the crazytown 14^th street location is better. I can’t believe I just typed that.
The thing is, I think this location knows they’re a mess. The layout is odd and it’s always packed during the lunch rush hours. None of the express lines move smoothly, there’s always a backup, and it’s a nightmare to navigate through the hordes of hungry business people with your basket or — god forbid — a cart. No no no.
The bulk section makes me stabby. Not only is it a 3^rd the size of the larger locations, a good number of the containers were just plain empty. Sigh.
The salad bar/​food bar is also lacking in the choices department. How depressing. The prepared foods station does look to be a decent size, so there’s that.
Get it together, E 57^th street WF… or, fine… don’t.

The Quick: Not really sure why there are negative reviews. Nice grocery store with seating upstairs if you’re getting lunch. It’s crazy expensive, but that’s whole foods for you.

Theres alotta WF haters out there, but when it comes down to it. it is very comforting to have a WF so accessible, literally a one stop shop where many unchecked boxes from my list gets checked off. As well as the list items, oftentimes there are many little unplanned purchases that find their way into my cart.
Regarding that, Id just like to personally live a little when doing the mundane task of grocery shopping by trying some new shit out. Gotta be able to use it somehow. and this dangerous road can lead to great losses and may be the catalyst to sprout the seed of hatred for the entire WF market.
In conclusion, I like alotta eye candy when I shop as well so that tells me they have researched the market trends and have a variety of products from all over the world. Sorry carbon foot print but sometimes Id just like to try out those pink peppercorns from Brazil cuz Im bougie like that.
Its nice to use nicer products becuz even if your bank account takes a tiny backlash, its your health that will reap the rewards to come with the better products and your brain will have built a more wellrounded understanding of what kinds of natural resources are actually available insteada just standard options like in the boondocks towns of americana.
GOOD MARKETS; WF, farmers markets and Wegmans, Fairway, TJ’s, Sunrise mart, Chinatown markets, Essex market, GrandecentralMarket
NORMAL NOT SO GREAT; Met, KeyFood, Dagostinos, MortonWilliams, FoodEmporum
FYI; COUPONS AVAIL INSIDE THE BOOKLET AT THE HELP DESK. Man up and disregard the gayness and unkewlness of checking this out as theres great unadvertised deals in there.

I love The Whole Foods Market. Disclaimer: I am biased because my partner is employed by this fine company in Maryland. I shopped here for some specific items on my first day in town for a business trip. It is a classic, small busy WFM in NY. There were mini-​carts available and the place was clean and lots of staff everywhere.
It was very crowded but the lines moved quickly. I approached several of the staff with questions and they all were helpful. Only one guy didn’t look me in the eye or even turn his head when he talked to me. That really annoyed me, but I’m sure they get beaten up all day by customers.
It is a small store so they don’t carry wine or spirits… but a huge selection of beer.
Their check-​out process is very efficient with color-​coded lights spacing out the three lines. It works — and it moves quickly (see my photos here).
Their Whole Body and coffee bar is upstairs. It’s a vast area to eat and relax. A nice space in Mid-​town. The sidewalk in front of the store is wide and very nice, clean with flowers for sale. It is not your typical Manhattan sidewalk.

I am a loyal customer of Whole Foods wherever they may be — even when I am in Texas, Vegas, Chicagoland or NYC. I don’t need to read all the chemicals because I don’t have to read the labels for bad chemicals like added nitrates, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics; even if some items are not organic. They also sell non-​organic items but they do not contain nitrates, harmful pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones. Their organic items are sometimes much less than their supermarket competitors that are not known for being an organic food place.
I know we all have cancer cells — and what triggers it to come out is our diet and lifestyle. So I try to seek healthier choices in my food without totally avoiding what I would like to eat.
They also carry their own 365 Whole Foods organic brands that help keep the cost down. Since they are big, they can get organic supplies are at a better cost to pass on to consumers.
For me, the trip to shop is fast because I don’t have to spend long times reading the labels. If it’s fatty like cream or cheese, I can deal with that. That alone is bad enough. But I can’t deal with additional problems like the hormones and antibiotics in the milk, chicken, beef and pork. Their foods don’t usually come with carcinogenic food dyes and chemicals I need a science book to describe.
Their soaps don’t have parabens — another no no for me.
For 57^th street branch on the east side, my only complaint is they don’t carry all the things I like from their Houston Street branch — if they get bigger, I’d be happier to complete my entire shopping in one spot like the larger Whole Foods in the city. If they get bigger, I think I’ll rate them 5 stars.
Also, most (used to be all) of the staff are super helpful and polite compared to their competitors. They take their time to help you out.
I also like their logical system of checking out to handle their busy store.
I’ve liked Whole Foods since they came out from Austin, TX. One item I can compare well is their fresh squeezed ORGANIC ORANGE JUICE. You go check out their price against other supermarkets; Whole Foods is always less — or sometimes the same even when While Foods’ is organic juice. Non– organic is actually less than any fresh squeezed juice in the city. In fact it’s cheaper than OJ in Chicagoland’s Whole Foods!