AJ’s Fine Foods

AJ’s Fine Foods are excellent markets, and this Pima and Pinnacle Peak locale is one of the best! Superb Sushi, Floral Design, Home Goods, Bakery, Café, and Produce! We highly recommend AJ’s Fine Foods above all others. Thompson Pk at FLW AJ’s is Excellent as well.
Remember, shopping at any AJ’s of N. Scottsdale is an experience with subtle lighting, amazing, educated staff, and exquisite cuisine unparalleled to anything in Arizona.

The manager at this location was very rude and made a big scene when I brought in my 8 week old (hypoallergenic) maltese. I literally just walked in to pick up a muffin, leave and be on my merry way. I didn’t come in more than 15 ft in the store as the coffee/​pastries bar is RIGHT at the entrance. When I told her that she kept on making a big deal about it. I work just down the road and see people bring their dogs around ALL the time. North Scottsdale is so uppity sometimes it drives my crazy.

Went here for a work lunch and tried their tuna salad for the first time. My coworker raved about it, but when the AJ employee told me there were apples in it I immediately turned my nose up! Eeww I thought, but MAN! I couldn’t have been further from the truth!!! It’s the best tuna salad I’ve ever had! And I’ve had a lot of different deli tuna salad sandwiches. They let you pick your bread and dress it with whatever condiments you want. I had her toast the bread first and then I added spicy mustard, pickles (bc there wasn’t any relish), and red onion. It was amazing and I can’t wait to go back for another! :) I’ve also tried a lot of their cakes, Boston Cream, Strawberry Mouse (my fave) apple pie, and all have been fresh and really good!

Excellent bakery, very fresh. Meats are top of the line. Take out foods are fresh and hot. Employees go out of their way to help and are happy to do so. Taste tests on new items are helpful. Incredible wine section. Great fresh sushi. If you want an outstanding upper scale market AJ’s is it!

I have had repeated instances of very poor service trying to get a pizza at this AJs. The first time, I called, was hung up on, called back, was put on hold for so long, I hung up. Called back, finally talked to someone, told him I wanted a vegetarian pizza, an item on their menu. He didn’t know what that was. No pizza. The second time, I went to the store, told them I wanted to order a pizza. Was told the chefs were in a meeting, they could place the order for me but they had no idea when the meeting would be over and they would start on the pizza. No one in the store knows when a meeting is over? No plans are put in place to meet customer needs while there is a meeting going on? No pizza again. Will not go back. It is very clear that the employees do not care about service and apparently, supervision does not either.

Their Idea of fine pastry is to fill Napoleon and Éclair with the same «cream» base mockup made of a CHEAP pudding instead of butter. Nothing fine about that. What a disgrace to otherwise great desserts, if made properly, with the right ingredients. But that would mean thinner profits… Ate many great pastries during my life, a few bad ones, but those two were by far the worst. My last visit there.

So addicted to this fine grocery store for many reasons:
–customer service
–better merchandised than a department or specialty store
–incredible produce
–wine tastings
–unusual and hard to find items (except the Franciscan Equilibrium wine I wanted)
–generous with samples
Why oh why is AJ’s Fine Foods not in Washington DC? I must be satisfied with just visiting them when I fly there on business.
My amazing boyfriend is a chef/​restaurant owner in DC/​VA and he bought three night’s worth of meat/​seafood here — he was really impressed with the quality and the expert knowledge of the butchers.
I even took a picture of how they merchandised the jalapenos… seriously…it made me actually buy the makings of Nachos and some Pacifico beer!

The have my husbands favorite cookies here called Tammy co. Also the AJ cookies that they bake daily is soft and amazing as well. I love their entire pastry and cake options as well. Great for grabbing a box of sweets of different goodies for a party or a client. My go to place for desert.

This review is only for the sandwich I had today because I have always been satisfied with what I order from here and the soups are amazing and the service is top notch. However, the BLT I ordered today was not what I would consider up to AJ’s standards. It was pretty much all bread and the bacon was in little bits, not strips. I will continue to shop here but I hope someone reads this so they know that they can do better. All other sandwiches I have ordered have had plenty of meat.

This review is just for their coffee bar. They are incredible inconsistent. I ordered an almond milk latte and the first two time it was very sweet. The second two lattes had no sweetness at all and one of them tasted like black coffee with a splash of plain almond milk. It seems there is no standard on either how to make these or which milk they are using. When you are paying almost $ 5 for one, it’d be nice to know what to expect. After the last latte, I decided to give up on those and just go for the black coffee. I tried the gingerbread roast this morning for something festive and the best I can describe it is that it tastes like panang curry. I’m not sure why gingerbread coffee would have such a strong Thai/​coconut flavor but it’s definitely not spicy or ginger-​y at all. What a bummer. This is the closest coffee place to work so I’m really disappointed that even though they want to charge you an arm and a leg, the drinks are never good. To add insult to injury, I submitted a suggestion through their website and never even got an e-​mail acknowledging that they received it.

I love to hit up this store when I’m in town. This is not a grocery store for everyday items like toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc. This is the place you go for organic chicken, prime rib, amazing bakery or produce items. Their bread selection is alway top notch and they have a great fine wine and liquor department too. Sometimes when I feel like a «home cooked» meal after eating out for several nights in a row, they have a chef selection with food made fresh daily, to go. Last night I grabbed a piece of lasagna and it was fabulous. I’ve also had their prime rib, which was also amazing. They also do breakfast. I’ve had their scrambled eggs and bacon as well. Basically, if you’re not in the mood to cook but don’t want fast food or take out, this is your spot.

Just a warning. The AJ’s at Mountain View and Via Linda is closing for good on August 16, 2014. A true pity.

This store is the smallest location I’ve visited. That aside, it is clean, well-​stocked and organized. I appreciated the fact that it was never uncomfortably crowded during the lunch hour. This was great because I had lunch here three days in a row! Obviously, I’m a fan. They have a nice salad bar. Again, not as many options as I’ve seen at other locations BUT solid. They rotate the ingredients daily too. This kept me out of my salad rut… spinach one day, spring mix the next. Everything is kept fresh and is not picked over.

This location is beautiful, but not as dialed in as other locations. The staff I encountered put off a «You’re not worthy» kinda vibe– which is unfortunate. Customer service at an upscale market is a very important thing, but it is missing at this location. To see how it’s done right, check out the Central location or PV, they know how to take care of business.

Sure it’s your generic more expensive supermarket with more brands and options — that you can find everywhere. However, the service here is really top notch, definitely amongst the most friendly I’ve ever frequented.
Heck, I even screwed up one time and dropped a four pack, but they helped me sift through the embarrassment, cleaned it up, and immediately retrieved another without asking. I literally could not ask for more because they already did it! That service alone is what keeps me coming back.

Yep! I am a fan of this store. To me, it is the most convenient grocery store around. The staff is friendly and there is always a great selection of take out food. For instance this evening, they had a beautiful and mighty delicious lasagna made wth spicy sausage and vodka sauce. Oh my! what a sin that was. I started eating half and could not resist eating the rest as it was just the perfect balance of flavors.
In addition to the fabulous food, their checkout is ALWAYS friendly and efficient unlike the Safeway by me which is an abomination in terms of being understaffed.
Last but not least, their wine selection is out of this world and there is also a sushi bar in house which rivals some of the best sushi restaurants in town in terms of their fish quality.
The produce is always superb and the meat and fish displays are absolutely gorgeous.

Wonderful market. Quality produce and meat market. Superb variety. Deli and bakery to die for. Outstanding, helpful, courteous and attentive staff.
I have one complaint and there’s nothing AJ’s can do about it – the clientele. What’s the deal with the snoot-​factor around here? No please, no thank you, no smile, no nuttin’.
I’d find it hard to work here and be as consistently pleasant as staff seem to be in the face of people yammering on cell phones, acting as if the checkers are really just robots unworthy of acknowledgement. Not even a break on the phone to say hello to the person ringing up the purchases.
Mega-​kudos to staff and management for continually delivering the best in attitude.
Seriously good customer service in an environment that must become a grind. A real pleasure to shop here.

I love this AJ’s! Great staff, great location and the perfect selection.
No, I wouldn’t do my weekly shopping at any AJ’s, but for the select items I cannot get anywhere else I will pay whatever I need to.
The wasteland that is Desert Ridge luckily is only about eight miles from this AJ’s. I wish it was closer, but am glad it is so close!

We don’t have grocery stores like this in LA. I used to think Whole Foods was the most upscale grocery store out there. Then I moved to North Scottsdale and discovered AJ’s. As it says on their cups, «it’s more than a market.» AJ’s is like your well-​dressed, better-​looking friend who always seems to have the best of everything. Yes, it’s pretentious. Yes, it’s expensive. But man is it amazing.
Great produce, nice selection of unique beer and wine, delicious meats. My mom keeps buying this Santa Maria steak seasoning that is perhaps one of the most fantastic things ever created. It costs something ridiculous, but makes steaks so much better.
What I really enjoy about AJ’s is going there for lunch. The outdoor grill offers burgers, chicken sandwiches, and hot dogs. I typically get the bratwurst and some corn on the cob. Sometimes I venture inside for a tuna salad or turkey sandwich. Both options are fantastic. My meal always comes out to less than $ 10 (including my iced tea refill). AJ’s serves China Mist tea, which is surely delicious. If you purchase one of their refillable cups it only costs 75 cents for a refill.
We used to go to this location two to three times a week, until we figured out that the Lone Mountain/​North Scottsdale location is closer to our house (less stoplights).

I come to this AJs mostly for breakfast or lunch.
This store is the right size for the area, though it always seems very crowded. The selection is upscale as someone else has noted, and the prices seem in line.