Chestnut Supermarket

Moldy products. Horrible attitude. Not the best service. the prepared food a bit an expensive
proposition.

Chestnut is my favorite supermarket in Williamsburg, although it might not be as big as Hatzlucha or other places, they still have a very big and diverse verity of food, their fresh produce department size is pretty substantial and includes all types of fruits and vegetables, even fresh Sugarcane or aloe vera if you’re into these stuff.
The meat department is also great, but not that big, but if you need anything in particular, ask for Mr. Kaufman who is very nice and friendly, and will be more then happy to help you with whatever you need.
Deli department is also great and they offer a self serving buffet as well, the customer service is also great.
Aisles could be a bit cramped at times but if you don’t go at rush hour (like Thursday night or Friday when most people of the area do their weekly shopping) it shouldn’t be a problem.
Delivery though could be a bit delayed sometimes, and they tell you sometimes to take home with yourself the stuff that you need immediately.

Good but directed only towards Hasidic Jewish families which means very few name brands and only spelt made products.
Prices are decent for the food offered and you can find most of your food staples here.
Decent selection of fruits but kinda high prices on the meat (I’d rather go to Whole Foods and get really quality meat than pay more for this stash– good selection if you’re in a pinch though). Their bread products are also pretty tasty.
The employees are friendly to me but they don’t try to make a ton of conversation because, again, this isn’t really a place that caters to the secular world.
It’s a good little neighborhood grocery store if you don’t care to have the real-​deal Oreos or any kind of a name brand.

STAY AWAY
Do yourself a favor and stay away. Moldy products. Horrible attitude. If ur not a part of their «group» you WILL be treated like garbage.

I know this is a supermarket for Hasidic people, something I am not, but don’t they eat fresh foods too?
This must be the saddest place on earth to buy produce. The only fresh vegetables that looked mildly decent were the potatoes. Rotting berries and wilted greens are not things I want in my body. Nearly all the organic eggs had expired. For weeks.
I suppose they have a good selection of kosher foods, but I obviously went to the wrong place for greens. I would absolutely not recommend going here if you are looking for fresh food.

NO. Just no. The store has a decent produce, which is the only reason it gets one star. It’s really for the kosher community. Products aren’t for those outside of the hasidic community, their target consumer. Don’t waste your time.

Probably the best grocery story in this neighborhood, though the pickings are rather slim around here.
Limited selection on some things and an entirely kosher market, so be prepared for that. But there’s some good finds here.

LIFE-​CHANGING
Anyone who lives in Bed-​Stuy knows that your only grocery options are overpriced dumps like Compare Foods, CTown, etc OR overpriced yuppie places like Choice Market/​Choice Greene.
The kosher supermarkets in Bed-​Stuy provide the missing link in a great value and selection. Fine, it’s no Whole Foods in terms of produce, but Chestnut is also less expensive than every grocery store (including some of the smaller kosher markets) in the area. Once you familiarize yourself with some of the kosher brands you can eat really well without spending too much money.
The only place in Brooklyn that can beat Chestnut in terms of quality/​price ratio is Trader Joes and that’s pretty far.
Chestnut has made my quality of life and health in Bed-​Stuy so much better.

Chestnut Supermarket isn’t my regular haunt for groceries, but I’ve come in on times when I’m in a bind or when I’m too lazy to trot further than my own neighbourhood. For the most part I’ve managed to find what I’m looking for, but there are definitely quirks about this market that leave me somewhat leery about returning on a regular basis.
For one thing, the aisles are fairly cramped and organized in a non-​intuitive way which makes it hard to look for items. While the staff are also quite nice, they seem somewhat baffled when pondering where a particular item is. On my last visit, I asked if they had chicken stock, to which they asked me what that was. Which is… strange, don’t you think?
I can’t imagine that they would fail in the Jewish deli and kosher food departments, and it will definitely be my first choice if I ever need kasha or horseradish or anything of the sort. Unfortunately I will still go elsewhere for my main staples since their claustrophobic aisles are just too much to bear.

Really good produce here and not too expensive. Since it’s primarily aimed at Hasidic families, you can also get some great things you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere, like Challah bread. Mmmm Challah bread. Apparently they’ve begun offering Saturday hours also.

I shop here so much that I definitely need to update my review. Chestnut is something like a comfort food to me — or at least Weinstein’s lox salad from Chestnut is. I look back upon my first review of Chestnut, and realize that there is where everything started, from Unilocaling a kosher grocery store leading to a whole entirely unkosher (yet really, really sweet) series of events that basically changed my life. Just so you know, it is totally possible to be friends with Hasidic Jewish people — you just gotta know the right ones.
Chestnut, though, Chestnut — four blocks from my house, so my go-​to grocery. The produce must have just been bad on the first day that I went, because I have never really had a problem since. I notice that selection of all items fluctuates depending on the day, time, and whether or not it is a holiday (note: don’t try to buy bagels in the evening, you won’t find any). I am a big fan of the aforementioned lox, the Shabbos sales on chickpeas, the adorable Hasidic children roaming around, and the cashier with Alec Baldwin-​esque crystal blue eyes who looks me straight in the eyes and talks to me even though my neckline is not covered. ;)
Chesnut is great, it’s my second favourite kosher grocery store after Pomegranate. And I mean, there can only be one Pomegranate.

Despite how culturally foreign this place is to me, the produce can be good and affordable sometimes, and they will deliver your groceries for free! Just don’t expect to find any pork in here

Awful business, and pure disrespect to neighbors. Chestnut uses the sidewalk on the side of their business as their warehouse from 7am-​2am. Deliveries and skids moving up and down the block 24 hours a day.
They’ve blocked the entire sidewalk and use their loading dock as a garbage dumpster, which happens to be the entrance of a 91 unit apartment building. Also, dont eat their prepared foods because its made in the warehouse down the block, then moved up a dirty street. disgusting.
They have excuse after excuse and apologies, but they don’t care about anyone else. There is a common disrespect for others.
Chestnut — your limits of business are within the walls of your establishment. There is a point when you need to stop taking gigantic orders, thats your maximum. Stop using the sidewalk.

This is a beautiful store. There’s no other store like that in a few miles. It’s a kosher Whole Foods.
Being a kosher supermarket catering to the local community of chasidic Jews, it is a cultural experience — like shopping in a supermarket in any other very-​ethnic area. It might take you a while to find what you like, to get comfortable shopping there as an outsider, and so on.
What brings me to this store are the produce section and the deli. There is one word I can use to describe the produce section: attention.
*
I see some people complaining about prices and mis-​labling. You’re pissing me off, and here is a piece of my mind:
You’re not getting the concept, are you? When you walk into this place, you notice that these guys REALLY REALLY give a damn. Everything is fresh and clean and appealing. They got that part down 100%. Everything else is a plus. Yes, they are pricey, but I guess that pays for quality. You’re totally welcome to go back to your little corner bodega.

I had high hopes for you and me, Chestnut. And then you failed me with your high, often inaccurate prices and strange selection of eats.

I was excited to have a grocery store so close to me, but that excitement quickly waned when I found that every single time I entered the Chestnut, items would ring up for a different price at the checkout than they are listed for in the aisle. Every time! I asked the manager about it and he said «we’re new,» but really, they aren’t that new. There is no excuse for constantly misleading customers.
What’s even worse is that their produce is sometimes awful. Almost everything I’ve purchased from there has rotted really quickly.
An even bigger problem is that they are collecting customer information. My roommate gave them her address and quickly ended up with a ton of junk mail. I DO NOT want to be asked for my phone number when I pop in to by some eggs. Bad form.

Update to previous review: It’s official, the Chestnut and I are dating. I’m in love.
Sushi and meat counters now open. Also they have a frequent buyers
card, so you can save more now.
I’ve seen multiple reviews with «inaccurate» prices, but I go there probably 3 – 4 weeks and nothing has ever rang out wrong for me. :/

The Koshers and The Vegetarians are secret friends… although kosher delis have laden the world with chubby pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, «kosher dairy» meals are largely vegetarian friendly (sometime even vegan!)
I came into Chestnut looking to simply restock my produce drawer but happened upon two cases of strange and magical brands of frozen vegetarian meats and entrees that I’ve never seen before! So I filled my basket with green boxes of Mart Mon Cuisine «Vegetarian Salisbury Steak» and Zoglo’s «Meatless Chicken Nuggets.» While still dazzled by these new discoveries, I peered into the next case and found a mother load deposit of all cheese Pizza Bagels! So I bought the Mendelsohn’s because they seemed the most popular…
And how do all these Kosher vegetarian food taste… er… well… they taste covenant… but then I sip on my Be’er Mayim Grapefruit Soda and it’s all good…
As Funda noted, the cheese selection is lacking unless you’re willing to subsist on Farmers Cheese, American, and various other «Cheese Food»… including the perversely enticing Smoked Processed Cheese Food Slices… maybe I’ll try that next time.