Pavilions

Used to be my go-​to market. Not any more. Poor service, reckless attitude about customers, understaffed, and MORE over priced than before. Same applies to the pharmacy. You can do better.

This Pavilions has gone WAY down hill. I’ve been coming here for years. Used to be my favorite grocery store, but the prices have gone up, and the service has gone WAY down. Just awful customer service. The meat/​fish counter guys are as unhappy as could possibly be. The last thing they want to be bothered with is helping someone with an order. They have the meat/​fish counter shut completely down by 8:00pm. The deli counter people are just as bad. Unhappy, grumpy, can’t wait to get out of there. Totally unhelpful. The self check out isle operators are grumpy, bitter, unhelpful, distracted. SOME of the checkout people are nice, friendly, helpful. Others are just as bad as the rest of the grumpy unhappy unhelpful people working here. One checkout lady had so much perfume on, my GROCERIES smelled like perfume for three days.
Ugh. Get it together Pavilions. You guys have gone from first to WORST. Sprouts is just down the street. I’ll be heading there soon.

I’ve been shopping here for the past 10 plus years and although the MDR location is closer to our home, I would drive the extra mile for this locations floral department. I’ve had nothing but amazing experiences shopping here until I encountered a checker named SABINA.
I was absolutely HORRIFIED when this checker rolled her eyes at my me and completely embarrassed me with the customers in line when I questioned the price on an item I was purchasing in this store. This lady has NO BUSINESS being in customer relations and can benefit from a lesson on Customer Service. I encourage the Safeway Co to contact me in regards to my experience (in detail) at this store. Please know that my review was in no way a personal attack on any staff membrather a true observation from a loyal customer of Pavillions.

I only come to Von’s and Pavillions to kill the weekly specials.
There are 3 V/​Ps (Marina/​Centinella) in the area and this is my favorite.
The biggest plus is self check out lanes!
The produces department is very large, but not necessarily well laid out. The bakery here has a nice display case of in house breads and large selection. The meat department has a clean appearance and smell. Even the fish here looks better. They have a florist and bank if you do that thing.
As I said, deals with a Von’s card can be 50% if you shop strategically. The parking lot is usually full and traffic pattern is prone to congestion and confusion.

If you need a cake for a special occasion, ask for Melissa!!. She’s the best decorator ever! I have now ordered 3 cakes for different occasions over the past 9 months and every time she has gone beyond my expectations with her work. Her craftsmanship is far above what I would expect from a grocery store. Their bakery didn’t have a «Minecraft» cake in their catalog, but she had just the cake in mind and my daughter was more than excited to have that cake for her birthday.
So if you need a cake, ask for Melissa! And she’s just the sweetest person. She’s very knowledgeable about cakes when it comes to flavor, design and so on. She will even take time to draw a sketch of what your cake will look like. A true artist!

«I have had my ups and downs and all arounds” – Paul Revere & The Raiders
Sometimes Culver City’s Pavilions is a godsend and has just what you want in ample supply, and other times the advertised specials are long-​gone from the shelves, and the shopping expedition becomes largely a waste.
Many of those encounters revolve around meat products, so if you don’t indulge in ingesting inanimate animal flesh, this store might be just fine day in and day out. But it’s the principle of the thing. Sometimes it’s the Gatorade/​Powerade shelves that are nearly barren during a 59 cents/​32-​oz. bottle sale, or a store-​brand butter sale in which the salted variety is sold out. This Pavilions is too big and too strategically located to stymie its customers that way.
Everyday produce prices are often steep across the board, and it’s a big deal when iceberg, romaine and/​or green-​/​red-​leaf lettuce is on sale, compared to Ralphs, whose regular price for those selections is 99 cents. Also, milk is more expensive than at Ralphs.
Now that Safeway, Vons and Pavilions are corporate cousins with Albertsons, the group’s advertising and promotions are looking similar, but with enough variations in prices and featured items to retain a hint of individuality (usually more expensive) versus Albertsons.
One blessing bestowed by this Pavilions late last year – in fact, on Xmas day: It was open. Ralphs, Smart & Final and some other grocers were closed. That’s one time of year that the harried and desperate shopper is glad to pay extra for convenience.

The only reason for this rating is due to the wait to check out. Every time, I wait at least 10 minutes to check out, regardless of weekend or weeknight. They never seen to have enough cashiers. I avoid coming here unless absolutely necessary for this specific reason, which is a shame because I like everything else about the store.

I am writing this review specifically for their Bakery Department.
Aida makes the most incredible cakes you will find… and they taste great too!
One occasion, where I bought a cake from Aida, was for a high school graduation party and another time was a cake for a birthday party. Aida does an incredible job, very clean and well thought out.
I would highly recommend a cake from Pavilions… made by Aida. And she is just the sweetest person you will find!

As a Toastmaster, I’ll provide the sandwich technique for this review.
Always start with a truthful compliment. The pound cake is wonderful… It tastes sooooo good that it can pass for homemade. As such, I’ve even passed it off at work as homemade :-)
Now here’s the meat (or room for improvement). I’ve purchased food for my hounds at Supermarkets (out of convenience before — but this is the first time for Pavilions in Culver City. I searched and searched and searched and literally EVERY BAG OF DOG FOOD WAS EXPIRED — not by weeks, but months and months and months! (Now I know about code dates and «best if» dates — but this is totally ridiculous!!!)
I was so disappointed that this store would have this on the shelf, that I reached out to one of the clerks. He promised to get a manager’s approval to remove the food. I continued my grocery shopping (20 minutes) and went back to the dog food section — nothing had been done. After I checked out, I asked to speak to a manager and spoke with a female manager who assured me that she would get the expired dog food off the shelf.
Don’t say anything… but I’m going back to the same store this evening for more dog food and if those expired bags are still there, I’m going to write the new owners of the chain (Albertsons) and explain that even though I like my dogs… I’m not one of those kissing owners (or parents — new terminology) — but how would they like it if someone gave them expired food?
Hopefully, this is just wild venting… but after my meeting this evening. I’m heading straight to my local Pavillions.
End with another compliment — ah the Toastmaster way. As a rule, this store has fresh product and a great selection of produce — more costly than Ralphs… but oh sooooo worth it (because my neighborhood Farmers Market is only open on Saturdays).

I usually get my coffee in the Starbucks located in this store. They also have a Jamba Juice that’s why it’s very convenient. The fact that they have Panda Express also just makes my shopping better since I don’t have to worry about what I’m going to eat for dinner. ;)

This review is for the Pavillions PHARMACY. It’s overpriced & has rude employees. I am absolutely stunned by the experience I just had. If I could give this review ZERO stars I would. The lady at the desk was so rude, unpleasant and extremely unhelpful! I ordered a simple prescription of Albuterol (inhaler) & she couldn’t find my name, then walked behind the counter and said to her co-​worker «ugh, well she could’ve told me she was a new patient» in the rudest context, just loud enough for me to hear!
Then I sat & waited as she slowly entered my information & proceeded to tell me to wait in the waiting area, not in front of her.
While waiting, I found the same prescription at the Target pharmacy for $ 10, when pavilions was charging $ 60!
So I told her not to bother & I would fill my prescription elsewhere. She then scoffed & rolled her eyes.
If you want to be overcharged and treated badly, go to this pharmacy.

I had to average my review as I never know what I’m going to get here. This review is for the deli. I come a few times a week on my lunch break for a sandwich. There are 2 people that make sandwiches that do it perfectly. However everyone else always burns the bread or seems like they are making a sandwich for the first time. Another thing that I hate is when they say they don’t have the code to ring me up right there and I have to go to the front. Why does this place not allow everyone working in the deli to use the register? It’s ridiculous to have to wait in line to get a sandwich and then walk up front and wait in line again to pay. Very frustrating):

I like this store but why can’t I get through the checkout in a halfway decent time period — today two cashier’s literally held up two lines as they both consulted with a wacky ass customer arguing about a dollar off — the customer was of course wrong! Why a manager couldn’t handle this and keep
The Saturday night line moving is beyond me! Another reason I prefer to self scan and skip
The cashiers here!
Had to add — once I did get to the front of the line Tresa the cashier was fast and polite and Doyle checked my club card etc —
So maybe it was half the wacky customer but I swear 10 min debating a dollar???

This review is for the bakery staff,
If I had to sum my experience up with one word, I would have to say they are amazing. Extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Aida, let me tell you that you got what it takes to go a long way in your profession. Thank you for saving the day. The cake photo turned out amazing. A business is only as good as their employees. A grocery store is a grocery store but one that makes a person feel welcome is the one that will have lifetime customers. Thanks so much!

Loooove this grocery store! Aside from their regular grocery store items they have a Starbucks, hot deli, and a Jamba Juice inside. They also have salads, small bakery if you want cake, bagels or donuts. If you want plants or flowers this is the spot.
It’s a one stop shop!

This Pavilions has the most unfriendly, unpleasant staff I have ever encountered. Not very knowledgeable or helpful. Probably won’t return.

My boss got me a beautiful bday cake & some flower from here. Cake was soooooo pretty!!! It was a small cake yet they were still nice enough to write happy bday on a little see they paper! The cake tasted soo fresh! the frosting was really good too. Not too sweet just perfect!! flowers were really nice too

Great Bakery Department!
We get our party/​birthday cakes from here.
Ask for Aida she is a great decorator and works with you well.
She helped us «customize» (to a limit of course) 3 cakes.
About $ 40 for the 2-​tier cakes, great taste and perfect price!

FRENCH TOAST CRUNCH CEREAL has been out of production in the USA since 2006. They resurrect it this year January. For some reason I can’t seem to find it.
The one star is for customer service. I call and ask if they carry this cereal and the guy that answered the phone said «I never seen it before» and hung up. I didn’t ask you if you ever seen it before. I want to know do you carry it. Which means get off your buttocks and go look or key it in the computer. What is so hard about that???

No one can help you. Ever.
«I don’t know» is usually the answer. Or I’ll get sent down the wrong isle.
So, I’ve learned to get used to it. My bank is in here. Starbucks, Jamba Juice., and Rite Aid is right next to it… along with other stores I frequent.
This store is no better or worse than other Pavillions. I come here for random things if I’m too lazy to go to Costco.
The organic section isn’t fantastic but they do have more and more selections, it seems, every time I come. That’s a good thing.
The service isn’t as hideous as Sprouts, but definitely not as fantastic as TJs.
Not even close.
I usually come here for paper plates (I know, I know…,) paper towels, and TP.
3 Stars — A-​OK