Gristedes

Just a regular gristedes– not as crazy high priced as everyone says, but yea a little pricey. The staff was kind of apathetic and the indoor setup/​décor doesn’t make me want to shop or eat anything.

Prices here are literally insane. Even for NYC, this is highway robbery.
Stay away if at all possible.

Only come here as a last resort. Very high prices on most items, small selection, and some apathetic employees. The only reason this place is open is because the desperate NYU students keep it afloat.

Overpriced and nothing unique in the selection. Avoid unless desperate! There are definitely better spots to go in the area without causing your wallet such pain!

It’s a crime to even call this place a grocery. Terrible produce. Shameful prices. Just no.

The worst supermarket. Possibly ever. Having gone to NYU and having lived in the village for several years afer, I have had the unfortunate experience of having come to Gristedes many times because of sheer convenience.
For starters, the produce is horrific. Moving on, the supermarket tends to be a HUGE mess. Boxes piled up, new shipments everywhere. I get that every market has to have their receiving days, but it seemed like Gristedes had one every day and it took them way too long to put things away, so you are forced to navigate through their already ridiculously narrow aisles.
Last but not least, their insanely high prices. I get if the milk was organic or the eggs were fresh from that morning, but this is just standard stuff, nothing special. It seemed that every time I picked up 3 – 4 basic items I spent $ 20 there. One of the only good parts about leaving the village is the fact that I no longer have to shop here.

Like another Unilocaler I come here after the gym sometimes. Unlike others, I am not a college student, so I can’t really justify paying twice the price for bad produce. I keep giving them a chance and my food is always so beat up and goes bad in a day.
This is not a gourmet store. Walk an extra block to Morton Williams on Bleecker and get good parsley for $ 1.69 rather than soggy parsley for $ 2.69.

The coldest grocery store I’ve ever stepped into my entire life. Come prepared with a parka.
That said, I come here all the time for lunch because they have the best sandwich deals. Two ginormous heros (each half of a single hero being the size of a normally large sandwich) is only $ 7.99. You can choose from various deli meats, cheese, etc from the deli bar.
Honestly, this is the best deal in NYC.

I’m not a big fan of ‘tedes for several reasons.
First, prices. Let me acknowledge that, yes, I know this is NYC, and yes, I know this is the Village, but come on, this is ridiculous. I was in the mood for milk and cookies the other night, so I headed over to Gristedes and bought a gallon of milk and a pack of cookies. It was just shy of $ 10. That’s highway robbery. NOTHING is cheap here. Nothing. I live nearby, but I do most of my shopping at Whole Foods because they are so much cheaper. It really say something when Whole Paycheck beats you in the price game, especially when Whole Foods has better groceries.
Second, service. I should not be going here just because of prices, but now and again I’ll find myself in the store since it’s so close to my apartment. I’ll grab something, and then I’ll get in line for the one cash register they have open. There is almost always someone standing behind the customer service register, but that person will just stand and watch the line grow without ever ringing someone up.
Lastly (not really lastly, but I’m not going to go on), selection. The store isn’t that small, but they have a terrible selection, which seems to shrink by the week.
Unless you really need something quickly, do yourself (and your wallet) a favor and hit up Whole Foods. Or at least Morton Williams (2 blocks away).

Honestly when it comes to supermarkets I’m more of a Shop-Rite/Wegman’s/Pathmark/Trader Joe’s type guy, but after workout at a nearby NYSC I needed to get a drink and decided to see what this Gristedes had to offer. Despite hanging out in the Village for much of my youth and even working there for a while, I never went into this store so my Unilocaly curiosity also took hold.
Gristedes, as a rule isn’t a «cheap» supermarket. Don’t expect really amazing discounts here. Things are definitely «Manhattan prices» but if you live in the area you probably knew that already. Folks, if you’re from an outer borough, don’t expect your home town’s prices here. Some of the sale items (including the iced teas I bought) were nicely priced, but others were not.
This Gristedes is clean and organized but the aisles are rather narrow (to accommodate as much product as possible on the shelves). I had a back pack on and realized in certain aisles if I turned around too quickly I would have knocked over a lot of cans! Be careful!
I did notice some of their goods have smaller «half can» sizes (I recall seeing cans of beans like this) which make sense for folks nearby with smaller apartments (and presumably smaller kitchens).
Check out was swift and everyone I ran into in the store was courteous.
Sure this isn’t the ideal place in the world to shop, but in a pinch Gristedes will do just fine!

Something about the name makes me feel like the prices should be cheaper.
Yeah.
I mean…
It’s expensive and all, but — c’mon guys! You’re all a big bunch of big dramatic whiny privileged college kids wielding mom n daddy’s credit card ($$$) so… Quit’CHO’Bitchin! Aiite?

Up until today, my opinion of this moderately mismanaged store was one of mild indifference. Yes, they’re usually understaffed. Yes, the cashiers are surly. Yes, it’s overpriced. But whatever — par for the course in NYC.
Until today, when the day manager actually made snide, insulting remarks at me sotto voce.
It’s hard to believe that a person could be so full of bile that he would make rude comments at a customer who had said nary a word. My crime? On a previous visit, I had asked the same manager to open a register and ring me up when there were no cashiers around. Apparently that simple request was enough to get me on this man’s blacklist.
Clearly this particular individual has already been condemned to his own private hell (i.e. managing a Gristede’s), so I don’t need to wish the man any further damnation. I only offer up my detached surprise that any business would want to trash-​talk its customers in this economy. I guess the prime location of this supermarket entitles the employees to treat customers with disdain.

This store has been renovated almost entirely since I last reviewed it, and in the interest of fairness, even though I hate Unilocal now, I wanted to say so. Felix the meat manager has left, replaced by Towana, who is equally nice although far less willing to «fight» for your order. She gets most of her stuff pre-​wrapped and packaged now, and has little or no discretion, it seems, as to what they allocate her. However, if she can help you, she will.
The prices are still WAY too high, especially now since they have eliminated almost everything that wasn’t moving rapidly, and the quality of the prepared foods is suspect, but the deli has been totally overhauled and relocated and the cold cuts aren’t bad. Less produce than usual is decaying. I have gotten mangoes here recently that were actually perfect in every way. I will say this: they are definitely trying.
Several ineffectual managers have been replaced, as have most of the sullen, apathetic employees. The day manager seems to care, the cashiers, while not exactly setting the world on fire with speed, don’t get too much wrong, and the renovation led to a major, major purge of much of the merchandise. While it was fun, it wasn’t exactly a bonanza when things were four for a dollar in the discontinued basket by the register, because let’s face it – how many jars of green and blue marachino
cherries do you need?

It’s a little bit sad for me when $ 2.50 for a 1.8 liter soda is considered a deal.
The store’s smaller than the other grocery near here on Bleecker & La Guardia, head over there for more selection.

Awful. More expensive than trader joes and lower quality than any other major nyc market. The staff are often not very helpful and seem to grumble through their day. On almost every visit, I have been charged the wrong price for at least one item. When I point this out, the employees sigh and look at me as if I’ve done something wrong. Once the manager blamed customers for this, saying that the listed ‘special’ prices were actually the result of unscrupulous customers changing the listed prices… hence the discrepancies at the register. How about just apologizing and getting it right? Awful.

Horrible — even for a Gristedes. I saw the deli clerk watch on as an unsuspecting customer ate lunch meat «samples» that had not only been out for a while, but had just had a fly walking all over them. Then she laughed and threw them out.
Yuck.

Small (like 10 oz.) box of Fruity Pebbles: $ 6.49.
Really? They wouldn’t be adjusting their prices because it’s in the middle of NYU and they’re gouging students, would they? Nooooooo.
Considering there are other supermarkets only blocks away (Laguardia and Bleeker; Mulberry and Prince) that are significantly cheaper, I guess this is just a good old fashion overpricin’. Avoid this dump; it’s a rip-​off.

Yes, yes, the food is over priced. But it’s a pretty decent selection for the East Village. Plus, I have to say, the produce — especially the fruit — wasn’t terrible looking, which, in my mind, I’m comparing to my neighborhood grocery store in Queens. Check out was quick. The layout is a little strange and not totally intuitive, but I wouldn’t feel an injustice if this was my neighborhood grocery store.

Avoid at all costs. This Gristedes is an overgrown convenience store that sells food way beyond the expiration date. I have bought too many expired or spoiled things here to even remember, but one particularly bad experience was buying a jar of salsa. When we got it home, we realized the safety seal had been busted before, and the salsa had grown moldy underneath the lid.
This place is only good for buying shelf-​stable preserved food. Anything else you buy here you buy at your own risk, and probably at twice the cost of anywhere else in NYC. Go to Morton Williams on Laguardia, it has twice the selection at cheaper prices, and much lower chances of buying spoiled food.

Where to begin? Terrible selection, unpleasant surroundings. I won’t even go here for staples, even though it’s the closest supermarket. Strikingly poor selection of produce and whole foods. Great if you want Chef Boyardee and overpriced processed, packaged junk. On a recent weeknight, they didn’t have any baguettes. A couple of weeks ago, on a basil quest, I found only one sad package of basil that was wilted beyond recognition. They stock their olive oil across from a refrigerated section, making the olive oils cloudy, white, and congealed in their bottles — do they not realize that that’s completely unappetizing? Counting the days till this place goes under.