The Meadow

Such a lovely shop in West Village. They have 3 high shelves for 3 items: chocolate, salt, and bitters. None of the things that you buy here will be found at another grocery store. I didn’t know what the uses of them, but I had a happy Salt Tasting day at The Meadow. Apparently they have various infused and flavored sea salt around the US and around world. Each salt has a distinctive taste that even a non-​chef like I can tell.
The staff is extremely helpful and friendly. One staff explains to me what flavors to expect from each part of the world. It was like walking into a wine bar and listening to wine stories from a bartender. We don’t know whether the stories are true, but we certainly think they are legit and interesting.

Been wanting to come here for at least a year now, and finally made it. Glad that I went, especially for the diverse number of salts that are available. I especially like that the salts can be sampled. The salt from New Zealand is exceptional. Bought a few chocolates as well. Whenever I’m in need of salt, I know where to go.

Love old fashion places just like this one. A GREAT secret.

I came in looking to buy chocolate for a photo shoot. Abe was great and super informative. He took time to explain the different chocolate bars and was extremely knowledgable about the entire inventory. It was nice being able to walk out of the store with exactly what I needed.

this store is incredible. i am a salt fanatic and spent over an hour in here trying different salts. i love that you can try them all! the prices are pretty reasonable too. they have a ton of interesting chocolates and bitters as well. i also picked up some spicy honey, which i have roberta’s bee sting pizza to thank for the obsession, the honey is phenomenal and actually has a great spice level. the guys that work here are more than happy to help and offer opinions and suggestions. so glad i found this spot!

If you are in NYC and find yourself in the need of bitters or syrups for cocktails. Or chocolate. Or salt.
This is the place. Huge assortment of bitters and chocolates (i’ve never really shopped the salt stuff there) and the staff tends to know their stuff. If in doubt, take their advice.
Friendly folks!

What an absolutely precious gift shop! It’s small so you really do need to step in to truly witness all they have. Like any great space they focus on just a few things but they do them all well. So this is an ideal spot to buy flowers (hence the name!) or to buy salts, chocolates, or small home goods. Essentially you can put together the best gift basket for someone here; a mother, a sister, a brother, the in-​laws, etc.
I was recently in Victoria, BC and met this super crazy chocolate expert. And this is relevant because I spotted a lot of those same chocolates in The Meadow. Things I recognized from all over the world! They also have local chocolates and even Theo Chocolate from Seattle. (Woo!) Very interesting and extensive collection. In fact, you can ask for advice and help in choosing what to buy if you don’t know a lot about chocolate because they do. When shopping here I was looking for local and so I picked up some bars from a chocolatier based in Brooklyn. For people who want to find dark chocolates, they even have a whole shelf dedicated to 10-​% chocolate — crazy! I’m not into anything too dark so I’ve never gone above 70% but it left me super curious to try more and see what else is out there.
The salt wall is similar to the chocolate offerings. They’ve got rubs, table salts, and types of salt from all over the world. All labeled and ordered beautifully. They sell gift packs of salts from around the world, they sell pink salts, black salts, and even salt planks for prepping fish and other foods. I believe I also spotted salted glasses (shot glasses) for sipping tequila and other spirits that taste great with a salted kick. Super cool.
For a store thats about 400 sq feet, they seem to be able to fit in enough to keep your eyes busy for an hour. Very cute!

Salineophiles rejoice there’ s briny little corner of Gotham just for you. And, if that’ not enough for your taste buds, a very eclectic chocoholic inspired trove worth a sample for the sweetly salty in your life. All things

I discovered The Meadow in Portland while searching for a hostess gift and had a super pleasant experience. I stumbled upon the West Village location during my lunch break and was so happy to know that this store was actually a chain boutique. My first experience was fine — didn’t encounter any rude salespeople, though I didn’t like how the prices of items were so hidden. My second experience at this location made me not want to return. There were two salespeople. The guy was friendly (i remember him from my first time there). The girl, who seemed like maybe a store manager, was completely rude and unfriendly. She rung me up at the cashier — didn’t smile or even look at me in the eye. I could tell she was in a hurry. In a pricey store like this, you shouldn’t be so quick with your customers and have an attitude. I’ll go buy my artisanal chocolates elsewhere, thank you very much.

Okay… so candles and wax-​made goodies are great ‘n all but I have yet to be accused of going gaga for either bitters or chocolate yet, despite this, the slew of eclectic items totally floored me at Meadow. What the place lacks for in size, it packs time and again over in variety and eccentricity of the collection. For instance, there is a wall of specialty premium chocolate. Yes, a whole seriously tall wall. Another wall is filled with spices such as truffle salt that is oh-​so-​very scrumptious and sneakily offered at the register via sample popcorn. Yet another section in the back is pipet-​topped bottle after bottle of bitters for fancy cocktails. If you like any of the aforementioned things, this store is a wet dream for you.

Hooked!!!
Simply DIVINE! Fantastic selection of chocolates, salts and bitters. The flowers are also quite lovely.
This is one of our favorite spots.

This is a great place to get classy chocolate bars for gifts, though the artisanal salts and bitters are a little ridiculous.

Huge chocolate selections, center isle with fresh flowers, whole shelf of bitters + bricks of salt board. What’s not to love about the wonderful little store!

Wow, this place is the greatest for gifts for those confusing people who have a house in CT with a pool and a grill. It is also a great place to buy myself something, and my intellectual brother in law who loves fancy cocktails. But I digress.
I thought of the gift before I trekked down from the UWS, and called the store to find out if they had it. The clerk (Robin) was amazingly helpful on the phone, and even suggested that for what I wanted I should bring a canvas bag or backpack and I should get a book to go with it since it is a gift that might require explanation.
I went down there and bought the heavy salt block in question which she picked out for me and tied to the «cooking with a salt block» cookbook with a cloth ribbon. There was some popcorn sitting out on the counter that I sampled, and when I realized it was so delicious because it was truffle salt, I bought that as a gift too. And then when I suggested I get myself a humble present in the form of a finishing salt not terribly pricey that I could also use for cooking, she guided me most expertly.
The young woman knew so much and was so helpful, even though she was not feeling her best (post-​birthday hangover, was the explanation I got out of her).
I really went just for the salt block, but there is a whole section of bitters as well, with a book all about bitters. I had been there before, but I forgot what a treasure this place is. I will go there for many more presents. I would be pleased if I too received a present from The Meadow. BTW, they give gift receipts. Robin gave me one without asking, perfect.

Great selection of chocolate bars and salts. I only browsed the chocolate section, so this review pertains only to that.
Prices are about what you’d expect for high end chocolate. Displays were organized and tidy, making it easy to check exactly what was there.
Two drawbacks, though. First, I’m reluctant to pay $ 10 for a chocolate bar without a nibble. I realize giving out free chocolate is not their M.O., but I’d like to know what I’m spending my money on. There must be a way to do this without being a giveaway. At least have a few «featured» items that can be tasted so we know what we’re buying.
In addition, or perhaps in lieu of tastes, it would be nice if there was a short description of the items. Sort of like how some cheese shops describe the cheeses, or even some wineries. Fruity, nutty, bitter, etc. You can extract some of this from the labels, but additional insight would also give me the confidence that my purchase is something I’d like.
I walked out empty handed because I didn’t have the energy to get into a discussion with the clerk about the different items. I would have made a purchase if I had been able to better evaluate them on my own. I may return when I am in the mood for chocolate AND conversation.

This place is AMAZING.
OK, so here’s the thing –my boyfriend and I are into making cocktails at home using mezcal, gin, whatever and pretend to be mixologists. For our mezcal drinks, we like to make it spicy and use bitters for it. Few months ago before we moved back to NYC, we were at a bitter/​cocktail specialty shop in Boston and found these bitters called Bad Dog. They are spicy and add a kick to your drink! Anyways we ran out and ordered on Amazon but they failed to deliver it; apparently they ran out. So we went onto Bad Dog’s website and looked up locations that sold it. Meadow was the closest and I think the only one if I recall!
So we walked in on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and already I am in love… they sell fresh flowers, salt, chocolate, and bitters? The place is small but so adorable and cozy! There was one girl working but she was so helpful– she recommended a different bitter (and spicier, OMG) called Scrappy’s Bitters along with finding our Bad Dog. It’s awesome how you can try the bitters! Along with buying both bitters, we bought a Hibiscus syrup that apparently goes well with mezcal and a spicy salt. Great addition to our mezcal collection!
I really adore this place! Please check it out if you’re into making cocktails or just picking up fresh flowers. This place is a gem indeed :)

Staff was welcoming but even that couldn’t warm me to the prices here, which are likely appropriate given the exclusivity of the products, but were still beyond my going rate given I rarely cook. Great selection of hard-​to-​find seasonings and chocolate bars if you need a gift for folks who appreciate such things.

Love their selection of salts, and especially the wall lined with chocolate bars from extremely high quality producers including one of my favorites, Amadei. This was heaven for me, and I wanted to buy one of everything! I especially loved their shelves of single origin chocolate bars.
They also have classes on bitters, chocolates, salts, etc. that I’m excited to attend.

Just when you thought you couldn’t be any more of a white person, here comes The Meadow, a contemporary yuppie’s honeypot. A true yuppie could probably sniff this place out faster than he could sniff out Rick’s garlic pickles at the Hester Street Fair. It’s all here, like a scene out of «stuffwhitepeoplelike». Huge fresh bunches of flowers. 10 lb. blocks of Himalayan sea salt. Brown butter chocolate bars ($ 10) from a company out in Oregon. Racks of $ 28 bitters, with tear droppers for sampling. Marketing keywords might include «specialty», «artisanal», «crafted», «imported», «gourmet». The employees were informative and very friendly. Almost passionate about spreading their concentrated knowledge of chocolate and bitters.
I mock thee, The Meadow, and yet here I am, daydreaming about when I can go back to my apartment and snap off the tiniest bite of my rationed brown butter chocolate bar. Damn you and your charms.

You are: gainfully employed with health insurance, 917 rather than 718, more likely to frequent the 6 or 1 train than the L and at rush hour rather than 2 pm… and yet. Your skinny jeans wish you had more plaid in your closet! You make your own bitters! You wonder whether wearing an ironic t-​shirt to a Miike Snow concert cancels out the suit you had on until 9 pm. And then you get mad that everybody seems to know who Miike Snow is now and you saw them at Bowery Ballroom a year and a half ago.
You order goddamn salty caramels over seamlessweb and eat them at your desk.
Take your self-​loathing yupster self to the Meadow. Oh, don’t forget to stop at the Swedish candy store on the way and buy a selection of brightly colored, expensive treats. Then hate yourself at the Meadow as you sniff the vast array of bitters, marvel at the selection of Himalayan salt rocks, and consider purchasing yet more candy flavored with salt.
The dream of Portlandia is alive in the WVill.