Whole Foods Market

I accidentally placed a catering order for the wrong date, but needed it on the morning of the Super Bowl. The manager, Gwen, went out of her way to quickly get my order together. She’s the best!

They seem to be getting a little creative with new juices and I like that. I rarely support whole foods because of the hypocritical business practices. Animal products are not healthy and for a market that claims «healthy» just slapping organic or grass fed or cage free on dead animal carcasses does not change the FACT they are not meant for our bodies. Also when you rarely visit places you see that most of the people that go there are just zombies.

This is the place to be if you want organic items. But the stuff they have there you’re going to find weird lol

Whole foods in general is a great place but here I didn’t have the best customer service and the place here is in an older location and building. Additionally, they didn’t have the product I came here for but they always have it in la jolla.

I love Whole Foods and have been to a number of locations, but this one is the smallest, with the least options to any other ones I’ve been to. It just feels… squished. Even the product aisles are squished, and therefore hard to navigate, and somewhat counterintuitive. It’s like a maze in most grocery stores to begin with, so this doesn’t help. So my brain gets all confused, and I end up staying there for too long, and wished I would have driven out to other, close-​by grocery stores around there instead.
But, the quality of the groceries are unmatched, customer service is still very good, and I can find most everything I came for in one stop, including a good dinner.
Limited parking in a small lot is available for customers on ground level, but drive up the ramp for a larger lot on the 2^nd floor.
I enjoy shopping at Whole Foods, and will come back, but will consider my other grocery store options before coming here.

This is a smaller whole foods. The parking lot is a joke, but get there at the crack o’dawn and you should be alright. The bad part about that is people are usually struggling to get product set up, so there is not much time for customer service. Oh well. Still, always a quality product. I have never been disappointed with the stuff I get at this place.
Tip: Get some smoked gouda and aged cheddar and use it to make some mac and cheese.

Of course, everything is pretty overpriced. But I want to highlight the mochi ice cream that they have. For $ 2 each or $ 20 for a dozen, you can get a variety of different flavored hand made mochi ice cream that is pretty good! I recommend the vanilla, mango and I personally like pistachio if you are a fan of nutty/​creamy ice cream. Yes, vanilla because it is very rich and mango was on point. Guava and passionfruit are good if you are a fan of tart/​sour. Green tea was standard.
But yeah, it was really tasty, but also hard for me to consistently come back to pay $ 2 for one mochi.

Easy parking, lots of interesting and unique finds… A big plus, there’s a pub inside! I must say they have the very best mochi– you can buy it in the back by the bakery! They are a bit pricey, and by a bit I mean lot. I bought a pie for Christmas. We shall see what it tastes like tomorrow. Great if you’re vegan.

Not a fan of whole foods. Extremely Overpriced for products you can buy at food for less (they have a new Natural foods section!)
If you like to waste money on products that you can find at Sprouts or other markets, be my guest.

It’s hard to give this a 3, because YES you can get great organic produce… but beware, LOTS of the stuff is grown in Mexico & is NOT organic & not any different than Vons or Sprouts, but twice as expensive.
The hot/​cold Food Bar is what irks me the most. Did you ever look at the ingredients of the chicken? Dextrose, Canola oil, & all sorts of garbage you’d not expect to find. I think the Food Bar has seriously gone down hill, yet is really expensive. I also bought some cooked London Broil that was $ 6.00 for 2 small slices & it was so tough, I barely could cut w/​a knife. I also bought some prepared mango salad that was going sour, way past sell-​by date.
Many of their items can be bought for significantly less at Trader Joe’s (Apple Cider Vinegar, EVOO, coconut oil, butter, cheeses) — so why bother to even shop here?
Makes me sad, because I don’t equate WF w/​really high quality anymore, just high prices. :(

Yes it’s expensive. Yes it’s corporate. It’s the best grocery store for foodies and generally health conscience folks for variety and quality of goods.
The bakery produces loaves near the level of Bread and Cie, macarons as good as Blush Dessert, and more vegan desserts than any place in town other than Starry Lane.
The juice bar is top notch, the pizza is great, sandwich deli is great, and even the sushi is better than you’ll find in most small restaurants in town.
What can I say? It’s my favorite major grocery store and I wish there was more of them locally.

Despite all the bad press, (i.e. Whole paycheck, overcharging, conservative political leanings) it’s so difficult to stay away from this place. Believe me I’ve tried.
Here’s what I love:
Their hot food — especially the soup section where you’ll find a tasty beef bourguignon and most recently a Champurrado (MX based chocolate drink made with corn masa), perfect for the colder weather.
The dessert case — I’ve thrown a few parties and the strawberry shortcake has been a winner
And their vitamin/​health product area — 99% of the time you will find what you need with a good selection of brands to choose from, from Valerian tincture to liquid B-​complex.

I get that good quality organic food costs a premium but Whole Foods really takes it to the next level. I’ve done some price checking and you can get some of the same exact items at Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Von’s or even online (including shipping) for up to 20% less.
Yes, they have a wider selection of organic produce, meats, seafood, cheese, etc and everything is always beautifully stocked but for me, it’s almost cheaper to eat out than buy groceries to cook from here.
Additionally, I don’t like the confusing way some of the items are shelved. It takes me twice as long to get my grocery shopping done here because of that.
The hot bar is a total ripoff for the mediocre selection and taste. Got it once and was sorely disappointed for what I expected to be «good quality». Not making that mistake again.
I will still come here once in a blue moon to purchase specialty items I can’t find elsewhere but other than that, I’ve learned my lesson.

The parking lot is a bit small, considering it’s a grocery store, but given the location, I guess that’s not a surprise. But, you can street park and take a stroll through the Hillcrest ‘hood.
I definitely would not do all of my grocery shopping here, but if you’re looking for a speciality item, particularly that of the organic variety, you’re sure to find it here.
Love the variety of produce they have, organic and gluten free snacks, all natural snacks/​foods, love their beer selection and the CHEESE!
Also, the salad bar, hot food bar and deli have great selections as well.
And, the most amazing thing I love about my most recent trip was that they carried honeycomb! (really makes a cheeseboard exquisite) And a brand of saurkraut that I had been searching all over San Diego for.

I was very unimpressed while visiting this location. The salad bar was out of chicken and salmon. When I asked the employee if they were putting out any he had no clue. It was a bit after the lunch crowd you would think they would be better at filling the station.
Besides that it’s your typical Whole Foods. Fresh salad bar. Made to order sandwich shop.
They have parking on the top so even though the lower level parking fills quickly try the upper level.

As the saying goes, Whole Foods, Whole Paycheck. You’re not going to get around the fact it’s super expensive. It’s one of a handful in the San Diego area, so take your pick.
They have a great selection of organic fruits and veggies and the employees are usually helpful. I had one employee not know where a common item was located, saying she would find someone that could help me, but she never returned. That’s fine. I found someone else a few minutes later that was able to direct me to that item.
There were some individuals in the skin/​body care section that were particularly knowledgeable on one of my visits. They directed me to more natural fair-​trade products used for skin and hair.
I often come here when I’m in the area to grab a salad/​meal from the salad bar or drink some fresh green juice from the juice bar in the back. Good timely service. I sit in the bar and enjoy my meal before heading off to my next engagement.
Strangely, I make friends and have great conversations with all the demo people. I love learning about the products and or why the people do what they do.

Vomiting and diarrhea are not what we expect from Whole Foods. But it’s what we got from the Painted Desert Cole Slaw — most likely it was that. You know how it goes. MIGHT have been the grilled chicken/​goat cheese sandwich…
As a $ 4−5k/year customer of our local store, plus loyalty that sends us in for healthy options whenever we travel, I feel sad to write about this store’s subpar performance.
It struck us that this store is wildly difficult to navigate but real estate choices are tough in urban areas, so one accepts what they’re given. We made our way home with some sushi, a bit of soup (my choices) and a sandwich/​salad pairing for my husband. He was uncomfortable all night and is violently ill today. Violently.
I called Mark, the store manager, who sounded unsure of what to do. He took my information… I volunteered that perhaps it may have been something in the sandwich… The call felt like it was taking awhile. Considering how dire the situation is, I wanted Mark to get to resolution quickly. He seemed to need time to plan, as I think about it, now. He said he would be back in touch with us. I begged him to run to clear that slaw from their case. He is pulling the sandwiches, too.
It’s almost lunchtime; I hope it’s not too late.

This is a relatively vegan friendly Whole Foods, and there is a brewery upstairs. I have only seen this at the NYC Bowery location, and I like it! Otherwise, I do not like the layout of this store. It feels very claustrophobic and difficult to navigate.
Staff here was very friendly and helpful. I ordered a vegan Cubano from the made to order sandwich section, and the girl with throat tattoos who made it was lovely to talk to. The vegan dessert case is perhaps the most impressive I have ever seen, with unique pastries to a variety of bars, cupcakes, full size cakes, and other sweets. The sandwich I ordered ended up being incredible, and for $ 8.95, an good value. I like this location and will certainly be back whenever I am in San Diego.

I tend to try not to ask for help at Whole Foods because it’s a bit intimidating, even though I’ve frequented this location for well over 10 years. Today, j needed help! The employee that assisted me walked me over to the location of the item I was searching for and made sure I got the correct thing.
We started getting cold brew at whole foods too. They have growlers for sale and the brew is only $ 5 each to refill. The house cold brew is my favorite, better than Stumptown IMHO.
When it comes to parking we just immediately drive to the parking above the store to avoid the small lot below. Prices are almost unreasonably high. I was relieved to find marinara sauce under $ 4. Most were $ 9+ for ONE JAR.

After learning today that Whole Foods routinely overcharged customers, and have been fined $ 800,000 by the Federal Government, I am boycotting them. To think that I, a loyal customer, have been ripped off for years angers me.
I urge fellow shoppers to search the net for news stories regarding this, and to educate themselves. The conduct of Whole Foods has been despicable to say the least.