Smart & Final

My first time using Instacart home delivery and found that Smart n Final had the best prices and selection of groceries. And if they were out of stock they had several options to choose from. I’m not a big fan of big box stores unless I’m looking from a walking work out, but the delivery service was well worth the ten dollar tip:) and free delivery…

They’ve got so many inexpensive items, and their produce is fairly priced. (Just stopped by today to pick up a couple bundles of green onions, and they were about 79 cents per.)
Staff is pretty nice, too.
Only downside would be that they don’t have an express line? And they don’t seem to have enough register lines open. I stood with my green onions behind two people with carts of stuff.

Great selection of fruits and vegetables, even organic, at a great price and good quality.
Proteins are also very affordable and good quality (steak, beef, chicken, etc).
All sorts of things you may need, from utensils to cleaning supplies, and even liquor (great prices on liquor BTW — better than Bevmo.)
Sketchy clientele, but safe super market, worth it. You don’t need a membership card and yet you still are buying in bulk. Their bulk isn’t like Costco though, just double the size of a regular package.

The cost of fruits is really cheaper than they deserve.
Lot of other stuff with good quality.
Wide range of products everything under one roof with great prices. Love this place.

Great deals if you’re looking to buy in bulk, without having to pay club membership fees. Definitely stocked to support small businesses and families that need to buy in bulk. Good mix of products meant for home use or more specialized things like buffet servers and commercial cooking equipment.
If you’re having trouble finding something, the staff will happily check their stock or give you a raincheck to keep that deal pricing when the item’s back in stock.

Better selection than Costco. Even exotic hard to find things like a gallon of pickled eggs. I mean come on… A bucket of pepperoni sticks. You can’t go wrong. Only gripe is sometimes the item is stale and old. Bought a bag of popcorn kernels and they were not crisp when I popped them. I love to snack at night and this place has a good selection

I never used to go here but recently started shopping here more frequently. They have such good prices! I can get something here a dollar or two cheaper. They also always have the Popsicles my family loves. They are al and sold out everywhere else.

I typically do my grocery shopping at Safeway and Costco, with the occasional trip down to my local Trader Joe’s when I’m seeking more organic/​holistic type food (I still cannot justify shopping at Whole Paycheck). Today however, since I happened to be in the area, decided to do some shopping at Smart & Final instead. I have not actually been inside a Smart & Final since I was probably 12, so I can’t honestly say I actually remember what the inside of one looks like. However the first thing I noticed when pulling up to the parking lot, was that this particular location was called «Smart & Final extra!» Being the Google addict that I am, I immediately Googled «Smart & Final extra!» to find out what was so «extra» special about this location. Apparently the addition of the term «extra!» signified that this location was bigger than their typical locations.
First impression upon entering the store was that this was definitely an older location, that has not had any serious remodels or facelifts done in a long time. Maybe it was the lighting, or the Costco style fixtures, but the appearance of the seemed a lot more worn down than the typical clean, modern appearance that I am use to with the Safeways I typically frequent.
They have all of your typical grocery store fare, with plenty of selection to choose from. All of their fruits and vegetables seemed very fresh and plentiful, and the pricing was actually very competitive as well.
At one point, I had to ask assistance from one of their stockers/​baggers who was passing by because they were out stock on some bottled water. Mad props to this African American gentleman who was super friendly, helpful, and always had a huge smile on his face! I wish I got his name so I could give him a proper shout-​out, but he is truly a credit to his employers!
My only «complaints» about this location, is that the checkout lanes don’t line up with the aisles. Thus on a busy day, such as this Sunday during which I shopped, there were lines at every register that would up going sideways and crossing into other lines. Also not much of any organic selections at Smart & Final, but I will always have my Trader Joe’s for that!

Bottom line: Kinda creepy, but overall, if you do a lot of baking or are buying for a bbq or get-​together, this place is a lifesaver and you will forget the creepy part.
We came here once because we made oatmeal-​cookie-​mix-​in-​a-​mason-​jar for colleagues and friends around Christmas time. Well, what sounded like a great Pinterest idea at a time turned into what could have been quite expensive in the amount of ingredients. Apparently this place sells huge quantities of decent brand baking supplies (i.e. chocolate chips, brown sugar, powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs by the sack, oatmeal by the tub). The sizes are large but not like so large that the item will go half open but unused and sucking up space in the cabinet. The prices are comparable to Costco or Walmart (better selection than Walmart too). There is a huge selection of packaging here as well (i.e. food boxes, food wrapping, plastic cups, paper cups, plates, you name it) so it’s a go-​to for a bbq or event involving lots of people eating. The produce is also surprisingly not bad. The only thing about the place is that the clientele can be kinda weird or creepy but when the stuff is this cheap, who the hell cares.

This peace was really organized and clean. Associates are constantly asking if your doing ok or if you’re finding everything just fine. Just that they need to open more register in order to help out the lines more efficient. There was only 2 register that was open and their was a lot of customers in the line.

Went Norfolk San Mateo location to get some snacks for world series game 6. Family size items without having to go to Costco crowded checkout. A liitle faster here and there is free parking in this mini square.

It ain’t the Ritz, but that’s A-​Ok with me.
This place reminds me of grocery shopping with my mom when I was just a kid because it’s got all the staple poor people food that we lived off of back then (and that I still relish in now) and for California, the prices here are hard to beat.
Nothings organic, the prices are cheap, most things are available in manageable bulk sizing (far more manageable than Costco, at least), and don’t be surprised if you see unsupervised kids blowing up the produce bags and tying them off on their fists to play punch each other like rock ‘em sock ‘em robots in the middle of the busiest aisle without a care that they’re blocking the liter-​sized tub of Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce that you’re eying… which has been the case on my last TWO visits here.
In addition to liter containers of name-​brand buffalo sauce, you can find such wonderful (and nominally priced) items as…
* 5-​lb bag of shredded Mexican blend cheese
* A gallon of sour cream
* (sometimes) .69 cent avocados
* Stellar pricing on bulk plastic wear cups and utensils
* WAY shorter and faster lines than Safeway
* WAY better prices than Safeway
* Super cheap household cleaning products
* 47-​cent cans of the garbage cat food my dudes genuinely enjoy
* About 17 different types of BBQ potato chip
* Decent bulk veggie burger patties
* Eggs sold by the 2-​dozen
* Over a dozen different types of tortillas… though those aren’t priced very well and none that even come close to the quality to El Milagro
* A gross of frozen fish sticks
* $ 2 JACK’S PIZZAS
* Alcohol
… basically all the essentials.
All that, plus I can load up on those plastic produce bags when I buy fruit so I’ll have something to shovel my cat litter into. Huzzah!

Great customer service, mad props for the worker who understood my broken sign language, and a grand place to buy Jell-​O shot making supplies!
I only come to smart and final when anticipating a Jell-​O Shot endeavor and they never fail! They have all the ingredients you need and the lovely little 1oz cups (with lids) for you to put them in, all in all it is a one stop shop for Jell-​O making supplies.

So dorky, but I flippin love this store.
Since I first shopped at Price Club (proto– Costco), I’ve been enamored of bulk/​industrial-​sized items. Alas, I no longer have a Costco account (I don’t exactly have a Costco-​sized family), so I’m never there.
But Smart and Final has just about anything I’d really need for parties and large functions. Large sizes of just about anything. Drums of condiments. Cute paper and tableware at reasonable prices. Cooking implements, pans, containers, and such. Lots of appealing desserts in the freezer section. And a lot more that I can’t think of right now — all at good prices.
The folks who work there aren’t exactly proactive about seeing if you need help, but they seem approachable and every interaction I’ve had has been ok. And the store looks a lot nicer now — it was never horrid, but now it’s very bright, and it has a layout that’s easier to navigate.
It’s not where I’d do my «regular» shopping but it’s worth shopping there every so open, and certainly worth a stop if you’re shopping for a large party, event, or family gathering.

Smart & Final is the only grocery store around here that I know of that carries Berkeley Farms’ manufacturing cream, which is a natural gourmet cream that contains over 40% milk fat and hence is the «cream de la cream» and generally used in professional food service and not available in retail stores. They only come in gallon-​size though so you would have to need a lot of it if you buy it. I only needed two cups so did not end up buying it and just used Berkeley Farms’ heavy whipping cream from Safeway, which has a little lower fat content. I know Philiz’s uses this as creamer in their coffee and that was part of the reason their coffee taste so good. I believe the whipped cream frosting on cakes using manufacturing cream would hold up better than regular heavy whipping cream due to its slightly higher fat content but haven’t tried it myself.

I’ve been a fan of Smart & Final for a while but since it became Smart & Final Extra the place is even better. Where it used to be like a mini version of Costco it’s now more like any other regular Supermarket, It has all of the old stock plus a crap load more.
There is a large fresh produce section, fresh meats and even baked goods and dairy now. The Fruits and Vegetables are really fresh and at a fraction of the price of my local Safeway. A few of the great deals I spotted:
Torani Syrups $ 4.99
Haagen Dazs 14oz $ 2.49
Green Bell Peppers 0.79 lb
Broccoli 1.19 lb
Ginger Root 0.69c lb
Flavored Water 0.69
Ghirardelli Square assortment (large bag) $ 8.99 — These are $ 10.79 in Costco!
The one thing I was hoping to see more of was healthier options. Although I can now get fresh Chicken here I was also hoping to find some lean Mince too, some ⁹⁷⁄₃ but I think the best I found was ⁸⁰⁄₂₀ maybe higher.
I’m definitely going to be coming here more often!
EDIT March 2013:
I still really like this store but they need more people on checkouts! Too many times now I’ve been stuck in line waiting to pay for ages because there is only one person on checkout and the person holding up the line wants to separate their purchase into multiple transaction. This shouldn’t be allowed when the store is busy.
Also, I notice Rebecca C has ”taken off” 2 stars because of the parking lot and their being no stop sign or light on the main road. I have to say this is slightly unfair as it isn’t the store’s fault. There was even mention in the review that the City of San Mateo needs to do something. There was a reason why nobody else mentioned the parking lot situation…

Yay! First one to review after its renovation! I almost never shopped here in the past due to lack of fresh produce and meat items, but is has become completely different!
It is called «Smart & Final extra!» now.
Likes:
— Much more selections than it used to be! They claim there are 3000 new items added. Most groceries I usually buy from Safeway and Trader Joe’s are in stock here now. Very decent selections and varieties of fresh produce and meat. Now they have Foster Farm chicken, Berkeley Farm milk, national name brand items on anything related to cooking, food and drink just as what Safeway has.
— Cleaner and neat. I feel happier inside than in the past.
— Some fresh produces are very cheap this and next week during the grand opening period. Good bargain!
To Be Improved:
— Not many choices for healthy and organic meat and vegetables. They are missing organic chicken and 95% lean beef patty. They do have 85% lean ones packed in amazingly different sizes.
— Aisles become narrower due to the store is packed with grocery now.
— The store associates can be more friendly and helpful. Still far from Safeway on this.
— I wish the milk prices (especially Berkeley Farm milk) could be a bit lower. I also have some bad impressions on their store brand («First Street») in the past. I wish they could change their store brand name.
I will definitely come back when I am buying grocery next time. I love getting everything in one place.

As someone who plans a heck of a lot of parties for a living, how am I just now discovering Smart & Final?
Total lifesaver when it comes to picking up last minute needs including:
+ bar towels
+ cups
+ plates
+ bottled water
All of which you could purchase at Target, but it’s way cheaper at Smart & Final. And not everyone has a Costco membership and it’s a hassle to go borrow a friend’s card and then you’re stuck with 1,000 cups when all you really needed was 200.
Meandering around the store in an old, rusty shopping cart is a small price to pay for the value. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the employees here are super nice. There were even bragging about how they’re getting a new San Mateo store and how much better it will be in a few months. Oh, I’ll be back to find out!

Smart & Final is one of those love/​hate places — you love going there because of all the cheap stuff they have, but you don’t want anyone to see you leaving. Okay, so not all of their items are a bargain, but they do have some pretty good deals. Sometimes it’s just fun to wander the aisles, looking at all the stuff until that «aha!» moment where you find something you may or may not need, but absolutely must have, either because of price or because you haven’t had it in years.
This S&F is close to home and the employees are always really nice and helpful. Why not give it a walk through if you happen to be passing by?

The smallest things make me happy. I looked almost everywhere for a food portion scooper, similar to an ice cream scoopers I see most of the bakers use on «Cupcake Wars.» Target, Williams Sonoma, and many other specialty cooking stores didn’t have the scooper I needed.
Chef and Unilocaler Linda L. told me to go to Smart & Final. I never dreamt they would have the exact scooper I’d been looking for, in just about every size I could possibly need. The prices here are decent and the employees are helpful.
I used to slop batter messily into the muffin pan or griddle and now cooking goes so much faster. So much so, this is what happened between me and my 5-​year-​old.
SCENE: WE ONLY HAVE 20 MINUTES BEFORE MY SON NEEDS TO LEAVE FOR KINDERGARTEN AND HE HASN’T EATEN BREAKFAST YET.
ME: «For breakfast would you like a bagel, waffle (toaster kind, we’re not fancy), or cereal?»
SON: «Pancakes.»
ME: *groan* «We don’t have time for pancakes.» My homemade oatmeal pancakes are not from a mix.
SON: «Pretend you’re on ‘Cupcake Wars,’ Mommy.»
Ooh — he knows how to work me, and really threw down the gauntlet. Challenge accepted!
I grabbed my trusty Smart & Final scooper and got to work on those pancakes. That scooper is almost like my kitchen superpower for increasing speed. I channeled my competitive spirit and cooked those suckers as quickly as I could and won Pancake Wars — woot.
So what if he ate some on the way to school? The right tool for the job makes cooking more efficient and fun.
Smart and Final has a surprising amount of cool stuff, from paper cups and plates, to food, to the cupcake carrier I bought to keep my muffins fresh. The cupcake carrier was an impulse buy that I’m not sure I really need, but what the heck.
Smart & Final reminds me a bit of Costco, but without the long lines, membership fees, and parking hassle. A quicker in-​and-​out store.