Quality Cheese

Just called from Alaska to place an order for cheeses to be picked up by my guy who’s in Seattle and flying home Tuesday. The person answered the phone with «can you hold» then 3 – 4 minutes later came back with «can I help you». I explained I was calling from Alaska and I would like to order raclette, reblochon, greyerzer and emmentaler (a half pound each) and my significant other would be by with an hour or so to pick it up. She came back with «can we make this quick, I need to use the phone line to run a credit card or you can call back» I said I would call back, but never will and will never purchase from this shop when I am at pike’s market and will make sure to tell the story to everyone I know. Wish I would have read the reviews before I called. How does a shop stay open with people like this as the face of their company? I guess just mass people moving through the market and it doesn’t matter. It would to me if I was the owner!!! Called DeLaurenti and they couldn’t have been nicer and more knowledgeable! Great experience after the previous phone call… Ended up with a pound each of 5 cheeses and 2 salamis. The other store missed out on a good sale!!! Walk past Quality cheese as fast as you can to Delaurenti’s deli/​market. Pike’s and 1^st street.

Lady at the counter is very short, not welcoming to newcomers. Seemed frustrated to sample cheeses. Maybe because it’s labor day but crappy customer service is inexcusable.

We’ve shopped at this stall sporadically over the last few years and have found that the counter is always manned by the same two mummies. Their customer service died millennia ago: Never a smile, a greeting, an offer to sample or a thank you.
Fret not! You’re at the Market! Just turn on your cheese-​loving zombie heels and head over to DeLaurenti or down the steps to The Spanish Table or the Paris Grocery.

Worst survice I have ever had I will never go back.
I walked in and was told they didn’t open until 9 it was 10 after 9 at that point and I was told they weren’t ready for us to shop so I walked out with out buying a thing. Do not put hrs on your door if you don’t want people to come in at that time.

I am a big cheese eater, so going to a specialty cheese shop is for me as a kid in a candy store. Quality cheese has an amazing selection of domestic and imported cheese from France to Germany. Hard & soft cheese. They are all nicely labeled with the name, origin, and description. The employees helpfulness is a hit or miss when you’re looking for a new cheese to try. Some ask the right questions and some can give you the impression that you should know what you’re talking about before coming to a cheese shop.
My favorite is their Délice de Bourgogne. A salty soft French cheese which they recommend when I was looking for a soft salty table cheese.
The one thing keeping this place from a 5 star is sometimes I get the vibe that certain people don’t always want to help me. There has been a couple times they have made me feel like an ignorant fool who should give up eating «fancy cheese». You don’t get the super friendliness vibe like most shops at the Market. Your customer service experience here defiantly depends on what employee is working here.
But in the end, I’m here for an amazing cheese selection at a good price. I just smile, say please and thank you to those employees who make me feel uncomfortable.

This cheese is going ham!
They got the dankest goat and the sharpest provolone in the city. Dude behind the counter with the glasses is street smart. I told him beet salad and he was like cop the Cabecou!
Swing by a grab an ounce of this stuff. You won’t be disappointed. But your pocket book will be all like like: «damn bruh!»

I’m local and there are 3 places I always go to when I run to Pike Place for food: Quality Cheese, the vegetable stand on the corner in front of the pig, and Uli’s Sausage. I have it down so that I can walk down from the light rail station and get out in less than 15 minutes.
I like to visit Quality Cheese because I can get whatever I want (usually grated Pecorino Romano, fresh Mozzarella, local goat cheese, and smoked gouda), and sometimes stuff I wasn’t expecting to pickup (I describe what I want it for and they choose for me.) Sometimes I also get marcona almonds, chocolate halava, or olives to round-​out my snacky cravings. Then, I round the corner to Three Girls Bakery.
I also prefer to shop with small, female-​owned businesses that aren’t corporate and so I go here as much as I can. Not sure who the haters are on this review site, but they’re clearly young and entitled. I’m old and I like to shop here. You should try it. The cheese is good, varied, and well-​priced.

Cannot write a review poor enough for the service I received last summer. Finally have a forum to write about it. The person opening the store was quite late and obviously in a bad mood when arriving. I spent some time throughout the market as I patiently waited for the shop to open. When finally ready, I requested some mozzarella cheese for pizza we were making that night. From the disgust on the face of the employee, my order was obviously too petty for her. I asked her if there was a problem. Then, as I waited for her to package it up, I asked if it was OK for me to set something on the counter as my hands were full; after all, she just laid out the fresh new paper and I wanted to be considerate. She proceeded to call me a freak. I stood by absolutely dumbfounded and looked about to see if there was anyone to witness. Unfortunately, it was too early and there was nobody. I grabbed my bags and left, never to return. I have never been so unsettled or insulted as a consumer in my entire life.
There are many great experiences and many great shops in the market, this is not one of them. Please do not patronize this store.

Mixed feelings. Great selection, decent prices. The counter service was so-​so. To her credit, the woman helping us managed to not look too impatient while we asked her lots of questions and couldn’t make up our mind.
On the down side, she also managed to look completely bored and didn’t really seem that knowledgeable about the cheese. Or if she was, it was lost in translation. For example, when we asked if a certain cheese would go with a certain wine (not something I actually expected her to know), instead of just saying «I don’t know», she ignored the question. In other words, she just didn’t really seem that engaged.
She also didn’t offer to let us taste any of the cheeses to help us decide. So, if you know exactly what you want this place will do, but if you need advice, I would lean toward DeLaurenti’s.

I don’t know much about cheese, like how some people are all about being «foodies» or whatever, but I know that this is the only place in the market where I get cheese.
You can’t beat the prices and they always have good stuff to try. I just describe what I’m looking for and they make good recommendations. No fuss, no muss, I just want my cheese and then I’m gone. I’m not looking to be entertained when I’m at the Market because I live in the Seattle area and I’m just doing my food shopping for the week.
I don’t know where other reviewers are coming from — I’ve been offered samples if I asked for «a smoky cheese» and I wasn’t sure what I was asking for. The people that work there certainly know how to recommend cheese and they know food. It’s not a free Costco food sample area. It’s a small, local, female-​owned small business that I love to support as much as I can. She’s been doing it for decades and she knows her stuff.
When I can afford to spend money, I hop on the light rail and go there and get my goat cheese fix, parmesano-​reggiano for pasta, cheddar, mozzarella for lasagna, Mizithra for when I want to recreate the Old Spaghetti factory pasta for a fraction of the restaurant cost, and Applewood and Grafton cheese for nibbling snacky moments. Then I go next door and get bread and I’m set for a few days of good eating.
For good, quality cheese at low prices, I go here. You should too.

This is a tough place to review.
Let’s do the positives first– they have good prices, and a pretty decent selection of cheeses. It’s also conveniently located right in the middle of Pike Place Market.
But there are negatives. First and foremost, the people who work here are not like the rest of the people at the market. They aren’t owners or food lovers — they’re employees. The kind of employees you’d find working at Walmart. They literally don’t give a sh*t about cheese, or about you for that matter.
In other words, don’t go here looking for an opinion on a good cheese to try, or a good pairing for the bread you just bought at Three Girls Bakery. There’s no samples, no expertise and in all honesty no hospitality of any kind.
So why the four stars? Because it’s cheap and they have good cheese, mainly. If you were anywhere else in any other city, the people here wouldn’t be remarkable. I think it’s just because the rest of the market is so friendly and vibrant that they stick out more prominently.
Oh, and a word of caution about using a credit card. On three consecutive visits, I paid with a credit card for $ 5, was told that they didn’t do credit transactions for less than $ 10, and yet another credit transaction for $ 7. So your mileage may vary. If there’s an older sort of grumpy looking woman behind the counter, you may just want to come back another day.
It’s tough having to deal with a bunch of a*holes, but have you tried fresh Tillamook sharp cheddar? Holy crap, it’s worth the hassle.

As an occasional customer can’t say that I’ve tried even 1% of their inventory but when I do shop here I always go for whatever cheese that attracts me most in the moment regardless of price. Today the cheese that won me over was Champignon Mushroom Brie. It’s a double-​cream, soft-​ripened cheese with a mild mushroom flavor. The German A-​quality champignon mushrooms are handpicked.
I’m not a cheese fanatic or connoisseur. I just like trying something different with an open mind and appreciation for the craft. Lots to experiment with at this cheese shop.
Be patient, respectful, shop with a smile, and say Thank You when you leave.

Good cheese, good service! Whenever I’m in the Market, I always swing by Quality Cheese to see what’s new. They always have great recommendations and the best prices I’ve found around town! Highly recommended!

Good Cheese.
Horrendous customer service.
I’m asking you questions about cheese because you are standing behind a cheese counter! I am not a particularly needy customer so on the extremely rare occasions I get attitude from people I take notice. The woman who «helped» me was extremely unpleasant. I can understand when someone is having a bad day. I don’t need everyone to smile. But did your sigh of disgust have to be so audible?

I love cheese! I love Quality Cheese even more!
My favorite thing to do in the market:
Get a wedge of mushroom brie from Quality Cheese, a baguette from Panier or Three Girls Bakery and sit in Steinbrueck park facing the Sound.
I have never had a problem with rudeness here. This is a smallish display case, but they have a better selection and better prices than grocery stores.
Beecher’s is great, and definitely a must-​see, but I tell everyone to go to Quality Cheese instead.

I have an ugly confession to make. I am addicted to smelly cheese. The stinky stuff, like Pont D’Eveque, Camembert, and Limburger, is my favorite.
Quality Cheese, adjacent to Frank’s Produce in the Pike Place Market, is the place where I feed my cheese addiction. They offer the same cheese as De Laurenti’s, but at a much better price.
Any given day you’ll find a variety of cheeses from the US, Italy, and France. They also have four different kinds of specialty pâté in the glass case. Check out the barrels of olives behind the counter… cured, nicoise, and greek. I can’t go a week without at least two bags.
You don’t have to be Thurston Howell III to feel at home at Quality Cheese. Highbrow food aside, they also stock food for the average Joe: small bags of domestic Parmesan, Cheddar from Wisconsin, Swiss for summertime sandwiches, and local salami.
Grab a baguette from around the corner at Three Sister’s Bakery and you have food for a perfect Waterfront picnic.

No, sorry — you do not get to act like an ass when I am shopping at your store. Here is how cheese stores are not run —
them «what types of cheeses do you like»
me «triple cream, cheddars, blues, aged gouda, talleggio — really most — just looking for some cheese to go with a white bordeaux»
them «yeah what do you want»
me «uh, yeah that is why I am asking your recommendations»
them «ugh»
me «yeah thought so»

One of the things I like to do, especially when I’m on break, is to make mini-​picnics out of stalls around the Pike Place Market. A delicious loaf of bread, some fresh fruits, a bottle of something and oh so yummy cheese. This is the place I always get that cheese from.
Quality Cheese has never let me down on selection, advice, price and taste. I make a point of getting something new to snack on every time and they’re good at advising on what you should try based on your experiences. Once I even walked in not knowing at all what the name was of a cheese I needed and they walked me through a bunch of questions and samples until I found the correct one. Fantastic! Don’t worry if your conception of fancy cheese is of nothing but weird and stinky. Cheese is what they do so there are many less adventurous varieties. For those first starting out in their cheese exploration, I’d recommend buying some of the English cheeses they carry.

Before I begin my review, I suppose I should disclose that I LOVE cheese.
The staff here can be a little rude (depends on who you get and if they’re in a good mood), but it doesn’t matter because they sell CHEESE and lots of it. This really is cheese heaven; I go almost every week!
I highly recommend trying:
–Chipotle Cheddar (perfect for Taco night)!
–Le P’tit Basque
–Chevre
–Greek Feta
–Any other cheese that you see
Basically what I’m saying is if you’re in Pike Place Market, you should go here and buy some cheese.

I love this place and stop by every time I’m in the market. The boyfriend is lactose intolerant but can eat goat and sheep cheese. The aged Gouda here is delicious and for the cow milk fan’s the Pecorino Romano is also delicious. My recommendation is to pick up some of the super cheap balsamic vinegar they have, a nice selection of cheese, go get some yummy fresh bread in the market and have a nice appetizer spread. It doesn’t matter if it’s for yourself or for a party — it’ll still taste just as yummy.
The prices are a good deal on most of the cheese and they’ll sell you just about any amount of cheese you could ever want. I suggest hunting this place down in the Market and making your taste buds happy!