Berkeley Bowl

Category:	Supermarket
Address:	2020 Oregon St, Berkeley, CA 94703, USA
Phone:	+1 510-843-6929
Site:	berkeleybowl.com
Rating:	4.6
Working:	9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM 10AM–7PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Hopson Review

The way many people describe Berkeley Bowl, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a health food store or a gourmet market. Neither of those descriptions are accurate however. Berkeley Bowl is a supermarket, and could in fact be considered the epitome of such in that it satisfies the desires of a very broad group of customers to an impressive degree, while correspondingly compromising in small ways to allow that breadth of satisfaction. What this means in terms of selection is that you span a very broad spectrum of quality within any given food category. Berkeley Bowl often (but certainly not always) omits the cheapest, lowest quality crap, while simultaneously skipping the absolute highest quality items. In between you get products from junky big food players and organic local artisans alike. Everything from Dannon yogurts to INNA jam, Pepperidge Farms cookies to Organic Pastures raw milk. The place where Berkeley Bowl really shines is produce. Clearly divided into organic and conventional sections, both are ripe with diversity and priced to sell. Weve found organic makrut limes, and organic cherimoya, both things that are exceedingly rare to find organic. There are also unfamiliar varieties of peppers and apples, organic tomatoes under $2 a pound, over eight varieties of organic winter squash all $1 a pound or less, and many mushroom varieties you will not find anywhere else (though half of them are imported from unnecessarily far distances - seriously, importing chanterelles?). Situated as it is on the borders of Berkeley and Oakland, Berkeley Bowl serves a diverse economic and ethnic community, accommodating a varied range of tastes and needs. While it definitely isnt our ideal shopping experience, its a unique place, and we have a lot of respect for what it does.

Victoria P.

This is my moms favorite grocery store. Its a yearly pilgrimage for her since she lives far in the Central Valley. We came here recently because she needed sea beans for her tuna poke and this is the only grocery store we could find them in. We spent over 2 hours going to each aisle, looking for things that we dont normally find elsewhere, or had a good deal. Us country bumpkins have a different idea of what a good deal is, but we did find a few, mostly in the produce section. And the produce section is glorious! Berkeley Bowl has so many types of produce, from apple varietals to sea beans (or sea asparagus). The hot foods section is what differentiates it from a Whole Foods. Its not a rip off. Theres a deli, Japanese food, Chinese food, Mexican food, and desserts. I got a bunch of onigiri for lunch while my mom got 2 banh mi sandwiches. All of it was less than $25 (I got *a lot* of onigiri..). The eating area is small, and doesnt accommodate for carts. But people dont seem to be annoyed with carts parked to the side that blocks the bagel area. Theres also water available for patrons, along with a toaster and a microwave. Parking at Berkeley Bowl is horrendous. Worse than a Trader Joes. The spaces are small, and its hard to find a spot, especially during peak hours. My mom and I took Bart, which is a few blocks south. I really like Berkeley Bowl. I wouldnt make a special trip from the city to go there, but if I lived nearby, it would be my one stop shop for all groceries.

A Private User

Ok so all the negative reviews here have no idea what it"s like to 1. shop in an ethnic food store and 2. move to southern california where produce is three times as much as berkeley bowl!!! I stopped in to Ralphs to get some fruit and ONE SMALL REGULAR PEACH was $1.29!!! WTF. I am so used to berkeley bowls variety of seven types of peaches all very cheap. The prices are probably lower than gardening your own small vegetable lot. So for those that complain, great, never come back to this store again! Youll make the isles less crowded, and its probably you that smell instead of the selection for sale. Also those that those people who take your shopping cart, and park it in the middle of the isle, blocking the flow of traffic, please, please dont come back. I dont know about every one else here but I come to the supermarket to shop for groceries, not to have a spa-zen like experience. I hope my dirty stare worked, because yes, it is annoying when you block the flow of traffic in a busy supermarket. I thought that was common sense, not the companys fault. For those people who want the cheapest prices ever on quality produce, with the greatest selection of any market I have ever seen, then BBowl is the greatest place on earth! I actually sent my boyfriend a shopping list of non-perishables to get while he was visiting a friend there two days ago. Oh how I miss my Berkeley Bowl :(

Ona Kondrotas

No other store in bay area delivers non-organic (read:affordable) as well as organic produce of such vast selection and at truly unbeatable prices. When i was unemployed and living on $800/mo i ate tons of produce daily abd made ends meet by shopping here; now that i work and have more money than time, i still find ways to cram into my schedule twice weekly visits because you cannot get produce this good anywhere else short if a farmera market. Its too crowded for my taste on weekends; if you can find time, go dyring the week mid-day. Best deals ive found startinh at noon or 1pm on mondays, invariably--check out the 99c section: neither spoiled nor deformed, much prpduce there seems to just be overflow. Ive gotten 5lb succulent grapefruit for 99c, 3lb mixed organic greens for 99c, 2lb arugula for 99c, melons ripe fpr 59c, and so on. Often exciting one-time mass-packagrd offers show up: 2lb cilsntro for 39c, 4lb pre-cut salad greens for $2. Even non-discount produce is invsriably affordablecand the flavor sometimes reminds me of fresh and wild picked things from eastern and southern europe where i grew up. Sinply the best. Non-produce is overpriced and attracts a bougie crowd that i detest; convenience itwms are scarce and priced prohibitively (for foil or splenda, say, check out walgreens across the parking lot).

keshav p

If youd like to decide between 20 types of potatoes, this is the place to be. When I moved to Berkeley, someone suggested this place for fresh produce. Living at a not so convenient place, I ignored this place for a long time. Until one fateful day when I decided to finally give it a try. I kid you not, since the minute I walked in, I was overwhelmed by the amount of different, fresh produce there can be in just one place. 20 types of potatoes and 30 types of lettuce to choose from. Organic, non-organic, dont worry about it, you have it all. Exotic produce from all over the world can be found here. Doesnt matter what cuisine you cook, the necessary fresh ingredients can be found here. And all of this at reasonable prices. Even the organic fruits and vegetables are cheaper than regular stuff at other stores. The meat and seafood section is also amazing. It also has a wide variety of packaged ingredients that are otherwise hard to find, especially for asian, mexican and other international cuisines. Overall great place for fresh fruits, veggies, meat, seafood, and dairy. The only downside would be that parking is a pain, especially on weekends.

A Private User

Theres no question, the Berkeley Bowl has the best selection of produce at great prices. In that respect, they beat Whole Foods (which is just a few blocks away) hands down. So why do I wind up going to Whole Foods more often? Because every time I shop at Berkeley Bowl, its a lengthy, inconvenient ordeal. For one thing, they close earlier (8pm), so you have to go in the middle of the day or rush hour. And every time I go, the place is packed. The parking lot is too small and you could easily spend a half hour waiting as too many cars fill up the lot causing gridlock, while everyone waits for one guy to pull out. Once you get into the store, its not much better. Carts jostle through the narrow isles, babies are crying, and there are just too many people! Then its time to check out. The lines snake around and go deep into the aisles. People cut through, trying to get by. And the guy in front of you has left his cart to hold his place in line while he shops for more items. Bottom line, it is a stressful, tiring experience.