Whole Foods Market

Reviews 5

DO

Donovan Husband IV

This is the worst whole foods location I have ever been to. I have been working in Playa Vista and coming here for a year now and the service, food, and cleanliness has gone significantly downhill. The service, with the exception of a few friendly cashiers is atrocious. I once left a rather expensive water bottle on a table adjacent to the exit closest to the express registers. I called the store 20 mins later to ask if they could check if it was still there, to see if it would be worth coming back to get. I was on hold for almost ten minutes and then finally told "no, its not there." I drove back anyway and lo and behold, its sitting on the table nearest the exit by the express registers as I described. They didnt even check. Why waste my time? Why not just say "sorry were too busy to check"? I once went to the in-store pub to eat and asked to sit outside and was told that "I cant do that". Interesting how Ive seen people get pub service outside before then and since. Now when you go to the pub, they dont even have table service anymore and you cant order from the bartender!!! And speaking of the outside seating area...they DO NOT CLEAN THIS AREA. The amount of birds is truly disgusting. The amount of bird excrement is truly disgusting. The garbage bins are frequently overflowed with trash and birds everywhere. The other day I got hit with a bird in the back of my head and needless to say I dont eat there anymore. Its a real shame because its one of the few healthy lunch options these days. Too bad the low prices come with unsanitary conditions and poor service. The food is OK at best. Decent sandwiches. Pizza is cardboard-ish but Im a native of New York so take that with a grain of salt. The burritos used to be good but they messed with all the ingredients and its terrible now. The chicken tastes like thanksgiving turkey now. Last time my burrito had pieces of mint in the cilantro. Mint. In the cilantro. The hot bar food used to be good but is now almost always dry as can be. Less and less people are eating there so the food sits out longer and gets dryer and dryer. I felt like I was going to break a tooth eating the broccoli recently. The salad bar is still pretty good. Its the only thing Ill get in this place anymore. Its really a shame but I have given them enough of my money, no more second chances on their hot food. It went from good to embarrassing, and I bet its all so some manager/franchisee can line their pockets while understaffing the store to hell. (seriously, not enough people to take out the garbage?) I miss the whole foods in London.

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DO

Don Weiner

Whole Foods is the perfect grocery store for Playa Vista! Its overpriced (like the real estate), it looks fancy on the outside but the quality is just OK (like a lot of the construction in Playa Vista). I stopped by to check out the store on June 27, which is about 2 weeks after the grand opening. The grocery store looks great, which it should for being brand new. I give thumbs-up to the meat & seafood departments, which are the best Ive seen in any grocery store. Great selection, including fresh sea urchin! There is a good selection of pre-made food for takeout, but I opted to try the Astro Bar -- a full bar in a grocery store? Why not! There is not much inside seating, since it was happy hour (4-7 daily). I took a seat at the bar & ordered the flatbread pizza with fig spread, prosciutto, caramelized onions, and gorgonzola cheese. They went WAY too heavy on the gorgonzola, but the other flavors worked well together. My buddy tried the oysters, which looks like a bargain at 6 for $6. He said the oysters were OK, but the red sauce was horrible. We also tried the fried calamari, which was just OK. I had a glass of Malbec, which was not bad for $6, and my buddy had a draft beer -- theyve got 14 on tap, and are happy to give samples. However, they had run out of several already. As we ate & watched the workers, its clear that the front of house food prep area was built for looks more than functionality. There is almost NO counter space (small carts are used for counter space), the bar itself could be half the width, freeing up space for food prep. Communication is also an issue, as I saw many dishes coming out of the kitchen with workers asking "who is this for?" Dont the tickets have the waiter name or table number?? It also became pretty obvious what was happening when an order was placed. For example, if someone orders the oysters, someone has to run back to the seafood dept to get them. If someone orders the Bananas Foster, someone has to run to the freezer section to get a container of store-brand ice cream to put on top. Overall, the Astro Bar prices are pretty reasonable (I hope these are not just introductory prices while the staff gets acclimated). But keep in mind that the food is grocery-store-diner quality, so you keep your expectations low.

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Hillary Holcolm

What is WRONG with this Whole Foods location ? I really cant find much of anything thats not STALE, DRY, OLD. NOTHING is fresh at this store. Including the flowers, which fell apart, drooped, petals fell off, as soon as I opened the celophane wrapper at home. The chicken fingers from the deli......SO DRY....had to throw away.....waste of $10.00 . At the Bakery, the sales girl FOUGHT me because I wanted the FRESH pastry she was unloading onto the shelves instead of the older ones, that were already there...she INSISTED they were baked the same day, so I asked why she would mind giving me the ones off the tray she was unloading, in that case...they were way easier to reach and pack up for me....BUSTED....she was all miffed about it...so unpleasant. I WISH I didnt have to complain, and I only do so because I live so close to them...I have to keep trying.....but so often disappointed !!!

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Eden Jeffries

Best whole foods in the LA area , seriously! Its big (which is not the case for any on the westside), bright, and has a great selection with seemingly more options. The seafood area has some items I havent seen at the others and theres a smoked prepared meats section which is delicious. Highlights: homemade self-serve chips station with a variety of freshly made potato and tortilla chips; various specialty baked breads; asian bbq options at the prepared food station. The smoothie and juice bar has some awesome drink options. The coffee bar has Stumptown cold brew on tap and some unique espresso drinks like the Turkish latte (yum!) Lastly, they have a pub right inside the market that served food and drinks. Happy hour everyday from 4-7 with $2 off any drink ($3 champagne that tastes good! Cant be beat) The food menu looks excellent: fish and chips, burgers, flatbread pizzas, tacos, etc.

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Liza Corsey

Took my Mom there today as she was visiting from out of town and I said it would be a great place to pick up something satisfying for lunch and dinner. Big mistake. She grabbed a chicken Cesar salad from the deli case as it was pre-made. We got it home and opened it and all the Romain lettuce was brown...not a little brown...totally brown. 8 dollars down We chalked it up to bad luck and hoped dinner would be better She ordered her dinner from the deli case thinking that the quality would be better than self serve.....WRONG She paid 4.99 for half of a "twice baked potato" that would have been out of place at Norms...then onto the "turkey cutlet" for almost 10 dollars. She could have purchased a family meal for what she spent on a dried out, overly breaded hunk of chewy turkey. Thanks Whole Foods but no thanks

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