I enjoyed my experience here. Let's start off in the produce section. Every few minutes or so, the…read moresprinklers turn on to keep the greens fresh. I also appreciate that you could find your regular vegetables, but most importantly, you're able to find the Korean exclusive vegetables. In the meats section, it's just not separated by poultry, seafood, and meats. It's broken down into specific cuts and for what occasion like if one were to have a KBBQ celebration. The aisles were so neat but what caught my eye were for the instant noodles. There were so many options to choose from. There were so many Korean snacks! Some I've had before but many more that I haven't. Lastly, the hot foods were the highlight! Many people come here not just to do grocery shopping. Many come here to eat the food cooked fresh!

HMart is my favorite Asian/ Japanese Food Market. I have yet to find a location that is as great as…read moretheir location in San Diego. That said, I went to this location on Fathers Day. I knew the store would be busy... and it was. The store was overwhelmed with customers, and it was like dodging cars on a freeway. The music was so loud and frenetic for having so many customers in the store that I left with sensory overload. Honestly, it would have been a huge benefit to the store and their employees to have calm music in the background to set a much more quiet atmosphere. It's known that music greatly helps to keep things calmer when things are this busy. The entire group I was with felt overwhelmed when we left the store and needed a quiet break from the chaos. This has never ever happened for me in an HMart so taking that into consideration. That said, I was looking for some Ahi for sushi making. They had fresh thawed ahi steaks for 5.99 lb which is a good price. Many people understand that freezing fish can kill parasites. They only had one pack so I asked at the meat counter if they had more. They said they would have them at 5 pm. The frozen ahi sashimi grade tuna was priced at something like $49.99 a pound. I've never seen a price like this which is was mind blowing. But I digress. A sign of the times? Not sure. I'm not a Karen. lol. I highly respect stores and how hard people are working especially on a busy holiday. I asked the butcher if it could possibly be given a bit earlier than 5 pm because I lived far away. He turns to another person and starts talking about me in Spanish thinking I did not hear or understand what he was saying. He was majorly bad mouthing me. I looked at him and said..."I understand Spanish." That's all I said. He looks embarrassed and said "sorry" and walked away really fast. I didn't follow him, talk to him, report him to management or say anything to even acknowledge his rudeness. I'm saying something here without his name on purpose. He was probably having a bad day. I honor that. But the entire experience at this location is one I've never had at HMart. Most likely I won't return to this location. No... I'm not mad at this butcher. I don't know what his day was like. I know what the energy was like in the store and the music alone with that many people could put anyone on edge. I didn't find many places in this store very helpful. We did get some great items which is why I rated it 2 stars. Otherwise it would have had one.

I stopped by on a Saturday. There was a good crowd. First I hit the food court and had some nice…read morefood. I had a chicken katsu plate from Tonkatsu Sakuton, a negi rice bowl from Santouka, and a cheese takoyaki and negi mayo ponzu takoyaki from Yama-chan Takoyaki. There were nice bento bowls in front. Ingredients looked fresh. From Niitakaya, I took a fan favorite pickle fukujinzuke. From the grocery store I had some cool Japanese stuff like Kewpie, Baumkuchen, Shrimp chips, Almond Poke sticks and Kitkat. I also took some ramen and udon. Milk bread was nice, but expired in 2 days. Some of the review were mentioning about a chestnut roasting machine in the front. They no longer have it. Finally I had a strawberry mont blac parfait and strawberry daifuku from Mochi-ya Ren and 4 mochis from Mochi Cream. Everything was excellent.

This is probably the biggest Japanese supermarket in the area. Things are generally on the pricey…read moreside, especially the Japanese snacks and food stands near the entrance. My goodness, they are expensive! My kid loves the strawberry sandwiches, and the drinks are pretty good too. The store itself is nothing fancy. I haven't really bought much produce here, so I can't comment on the fruits and vegetables. They also have a pretty good selection of Japanese beauty and skincare products. Right next door, there is a Japanese bookstore and stationery store, a food court, and lots of gashapon capsule toy machines. There is plenty to browse around even after you finish grocery shopping.

I've been coming to this market for many years. Even though it has changed many times, it has…read morealways remained my go to grocery market because of the quality of the food. The staff have always been friendly, and that has made shopping here feel special. I'm truly disappointed and sad to hear that market is closing. Thank you for the warm, friendly service over the years. I hope each of you employees in the market has a wonderful life you truly deserve it!

I've came here on two different occasions. Yesterday and 1 week ago…read more First, the açaí bowl I got last Sunday was completely wrong. I ordered their tropical blue crush bowl. They did not have any blue chia pudding because no one made it that morning, they didn't have any mango chutney, AND they didn't even add granola in my bowl like the description stated. Highly disappointing. Second, I got their tropical smoothie (don't remember exact name) which has orange juice, passion, and other fruits I can't remember plus a swirl of coconut cream lined on the cup... The drink was not aesthetically pleasing. Didn't see a coconut cream swirled. The drink tasted just like straight orange juice only but blended with ice. I always go to New Leaf in Capitola on 41st Avenue whenever I visit and they've never messed up on my orders (except for once when they didn't have mango chutney either). But the drinks they've made for me and the açaí bowls were yummy and good looking. The workers at the juice/coffee/açaí bar here just seemed very lazy and I've been here 5+ times.

Always a good visit at this TJ's location - store is always clean, tidy, manageable queues…read more(especially in the mornings), helpful staff. Love browsing the aisles for seasonal finds & new snacks. Tip: Try the Jerk-Style Plantain Chips and the Soft Dried Apricots - both super tasty & hard to keep enough on hand!

Came for the blue tote bag line was organized and chill, nothing crazy. Everyone in line was…read morerespectful and not bombarding as doors opened at 8. These OG totes are gonna be out more often than before. Some say daily. Anywho.. store was clean and staff was very happy and all smiles.

I have been shopping here for decades.... way before they became Nijiya... they used to be Dobashi…read moreand nothing has changed. The service is great and the produce is always so fresh! It is a great place to get Japanese ingredients to make your favorite Japanese dishes. Some of the stuff is only in Japanese... but the staff will help you. It is a small market - but again, does well if you need unique ingredients. They have metered street parking, so be prepared to pay a small fee. Also, this market is surrounded by other shops and restaurants - so if you are hungry... stop by one of the neighboring spots. Would I go back? Yes, always!

Nijiya Market offers a smaller, more streamlined shopping experience than some of the larger…read moreJapanese grocery stores in the area. The selection is thoughtfully curated, making it easy to find what you need without feeling overwhelmed. The store is clean, organized, and easy to navigate, with a good variety of groceries, snacks, prepared foods, and everyday Japanese essentials. If you prefer a more relaxed shopping experience with plenty of quality options, this is a great stop in Japantown.

I was in the neighborhood and decided to pop in to Lunardi's to get some fruit. Lunardi's is well…read moreknown for their fresh produce and didn't disappoint. I picked up naval oranges, Fuji apples, and apricots. All of it was delicious, but the naval oranges stood out as especially sweet and good. I wish I would have bought more. The worker in the produce department was helpful in pointing me to the pet section for live wheat grass for my kitty. The store was not too busy for a Friday afternoon and there was no wait to check out. I need to shop there more often.

I needed to get a couple of things for our Thanksgiving dinner. I stopped by Lunardi's because I…read morethink they have the best produce. I needed celery for my stuffing recipe and yams for my candied yam recipe. Every fall they get the "Diane Yams", which are the best. They are a dark reddish brown on the outside and dark orange in the middle. They are sweet and delicious. I have never found these yams anywhere else. I buy them from Lunardi's every year. I got the items I needed and headed to the checkout. The line moved fast. The young man helping me was very nice. I went home and briefly looked at my receipt and noticed I was over charged for the celery and the yams. I was actually charged for sweet potatoes which are a pale orange color and they were $1.00 more a pound than the Diane Yams. I called the store and explained the situation. I had to return to the store and get back in line to get refunded. Abby, who helped me with my refund apologized and said the guy helping me usually works the late shift. They should do a little training on the differences between the yams, sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. A $1.00 more a pound is a lot especially when you have bought a large quantity. Now for the celery, I got charged for the blue tagged celery when my celery was clearly a red tag, which was on special. Not even sure how you get those colors confused. Next time I will check my receipt before I leave the store.

Still amazing service and quality! Over 8 years ago I…read moreordered platters with great success. Last weekend, I ordered sandwiches from the deli and brownie tray from the bakery and sushi platter from the sushi section. Wow!!! Another successful party food, thanks to Lunardi's! Great service, delicious food all served up with a smile. Excellent!! Thank you!

For Mother's Day I was really craving burnt almond cake, but unfortunately Peter's Bakery was…read moreclosed that day. I started looking around for other options and found out that Lunardi's bakery actually sells burnt almond cake and that people say it's pretty good. So I asked my husband to go pick one up for us. The 8" cake was only $24.99, which honestly felt very affordable compared to a lot of bakery cakes these days. From the very first bite, I was so happy we decided to try it. The custard filling in the middle was so good and the cake itself was soft, moist, and full of flavor. They were very generous with the almonds all around the cake too, which gave it that perfect burnt almond cake texture and taste I was craving. The bakery also mentioned that they usually have them available, which is dangerous information for me now. Lol. Definitely will be back whenever I need to fulfill my burnt almond cake cravings again!

Santo Market seems like a staple in SJ! I finally got to try their poke which I heard lots of good…read morethings about. I usually don't enjoy tuna poke, but wow Santo Market's tuna is different! It was so good! The fish was so tender and fresh. I expected to like the spicy tuna more, but their shoyu tuna definitely was the highlight. The well seasoned tuna with the fresh rice was a hit!

Ordered 2 poke bowls, a shrimp plate, and one of their rice cracker snacks that all came up to…read moreroughly $50-$55 bucks in total (not including the strawberry mochi; we came around 10ish in the morning, which was about 25 minutes or so AFTER they were sold out, otherwise it might've been over $60ish in total). Price is pretty steep for something like this. The owner or person taking our order seemed like a confident or very straight forward / strong type personality, which I'm fine with because I naturally have a bit of a strong personality as well so it didn't bother me, although it would've been better if he smiled or something so it doesn't seem like he's coming off like a New Yorker. Just sayin. But I also know that he's simply doing his job so it's nothing personal. Anyhow, the food he talked a good game on it being the best in the Bay Area turned out to be quite mid IMPO. The shrimp was 100% overcooked, the side Mac salad was actually *not* good at all and it sucks because that's something I feel like you can't mess up but it was gross unfortunately, I spat it out even tho I hate wasting food. It just didn't taste freshly made whatsoever. The poke bowl wasn't comparable to Hawaii since he mentioned it's just as good... but honestly I think everyone's taste buds are different because to me, the poke bowl was totally mid, but it could taste really good to someone else and that's certainly OK! Also -- I like salty things esp when I crave for it but this was quite heavy on the salt, which made my experience the way it was. Even though it could've been better, I came with no expectations and just wanted to see what the fuss was about. That said, the only thing that was good was the rice cracker snack we bought and that's it. Glad I still gave this place a try, but personally for me, it's definitely my last visit. Maybe I'll come back at an earlier time to get one of their strawberry mochi but other than that, I think I'll rest my case here.

I went grocery shopping at the Grocery Outlet store located at Santa Clara & 7th street. After…read morepaying for the purchases, I started heading home, but not knowing I had left my wallet on the counter which the cashier named John Delgado was working on. At home, I checked my purse and realized I had forgotten my wallet at the store. I immediately went back to the store, hoping to find the wallet. Arriving there, John handed me my wallet with all the important documents and money still intact inside. I greatly appreciate John's good deed & honesty. I thank him and wish him the best of luck and success.

They also gave me a very racist nickname. They would whisper it among themselves behind my back…read more Some of them are super rude and miserable. If you don't like working with people like this, don't go.

This is an amazing Asian grocery store I used to frequent in my college days. had to come back…read morebecause they have fresh seafood, meats and vegetables. They also have all types of pots and pans that no other place carries. Easy to find and park. Prices are very reasonable and competitive as well.

Not only overpriced, but the stuff is also rude. I have also found meat that was for sale despite…read morebeing expired. Not coming back any time soon unless they change ownership