Like everything, the expansion, Ace inventory, the store dog, and especially the staff, Tom and other regulars, and some great news hires Mike in Belmont read more

If you live in the Belmont-Arlington area we are spoiled by having this hardware store to rely on. Hillside really hit it out of the park with the remodel. In addition to the fantastic garden and plant center, They now have really have a deep selection of power and hand tools. The Paint and finishing section is well stocked, and the customer service and advice is top notch. read more

The "Go To Hardware Store"" when in North Cambridge or Belmont Massachusetts. Turf Equipment ( Landscaping Equipment) is Right Next Door!

I've been going here for 29 years. Even before it was an ACE. I'm moving and I'm going to miss the excellent customer service. Plus, if your trying to figure out a solution, a give and take with Tom usually solves the problem. Luckily there is an ACE a short distance from my new home. In stopped by and they were great as well. read more

After consistent satisfactory and above service you have to give someone an upgrade. I originally rated 3 stars just due to my limited experience here. But after going a number of times and getting good advice and having heavy things brought to my car, I can easily upgrade to 4 stars. Let's address a complaint of previous commenters. The "creepy guy in the back." I know whom you mean and he's an acquired taste. Go a few times and he warms up. It's rather typical for Boston natives. Being a bit standoffish to the point of sounding defensive for something Defensiveness is not the appropriate answer for. Then warming up. This is common local relationship building. In other news, they do deliver to your house - soil, fertilizer, mulch etc. delivery fee of $15. Not bad. It's also easy to pull right up during the day and walk in. A safer parking lot than Home Depot and a shorter walk if that means anything to you. I will continue to go here and hope to give them a further upgrade. read more

Hillside Garden is an excellent, local hardware store. They carry a large range of items and you can be sure that if you have a question you will immediately be able to find someone (if they don't find you first) who can answer you. They carry higher-end products, e.g., Benjamin Moore paints and their nursery, while smaller, includes more interesting/less common perennials and thoughtful varieties of strawberries, for example. I purchased a rose bush at Hillside last summer that I was just about to order from a catalog. They make keys (correctly the first time) and provide personalized service. Unlike the big box stores, which may be (I emphasize "may" because it is often not the case) slightly less expensive, you will be greeted by name and get to experience smaller-town living rather than the anonymous strip mall. It's worth it. read more

I have avoided going to this store because I always got a bad vibe form the tall guy who is always in the store every time I had gone in after I moved to Belmont a couple of years ago. As much as I like to patronize the local small business I didn't feel comfortable in this store so I pay regular visits to Home Depot. Recently, I stepped in after two years because I needed something that Home Depot did not carry...Hoping that my experience from a couple of years ago was an anomaly. Same thing happened! The younger crew behind the counter seem fine but the tall dude again gave me the same vibe (it seemed to me he didn't want me in the store). As I was checking out the merchandise another gentleman walked into the store and got the greetings which I guess I didn't deserve from the tall guy and the people behind the counter. Is it too much trouble to say hello to each of your customers walking in while you are standing gabbing around the counter? I ignored that and got the stuff I needed walked back to my car with the cart the counter person had told me to use. I went back inside to return the cart however, the other older store guy was standing exactly where I had gotten the cart from and as I tried to place the cart in an adjacent space and he grimaced and sort of grabbed the cart and then proceeded to shove it where he had been standing. Nary a word...No Thank you no nothing so I thanked him (to see if he would at least respond) and he said Thank you with a grunt making me feel like I had just done something wrong and caused him in an inordinate amount of extra work. I walked out of there feeling like I shouldn't have gone in there....And I am not going to. I read all the other glowing reviews but they are orthogonal to my experience at this store....The stores prices are OK but the small in town shopping experience was certainly not there for me..... I have my suspicion that it may be that my appearance does not "fit" the profile of what some of the people in the store expect their customers to look like.... This is just my humble opinion based on my experiences. By all means if you have a great experience at this store please continue to shop there but I think there are other small businesses in the area where I will take my spending. read more

Very great hardware store, workers are great, service is great and employees care a lot about customers. Very friendly environment to be in and Tom has very good advice for whatever you need. You can buy mostly everything at this store. They have extensive inventory. read more

Fantastic little hardware store, very helpful and knowledgeable staff (Tomsey I believe is his name). I go here probably on a weekly basis, and they have 80% of what I need - and sometimes I need some odd stuff. That said, I do wish they were open on Sundays, maybe 10-4 or something, but I understand needing a day off! read more

My favorite little hardware store and gardening shop. This branch has the nicest small town kinda people running it. Every time I go in some super sweet old man helps me out with his many years of wisdom and cynicism. Once he whipped out a jackknife from his pocket to peel off a price sticker to stick it on my pinky so I could show it to the woman behind the counter (who by the way was the most adorable old woman with the most old school elderly wig possible). Seriously these guys are so cute and sweet I wish I could take them home with me. They give me the serious garden supply help and have great plants and bulbs. It was also the only place in the Boston to 495 area I could find a god-damn composter. or at least the good kind. I could look for hours at all the cool gadgets they have, new and old. did I mention that they are also wicked cheap?! I LOVE THEM!!!!! read more

The sweet old man mentioned by Julie is Charlie. He's the man. He's the guy who started the store, BTW. There's everything you'd find at a box store here; but also better choices for fertilizer, and other very useful gardening items. Things that you'd NEVER find at Home Despot, and if you meet up with Charlie, he'll give you terrific advice. read more

While this isn't the biggest hardware store, that's also one of its greatest assets. Somehow, this store always has exactly what I need when I need it. When my car battery died, they had a charger. When I needed to work on my bike, they had beak cleaner and the right kind of grease. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable; I never have to wonder around for ages to find what I need which is a departure from visiting a big box hardware store where I can never find a helpful person or what I need. The prices here are a little higher than at a big box store, but for the convenience it's a fair trade off. read more

Horrible experience two days in a row. I called ahead looking for an item. Once they told me it was in stock I asked very nicely if they could leave it upfront so I can not spend 10 min looking for the item. ( In these stores if you don't know where to look you will be 100% scrambling looking for it ) The gentleman responds back to me " don't worry we have plenty in stock" click.... oh. I come into the store and of course it's a circus there is 15 people trying to be helped with two staff members helping them. I am trying to yell over everyone now where are the glue sticks, the female worker responds back " you have to wait I'm helping someone else " thankfully her coworker was smart enough to just yell back too me where it was! He was helpful. At the end of the day I will never step foot in this establishment again. Aggressive & know-it-all personality's running this store. Plenty other friendly business's in the area who carry the same stuff. Customer service is top priority for me, I will take my business to somewhere more welcoming. read more

Recently we acquired a community garden plot in Belmont, and had absolutely no tools. This place has a great selection and easy parking. We were there all the time and definitely inadvertently had the store held open for ten minutes after they closed with no complaints from the staff. Also, I think I interacted with the same sweet man who helped Julia A and we were given great fence-building advise as well as help making sure we got the least expensive price they had on our supplies. My only complaint (which is sadly a common one for me) is that I wish their seed selection were a little wider, although it really is quite good. read more

Really want to support local business during Covid. Bought multiple packages of wood, when I got home it was completely covered with black mold. Manager grabbed it from supply out back and placed into my car directly. This was second time that this happened, never again. read more

Considered a number of different local garden supply shops to get succulent soil at but chose this one because they open at 8am! That's real service in my book! They have lots of staff available for help, very friendly, and know right where things are. Almost got my errands done too fast! read more

Paranoid staff. I went in to buy several items for a paint job at home, some gardening tools and more and needed to take my time and figure out what I needed. The store was empty and one of the guys that works there kept following me around and showing up in the aisles where I was shopping (trying to shop). They were apparently concerned that I was going to steal something. Unbelievable. After this happened 5 or 6 times I just paid for the few items I had managed to grab and left. Rude, annoying, customer repellent staff. Back to Dickinson Hardware at Harvard Square! read more

First experience was great, everyone was extremely helpful and friendly. Went in today and was greeted with attitude by the cashier when I questioned why a watering can I was purchasing was priced differently (double the price) at the register. Walked with the cashier to show the different price marked and was told they don't know what to tell me and that there was no manager there to help correct the issue. Sucked it up and just bought the item as I needed it, and the thing doesn't even work. Not a great experience. read more

I've priced plants and supplies everywhere during the redo of our home. Plant prices same as everywhere and better quality. You could have saved maybe 2 $ @ home depot but that's it. The selection is better and the staff is really helpful. Plus parking. Downside - closes too early weekdays - before anyone gets home from work. Closed Sundays off season. Really? Dang. Tough to shop there for those who work long hours. Thus 4 stars, not 5. Still gets 5 for personality, product help and "how do they fit all those things in such a small space?" read more

Hillside switched over to ACE in the Winter and its a great new partnership. While the store area remains the same, there is a far better arrangement of the hardware--and far more offerings. Not sure how that was done, but it works well. Basically this is the best laid out and supplied (small) hardware store within many miles of Cambridge/Arlington/Lexington. The greenhouse doesn't seem quite as comprehensive as in the past, but that is somewhat dated based on my early-May experience. We all still miss Vinny BTW . RIP. read more

When you step in the door, you'll feel you've stepped back in time to an old-fashioned hardware store from the 50's. But don't let the aging linoleum and flourescent lighting fool you. This place is a cornucopia of anything household or hardware that you could ever need, and best of all--there is ALWAYS someone available to answer a question and help you find what you're looking for. Good luck finding THAT at Home Depot! This place is really great. read more

I always like to give great reviews to businesses who deserve it. I went in here to get a snow shovel and got all the help I needed. Very friendly personable vibe. read more

Great Tru Value store. Very organized and the customer service was great. Tom was very helpful and helped me trouble shoot an issue to determine what I needed. So glad the Tru Value store in Arlington was closed and I got a chance to visit the Belmont Tru Value! read more

Our green-thumb neighbor turned us on to Hillside, and it's our #1 go-to place for lawn and garden supplies and tools. Vinnie, the old guy other reviewers mention, really knows his stuff, and the other staff are friendly and helpful -- even the high school kids they hire for the summer. Their selection is very well thought out and and their prices are very reasonable -- matching or beating the large garden centers like Mahoney's, ditto for Home Depot except possibly for bigger tools. This place is a gem. read more

I've lived nearby for years and always use them. There are several people there who are a wealth of information, and everyone is extremely helpful. I think the "sweet old guy" referred to above is Vinny and my wife and I both refer to Hillside as "going to Vinny's", although he isn't there much nowadays. read more

Good location and friendly service but prices are ABSURD. I only go here every couple of years as I seem to forget how over priced they are but just had my semi-annual trip and bird seed was 3-4 times what you could pay at Home Depot. I alway prefer to support local small businesses but not at rip off prices. read more

Great place! Super friendly and knowledgeable staff!! Staff offers carry out service to your car and the nursery has a great quality and variety read more

Had soil delivered by them (2 cubic yards loam and 1 cubic yard compost). No hassle order, phone confirmation before they left the garden center, and free delivery if near by. read more

Do be wary of the tall and lanky middle aged guy with the affinity towards Hawaiian shirts (maybe that part was in my head...im not sure) The store is otherwise entirely pleasant with the exception of this employee. He will tell you what you need....as long as its in the condescending jerk section! Seriously dude...what are you the smarmy hardware guy read more

Hillside has an excellent selection of organic gardening products/supplies and tools. One of the few places in this area that has that stuff. The prices are very reasonable, and the people that work there are helpful and knowledgeable read more

As someone else mentioned, the prices are a little higher since it's a smaller store. But they hands down have *the* best selection of garden stuff of any store I've seen in the area. They carry things like Remay/row cover which neither of my local "Home Despots" had. Heck I have never, ever seen a hazel hoe (aka grub hoe) sold in any large box or small hardware store and they sell the heads for a pretty darn affordable price imho. Without a doubt, my go-to place for anything gardening. The staff is always friendly and helpful too. I rarely bother to review places/items online unless something stands out as really good or really bad. Definitely check this place out. They definitely fall into the "really good" category. read more

This is a wonderful old fashioned hardware store. I especially like Tom, the fellow in shorts who has the chutzpah to sometimes wear a Yankees hat. He knows where everything in the store is and finds it for you quickly and cheerfully. He always calls me "professor" even though I'm retired. If you're a senior citizen go on Tues or Wed. to get your discount. Try this place before you even think of going to the Home Despot [sic]. At the Despot you can wander around for 20 minutes before finding what you want. Remember that your time is worth something. read more

For the little bit more that you pay here over the Home Depot it is worth it. The staff knows everything about what they carry and will always go the extra mile. It is such a good store that I even forgive Tom (the one who wears shorts year-round) for being a Yankee fan. read more

I like Hillside Garden very much, though mostly as a hardware store. i bought a wonderful manual mower there that has worked well for years. I buy birdseed and gardening tools, some great outdoor chairs, and garden seeds. They don't have the widest selection of perennials or trees and shrubs, but if you're looking for the more commonly planted flowers and shrubs, they'll probably have what you are looking for. I've recently become interested in gardening with native plants, and I haven't found many here. read more

Actual personal service; employee asked me what I wanted and made sure I got the right thing. This will be my hardware store from now on. No more Home Depot - ever. read more

I go for the beautiful plants and gardening essentials at reasonable prices. And everyone there is super nice.

I have shopped here for years despite the fact that they act like they are doing you a favor every time I ask for help. Yesterday was the last straw. I put my purchase on the edge of the counter far from the customer in front of me while I looked to see if I had enough money on me to pay cash for my purchase rather than use my charge card. Well, the cashier could not have been ruder. She saw me place it on the counter and while looking at me while giving the man in front of me his change she asked him if it was his item. She knew it wasn't and was trying to make a point and make me feel as if I had done something wrong. I spoke up and said it was mine. When she started to ring me up, I told her that I deliberately tried to place my item as far away from the previous customers as I could so as to not confuse her. She looked right at me and said well, it was on the counter. Wow! She was just rude. I told her to forget it that I would shop somewhere else where the cashier wasn't as rude. I started to leave then asked for the manager so that he would know why he was losing a customer. His response was that she had a cold! If she's so sick she needs to be rude than have her go home. I will be taking my business elsewhere. read more