excellent produce and friendly. parking is challenging and navigating baskets in the narrow isles, especially when clerks are restocking shelves, calls for collective patience and cooperation. read more

First time shopping there. Produce is good. Employees are kind. Shoppers..not nice. Seems like they have horse blinders on. I was bumped into..no "sorry" bumped from behind with a cart...no "sorry". Saw a man with his 4 yr old daughter. The girl picks up a few tomatoes, throws them on the ground. He then puts them back and continues to pick other tomatoes to purchase...WTH? Then I see her eating cherries from the bin...eating a apricot that her dad hands her. Who knows what else he allowed her to shop lift? Keep your children in check. I wouldn't be shopping there again. I'll stick with Berkeley Bowl. read more

Monterey Market is well known for carrying a good selection and quality of fruits and vegies at very reasonable prices. With an excellent mix of organic and non-organic produce, it is perfect for me as I tend to use some things organic, like fruits and some I don't care much such as onions. Even though they have a few aisles of groceries, they do not attract a crowd there. Majority of the shoppers are easily seen filling their bags in the produce sections. They also have a section for dairy and eggs. They are always packed on the weekends. Even with a decent number of registers, checkout lines are not a rare sight. Parking is not bad if you are willing to bypass their parking lot on the weekends and head a block/street away. read more

I buy produce and shelled nuts here. I highly recommend this market. Support local businesses.

I've shopped here for so long I can remember when the help was friendly and the parking was easy. It's sad to let go of a place you've been going to for half your life..but I guess it's time. The amount of disappointing produce I've brought home lately has put me over the top. I bought theses Avocados yesterday. I know better than to try taking them back. They are so busy they could not care less about customer satisfaction. read more

Monterey Market - Fruits & Veggies Near Me - Berkeley, California

Two stars for great veggies. BUT, apparently Monterey Market is so busy and successful that one cashier feels it's ok to engage me in a political discussion. And then when I don't respond he goes on to make very insulting political jokes making fun of my candidate. It's election day 2016! Give me a break! Last time I was there this same clerk also gave me unsolicited stockmarket advice -which was inappropriate as well as uninformed. Perhaps Monterey Market should learn to be respectful to their customers, and do not forget I have choices in where I can shop. read more

I grew up in this area as a kid back in the 60's when this was a small market across the street on the corner. The produce is good and nicely priced. I like going here and try to avoid the supermarkets for produce and fruit. Parking can be a problem. An alternative would be one of the Berkeley Bowls. read more

A great alternative to Berkeley Bowl if you're looking for abundant, exotic produce. It's like an indoor farmers market, with rows upon rows of colorful seasonal fruits & veggies that you definitely won't find at Safeway. For gourmands, chefs, locavores and lovers of health food... this is the place. It gets pretty crowded both in the parking lot & inside -- it's a fraction of the size of Berkeley Bowl. But somehow the customers here seem way less hostile and stressed out. A quaint & fruitful shopping experience! read more

Being in the fruit section at Monterey Market feels like the inside of a gumball machine: all around is a rainbow of shining orbs, tempting with their sweet juiciness. I've obtained some of the most luscious citrus for dollars off the pound, serious produce-lovers paradise. While the offerings outdoors alone are staggering, the selection inside is a farmers market, chinese grocery, bodega and health food store all wrapped up into one. Not only will you find every imaginable species of the mustard green family, clumps of fresh, fragrant mushrooms, and many specialty exotics, but there's also a bulk row for basics. There's no sacrificing quality though there are definitely drawbacks: the displays are haphazard at best and the building itself is weathered. Come on bike, as there's an endless battle over parking spots, and you'll fare just fine. Open wide! read more

Ok People, let me just say this: SIX kinds of eggplant!!* *There might actually be more, but I then promptly lost track because of the bazillion or so kinds of olive oil. I think I'm just gonna start camping in the parking lot and live here. Anyone have an old VW camper bus? P.S.: Thanks, Toni M! :D read more

When I would come out to the bay area to work in the summers, I would stay within walking distance of Monterey Market. It was my first introduction to California produce and it blew my mind. I decided, in that store, that I was moving here for the produce alone. Imagine my disappointment when every store in the area did not carry the quality produce for the price that Monterey Market does. This place really does carry the best produce in the area for Midwest prices. There are only a few problems with the store and they are all my fault. First, parking would be ample for a normal store but not for the force that is Monterey Market. Second, I can't possibly eat all the produce I want to buy there before it goes bad so I actually have to pick and choose what I want and wait until the next time to get more. Finally, I no longer live close enough to go every week. *cry* I'm actually getting sad writing this review. Thanks yelp for reminding me how far away this market is from my house and bringing up the memories of the wonderfully juicy strawberries and the crisp, green lettuce. read more

Fresh fruit and veggies galore! I come here every week to pick up salad ingredients for lunch, seasonal fruits, and wine. The front awning area is usually stocked with the relevant fruit in season and the usual peppers, avocados, tomatoes, etc. The organic roots, squash, melons, and whole nuts are all out there too. Sometimes they cut the fruit to display how fresh it is, but I haven't found that always to be persuasive. Other notes/tips: 1. Dried goods are located at an odd spot: behind the checkout such that you have to battle exiting shoppers while you scoop. These goods are way cheaper than buying any pre-packaged product, like the canned breadcrumbs, oatmeal they have in the back spices area. It's worth it! 2. I find that the apples in the back by the fridge are always a lot nicer than the ones in the front. They are waxier and more pristine. 3. The leafy greens are not very clean. Wash thoroughly before consuming. 4. The wine selection has yet to impress me (highest rating 3/5). I have bought a number of reds and they were OK but I believe Berkeley Bowl has a better selection. 5. These goods have always been fresh, regardless of the season: red leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, yellow onions, avocados (if you aren't worried about price). 6. Located a stone's throw away on Hopkins Street are a bakery, seafood market, butcher shop, cheese and spices shop. I'm very impressed with the variety, but it does a little pricey. read more

Good. Yes. but with some drawbacks. The selection and quality of produce and other items is extraordinary. Hooray for that! The experience leaves some room for improvement, and by 'some room' I mean enough room to park 4 train cars side by side. 1. Don't try to park. All the cars jockeying for the 1 spot that might open up create a Class 5 Clusterfuck for one square block. 2. During your shopping adventure you will be bumped, jostled, stepped on, etc. Previous experience in Lacrosse or ice hockey is desirable. 3. The checkout line is a 9 headed beast with 6 tails 4 arms and snakes throughout the aisles in such a way that the MacArthur Maze looks like frickin two square hopscotch. There are times in the store where you can't go forward and you can't go backward. Sometimes you're just screwed. 4. Occasionally it is necessary to communicate with a cashier. Yeah. Go ahead and try. Different words. 5. Checkout can be long. Titanic long. Go to your happy place before stepping foot in here. Take deep breaths. read more

Each time I visit I'm intrigued to find out what kind of horrible customer service experience awaits me. There was the time a cashier refused to break my $20 cash back into smaller bills and started scanning the next persons groceries. Or the time I asked where the Greek yogurt was and the guy just walked out back and never returned. This place is open 9 to 7 which makes shopping here hardly more convenient than going to the bank. When it is open its packed, worst around 6. Every other grocery store has better hours: Whole Foods 8am to 10pm Berkeley Bowl 9am to 8pm Trader Joes 8am to 10pm Berkeley Natural 9am to 8pm The first time I came here half the produce I bought was either already rotten when i cut it open or went bad within a few days. Luckily that hasn't happened since, but buyer beware. A lot of the deals you're getting here are on last minute produce. With the new Whole Foods nearby I hope this place gets a wake up call. read more

MikeC from Kitchen on Fire took us here before our cooking class (see review for Kitchen on Fire). We got to meet the owner who was a really happy Japanese man. There were a ton of fresh fruit, beans, potatoes, etc in the main section outside. The produce was located on the inside. The one thing I was really surprised about was the massive selection of mushrooms that Monterey Market had. From enoki to shitake to truffles to button mushrooms to whatever else you could think of. You could honestly make an awesome mushroom stew if you came here to pick out your mushrooms. Another plus about Monterey Market is that they carry ACME bread! I got a loaf and walked out extremely happy. Overall, if I lived in the East Bay, I would come here to shop but it's not worth the bridge toll and gas coming from San Francisco. (Pictures to be loaded) read more

This review is a bit tardy, since it's probably been close to 40 years since I've been there, but my then wife always insisted we stop there on our grocery shopping circuit. The drill was Safeway and/or Lucky (for supermarket flyer specials only), Berkeley Co-op for basics, maybe a stop at the Cheese Board and a recharge at Peet's, and ALWAYS a stop at the Monterey Foods on our way back to University Village. The Monterey Fish Market was almost an equally strong draw, and Westbrae Foods had the hippie whole grain stuff. The 5 stars are for the Fujimotos for making a neighborhood mom and pop grocery into such an enduring destination produce market. Would there be a "California Cuisine" without it? read more

The place is great, clearly. They have awesome fruits and vegetables, purchased by Mr. Fujimoto at the produce market while you were sleeping. The personnel are friendly and accomodating -- if you can't find what you want, they'll direct you to it or consider stocking it. It's natural to compare the Monterey Market to farmers' markets and to the Berkeley Bowl. MM is cheaper than both. It loses to the Berkeley Farmers' Market in the salad category and for certain specialty items. It has a lot less selection than the Berkeley Bowl even as far as produce goes. Also, BB has a serious selection of traditional supermarket items that MM doesn't carry. Further, the BB has a butcher, a fish counter, a deli counter, and so on -- all lacking at the MM. Finally, the Berkeley Bowl is open on Sundays! Take the MM on its own terms, and you'll be happy. As someone else pointed out, the Monterey Market is traditionally stronger than the Berkeley Bowl in its selection of mushrooms. That can be important. Another wrinkle is that the MM has a weird automatic orange juice machine that will squeeze for you a jug of orange juice on demand. (Ask at the register as you check out.) In the right season, you can get blood orange juice. The Monterey Market is starting to have a decent wine selection. If you have wines to recommend or ask about, try to find Mickey, the wine buyer. (He usually has a feather duster in his pocket.) People used to drive me crazy in the MM by insisting on paying by check. Fairly recently, the Monterey Market started taking credit cards, so lines now go faster. A big difference between the BB and the MM is that the Berkeley Bowl records all purchases by item number. If you come to the register with a Mexican black radish at the Berkeley Bowl, the cashier has only to remember the code for the Mexican black radish (a 3- or 4-digit number). That code is fixed forever. At the Monterey Market, the check-out people have to know the day's price for everything. They definitely make mistakes, but my attitude is to let the mistakes cancel each other out. It's frequently the case that the Monterey Market will be selling several kinds of virtually indistinguishable fruit of a given type. Your cashier might ask you whether your fruit came from "inside" or "outside" and whether or not it is organic. (At the Berkeley Bowl, such questions are decided by color-coded dots on the fruit; I've often asked myself whether the dye that they use is toxic!) read more

I always wonder how the cashiers know which price to charge. Well, they don't. Today on my iPhone, I noted the price of every item I put into my cart. The cashier entered the first item wrong (charging me more) and I corrected her. She didn't like that. I corrected her again and she started getting nervous. Seriously, why aren't there labels with PLUs?! Another observation is that the stock guys are really angry. The management team must not treat them well. In turn, they don't treat customers very well and use those crate carts as weapons of mass destruction. Fine if they run me over but stay clear of the little old ladies. The cashiers, on the other hand, are always so happy with each other. There is a clear imbalance in the culture here. read more

First impression: HOLY JESUS. It's like the illegitimate love child of a farmer's market, Berkeley Bowl, Safeway, Ranch 99, and Haymarket in Boston. This has definitely cut 2-3 stops out of my weekly grocery crawls. My only regret is not discovering it sooner. Seriously, the first thing I saw walking in was a sign that said "broccoli 59 cents per pound" and then cherries for $1.79 per pound, and then three different kinds of mangoes, 5 cucumbers for a dollar, wild mushrooms, and then tempeh, and... oh man. Only complaint: it was still packed at 9:30 AM on a Wednesday. What the hell? Don't you people have jobs? I'm a grad student, so that's my excuse. read more

I've been shopping here for about five years, but today, I had it. Not going back. It's too dirty, too much of the produce has problems (bugs, dents, fingernail gouges, bruises and blemishes) and I just can't stand the snotty attitudes of the customers and the sullen checkers. Like many who've reviewed this place, I am dismayed to see peace-loving, egalitarian, progressive Berkeley citizens man their shopping carts here with all the heartless aggression of NYSE day traders. After running this gauntlet today, I came out to find that one of the approximately 30 Subaru wagons in the lot had completely pinned my helpless little car (which was parked dead center in its slot) so thoroughly in a back space that I had to climb in through the rear passenger door. No, I didn't key the offending car but, to my surprise, I sure wanted to. Not something I expected to do while wearing my Birkenstocks and sporting an Earthlover bumper sticker, but man, I saw red. Before this place provokes me into destroying my own good karma I'm outta here. read more

There's something special about Monterey Market that Berkeley Bowl simply lacks. Could it be the close proximity to my apartment? Could it be the vast produce selection at extremely reasonable prices? Could it be the price as marked truffles or the fresh squeezed blood orange juice you can purchase at the front of the store? Whatever the reason, I absolutely love Monterey Market and can't believe I had never discovered it until this weekend. We made a shopping trip this weekend for exceptionally beautiful heirloom tomatoes, fresh squeezed juice and amazing oyster mushrooms. It was the perfect selection of things for a great weekend with the boy, who was visiting from DC. We wandered the aisles, we sampled the pulpy blood orange juice and breathed deeply the scent of the fresh produce. It has the same feel and relatively same prices as a chinatown supermarket but without the ethnocentric attitude. It has the organics as Berkeley Bowl, but with a more homey feel. And best of all, it's only a 20 minute walk from my house. I'll be doing most of my grocery shopping at Monterey Market in the future. read more

Browsing through the apple aisle I notice a hand written sign Arkansas Black Apple: Locally grown I pick one up in astonishment Indeed, part of it is a red so dark' It is almost black The rest of the apple is red apple color, A little sunshine yellow Is this fruit a a simile, an allegory, a saga? Did a family of Dust Bowl migrants of the thirties bring the seed, Crossing deserts, mountains ,fording streams in their Model T? I too am a migrant, But I brought nothing as lasting As this apple. I put it in my basket Two days later It is news in the food section of the NY Times. It's a very trendy heirloom apple From Arkansas originally, now grown in California Well Lah di da So much for poetry I Take my poem home, and eat it A Visit to the Monterey Market merits a poem read more

If I lived close to here, I'd live here. Monterey's produce is better than that at my beloved B-Bowl. It's close to the farmers' market in quality, maybe three-quarters of a day older, and much cheaper. Sadly the only way I have to get here is along the hilariously inebriated #9 bus route that zig-zags like DeSean Jackson on a punt return. So what's worth the tortuous 38-to-44 minute ride? One word: mushrooms. The wild ones are as tasty as anything not made out of dead animal seems to me. When, say, morels are at their most prolific (two weeks ago), they're half the price here they are at the Bowl, and twice as good. In the precisely twenty minutes I have before my return bus comes, I need to carefully pick my 'shrooms, then grab a basketful of whatever fruits look good, and maybe check out the fish market as well. So my Monterey experiences are actually more harried than my Bowl visits. I need to learn how to ride a bike. read more

It's fine for your produce needs. Some good stuff, some not good stuff. Good prices on some stuff, inflated prices on other. No big surprise. I learned a long time ago to park on those residential streets above the store to avoid the disaster in the parking lot. The problem is just the clientele. All those hippies and Berkeley bozos who espouse love and peace and good vibes and organic energy leave it all at home when they need to buy their fruits and veggies. When they get to Monterey Market, they turn into pushy one-track-minded zombies. As I shuffled along (because you definitely can't take a natural step), I drew a funny comparison. Whether fairly or not, I imagined these customers to be the type of people to denounce mainstream America's rampant consumerism when it comes to material objects. I don't blame them for that idea, I even happen to agree with it. But here at Monterey Market, they fall into the exact same trap as all those Black Friday sale crashers. There is no difference between the two populations, they just purchase different things. Granted, food isn't a material object, but their attitude in the store is exactly the same as the midnight toy shoppers. All hell breaks loose. So I just do my best to wait for the zombies to pass through before calmly choosing my stuff. Of course, that approach also invites baskets and carts to be haphazardly driven into your knees but I'm just not willing to play their game. It''s just an apple, folks, and there's plenty for everyone. And it wouldn't kill you to say "excuse me." I come about once a month. It's all I can handle. I'm not supposed to get high blood pressure in a produce market. read more

I've been back to Monterey Market three times since I wrote the initial review, and I'm revising my rating to 1 star. I have only one reason behind this change: Everyone seems to get more and more awful with each subsequent visit. It's like a perpetual motion machine for shitty behavior. It's contagious also; I find that when I go there, not only is my day ruined, but I start to behave that way as well. Regardless of their selection and pricing, this place is to be avoided. There's already enough crappy people and situations lurking out and about in Berkeley. read more

AH! This is horrible: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mbauer/detail?entry_id=40678 How very sad. The entire reason I shop at M Market is to get hard to find, speciality, small farm produce. This is an ending that I can't savor. read more

I consider myself to be a professional grocery store shopper. I do it because I love it, I do it because it's fun, I do it because food is amazingly fun to shop for. When I first stumbled upon Monterey Market, I judged it right off the bat. I thought that since it was in North Berkeley, that it would be super expensive. Oh contraire. Without doubt, this place has the best produce at the best prices anywhere. Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Berkeley Natural Market step aside. I actually live in San Francisco and drive to Berkeley to shop. I pay toll. I wait in traffic. It takes forever. But the satisfaction of filling my fridge with top quality organic produce at a fraction of the price of other grocery stores makes me a happy camper. read more

For my produce needs this place hits the spot! I happened to be in Berkeley for an appointment and found this market to do my usual weekend shopping vs. rushing back home. I did not feel like dealing with the crowds in the parking lot at Berkeley Bowl on this gray, rainy day. Wow. Choice is a wonderful thing. One row devoted to mushrooms, now that is a fantastic thing! The variety of greens, tubers, fruit, etc. had me as giddy as a school girl in anticipation of the dishes I could make with all the options in front of me. Most of the produce is organic and fresher than the vegetables I find at my local market or the Ferry Building's farmer's market. The best part is that the prices are very reasonable, with some items 50% less than what I pay at the SF farmer's markets. I really appreciated that they labeled the source of each item with the state or country of origin. This market's focus is fresh produce. While they offer some other grocery items, dry bulk goods and pantry staples that is not their focus so the variety is limited. The aisles can be crowded and narrow and many "excuse me's" and "pardon me's" were exchanged but in general folks were accommodating. Parking in their lot is tight and can get crazy. I was pretty lucky to find a spot after a few minutes. I can only imagine what this store must be like in the spring and summer months with all the seasonal offerings on display! read more

Like so many other North Berkeley residents we are saddened by the news in today's Chronicle that Bill and Judy have been forced out of this business in a family feud confirming rumors that have been floating around for the past few weeks. What is a loyal shopper to do in this moment. Sign petitions, boycott, threaten? Who else will take the time to buy from those who live in the neighborhood with excess fruit on their trees? Or buy the field runs from local growers so we can enjoy organic fruit at impossible to buy prices? Why would anyone want to change this wonderfully run market, they can only make it worse. So what do we do Monterey Market shoppers? What next? To quote it: "You don't know what you got till it's gone". A sad day as dark and gloomy as North Berkeley fog on the fourth of July. read more

Making sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving today, took out pecan halves husband bought on Tuesday, tasted, STALE!!! Checked sell-by date and it was May of this year! That's right, 6 months out of date! Lucky that stale pecans aren't dangerous but still, would it kill them to check ALL their stock at least once/month? Buyer beware! read more

Monterey Market: The high proportion of grumpy cashiers plus don't-bother-me stockers, it gets down to "Love it or leave it"===well, sorta it does. The produce is great; it comes from local farmers; the prices are nice and all is under one roof. What's there not to like girl?! It's the negative stuff mentioned above (oh 'n parking lot craziness fits in as does I'm-in-a-hurry-git-outta-my-way folks, 'n ...'n ) Really it's a head-scratcher as to why management at MM isn't hearing what some of us yelpers are saying. Yelp! My dream is that a veggie co-operative is gonna spring up in the East Bay with friendly employees like those at Trader's, the Natural Grocery--- even Ranch 99. oh hooray, hooray. Bottom line? I don't "love" Monterey Market ------but neither am I gonna 'leave it.' I'll keep working on lowering my expectations and asking to be thankful for how this "MM experience " (soon to be a diagnosis in the next DSM book) shows me where my buttons are. And that insight plus the beautiful green kale, juicy apples, yummm, keeps me comin' back. read more

I love quality fresh fruit and vegetables. Monterey Market also has groceries, dairy etc so I can do my total shopping. There's a meat market close by and a great pizza parlor. Prices are exceptionally low for organic fruits and veggies. Love this market. read more

I've always been a big fan of Berkeley Bowl, so when my roommate decided to take me to Monterey market, I was expecting something similar. I've gotta say, though, Monterey Market just doesn't cut it. The produce selection here is pretty typical of something between Safeway and Berkeley Bowl. If they have more than the typical varieties of something, it's usually pretty overpriced. Having said that, most things here are unnecessarily overpriced. I ended up buying only a few things last time I went because they were on sale, but pretty much all other fruits and veggies are just too much. When it comes to non-produce, there's really nothing special as well. Just the typical items and maybe a few specialty items that you're bound to find at Berkeley Bowl as well. The whole store is pretty small and can be a pain in the ass to get around with so many people. The employees aren't too friendly either, and tend to not even acknowledge you during checkout. Save yourself the trouble of finding parking and squeezing in between people and just go to Berkeley Bowl. read more

So I'm moving back East soon. ... I'm glad, really. But.. I will miss my Monterey Market. Produce ain't the same back east. Even in the Garden state (aka Jersey). It ain't as tasty. Or cheap. Especially not as cheap as Monterey Market. And cheap really appeals to my Asian sensibility. (did you know the owners are Asian? So they know the cheap talk.) Although the parking lot is small, you don't get the same pissed-off drivers that invade the Berkeley Bowl lot who want to start throw-downs and try to hustle their way into spots. Since this place is filled with lovely N. Berkeley hippie-tree-huggin' folks, it's all about love and peace, man. Well, kind of. It's also all about their lack of showers (which really makes it hard to smell if the cantaloupe is really ripe when the overpowering smell of BO wafts your way). I digress. All you need to know: 1. This place has great cheap produce. Cheaper than the Bowl. Much cheaper than Safeway. Organic and local. So everyone wins. 2. It's closed on Sundays. Don't even try. Or you will marvel at how empty the parking lot is until you realize the place is gated. 3. Be sure to place your items carefully on the conveyer. Make sure the heavier items go first. Because the baggers apparently have no concept of weight and the idea that things on the bottom get crushed. They don't hire base on IQ, I guess. 4. Don't try to smell your produce too much. Or you may get a nice whiff of N. Berkeley denizens. And it ain't pretty. read more

When I moved here and asked my new friends where the cheapest places were to shop on a student budget...everyone said "Monterey Market" for fruits and veggies. I went here and it is awesome! They have a HUGE selection of fruits and vegetables, plus dairy, bread, eggs, flowers and lots of natural organic products. Their prices are phenomenal (even for organic)!!!! Every time I go there I buy 2 huge bags full of 15-20 different types off fruits and vegetables for about $15. Some times their organic goes on sale for cheaper than non-organic (eg. Last week I got a head of organic cauliflower for $0.49 total and organic broccoli for $.49/lbs). PROS: -Cheap, cheap, cheap! -good quality -organic/natural foods -large selection/variety (including unique produce) CONS: -It's always busy -very limited parking. I avoid Monday's and weekends and go before 10am to get a parking spot nearby because I hate waiting or parking far away with my toddler in tow. TIP: Although the store is fairly well organized, you'll find, for example, lemons in one area and then another area for a different price. It may be good to do a quick walk through on your first time so you know where the cheapest stuff is. It's also a good to make mental note of how much each item is per pound and if it was from "inside" the store or "outside". Sometimes the cashiers can't tell the difference between a $0.10 lemon from outdoors and a $0.40 lemon from inside the store and will hesitate about the price and look to you to remind them of how much the item is per lbs. They accept cash, debit and credit and have the cash back option if you need to take cash out. read more

The best produce in a grocery store ever. An entire aisle dedicated to mushrooms and so much more. And the prices for the quality are fantastic. I've moved to LA and there's nothing close down here. Either you have inexpensive, meh produce or you go to the Farmers Markets and pay in blood for it. Luckily I visit the bay area a few times a year and when I do, I always stop by Monterey Market. read more

I live relatively near this market, and I tried to come here once, a few months ago. The parking lot was an absolute mess, reminiscent of the Berkeley Bowl experience, so I panicked and left immediately. I can handle Berkeley Bowl shenanigans maybe once every 3 months or so, and dammit, I was fresh out of Xanax. Purchasing fresh produce should not be an assault on your well-being and inner peace! Fast forward a few months. I checked out Berkeley Horticultural Nursery (review forthcoming), got a sweet parking spot right across the street from Monterey Foods, so decided to check it out, finally. It's a really homey produce market, similar to those you find out in the more agricultural areas of the state, except that Monterey Foods' focus, typical of the Bay Area, is on the quality of produce and where it's from. I'm trying to eat more fruits and veggies, but I always end up wasting what I buy (and end up feeling guilty), so I used some caution on my first visit. Purchased: oranges (vitamin C) spinach (iron) asparagus (looked good and seasonal right now) Yukon Gold potatoes (carbs) My jaw nearly dropped when the cashier told me that my total was just over $4. You can't get anything for $4, let alone all this healthy fresh produce that's brimming with vitality! As with the Berkeley Bowl - timing is the key to coming here. Time your trips to come during non peak hours, or walk over, and don't forget your reusable and sustainable hemp shopping bags. (can't resist a good Berkeley cliche) read more

NASTY PLACE. Pure nastiness. For real. I'm always the first to support my local neighborhood spot. If you're looking for the North Berkeley local store, I strongly suggest Berkeley Natural Grocery Co (http://www.naturalgrocery.com/) @ 1336 Gilman St. As for Monterey, I have been here a handful of times, and each time walking awy wondering why I went back... I'll never return after seeing the general lack of Organic produce options, the general rotting and non-freshness of all the produce, and no Kefir? The place smells bad, looks bad, and the food is of very low quality. The parking lot is always a disaster scene, and the aisles are usually scattered with wilted or broken items. I'm a big fan of ye olde natural corner store, and I've worked in and frequent Natural Food stores, so I consider myself experienced enough to say that Monterey is a bit disorganized, and has no real feeling to it other than a 'get me outta here, and into a real natural grocer!' kinda vibe. YUCK. read more

I was very torn in rating this store. I would have given the produce a 5, and the employees and customers a 2. Let me indulge... This place has AMAZING produce. Fresh, in season and local vegetables, fruits, roots, mushrooms.... half of the store IS fresh produce. Beautiful. Delicious. Amazing. The rest of the store is equally nifty, with specialty cooking items around. Prices are very reasonable, which is nice to see. Sounds great, right? Except for the parking, the staff, and other customers. Parking is crowded, small, and slightly dangerous to drive into. The staff are unwilling to help, rude, and just sort of 'there'. You could easily replace them with a self-checkout system and it would be an improvement. Now, who would complain about other customers? Well, when I get shoved out the way without an 'excuse me', get bumped into by a cart with a dirty look, and nearly trampled over because I'm trying to get some salad.... well, I simply don't appreciate it. There's no common courtesy, and that's very off putting. Shopping is an experience like any other, and those things made it a slightly unpleasant experience. Would I go back? If I needed something specific that I knew they had, or if I was in the area, probably. I would not, however, go out of my way to go only there. read more

Best Market Ever! Fresh produce is amazing and the fresh squeezed OJ and Grapefruit keep me coming black! The prices as so good no one else competes. read more