Rainbow Foods is now officially Natural Food Pantry. They were bought out and the signage has now…read morechanged. Fortunately, from what I can see, nothing else has really changed. The points system is still in place, the store looks the same, they have the same deals and markdowns and staff appear to be the same. I realize that it is early in the acquisition, so I guess time will tell. I loved Rainbow Foods, so I am hoping that nothing will change with this store and it's just the name. Anyway, my previous review from 2 years ago still stands, except for the ownership part. Oh and they stopped carrying Allegro cheese, but that happened long before Natural Food Pantry took over. If anyone in Ottawa knows where I can find Allegro cheese, please message me. Thanks! They still have the most awesome collection of fresh gluten-free breads around!

I haven't been to Rainbow Foods in a long time (since 2012), and decided that I HAD to stop by…read moresince I was in the neighborhood. The store is still tiny like I remembered it being. So a handful of people in the store, can make it appear overly crowded. That being said, they pack a lot of products in this store! I love the fact that they carry full lines of products. I hate it when grocery stores only carry two or three things from a line, so I was in vegan heaven when I hit up their freezer and fridge section. They have the biggest variety of vegan meats here, like Gusta, Gardein, Nutburg, and so on. Their snack aisle is always super intriguing. They have a large selection of chips, chocolates, and snack mixes here. It can get dangerous, pretty quickly. They have a small selection of vegan jerky from the brand Primal Strips, and they make awesome jerky! I do wish they increased their vegan jerky selection, since there is a huge market for that right now. Their produce section is meh. It's small, and the produce does not look that appealing, but I appreciate that they sell local, organic produce. I'd skip the produce here, and just hit up Farmboy next door. They also have a large selection of teas, but they were heavily overpriced compared to other retailers. That being said, know your prices. A lot of the items here are shelved at a 30-40% markup, compared to other retailers. Sometimes, they have sales that will bring items down to a more appealing price, but you really have to shop smart here. I'm still a fan of this place, and always enjoy my visits here and love checking out new products that they carry. I might have to make more trips out here in the future since they really do carry a lot of interesting vegan meats.

Healthy Planet just opened up about a month ago. This location is in the Ottawa Trainyards. It's…read morenext to Urban Barn and in the same plaza as Nordstrom Rack. Healthy Planet is a Health Food Store similar to Kardish and Natural Food Pantry. Since they are new, when I went they still had some empty shelf space, but I'm sure with time they will fill it with products. The store is big and bright and they carry a lot of items that I like at slightly lower prices than their main competitors (who I named above). They carry Vegan Rob's chips, which I absolutely love. They also carry Fiasco Gelato, as well as Mapleton's Organic ice cream! I saw lots of frozen breads, but not any fresh bread, and they don't have a bakery section :( They have a beauty section, but very limited brands of cosmetics. They have skincare, bath and body products too. They have a rewards/points system, but like their competitors it's pretty minimal. You get 1 point per dollar spent and get $5 off when you reach 500 points. So spend $500 and get $5 back. Better than nothing, I guess, lol. It's free to join the rewards program. I'm in this area a lot, so I will likely be going here often. Hopefully they have lots of sales and will have a clearance section, lol. Lots of free parking in the plaza.

I'm happy to see another natural foods store open up! This store is quite larger than Kardish, the…read moreother natural foods store in Barrhaven. The store isn't totally natural, though. They have a lot of processed foods like vegan cheeses and spreads. I'm glad that they do because the regular grocery stores often have a limited selection of these items. They have frozen meals, vegan & non vegan foods, natural cleaners, low-waste products, vitamins and supplements, skincare products, and lots more. They have a pretty small bulk foods section so I've stuck with bulk barn for when I need to stock up. Their fruit and vegetable selection isn't great. You'll definitely need to make a separate trip to a grocery store for those items. I've found that a lot of their items on sale are expired. I realized this when I bought a package of oats to try and threw them out once I tasted them and realized that they were stale - and a full week past the best before date. I'm all for selling products that are about to expire but it's a risky thing to sell food past that date. Their tea selection is great! So much choice and variety. They also have mixes like turmeric lattes or beet lattes sometimes. Recently, they stopped selling my favourite tea brand which was upsetting as I now have to order it online. The store is great but not a one-stop kind of place. You'll most likely have to stop elsewhere for fruits and veggies. I'd definitely recommend checking this place out because they have so many brands and items you won't see at your regular grocery store.

I never thought I would ever shop in a store like this. But, my wife and I have noticed how dry the…read moreweather is here and our skin has become very sensitive to the dyes and scent chemicals in the cleaning products we use. Also, my wife watches the food channel all the time and now wants to cook with only natural and organic foods. We found Natural Food Pantry in Billings Bridge Mall, which makes it totally handy in the sense that we can shop there while doing other shopping. It sells everything - cleaning products, dried foods (in a great bulk area), frozen foods and produce. They even have helpful books as well. The prices vary depending on what you are buying. The natural soaps are cheap, but the cleaning products are about double what the regular brands sell for.

Dandelion Foods is a health food store in Almonte. It's similar to Rainbow Foods, Kardish, and…read moreNatural Food Pantry in Ottawa. They carry a lot of the same brands and the prices are similar. It's right next to Equator Coffee Cafe and Roastery. There's lots of free parking.

I love this store. They sell amazing produce and liquorice. The ladies are very nice and everything…read moreis fresh.

TL;DR/The Short Version: Health Food store. Good prices, comparatively speaking. Good selection of…read moreproducts. The Long Version: I've been a fan of Healthy Planet since they opened their first Ottawa location at Trainyards. They subsequently opened a second location in the Kanata Centrum and now this location on Merivale is their third in Ottawa. It's the space that used to be a Swiss Chalet but stood vacant for quite some time. They just had their grand opening late November 2024. Healthy Planet is a health food store. They sell lots of organic foods and environmentally friendly cleaners, skincare, cosmetics, etc. They also have a vast selection of protein powders and supplements. Their prices are generally lower than other Health Food stores in Ottawa such as Kardish and Natural Food Pantry. The space is large, brightly lit and well organized. In terms of cosmetics and skincare products, their selection is greater than the location at Trainyards. Otherwise, I'd say the selection is the same. Customer service was good in that while I was wondering around, one of the employees asked me if I needed help finding something, which I didn't, so they went back to what they were doing. One thing that could have been improved is that the cash register that cashed me out had a defective point-of-sale machine, or defective wires or something because it froze during my transaction and I had to stand around and wait. The cashier said that it wasn't the first time it happened, it happened earlier that day. Other registers were fine, he said it was only his register. There were some registers that were not being used. Management should have shut down that register, moved the cashier to another register and fixed the problem. Anyway, I went shortly after their first day of opening, so I guess I'll give them time to iron out the wrinkles. Lots of free parking in the shared plaza parking lot. (216)

Waiting to order fried chicken at the " Gourmet Minute" two young people working behind counter saw…read moreme, ignored me as they did not feel like serving the public. Always slow there, not the first time. Terrible service

Always have a great selection of vegan items, free parking and very clean. I miss that they aren't…read moreopen 24 hours anymore, but the store is still worth going to. Fresh veggies and fruits all the time.

Best grocer in Ottawa! Walkable, affordable and great selection of staples and pre-made dishes,…read moresalads and treats. Amazing deli for such a small location with an incredible selection of meats, cheeses and hors d'oeuvres. The staff are always friendly and helpful.

There are not many options for groceries on this side of town, in fact, this little store is one of…read morethe only options. I can't say that they have everything you could ever need, but they do a good job of stocking the staples. The produce is definitely a highlight. What I really like is how much they support the local community. They sell bread from several local bakeries and produce from local farms. During the fall they carry about 8 different types of local apples for $1/lb. They even have little signs describing the flavor of the apples and how to eat/cook them - nice touch! Support your neighborhood market...the Metro down the street is pretty much crap anyways.

Abbas Grocery is a great little convenience store for those in the neighbourhood. I was greeted by…read moreone of the Abbas brothers (Radi) and he was very friendly and welcoming. The store is clean and has a good selection of products. I have an unusual fascination with small independently-owned convenience stores, so I like checking them out. I especially like finding some prepared foods in these types of stores, as they are usually made with love. I had heard that Abbas Grocery had good sandwiches so I was excited to check them out. I was expecting paninis but the sandwiches are in fact sandwich bread sandwiches (like Wonder Bread) in comfort food varieties such as tuna, egg salad and ham and cheese. Radi assured me the sandwiches are freshly made each morning. The ham and cheese sandwich was around $4.49 and it did have a generous amount of ham, but it did look like something I could put together at home (sandwich bread, a slice of processed cheese and some slices of ham), so I passed. They had a few slices of cheesecake and I asked where they were from. I thought maybe a local baker, but was advised they were from a distributor in Montreal. I didn't end up getting anything, but enjoyed looking around. I can tell that the owners take pride in their store. Prices are reasonable and Radi was very nice. If I lived in the neighbourhood and needed convenience store items, I would definitely go to Abbas Grocery.

The best family operated store! You won't find better prices at a convenience store anywhere, and…read morestaff are super kind and friendly. So lucky they are close by!