Even stepping foot into this place makes me feel healthy enough to justify cake for supper. I'm not going to lie - i'm not a healthy eater. But hailing from the city of all things organic (Vancouver), I like to play the part that I am. Somehow, having an open bag of chia seeds in the house, that I occasionally remember to throw into smoothies when I occasionally remember to MAKE smoothies, makes me feel less guilty about eating Corn Flakes for dinner while I'm slogging through emails. This makes me an adult right? That doesn't mean that the act of buying a meal that doesn't look like it was constructed by a five year old, doesn't tickle my fancy - I love nothing more then following up a Corn Flakeian dinner with a good ol' fashioned organic almond yogurt. Life is about the balance. I also have a deep seeded belief in only using biodegradable and clean house hold products. So when i'm not doing the best in my personal well being - at least i'm looking after the planet as a whole. This place ticks off a few major factors in my strange collaborative idea of "healthy living". First off, it stocks an impressive array of house hold items and is one of the first places i've found that carries multiple lines of personal care items - from Burts Bees to good for ya toothpaste - it was a one stop shop for both my washroom & under the sink. Secondly - it stocks pretty much everything you need to justify future unhealthy meals. From organic quinoa to virgin, cold pressed coconut oil, it's simply screaming: look how healthy you are?! Why yes, you can eat ice cream for dinner! But as many a person as said - living healthy (or in my case, buying excuses) can be pricey. What I will note, is as a newly landed expat, this place IS cheaper than the haunts back home and for that i'm thankful, but compared to the digs you can pick up elsewhere - yes, it's going to cost you an extra dollar. My tip if you fear the price tag? This funky little blue and green ball we're living on needs all the help it can get. If you can't stomach the whole nine yards of good food organic, pare it down. Spend the extra £1 for your dish soap, laundry & shampoo and keep the nasty stuff out of the drains. Then stock up on the hard to find items, or the ones you use frequently and leave the bits & bobs for a cheaper place. Nothing is better than proper, virgin, organic, cold pressed olive oil. Nothing. Will definitely be popping in here time to time to stock up on the must haves. If I could track down a spot to buy E3Live in town, i'd have all my cake justifying staples back in place. read more

Real Foods - Health Markets Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Real Foods is a fab store to shop at if you want to eat natural and ethically sourced products. They sell everything under the one roof - absolutely amazing! Situated just off from the busy Lothian Road, Real Foods is just a short walk from the city centre so it is a convenient place to reach. The quality of the food is always top notch and the fruit and veg are always fresh - there is no out of date food sold here. Real Foods sell lots of health foods such as a huge range of different dried fruits and pulses. There is also a vitamin area in the shop which sells every vitamin and mineral required to cure any ailment , as well as a range of herbal remedies. The staff are incredibly friendly and are knowledgeable about the stores products so you feel quite at ease with them over asking which remedy does what. Real foods also has a section in its shop selling natural beauty products, soaps, shampoos etc. I love the mascara which they sell here as it is nice and cheap at around four pounds and makes my eyelashes look super long. Real Foods is a fantastic shop which sells a vast range of amazing tasting food, and best of all the food is healthy! What more could you want?!! read more

Real Foods - Health Markets Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Real Foods has a bright green exterior, at attempt to scream its presence in some way to the passerby on this side street. Its interior is quite large and sells just what it's name suggest- vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free organic food and essentials. I am not a vegan or vegetarian. I try and eat healthily and make conscious fair trade choices in food. However, I still hold a personal vendetta to those who are health-freaks- the ones who won't let you touch a pint of beer. (I mean it is technically cereal juice) This shop surprised my actually. I never even considered that there could be such a variety of products which can be ethical and environmentally friendly ( I was just used to the ethical range Tesco gave us). From wines, to households, to drinks and cosmetics this store has it all. Sadly, being eco-friendly and super healthy has a price to go with it. But it's still great for getting a surprisingly delicious snack for the library later on. Then you can scorn and tut at those eating chips and mars bars.So SCORN to you now HA! read more

Real Foods - Health Markets Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Edinburgh does pretty well when it comes to health food stores (though there are still not enough if you ask me). There are a lot of vegetarians, students, religious minorities to cater for. Real Foods is a food shop that caters for the above as well as providing for other dietary needs like gluten free and vegan. It has a great selection of nuts and seeds (a big plus for me), cereals alternative dairy, fair trade sweets (I really like their real liquorice) amongst other groceries. It's range of fruit and vegetables isn't extensive but is adequate. It also has a greater range of vegetarian essentials like tofu, than the likes of Tesco. The main problem with Real Foods is that it remains expensive. Apart from students, a large make up of their clientele are wealthier professionals (unfortunately organic foods still remain a mostly middle class privilege). Having said this, some things turn out cheaper when you realise you are buying in bulk. Take their great 100% peanut butter (with no added crap). You end up forking up something like £5 for a tub, but when you take into account the weight, this is actually cheaper than Tesco peanut butter. Real Foods remains a useful source of vegetarian, fair trade and healthy food, for essentials as well as luxuries. read more

Real Foods - Health Markets Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Hurrah for Real Foods. I was so put out when Waitrose stopped stocking my beloved veggie Parmesan cheese, but a colleague recommended to try here and they have it. I would shop here just for that. Spent a small fortune on impulse purchases whilst here. Really helpful staff. read more

Real Foods - Health Markets Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

I don't want to seem rude, but for a health shop this is surprisingly busy. Usually health shops are places where you can buy slightly better foods at ridiculously over blown prices, but this is not the case here. Everything here is reasonably priced and you are not only getting health foods, but also standard foods such as groceries making visiting a health shop no longer such a trek out of your way. Many of you will also be pleased to see the presence of gluten free and allergy free foods all for fairly reasonable prices. I'm not normally too keen on health shops, but this one has won me over. read more

Real Foods - Health Markets Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

While I enjoy the options at Real Foods, as small and cramped as it may be, I am putting my foot down in giving this store my business anymore. I have had several incidents with staff here and after talking to other Edinburgh friends I realize that these are not one-off incidents. Everyone has stories of rude, unfriendly, cold, unhelpful staff members there. The last straw was the other day when a friend and I ran in to get a few things. She has a baby and we are super aware to not let the pram be an annoyance. Since the shop is tiny and there isnt anywhere to store the pram safely outside, we put it just inside the door, seemingly out of the way. A staff member immediately backed into it and had a dramatic overreaction (using the f-word, thanks for that). Despite our profuse apologies, she completely ignored us, scoffed and walked away. OK. Other incidents include being berated before even getting through the door for holding my dog while I ran in to grab ONE item. My partner was rudely scolded for daring to ask if they had fish sauce, being informed they were a vegetarian ONLY shop. The list goes on and on. Life is too short to give your money to a place where the staff is cold and unfriendly. I have been going to Real Foods for years, but I am happy to not return. There are plenty of other options, like Earthy's, that have friendly helpful staff that dont roll their eyes at you. read more

Real Foods is a local Edinburgh local market. Like the name, they sell local organic produce, bakeries, supplements, natural cosmetics. They have a great range for products for people with food sensitivity. Staff are very friendly, some lacks of knowledge about the products. I discovered some new things in the store. It can be pretty cramped. Overall, a very nice place. read more

The name says it all really and you can expect to find good, tasty food with no additives or chemicals in sight. They have everything from cereals and bread to sugar free lolly pops which are bound to entice the kids to start eating healthier. The staff are very knowledgeable and are always very easy to approach so if you're not sure what tea will give you the best skin or what bread will give you the most energy, they will be able to point you in the right direction. read more

This place is delicious. After finally dragging my arse out of Artisan Roast down the way, I managed to crawl into this store and my eyes opened with amazement! So much awesomely delicious food! I am vegetarian and gluten-free so I tend to have a hard time shopping for food sometimes. Fear no more - Real Foods is here! (by the way, how much do you love that name? It's so true, it's actually selling real food! Not packaged, chemically-induced crap) The place isn't massive but they pack it in there pretty well to give you all the amazing foods you could want! I would have to agree with Jenny though that the reason why they only get 4 stars instead of 5 is for their larger than my pocketbook price tags. Some things are just a little too expensive for my teeny tiny wallet and my even teenier tiny paycheck. So yes, I will be coming back but I suppose I will have to make wise food choices here in order to stretch my money a little more so I can just have a little more spice in my life! read more

They have great fresh produce, and an assortment of raw nuts that gets me tingling. They carry some American brands, which adds a little comfort to the shopping experience, like AlmondBreeze- no sugar added, the best almond milk ever made. They do have tofu and tempeh, though I don't eat soy. They have GF baking stuff, GF breads, cereals and snacks- so that's a major bonus. I have not bought any of their vitamins or health concoctions because they are insanely expensive, but maybe that is a UK thing. The only thing about this store are the staff I've interacted with have not been friendly. Also, this is the smaller of the two stores, and the people at the other one are nicer. read more

I can't deny it I love health food stores. It might be the Bay Area girl in me but I definitely have a penchant for these sorta places. The store itself is jam packed. It is very cozy but not claustrophobic. It has practically everything you could be looking for and a very excellent selection of beautiful hand soaps. They aren't cheap but aren't your hands worth it? The weather here dries out my families hands and I have found that these lovely handmade soaps really do protect our hands from multiple hand washing a a day (I have a toddler). Anyways, they also have a fabulous Eco cleaning aisle and other awesome self care items you can't really find anywhere else in town. And their chilled items are great! Lots of selection. My only gripe would be their produce, not much and sometimes quite sad looking. But I normally get my produce from farmers markets where we have a huge selection of lovely veg. Overall great for cans, grains, rice, teas, vitamins, you know the usual cupboard items. Lots of tofu, tempeh and veggie foods. Carry a small range of frozen but do have a fridge dedicated to dessert type item's! And a great frozen veggie burger (Amy's California is my fave). You'll find what you need but remember it isn't Whole Foods. read more

I love health food shops. And Real Foods is just packed with healthy foodie things. So, of course, I'm a fan. An impressive amount of herbal teas and an extraordinary selection of nut butter made me one incredibly happy girl. I have crazy love for almond/peanut/cashew butter; all of it. Health food shopping is really one very easy way for me to spend far too money, and I really did have to be careful not to spend a bomb on almond butter alone, so sensibly restricted myself to just the one tub this time round. I bought the Pip & Nut coconut almond butter, since I'd come across it online but never seen it in a shop. It's the stuff of coconut-almond dreams and now a permanent fridge fixture for me. - I daren't tell you how many days it took me to finish my first tub! It isn't quite the full five stars for me since many of the products you can get significantly cheaper online. But Real Foods has such an extensive selection available that I see myself becoming a frequent visitor. read more

Real Foods is the place where you can generally find stuff you cannot get from supermarkets. I go there for their great value super healthy muesli, which you can buy per 250g, 500g or a kilo and stock up on herbal tea. I'm a bit of a herbal tea freak and they have a fab selection, with often some special offers on. The stuff from their own brand is great value, from couscous grain to spices. They have all sorts of baking products, including wheat-free and gluten-free stuff. A lovely selection of healthy foods and drinks too. You can also get veggie recipes from their website. read more

Real Foods, and Real Foods-esque shops are a bit like crack to me. They're totally addicting and I always end up buying things I shouldn't, or at least didn't intend to. So, as a concept I really like Real Foods. It's just this location which gives me the case of the 3 stars, and that's in comparison to the Broughton St location. It's *very* cramped, so much that whenever I paused to peruse the shelves I found I was in someone's way. I have found stocking to be a bit hit or miss as well, struggling to find exactly what I'm looking for when I know they carry it. One of the beauties of a store like this is that you wander around and find new an unusual things to spend/waste your money on - the setup here doesn't encourage that at all. Good for my wallet I guess, but not so good for the business. Most recently I came in to buy gift certificates - these can be bought online but if you DO buy them online, you can only use them online. What? What a strange and inconvenient system. Anyway, so I went to the store to buy them and they're actually kept in the back room somewhere so I had a reasonably extended wait while someone went to fetch these. An additional level of inconvenience. Staff were lovely while I waited, though, which certainly helps. read more

A great shop. Has all those things you thought you'd never been able to find here (as an Northern American import). GREAT for people with allergies and special diets. I've found coconut milk, agave, genmaicha, and all the strange things I eat all the time but cant supply from asian marts. Downsides: well, it's overpriced, not really a surprise there. I certainly will continue to explore the two locationsthere are so many products I'm sure I missed a lot. read more

There's something about entering an organic food shop that makes me feel that awkward, out-of-place feeling of being in a foreign supermarket. The smells are unexpected but quite, I have to say, wonderful; and it is nice to think that everything here has been harvested ethically by farmers who sing to their crops and brought on the back of a happy, free-range donkey. Unfortunately, I can't quite take it all seriously, and would only buy £3.50 caramel wafers to impress a hippie friend (actually, I wouldn't even do that), but it is fun to see what's going on at the Green camp, with all its pasty-coloured sweeties and bizarre logos. Good on them, though, my hint of scorn is probably only a mask for guilt at not doing enough good for the world myself. read more

Every time I have needed them, they have been there, they have had what I wanted and delivered first class service. Two weeks back I couldn't get apples anywhere, the country has gone mad and for anybody familiar with Gerson protocol I cannot understate how critical this is. With the insanity that followed they were forced to shut down their website but sent emails to existing customers so they could continue to place orders, they then put my items on back order, kept me up to date with their supply issues (which is affecting everybody) and are now shipping these together with some other bits I'd been struggling to get. They are the only people I can find in the entire country that have organic Granny Smith apples at present! read more

All sorts of wonderful finds in here! I Usually pop in here for my vegan & Gluten free chocolate here cocoa powder for baking and walk out with more than what was on my list, so it can be expensive! It's quite a specialist shop, so prices tend to be a little high than a regular supermarket. The staff are always chatty and very helpful especially when I need something on the highest shelf (usually the polenta)!! I buy the ingredients for Mrs C's Cakes from here because the staff are very good for making sure i have the ingredients i'm after or seeking. They have kept me up to date with a certain choc chip shortage via twitter - so excellent customer service! read more

Dragonfly bean and tofu burgers, cheezly, raw vegan cheesecake and brownies, agave syrup, organic pumpkins and coconut ice cream. Real foods is a treasure trove of vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and healthy foods. You can come here to buy loose oats and dried pulses, refill your ecover, find alternatives to nutella and stock up on nori seaweed for that sushi dinner party... I really like Real foods, and if I were rich, I would spend a lot of money here. Having problems now with both dairy and gluten, AND being a vegetarian, Real foods caters well for me. The prices are a little high, though there is a 10% student discount, and if you are clever you can find some bargains. I love the range of fresh vegetarian foods such as pasties, salads, tofu, cake etc. They are produced by ziggy's, jordan's wholefoods, hendersons, the engine shed, au gourmand, and numerous other well known local vegetarian institutions. The vegetables are all organic, colourful, and oddly shaped (far more natural). The freezer is well stocked with booja booja ice cream, swedish glace, fry's veggie burgers and more. The dry goods always look exciting, various interesting ethnic sources, alternatives to sugar, cashew butter, an extensive range of teas (including yogi and pukka) and gluten free/vegan baking kits. Really lovely local health food shop, the only improvement I can think of would be more vegan and gluten free fresh cakes! And perhaps a few budget options... read more

I love this place. As a vegan, Real Foods is a great grocery shopping destination. They have plenty of healthy, wholesome vegan products available. I come here on average about every 2 weeks. The only downside is that they can be quite expensive, but to me it's worth it for the quality of the products, many of them imported. I agree some of the staff (not all) are not the friendliest. A few times when I've asked questions the staff seemed annoyed that I talked to them, and I've had an impatient staff member woman assist me at the till. However they are not all this way, and the guy who seems to always be there is very friendly! read more

Real Foods in Tollcross is a slightly smaller version of the store in Broughton Street, but like it's sister, it has the same big ideas when it comes to food: local, seasonal and organic are the key words. As it doesn't have quite as much floor space, it stocks less fresh food, but you'll still find a well stocked chiller with falafel, hoummus, Jordan Valley pasties etc; massive sacks of muesli that the staff will helpfully weigh out for you; and, shelves full of veggie/vegan pasta sauces. read more

Veggie/vegan eco friehndly paradise. If you are after even the most obscure item or ingredient i would bet on them having it here. Good lot of remedies health and bodycare stuff here too. read more

First of all let me say I've been there around 7 times, so this isn't based on 1 time visit. They have a fairly decent range of products, they are a small shop. Customer service wise they are very very poor. I don't know what kind of CS policy they have but every time I go there, staff seems very unhappy, like they don't wanna be there. Very unaware of customers, when I ask information about a product, they answer like they are doing me a favor. very unpleasant experience. Reason I've been there 7 times is because unfortunately Edinburgh doesn't have much of a choice when it comes to wholefood places.Now I just order online from somewhere else. This review is for the 8 Brougham Street branch. read more

2nd January - just read on the website that the shop is "Open now". On that basis I walked down, only to find it shut. Get your website sorted. Now feel very cross. read more

Real foods is one of the best health food shops in Edinburgh. The space isn't as open as Earthy Foods and Goods in South Side, but it beats almost all the competition in New Town simply based on the range of products, and it is considerably larger than you would believe from looking from the outside. There's a huge range of vinegars, oils, pasta sauces, nuts, flours, beauty products, vitamins and minerals, as well as a section which feels like a mini-supermarket with fresh fruit and vegetables. For salt enthusiasts like myself, it's also amazing: I can't think of anywhere else in Edinburgh you'd find niche items like pink Himalayan salt. It is also recommended for those on a gluten free diet. The quality of the produce is unbeatable: take the organic chocolate, for example, which is all supplied by the award winning Montezuma's. My only complaint with this place is with the entrance and exit, both of which are cramped, and a little awkward at busy times. read more

Real Foods - Health Markets Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Real Foods is a god-send if you want to avoid the supermarket for your comestibles and daily fayre. Cramped rows of wooden shelves stacked with everything from 40-odd types of honey, a bewildering selection of teas and coffee, wholefoods, eco-cleaning products and toiletries, vegetarian and vegan foods and snacks, and much more, including the all-important beer and wine section - with a good range of organic bottles. Just off Tollcross means it's very convenient. Sister shop also on Broughton Street. read more

Alright for a browse though so so cramped, they need a bigger venue pronto. Nice space outside with heavy railings to secure your bike to though. Staff fairly friendly, though occasionally a bit abrupt - I guess especially after you have gone in day in day out to ask if coconut milk has come in on that day's delivery (which it never seems to do). Stock levels are pretty poor, and the stock logistics is downright awful. Impossible to do a weekly shop in here, every time I go in half the items I am after are out of stock and the staff have no idea when they will come in again - very frustrating! I tried the online order system as a substitute, and my god it is awful - still waiting on an order I placed weeks ago. They have my money for it too! I don't doubt that it will arrive but the packing/delivery process takes an exorbitant amount of time. Order has been shown as "being packed" for 4 days now and counting. Items are pretty expensive, but I can tell my conscience that I am getting what I pay for! Not tried their fruit and veg, it always looks pretty tired and sad on the shelf. They get most of it delivered by Phantassie (spelling?) it seems, the people behind the daylight robbery market called Earthy. I guess their biggest issue is the size of the shop and popularity of it - they just cant cope with the flow. I have given it 3 stars as I am so tired of always being able to pick up only 3/5 or 4/7 items on my shopping list when I go in. read more

I received a gift voucher for my birthday (yay! awesome gift!) however, using it was more complicated than I expected. First, I ordered on a Saturday. When I went to the store to collect (much later that day because I didn't know how to use the voucher or when my things would be ready) and asked the woman at the register how to collect, she just looked at me and said "we don't do online orders on weekends." and then kept going about her business. Since I had a confirmation email that the order had gone through and that my card had been charged, I wasn't very impressed by her lack of help and explanation. Come to find out, my order wouldn't be ready until Monday at the earliest and I would have to wait for another email informing me that my order was ready to collect. Ok fine, that's somewhat reasonable (once explained). I waited until Thursday (5 days later) when I finally received the email that my order would be ready in 24 hours, but without 2 of my items. What really just irks me about this whole issue is that 1) there was no indication on the website that they didn't do online orders on weekends. 2) there is no way to tell when ordering items online whether or not they are in stock. 3) there has been very little help from the employees at the actual store. and 4) I still don't know where/when/if I'll be getting my last 2 items. There's just very little communication between the store and the customer and when there was, it was somewhat rude and unsympathetic. I used to love the store and their products, but I definitely will never buy a friend a gift voucher, nor will I ever buy online again, and I will probably only go to the store for certain items that only they carry in the city. read more

Started an on line purchase in March. After 3 weeks of waiting they tell me it is sitting in the distribution company and they will issue a fresh order. After another few weeks they are still waiting for the original order to be returned to them they say. As it has get to May I say I will pay for a second order and get a refund on the first order. I place the order on line. they ask that I phone them to confirm I have placed the order ( In don't no why). I phone and confirm they say that they will send the second order that day. At 4 in the afternoon they email me saying they will not send out the order that day and that now I must write to confirm the online order that I have already had to phone to confirm! At this point I cancel the second order order. Now in July I am still awaiting my money back DO NOT DEAL ON LINE WITH THESE CLOWNS. read more

Great shop with plenty of hidden gems. I always buy my eggs here at a fraction of the cost of big-name supermarkets. I always end up buying something new to try and have yet to be disappointed. The staff are all super friendly, probably because they get discounted organic food. read more

Real foods is ok.. loads of stock of nearly everything imaginable... they have a beauty section, wine section & a awesome muesli section (where you pick your own out of these big bag). I love coming in here & wondering around... usually come out with something new to try. I find it really expensive, but then again most "health" style food shops are, but its funny how they have a small Japanese section with items about 4x the price of exactly the same items in the Chinese/Japanese supermarket about 1minutes walk away. The staff can vary, some have been so helpful & chatty and helped me find products I like while giving their own genuine opinion, which I appreciated. Other times they have been a bit cold, bordering rude & haven't got a clue. I don't mean this to sound like a bad review because I do recommend this shop, but this sort of business usually needed assistants who can really help customers as they do have some unusual products! read more