I hadn't been to Wholesome Choice for several years and My God has it changed!!! They still have tons of International food options, including hot food. I had gone to purchase some spices and etc for the Persian food I wanted to cook... They have increased their prices however they are comparable to other places, and their fruits and vegetables were very fresh... It was packed even though it was during the week and the middle of the day! My biggest concern is that they have packed the store so much with products, that two carts can't pass by (in opposite directions) at the same time which made it very challenging to maneuver our carts... I'm shocked the Fire Department hasn't fined them being that it's a huge hazard should there be a fire or emergency evacuation.. The AC must have been out that day too since the entire store was extremely hot and uncomfortable to be in!!! read more

This review is only for their sangak bread! It's soo yummm and always a hit at get togethers, parties, and potlucks!! Comes out hot from the oven and can be reheated/toasted at home as well. Dip it in anything! The line can get long for the bread but I have never waited longer than 15 to 20 mins. They sometimes limit the # of bread you can buy depending on the line. Grocery store itself always feels crowded and I think it's because the aisles are not super wide. read more

Very dirty and saw a rat running in the other night Never stepping a foot there, very bad and rude service Chaotic and unorganized, their food tastes bad as well from the food court. 0/10 read more

Great market if you need halal items or are looking for middle eastern goods. The produce is really nice and they have a great selection of meats.. beef, pork, lamb, goat, chicken, duck, including the "bits." The space is little busy inside, so keep it moving, know what you want. They have a strong hot food and dessert selection. The folks who work this area are all nice, you can sample some of the curries and meats they have for sale to help you decide. read more

Wholesome Choice - Hot food - Bakeries Near Me - Irvine, California

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First thing's first: this is a grocery store that has specialty products at a decent price. Fruit and veggies are great here, but the meat goes bad pretty quickly so I wouldn't buy them here. The food court is large and diverse; I got gyro once and beef kabab. Large portions, a bit oily, but decent overall. Good prices too! This is a bustling grocery store. So the ambiance and service reflect that. People are nice though! read more

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It's a Large Middle eastern supermarket with a food court inside. There is a good sized Patio seating area outside. read more

Custome service is great, but my thanks would have to go to the Persian bakers 4 that Sangak bread.

Your Sangak bread is horrible, looks like clay tile , tastes like wood , breaks like potato chips.

I love this market! I always stop for the Turkish baklava which is delicious. The food vendors have tasty options as well. There is a newer area where a baker is making fresh Persian barbari bread. Highly recommended! read more

Wholesome Choice - Bakeries Near Me - Irvine, California

Sort of a misleading name that I thought this was another mothers or Whole Foods type of store so I had to Yelp it to discover something much more amazing. My middle names are international food and adventure so I was ecstatic to find out this was an international ethnic grocery store with a plethora of products from the Middle East. There's also a variety of fresh cut meats, cheeses, seafood and fresh fruits and vegetables. If you're seeking a mini foodie adventure, go try some fresh bakery goods or packaged snacks and don't forget to try everything at the food court! read more

Bought these bread for 2.99 each and when we got home we saw it had mold! Our money went right into trash buying from this store. Not recommended if you are looking for a clean and reliable grocery shop. The koobideh seems it has flour mixed with or instead of meat as it is so tasteless. Saffron rice seems to be artificial color instead of actual saffron as it is too yellow and tasteless. I hope some organization could supervise their food processing. read more

Wholesome Choice - Bread with mold - Bakeries Near Me - Irvine, California

Very disappointed with terrible customer service. Received an online specials today and when went to checkout it was a sale of months ago. Why was I sent an advertisement this morning in line for specials months ago. The cashier then the so called manager had no customer service skills and failed to accommodate a customer of many years. As a result we will find a new venue and store to frequent. I am very well known in the area and all my constituents will be advised of the horrible shopping experience! read more

Some of the management staff are very rude. Prices of items never reflect what is on the ad (esp when it comes to bulk nuts). Produce are not the most fresh. Most often times they are bruised up. Lines are always so long at the cashier & parking is a pain at this market, esp on weekends. read more

Since I was introduced to Wholesome Choice, I have been back several times. This review is primarily for the food area. I noticed there is a large variety of Persian food options here, which is great. However, it can be very chaotic and busy, which makes it hard to navigate sometimes. There are several vendors who are wonderful and the food is great, however most are just okay. Yes it can be a little pricey for the meals but you get a large amount of food. If you plan on eating there, table options are available outside but you are basically along the sidewalk next to the parking lot, which can be busy as well. read more

These Iranian diaspora monarchists should focus less on political statements and more on customer service. Customer service has taken a serious nosedive. Irrelevant political statements that people simply don't care about while shopping has gone up. No one cares about watanforoush nejatparast. Be kind and courteous to people. read more

Is used to be my favorite place to buy all of my Persian groceries once a month I religiously come here every month to get all the things that I cannot find here in the inland Empire and I drive an hour there an hour back at least if I don't hit traffic that is unfortunately the last two times that I've been there I don't know if the ownership has changed or if the ownership for that part where they serve the hot food has changed however the food is just not the same I'm referring to the Persian side where they have all the different rice the different stews the fish the chicken etc. This is just a reminder to the owners that service and product is super important the food is just not the same quality and the amount is a third less than it used to be please see to it that this changes because I don't want to stop going there read more

I wish I lived closer to the store. The store has lots of stuff that I use. The bread line is long, but I like their cooked food items that I buy, many of them. read more

This review is purely for the Doner guys in the food court. You guys rock! The food court at Wholesome Choice is as close to a Middle Eastern Bazaar experience that I've had in the US. For those unfamiliar, it's a tightly packed aisleway with vendors trying to throw samples at you and entice you to buy their wares. Usually, I refrain from the samples because "that's how they getcha", but the shawarma smelled so good, I had to take a try. Plus the guy shoved a little disposable dish into my hand with 3 pieces. When you get samples from those Japanese Teriyaki places, it's usually 1 little morsel on a toothpick. Not at Wholesome Choice. My sample was essentially 3 shavings of shawarma, each about the size of a Fun Size Snickers bar. One bite and I was hooked. $14.99 later, I ended up with a Gyro plate that could easily have been 3 meals. I shared it with my girlfriend and we were both stuffed! read more

Wholesome Choice - You ever been to those Chinese places where they fill the container and can't close it? This is the Middle Eastern version lol - Bakeries Near Me - Irvine, California

What a gem! I've been at this shopping mall and I've definitely overlooked this multinational mélange of a "grocery" store. Everywhere I turn, there's so much more!! From fresh vegetables and fruits that caters to international taste (Indian, Persian, South African, Mexican, etc.), to a fantastic bakery and aisle of pre-made food to-go. Came here to with my mom and meeting her friend for an early lunch. I stumbled on two items I've not been able to find: (1) champagne vinegar & (2) tarragon vinegar. I was excited to see Mashti Malone's ice cream, contemplating buying these before heading home. You will have a hard time deciding from their ready made, hot-food to go selection. Parking is a bit of a challenge. I'm here mid-week early-ish in the day, drove around twice to get a decent parking spot. Checkout was quick, there's self check out for 10 items or less, no cash transactions and couple of regular cashier run check outs. Great find and will be back again! read more

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One of the worst customer service I have a ever experience in my life, and I am not exaggerating beside the fact that it is very expensive yet the customer service in every department is very disrespectful and rude for example, the beat department there was a Hispanic lady who did not want to help whatsoever every time I ask her about any item she her answer was like if it is a bad product I should not even be getting. She definitely hate her job does not want to be there and does not want to be bothered by customers. The Persian food counter. The lady, put the food together for me and threw it on the counter without even looking at me still got my order wrong. And I can go on and on one thing for sure I would never go back not if I would advise anyone to do. They improve their customer service. read more

What do they not carry? This place is filled with quality ingredients! And they have their own food section which tastes pretty great. It's a great spot to stock up on halal meats! Fast service at the meat counter, and everyone is very helpful. You can get take-out and eat inside or outside they have good seating. read more

Wholesome Choice - Halal meat options - Bakeries Near Me - Irvine, California

I go to this place a lot to buy persian groceries but i have seen rotten fruits many times here and yesterday i saw breads with mold on them ! Don't they check their bread section regularly to make sure everything is fresh and hasn't passed its expiration date !???? read more

Wholesome Choice - Mold on lavash bread ! - Bakeries Near Me - Irvine, California

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It's a shame your employees don't offer assistance to your elderly customers. Your self checkout are non operational. Twice the same cashier has been so extremely unprofessional. I was the 4th person in line while she was chatting on her phone. I told her she couldn't be on her personal call while working so she closed her line with the triangle "CLOSED" sign. Other customers turned and said that's what she does. She gets her managers and cries to them without the truth of the situation. It's your store. If this employee is so valuable to you then so be it read more

It's been years since I last visited Wholesome Choice and I forgot how vast this market is! I recall it being primarily a Middle Eastern market, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it's actually an international specialty market offering an array of ethnic foods as well as conventional groceries. I am currently hooked on their toasted flat bread snacks so that was the primary purpose of my visit, but I ended up walking out with goodies like exotic flavored Lay's, fresh Persian potato salad, strawberries and fruit tea. I skipped breakfast so of course I had to make a pit stop in their food court...so many options! I settled on the Falafel Pita and was able to customize the ingredients...added bonus that the young man taking my order hooked up a generous portion of meat! Wholesome Choice has a lot to offer if you need to make a trip to the grocery store. I'm def adding it to my rotation which includes Ralph's, Trader Joe's and H Mart. Check it, check it out and if you're hungry, try something new in their food court! read more

Wholesome Choice - Toasted Flat Bread - Bakeries Near Me - Irvine, California

Great place to shop for vegetables, fruits, pastries, deli food and hot food. They've been around for 20 years and that says a lot about the quality and fair pricing. Thanks to the management and staff for their service! read more

I love the specialty foods here. I feel like everything I need is here. The service is okay lol they can be a bit nicer. But overall the produce are fresh. They got different ethnic goodies imported too. The items are cramped but I love it. Def coming here again. Parking is free read more

The best grocery in Irvine. Food is cheap and vegetables fresh. I am from Long Beach and whenever we're at Irvine this place is a must stop.

I had a really disappointing experience at Wholesome Choice Market today. I only had one item to check out, but all the express lanes and self-checkouts were closed, and the regular lines were packed. I asked the manager, Niki, if they could open an express or self-checkout lane, and she was extremely rude and unprofessional. She told me it was the owner's decision not to open them, and when I asked why, she just shrugged and said she didn't know. I ended up waiting over 10 minutes in a long line--for just one item. Later, my kid needed to use the restroom, so we came back into the store, and suddenly all the express and self-checkout lanes were open. When I asked Niki what changed, she casually said, "Oh, we got busy." Total lie. It was clear she just didn't want to help earlier. On top of that, the last time I shopped here, I noticed I was charged twice for the same item. Be sure to check your receipt--this place overcharges and doesn't seem to care. read more

Just hit or miss shopping there. So many fresh deals but so difficult to shop in a store that's not large enough for products and customers, or customers and products. read more

In the nuts section few times I saw small rats and I told manager I do t think they fixed that cos I saw few times in different days. Disgusting place read more

My wife bought olive mix side dish Paid $9.23 It smell bad. No good Please do not serve past due salad or side orders Olive mix salad I will give you zero star if i could Driving all the way from Newport beach to your store My gas and time more to return item Zero star read more

This store is so dirty, and cashiers are rude. I will spend my money at Super Irvine down the street. It's clean, fresh and brand new. They also have better prices. read more

This is a fantastic international market, featuring groceries from around the world. They didn't just stop there - they also offer an outstanding selection of international food in a cafeteria-style food court. Everyone is always eager to serve you and there is so much to choose from including Persian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indian, Greek, and American cuisines. No matter what you're in the mood for, there will be something for you to enjoy here. I tried their Korean food for the first time and found that it was flavorful and had an extra kick of spice compared to other cuisines. If you enjoy the combination of sweet and savory, the Persian rice dishes here are delicious. They have rices mixed with dates, barberries, sour cherries, raisins - and all are delicious! Their Chinese food is really satisfyingly greasy and filling. This visit, I had their gyro plate. I have had their gyro sandwich before and enjoyed it, but the meat did taste a bit salty this time around. The hummus in this plate was also a bit bland. There is seating both inside and outside of this grocery store. The service I experienced this trip was simply above and beyond. I realized that I accidentally dropped a wad of cash and had come to terms with the fact that I would probably never be reunited with it again. However, one of the servers had found it, kept it, and let me know that he had held onto it for me. I cannot believe how honest, kind, and integritous this act was and would not have expected this anywhere, let alone from a server that did not even serve me. He could have pocketed it and never told anyone about it, but instead waited in case someone came back to retrieve it. Overall, really great variety of groceries that you cannot really get at too many other stores in the South OC area, great service, and great food. read more

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