- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Brooklyn Natural Foods
- Nearest Transit:
-
Morgan Av (L)
Montrose Av (L)
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
81 reviews for Brooklyn Natural Foods
Review Highlights
-
"The beer selection is great, and I usually stop in a couple..." In 8 reviews -
"BYOB to Robertas around the corner, and try their pizza..." In 5 reviews
-
"...a favor and try their Brie Sandwich (brie, avocado, sprouts..." In 2 reviews
Loading...
81 reviews in English
-
Review from Alex N.
Brooklyn, NY
4/26/2012
I live off the Morgan stop and while I agree that most of the grocery items are overpriced, I'm glad we have it.
I only have one thing to add that I don't think has been said:
Most days, they offer a $5.99 special for a hot entree, rice, and a salad. This comes in a little rectangular aluminum container about 8" x 6" x 2" with a plastic lid. What they don't tell you is that you can pretty much ask them to fill the container with whatever you want. Tonight for example, I got grilled chicken marinated in Italian dressing, corn, and macaroni and cheese, all for six bucks. This is an absolute steal. -
Review from Thao L.
Manhattan, NY
3/6/2012
I may or may not have stumbled in here really drunk from pine box with an appetite of a horse..Maybe.
The prosciutto sandwich was made with fresh mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto, and balsamic vinaigrette. And it was HUGE. Pure bliss. Yes, it is a little over priced but come on if you walk into any place that has the word 'natural' in it you know you'll be paying a little more than bodega prices. -
Review from Sean S.
2/14/2012
Upscale swanky deli for swanky artists out East... hey nothing wrong with that, somehow I'm part of the woodwork here. LOL
I was on a hunt for Mate, that hipster beverage of choice, what with my friend and very temporary roomate returning from Uruguay, Yerba Mate Gourd in hand. Having tried the stuff once at Burning Man, I meant to taste the stuff again.
I found they carried the Guayaki branded mate here, but at no small dime. We're talking $17 for a pound of the stuff. Even more expensive than some primo single origin. Alas it solved my quest, so I grabbed it anyway.
Mission accomplished. -
Review from Charle M.
10/3/2011
The three things you need to know, in order of importance: They are always open. They take credit cards. They sell cigarettes.
It's like a bodega except prettier and with a superior selection. You need 300 ingredients for your candlelit dinner tonight? Don't come here. They won't have all of what you need and what they do have will cost you an arm and a leg and another leg. You want some OJ and something quick to eat and don't feel like walking further than it takes to sing the ABCs? Done and done and done. -
Review from Jenny G.
Brooklyn, NY
12/22/2011
On the up side, the owner is super friendly, they have a good selection of fake meat type stuff, non-Sabra hummus, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, and herbal teas, and they are open 24 hours.
On the down side, they're pretty damn pricey if you want anything more than one little thing, they don't take food stamps, and while the fresh vegetables are fresh, the selection is pretty small. -
Review from Finlay L.
Brooklyn, NY
8/24/2011
Say what you will about the overpriced groceries, but I will not hear a single bad word about the sandwiches! I discovered the $5 brie sandwich while interning at 3rd Ward, and would make the 15-minute trek just about every day so I could enjoy its cheesy, avocado-y, sprouty goodness. Between the selection, the prices, and the fact that you can get them at any hour of the day, I'd say those sandwiches are the best deal within a few miles.
Oh, and in the fall they stock about five different varieties of pumpkin ale. That's pretty awesome, too. -
Review from Leah D.
1/5/2011
Everyone wishing they'd close down: just shut it. You can make the choice not to go there, and that's fine, but the neighborhood is better off with it than without. Open up a competing place next door and run them out of business if it makes you feel better. There's always that natural foods shop next to the Montrose station, they have a similar selection, I just rarely made it over there even though it was only another few blocks.
Sure, it's not a good idea to do your grocery shopping here, as many items are very very overpriced. Like a bottle of Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chili Sauce that goes for $5 here goes for less than $2 at Trader Joe's (their brand, but the same exact stuff). The Reeds Ginger Brews, $2 or more here per each, you can get a 4-pack at TJ's for less than $4. Emergen-Cs that cost 8 to 12 bucks a box at TJs, 12 to 16 and up here. And so on.
But it's a great place for a sandwich or wrap from the deli counter, their empanadas are good, and they are open much, much later than any other grocery-ish store for miles. (That counts for something when you don't want to make a big trek into the city, or when the L train is on shuttle bus service, or when you've just come out of the subway station and it's late.)
It's also not as skeevy as a lot of the other supermarket/bodega interiors nearby. Their exterior is painted by a local grafitti artist (though it has since been defaced by others), and the interior is pretty clean.
They also have an impressive selection of beers and other beverages that you just won't find anywhere else in the neighborhood (maybe that other health food store at the Montrose L stop).
Oh! And: They deliver. Tell me it's not worth something to have someone available to bicycle to your apartment at 10PM to bring you a sandwich, beverages, snacks, beer, Tylenol, Emergen-C, toilet paper, or cat food.
So take the good with the bad, Schwickers. Use this place for what it's good for and find alternatives for the stuff they suck at.Listed in: L Train - BushBurg to Chelsea
-
Review from Kassy M.
5/7/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Products are a bit expensive here but they lure in customers with their convenience (block away from the Morgan L train stop), and lack of competition.
I got a falafel here one time and it was very mediocre. I couldn't finish half of it. -
Review from Jandriod P.
Brooklyn, NY
7/18/2011
Over priced and the produce is often subpar.
Yeah they are open late yeah you can get glutton free organic fair trade glutton (i know your itching to buy some) but I'm not impressed -
Review from J P.
Brooklyn, NY
12/9/2011
I'm between a 3 and 4, yes it is expensive, however, it's a convenience charge. Everything is good quality and they're open 24 hours! Do you really want to walk 10 minutes in any other direction just to get milk?
-
Review from Anthony K.
Brooklyn, NY
5/23/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Its really nice to have such a good grocery store nearby. They have a lot of good stuff. I know a lot of people are complaining about the prices on here, but I dont think it is overpriced for the quality and considering that we are buying from something locally owned, and not some huge chain that benefits from economies of scale.
Also, I really love "the american dream" wrap sandwich from the deli. I get it at least once a week.
and Its also really wonderful how late the place stays open. It has saved me on many a late night -
Review from Dan R.
New York, NY
2/16/2011
For those of us who live near Brooklyn Natural, it's a sort of lifeline. It's too expensive to be useful as a place to buy groceries, but it's the only place in town and sells beer by the bottle, bananas by the pound, and stays open all the time.
Those of you new to the hood: The place on Morgan by the train isn't much cheaper, but it sells conventional stuff like Cheerios. Regular delis exist on Flushing and Bushwick Ave and there's a supermarket on Knickerbocker and Starr street. -
Review from Elizabeth A.
Brooklyn, NY
11/10/2011
Extremely overpriced grocery items, but decently priced deli sandwiches that are tasty and filling.
Open 24/7. They take cards but there's a $10 minimum -
Review from Lisa Q.
6/30/2009
My favorite artist has done a good job of convincing me to move into Brooklyn with him. Actually, I didn't put up much of a fight--- especially after I witnessed the majesty of Brooklyn Natural Foods.
Brooklyn Natural embodies the spirit of East Williamsburg. Walking through the neighborhood is like going through an art gallery and the side of this building is one of the exhibition's centerpieces. Their groceries are very diversified to fit the needs of all the colorful people of this thriving part of Brooklyn.
Their sandwiches are very reasonable. When I ordered the mozzarella sandwich (under 7 bucks) it was stuffed to the brim with fresh, milky mozz--- they must have used half a giant ball. I had to save the other half for another meal because it was so enormous.
They charge $4.99 for Kombucha though... that's not right.
They charge $2.99 for Ronnybrook organic drinkable yogurt, that's farmer's market pricing! Nice.
The pricing is incongruous... weird.
This place has wonderful, clean benches outside to eat your yummies on. I saw Briana M. draggin' on a cigarette ruing the day because she had to get up mad early. You're likely to see all the star players in the neighborhood when you go here. It's like a club, a great hub of the community.
Definitely one of my new go to spots! -
Review from Briana M.
Updated - 4/21/2009
"Brooklyn Snatch Yo Purse!"
This is what a wise man called the establishment a couple weekends ago, and I think that anyone who has ever visited the joint can firmly agree with his sentiments!Listed in: the williamsbush chapter
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
-
3/23/2009
Brooklyn Natural (the Biznatch, or Natch, as I have named it) and I got off to a rough start. I've… Read more »
-
-
Review from Kelly S.
Brooklyn, NY
2/17/2010
Brooklyn Natural is just as overpriced and obscure as any other organic food store, but with a few notable exceptions:
- Tasty and inexpensive sandwiches and wraps.
-REALLY inexpensive and surprisingly good sushi rolls.
-(Mostly) reasonably priced produce that is always fresh.
Brooklyn Natural is always my first stop for all of these things.
(Of course, I have much, much cheaper sources for my other groceries, which I won't tell you about because I'm greedy and I don't want you crowding in there and snatching them up. neener-neener.) -
Review from Kat H.
Brooklyn, NY
12/5/2009
Briana M.'s quote stands. The Nat should henceforth be called "Brooklyn snatch yo' purse!" The grocery prices, hoo boy, you better believe you're going to get bent over wallet-wise. Take it, suckers-for-convenience. Take it ALL.
Ahem. ANYWAY. The sandwich man is solid. I came in last week with five very specific sandwiches, all with very specific instructions, and he just nodded as I read them out before going to work like a man possessed (by the urge to eradicate my hunger? i don't know, dude, these reviews can't always be A+). The Tuna Sandwich ($3.75) gives me the swamp breath, but it is beyond tasty. Sandwich man's tip jar is full for good reason. Also! These purse snatchers stock Dancing Deer Company Molasses Cookies and that alone is worth a solid three stars.
$10 Credit Card Minimum. Boo. -
Review from Nick E.
Brooklyn, NY
1/13/2007
Come on now. $5 for a pound of rice? Ok ok, it was basmati, but still. Five fucking dollars! Give me a break... You make Whole Foods look like Fine Fare.
Since I normally try to see the good in everything, I might say, "well at least they have a great beer selection" (which they do). But here's a tip: go down the street to "Latino Supermarket" where they have an almost-as-worthy selection at better prices.
I know you people are saving a whole ton of money on your rent by "roughing it" out here in Bushburg, but that doesn't mean you should get gouged on your groceries. These prices are insulting. And so is the mean cashier.Listed in: E Williamsburg or Bushwick?
-
Review from Shawn F.
Old Bethpage, NY
9/6/2011 9 Check-ins Here
Great coffee. Good sandwiches. Strange people.
-
Review from Jean H.
7/5/2009
Do not come here unless you are desperate and loaded with dollaz.
GREAT made on the spot hot/cold sandwiches
Good drink selection
Good instant food selection
Meh coffee (there's a coffee joint right next door)
TERRIBLE PRICES!!!-- dude, this is a local shop in East Williamsburg... BROOKLYN.
NOT UPPER EAST SIDE MANHATTAN.... -
Review from luke c.
Brooklyn, NY
8/31/2011 40 Check-ins Here
Good selection of organic and specialty items for a corner-grocery. Their sandwich/deli area also has a wide variety of options, and it is incomparably healthier than the typical bodega, deli, or corner store. For the neighborhood, their fare is a bit overpriced, but the quality is commendable.
-
Review from Brian R.
Manhattan, NY
8/19/2007
This place makes me realize that the organic food movement is just a ploy by grocers to get us to spend all of our money in their stores.
The store part of Brooklyn Natural is so very expensive, and really not worth shopping at. However, they do redeem themselves with their mini-deli and twenty-odd sandwiches to choose from for $5-$6 bucks. And, they have a really cool vegetable-people mural all along their outside walls.
I'm going to start printing out bumper stickers about NOT eating organic, vegan, or whatever. Perhaps I'm just a bodega kind of guy. -
Review from Jessica G.
Brooklyn, NY
12/13/2009
This is the Fiji Water of corner stores. Overpriced mediocre crap. If you actually drink Fiji Water (and think the Artesian fairies purify your tummy and make it taste better), then you deserve to be ripped off/become a regular.
Pros are that they are 24/7, have a self-serve coffee counter that's $1.25 for a large coffee, and.....I'm really trying. Oh right, they're around the block. If they weren't the only 24/7 store around, I probably wouldn't give them my business.
While I can understand there's a price for convenience, my loathe for them also comes from their decision not to stock "regular" food items. Yes, this is a "health foods" store. However, if this is the only store around, carry altenative options. I'm not saying to put bacon next to the tofu, but STAPLES. I ran in because I needed salt once. Not kosher salt, not sea salt, not I-can't-believe-it's-not-salt salt. When I asked an employee for regular salt, he looked at me like I just asked for glycerin nitrate. Same with butter, white bread, seasonings....
Cons are shoddy organic food, extremely slim pickings of "regular" food, HORRIBLE iced coffee (every time, how can this be screwed up?), $10 card minimum, hidden ATM at the back of the store, and REIT shameless markup of items.
Save yourself the money and walk one block up (on Grattan), new REAL bodega corner store opened up last month. And they're open till MIDNIGHT.
UPDATE: I may have jinxed it. The coffee is now $1.75. For that, I'll go to the Archive next door and get real coffee. -
Review from Rachel A.
Jackson Heights, Queens, NY
11/3/2007
Food in NYC is expensive. I've been here two days and have realized I am going to go broke just living. Never mind the expensive purses, jet setting lifestyle, and break the bank dinners I have 3/7 days a week, I am going to go broke in NYC just trying to feed myself (aka cooking at home) and pay rent.
When it's 9 pm and you realize you didn't buy all the things you needed at the regular grocery store and you haven't eaten dinner yet, you will thank God allmighty and your lucky stars that there are places like Brooklyn Natural Foods. It's right around the corner, the dude cooks up yellow rice and meat and potatoes and you don't mind paying $7 for a small bottle of vegetable oil. Yes, vegetable oil. Not olive oil. Olive oil is like $9 and its about the size of a can of hairspray. I took a moment to reflect on all the things I could buy at Costco for $7-9 bucks. 24 rolls of TP, 18 rolls of paper towels, a gallon of olive oil, a lb of potstickers... Basically stuff that will last me 6 months. The $7 oil at Brooklyn Natural Foods will probably last 3-4 weeks. Ahh, but we didn't even complain about the price. Convenience is priceless.
So off we went back to our humble abode (really we didn't buy anything healthy at the Natural Foods store). It's nice to know that the Brooklyn Natural Foods is right around the corner and it will never let us starve (for a small fee of course).Listed in: Who Said Brooklyn Was Cool?
-
Review from Louis D.
Brooklyn, NY
6/26/2010
The sandwiches here are great
it is always fast
it seems like it is always open
they take credit cards and it is in a great spot
grab a bite to eat and then sit on a bench outside -
Review from Zac C.
Jersey City, NJ
7/25/2011
I don't know what everyone's complaining about with the prices... The quality of products matches them. There's an Associated located close if you want cheap goods for a corresponding price! You get what you pay for guys.
-
Review from Dudeman S.
Brooklyn, NY
10/28/2010
Staff is cranky, unhelpful. Sandwiches are bland, boring. Selection is terrible, they only carry one or two brands for any given item. They often run out of a certain food item as a result. They are WAY OVERPRICED, everything is just-as or more expensive than the Bedford ave area. They basically think they can take advantage of all the new hipster kids moving into the area. I have chosen to boycott this place as the Morgan stop area is in desperate need of a better organic grocery store.
Sidenote: the associated grocer nearby has observed that the new crowd rolling into the neighborhood likes organic products, and is starting to stock shelves accordingly. -
Review from kevin m.
Brooklyn, NY
12/12/2009
I wane and wax in between my desire to boycott this bodega. It's prices are exorbitant but the selection and location are rather convenient.
It's frustrating being amongst the demographic that would have to refer to this bodega as the "only game in town" but alas that's where i find myself.
They have a little sandwich area which never seems to have anything available from their large menu clearly displayed above the kitchen. The sandwiches that they do have are quite good. i'd say that they are priced fairly, higher than bodega prices (5$ for turkey, on sliced bread w/ fixins) but then the quality is above bodega averages as well.
Ultimately, i'd say try to avoid this place unless convenience or laziness is your deciding factor on where to shop.
There is an associated supermarket on knickerbocker with great prices and also a brand new super clean smaller bodega on grattan at morgan.
I -
Review from Spencer S.
Brooklyn, NY
3/10/2012
poor quality overall (pastries, deli counter, fruit, etc) and the worst thing is they have a monopoly on this area and price gouge on everything (they own elmo's on morgan as well).
-
Review from Allison L.
Brooklyn, NY
10/27/2009
So over priced. The fact is they are the closest late hours grocery type place within miles. So yeah, I shop there but I don't like it.
More expensive then whole foods? Get out of here. -
Review from rusty r.
9/16/2009
The Million Dollar Bodega.
Makes Whole Foods seem like a bargain.
Furthermore, on the Morgan stop? Como say whaaaa? This isn't Manhattan, or the Bedford stop for that matter.
On top of that, last time there was a line 20 deep snaked to the back of the store next to the ATM. After 10 mins, I dropped my parsley and made for the exit.
The Million Dollar Bodega. Just sayin'. -
Review from Elizabeth B.
Philadelphia, PA
1/9/2011
Brooklyn Natural is open very early. There is coffee and it is cheap and delicious. They take credit cards (no minimum). Friendly staff. Sounds good to me.
-
Review from Lauren N.
Brooklyn, NY
4/28/2011
They have a good selection of natural foods, fresh produce, prepared foods to go, beer, natural household products and their made to order counter has a decent selection of options however, they are EXTREMELY OVERPRICED. It is definitely the best natural food store in the area but its unfortunate that their prices are so ridiculous.
-
Review from Heather H.
Brooklyn, NY
2/11/2010
Kat H. and Briana M. are spot on the money with this one, and if you shop at Brooklyn Natural, that's one thing you won't have much of.
Anyway, 2* for their convenient location between the subway and my apartment and for having reasonably priced Newman-Os. It's weird, but there's no mark up on the Newman-Os, while pretty much everything else is in usurious territory. I swear I saw this tiny little thing of yoghurt for $4-- it wasn't a big thing of yoghurt, but a wee little yoghurt. I think it was from Iceland. I had no idea Iceland was so famed for its yoghurt. Anyway, that was enough to frighten me away.
Oh, they're open all night. Which does come in handy sometimes. And the sandwiches can be decent to pretty good. -
Review from Rachel S.
Boston, MA
1/10/2009
This place is ridiculous.
It looks nice and the food selection is cool, but the prices are ridiculous.
One angry little star because my boyfriend and I were buying a few things to make dinner when a guy comes up to the register and asks the person ringing us up if he has any beer for $2. The clerk stopped what he was doing and told that no beer is cheaper than $3 so the dude asks my boyfriend for a few dollars for his Red Stripe. My boyfriend clearly says "No." THEN the dude comes back with his beer, the clerk asks my boyfriend to "help the guy out", and proceeds to ring up this beer with our food.
It was a really uncomfortable position and I'm going to paint the streets of Bushwick red of how no one should ever go here. I hope you'll do the same!Listed in: h8 U
-
Review from William S.
East Elmhurst, NY
7/7/2009
If it was their sandwiches I was reviewing, I would give them three stars. And if it were their grocery/convenience store I'd give them two. The groceries are hipster-esq (wide variety of frozen veggie made nugget oddities, and a bunch of indie beers) and therefore expensive. It would be nice if this was what its name purports; a place to get fresh natural food and good reasonably priced produce.
Their decent sandwiches are the only things that are reasonably priced. So walk in, turn right for the sandwiches counter, menu up top, and tip that bad ass behind the counter a buck will ya? He's been slaving at it all day! -
Review from Malarie B.
Baltimore, MD
3/12/2010
I would rate this higher, but as a thrifty gal, I just can't. Had to pick up some almond butter for a new recipe I was trying, and it was $14 for a jar! OMFG! How about my first born next time? Even the girl ringing me up was surprised at the price, I didn't know whether I should look at her with a, "yeah, for real" or look down in shame for feeling like the biggest schmuck for buying $14 jars of almond butter.
Regardless, great for specialty items and hard to find ingredients that my supermarket just doesn't carry, but I can't shake the feeling of lookin' like a total tool for walking in there. -
Review from Justin L.
Brooklyn, NY
2/11/2010
Off
Morgan
L is the
Only reason
Their fleecing is not met with mass fleeing. -
Review from Keller M.
Brooklyn, NY
2/28/2011
BN, I'm glad you're here, but I wish you weren't such scoundrels!
-
Review from Trevor N.
Brooklyn, NY
2/24/2009
R-I-P O-F-F
Catering to the lazy is one thing, but try walking two more blocks and you'll get the same stuff for half the price.
