Mrs Winston's Green Grocery
Categories: Grocery, Health Markets [Edit]
Neighborhood: Santa Monica2901 Ocean Park Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405 (310) 452-7770
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Garage, Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
45 reviews
Neighborhood: Glassell Park
"Anytime I get a chance to get my produce here, I will go!! Their produce selection is really good and really really CHEAP!! I love this…" read more »
24 Reviews for Mrs Winston's Green Grocery
I don't love their prices but it's hard to argue with the quality of their salad bar and even most of their other products. They have signs claiming to have the "Best salad bar in Los Angeles" and I was highly skeptical at first but I really can't argue after trying it out 3 or 4 times. They certainly offer one of the most extensive selections of salad bar items and I've never seen anything looking less than perfectly fresh and clean. I especially like the diced turkey which has an impressive level of smokiness to it that reminds me of Tyler, Texas smoked meats. I highly recommend this place to anyone willing to wait in line for five or ten minutes to put together their own lunch that may end up costing between $8 and $20+.
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Fresh salads? Check
Good snacks? Check
Choice of beverages? Checkish, could use some more options, but fine
Friendly Staff? Check, again caveat here, just because not everyone's super friendly, but generally good
Tons of choices? Yes
Inexpensive? NO! Way more than I expected to spend on a salad, but after eating the salad, I realized I got WAY too much.
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The best sandwich in town can be had right here. This location is so much better than the Water Garden one. They have an amazing selection that includes fresh mozarella, gilled veggies and rosemary bread. I think that it is actually a lot cheaper than any other place that sells sandwiches with ingredients this good. I paid $5.50 for a big fat sandwich and I pay at least $7.50 anywhere else.
This really is the best salad bar in LA. Organic, Yes! Free-range meats, Yes! Three types of sprouts, YES! Tons of 'side' salad options , YES! (and by tons I mean like 10+)
I used to eat here all the time since I worked across the street, but now I try to stop by whenever I'm in the area. The chicken is the best, I don't know why it's so good, but it is. I put it on every salad, every time.
Watch out though, before you know it you're holding a $13 salad.
At work, we call this place "Stinky Salad." I guess it can smell a bit odd in there. But, surprise surprise -- it's a good place! This is a positive review!
It's often crowded at lunch, but the selection is excellent, fresh, and tasty. Parking can be difficult as well, since the lot and tiny underground garage is often stuffed at mealtimes, but if you're willing to walk, there's metered parking all around. Stinky Salad makes it easy to eat yummy and healthy. You can also make yourself a sandwich, and they have a wide selection of health snacks and health bars. There are pasta salads and such available. And there's soup (usually rice vegetable and vegetarian chili).
The crowd here is very fond of the special day (Friday, I think) when you can guess the cost of your salad (based on weight). If you get it right, you get it free. Of course, in the history of mankind, THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED. It's still fun, though. .
The cost is about 10% higher than I'd like it to be, but it's really not a bad deal, especially if you stay away from the heavy and unhealthy selections -- you know, meat.
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I love mrs winstons. they have everything you would ever want in a salad bar including ingredients such as heart of palm, vegan chicken, artichokes, endives, chard, turkey, different kinds of pasta salads and the freshest chopped lettuce. It can be pricey but definitely worth coming to once or twice a week for guilt free lunches.
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Mmmmmm salad. The multitude of ingredients available is pretty cool, vegetables that you only read about in health magazines are readily available. Tomatoes of various colors, fresh everything, and really good dressings. All sorts of alternative options are available as well, flaxseed oil, liquid amino, etc. The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!
It can get kind of spendy though, a giant box of salad greens will end up costing 20 bucks if you're not careful with the heavy stuff. Great natural drinks selection too. Fantastic place!
Bonus, on fridays, if you guess the dollar amount of your salad, it's free! (although, i have yet to see it happen)
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Amazing. This place actually puts Whole Foods to shame. Their salad bar is loaded with a wide array of ultra fresh veggies-- spinach, red chard, kale, romaine, hearts of palm, heirloom tomatoes (!!1), like 5 different kinds of sprouts, etc. Lots of vegan-friendly deli salads as well (sold by weight), which were fantastic. I had the vegan tabouli, tomato/avocado salad, curried tofu, quinoa with olives, peanut tofu. The entire box set me back about $7 which is not cheap but probably one of the best salads I've ever had. Super high quality, really fresh, wonderful.
They also have a SANDWICH bar, soups, a small fresh produce aisle, bread/rolls, vitamins/supplements, a HUGE selection of vegan bars and cookies, and other delightful shit that you can only find at a crunchy new age-y health food store.
I loved it here. A new haunt for me to spend too much money at, in between classes. Parking's not too difficult. There's a parking structure SOMEWHERE, but I was able to find a metered spot right out front.
I usually go here once a week since I work in the Office Park across the street. They have nice friendly people working.
You build your own salad or sandwich so you really can't complain if it doesn't taste good. Their salads bar is always fresh, I have never seen anything that was remotely bordeline.
Just becareful and don't get too carried away while buidling your salad you pay by the pound and so it can really add up really fast.
My typical salad runs around $5-$7 depending. But if you guess the exact price on Friday's your salad is free!. It has yet to happen for me but I'm getting closer!
so i'm sitting here eating my super fresh
red chard, kale, spinach, cilantro, purple basil, mixed greens, green onion, red onion, wok high protein tofu, celery, cucumber, beet, sunflower seed, cashew, mini red pepper, dried cranberry, sugar snap pea, purple cabbage, cherry tomato, black bean, soy bacon, mozzarela, jack cheese, assorted sprout salad SALAD with vegan garlic & paprika dressing and in cloud nine for only $9!!!
and i only got like a quarter of the ingredients options available!
there are also mini salads like pasta and potatoe salads, fruit salads with amazing and extraordinary fruits.
Oh and i almost forgot to mention their dressings... pomegranate balsalmic, chipotle ranch, roasted red pepper vinegrette, cesar, oil & vinegar, etc. i mean, just to name a FEW.
this place is pretty phenomenal. every kind of drink your heart could desire (including my favorites the Metro Mint waters, mmmm) and individual packets of Emergen-C, and fresh fruits, energy & meal replacement bars, dried fruits & veggies, cookies (including vegan!), chips, snacks, etc.
This place is amazing and i think you get more than what you pay for, even considering their high prices at $7.75/lb for salad and sandwiches. If you have a hard time staying in budget, i HIGHLY recommend picking up the smaller salad container and filling that. The most expensive i've ever had in that container (packed to the top with heavy stuff) was $7 and my average for the big container is $10.
If you see my Novel Cafe review you'll notice that you can get a $10 salad just about anywhere in this area, but Mrs. Winston's tops the list! Custom, healthy and affordable salads. It's called Heaven and once you step through those doors... actually, you can't wait to leave cause that means you get to EAT the dern thing!
PS if you guess the exact price when you check out on FRIDAYS you get your salad for free! (You can use the scale to get an idea, but you have to have it to the penny! I was 26 cents off today!)
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This place is incredible.
I stop here after every workout for a large salad. You can put whatever you want on your salad. Lots of options for meat eaters. Endless variety. (There's a sandwich bar, too, but I'm a salad guy; so I can't comment on the sandwich bar.)
You never see wilted or brown leaves at Mrs. Winston's. Everything is super fresh.
People who work here are friendly and helpful.
There are no legitimate criticisms of this place.
i feel like all i do is complain and complain about the salad situation in los angeles. i feel like we are a city of image conscience folks, and therefore salad places should be on every single corner. alas, this is not the case.
mrs winston's salad bar is basically my dream come true. all of the ingredients are incredibly fresh and the variety is out of this world. we're not talking the standard greens options of romaine, mixed baby greens, and spinach. at mrs. winston's there is kale, cilantro, watercress, and pea shoots and so on. there is also anything else that you can imagine to top your salad with. veggies, assorted meats, tofu, pasta salad, hummus . . . .
make sure to walk down the line slowly or you will miss out on some delicious options. i highly recommend the avocado "salad" which is basically deliciously chunky guacamole. yum yum yum!
we only get 4 stars because this place is crazy expensive. it makes my local whole foods salad bar look like a joke.
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Looks like a simple salad bar/organic grocery place... but my friend couldn't take her eyes off the place as soon as she found out that it was in the plaza we happened to be in.
She just kept saying.. they have the BEST sandwiches.. they have the BEST sandwiches..
so we walk in.. and i'm looking for the sandwiches.. and I just see salad.. and more salad and shelves of boxes with the word SOY everywhere..
It's a VEGANs paradise.
She swears by the vegan chipotle sauce/spread but because the bottle was about empty... and I wasn't too impressed with the place.. we didn't get anything and left..
But my some cosmic power.. we ended up at the plaza the next day and again our plans were shot and she said.. hey let's at least we can get a sandwich...
so besides the chipotle sauce.. she loves the rosemary bread..
and I was a bit lost because I STILL could not see the sandwiches.. and I was as she meticulously builds this beautiful sandwich..
rosemary bread
a swirl of chipotle sauce
pile of turkey
fresh piece of red leaf lettuce
roasted peppers
slice of provolone
close it up with rosemary bread
-- slices of fresh mozzarella on the side to nibble on
As much as I wasn't feeling the place.. I had to join in and build one for myself.
Rather than the roasted peppers I had some alfalfa sprouts and roma tomatoes
You can be so creative with your sandwich it's great!
But I did just think.. it's just a sandwich.. I could make this at home.
You pay for your sandwich by it's weight mine came out to $3.99. I guess it's something like $6.65/lb.
Average.. not too bad..
BUT... when I bit into the bread it was so wonderful.
You could really taste every flavor in the sandwich.. The sauce, the rosemary bread, the freshness of the veggies.. it was delicious.
I had a smaller sized sandwich because the only pieces left were the ends of the roll and even before leaving I wanted to go back and get more...
I can't wait to go back to the plaza for no reason again.. so I can just happen to pop back in and check the little bread box to see if they have more of the bread...
EXCELLENT..
oh.. the cashier is great too, very helpful and nice.. I didn't feel like I was in some snooty organic place, it was very comfortable once I understood what was going on.
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Kind of fell in love with Mrs. Winston's one day when I got lost and exited from a different door in my building on Broadway. Except for a handful of days (running to get my boss' lunch or getting lost during an errand and ending up at Koo Koo Roo) in the summer, Mrs. Winston pretty much fed me lunch the entire time I worked in that area.
Salad paradise! I have yet to find a place to rival it here in Boston. I'm not the best at eating healthy, but Mrs. Winston's definitely made it easy. The food looked so fresh (oh man, had to fight a woman for the last of the avocado once.. only to have a worker bring out a whole container of it) and tasted heavenly. The price can be a bit expensive ($10+) if you fill that plastic container up like I did.. but it was well worth it. The staff was always so nice, constantly making me laugh or filling up the salad containers or just being all around helpful. I could never guess how much my salad weighed, but it happened to others at least 4-5 times while I was in line!
And as someone who worked in a film development office.. the eavesdropping in that place was also very interesting. heh
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Tossing salad, was never so delicious.
I generally don't like salads but this place has everything. You can make a salad with radish sprouts, mandarin oranges, various greens, etc... and all the ingredients are fresh. Just get there at or before lunch as fixings can get wiped out by the ocean park crowd.
Also I suggest using the sectional plastic salad container to keep your costs down. I was surprised the first time I got a salad there and it was $24. My eyes were bigger than my stomach.
If salad is not your thing you can also make sandwiches too. But with the salad on Fridays you can guess its price and if your right its free! Just don't get your hopes up, harder than it looks.
There is parking in the rear and not open late or Sundays. Best salad place in my opinion.
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I used to work down the street from this place and ate there at least once a week. Yes, it does get pricey but is affordable when compared to just about any place else in the area.
They have a huge assortment of toppings to choose from for your salad. I prefer a sandwich because you can add a lot of meat without adding too much to the price since the cost is proportional to weight.
Highly recommended.
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MMMMmmm salad.
I'm a bit of a health freak, so I frequent Mrs. Winston's. The salad bar is to DIE for. Palm hearts? Check. Wasabi Ramen Salad? Check. Every vegetable on planet earth? Check.
It gets a bit pricey so try to go easy on the heavy veggies.
BEST Caesar dressing I've ever tasted.
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I stumbled upon Mrs. Winston's because it was a gorgeous day and there were beautiful women sitting outside in front of the "store." Normally, at least for me, that preamble would lead to short term heaven but eventual flaky devastation that leaves behind a trail on my American Express Card and a scar on my heart. BUT - not Mrs. Winston. It is a small "store" - almost like the size of that healthy salad place you see at the Jet Blue terminal at JFK just before you get to the unhealthy food places - but the food looked fresh, the staff was willing to accommodate me in any regard and the place was immaculate.
Now, it may shock those of you who have been reading my reviews, but once in a while I enjoy a "California-style" lunch with fruit and food that makes you so embarrassed that you spent the first 12 years of your life starting everyday with Count Chocula cereal, but I must say that I have not enjoyed such a meal as much as I did today at Mrs. Winston's. While it appeared to be a salad-based joint where skinny, beautiful people go to eat without having to worry about the after-effects of digestion, the more I searched around it appeared like a "Whole Foods boutique" joint. So when I saw tuna salad, tasty-looking sandwich bread and Super Bowl-like sandwich accouterments, I made a great sandwich with lettuce, onions, red/green peppers and put together a side-dish of fresh fruit that would have made Runway Models all over the world proud.
I still wasn't completely satisfied because I needed some Chips to offset the healthy effects of the fruit or else my body may have gone into shock and sure enough they had an extensive collection of high-end healthy-type chips and pretzels. I paid and then sat outside in front in this courtyard-type atmosphere and had the privilege of enjoying a PERFECT California day.
I think they have three (3) locations - 2 in Santa Monica and 1 in Century City - so the atmosphere at the other locations may not be as nice as the one I ate on Ocean Park Blvd in Santa Monica but the staff seemed meticulous in carrying out their respective responsibilities so I imagine you will have a similar fine experience at any of the other locations.
This place is making it into my weekly lunch rotation - that's how much I enjoyed it - at least until I connect with the brunette who I saw, spoke to and planned to chat with but I had to escort my client to his car and when I came back she was gone. That's the only reason for the 4 stars - instead of 5. :)
This place has the best salad bar in los angeles. It blows doors over Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Erewhon. But just as in the other places I mentioned the checkout can be pricey. Before you know it you have managed to spend $10. But hey you're eating great and its healthy.
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This small grocery store has the best salad bar around! With a plethora of different types of greens, vegetables and other salad toppings you are bound to find items that will make your mouth water. In addition to the exceptional salad bar, they have soup, a breadless burger bar, and a grip of health food items/drinks. On Fridays if you guess the price of your salad correctly, it's free! Today I was off by $1.04!! I'mgetting good!
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This rating is for the Water Garden location (Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica):
Within walking distance of most businesses in the area, this is THE healthy choice for lunch. The salad bar is the main attraction and is jam-packed with endless options: multiple choices of greens, beans, vegetables, pasta salads, tuna salads, turkey, cheese, fruit...it's all here.
The downside: Everyone knows about this place and the salad price is based on weight (Fridays are free if you're able to guess the exact price).
There is also a sandwich "bar" and a few choices for soup, snacks, fresh fruit, and juices.
Located next to Cafe Bizou...if you see the long line, you know you're in the right spot.
Eat here sparingly. This place is the definition of a LOVE/HATE relationship. While I appreciate the freshness and seemingly endless selection of veggies, fruits, cheeses, etc. for my healthy lunch, this place is a danger zone to the wallet because all of a sudden I'm spending a day's wages on a bunch of greens. Who knew tomatoes and corn could weigh so much?!?!?! Bonus: The vegetarian chili is very good (Helpful Tip: I like to add green onions, extra cheese, and sour cream to add a little flavor) and the snack selection is full of options - like the Kettle Spicy Thai chips and the natural cheese baked puffs.
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I agree with Andrew. I spend like $10 on a salad. A salad which I don't feel is enormous. But they do have kale, and kale is amazing. Ooh they also have swiss chard, and who doesn't like swiss chard? Well, actually, a lot of people don't like swiss chard...or kale for the matter. But regardless, everything here is fresh, organic, and delicious. It's just way too expensive to make this a viable everyday lunch option.
I like to toss some of the chopped garlic and chopped jalapenos onto my salad. Also love the salmon salad, kale, golden beets, and savory tofu.
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