Piedmont Grocery Co
Categories: Grocery, Beer, Wine & Spirits, Meat Shops [Edit]
Neighborhoods: North Oakland, Piedmont Ave4038 Piedmont Ave
(between 40th St & Glen Ave)
Oakland, CA 94611 (510) 653-8181
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Sun 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
6 reviews
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
"Soooooooooooooooo good. I bought a few cases and split them with friends. I finished a whole case in less than a week and I wasn't even…" read more »
102 Reviews for Piedmont Grocery Co
This place is dangerous...............
I stopped on the way home, taking a detour for change of scenery. I was hungry, and my shopping list had 3 items on it. Well, $130 later................
I stocked up on a bunch of ethnic items, got some expensive coffee, etc., etc. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the aloofness of the checkers. As another yelper observed, they really are too busy to talk to you since they're chatting amongst themselves. Too bad.
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First things first: I understand the concept of respecting my elders which is why I didn't go off on the senior who was fondling the Semifreddis bread. What's the big deal, right? He was just looking for the best loaf. No, patna. You know how each loaf is wrapped in a white paper wrapper? The wrapper was clearly blocking his view of the product, so he lifted each loaf out briefly to examine them. Let's not even talk about what he did to the mini-loaves that were in the basket unwrapped. Ewww...
Anyway, I didn't end up with a lovely individually-sized loaf to compliment my lunch, but I did have a very healthy salad with mixed greens, romaine, baked salmon, beets, mushrooms, etc. from the buffet. Yes, I know that creepy old man could have molested the buffet too, but I was too hungry to wrap my mind around that.
All in all, it's very expensive as a grocery store, but the buffet is a great deal for lunch and their wine selection is excellent. Too bad I can't have a glass of wine on my lunch break.
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I love how clean this store is. I love strolling up and down the aisles, looking at all the pretty packaging on too expensive chocolates or teas. I love to stand in front of the dessert section and choose carefully the one that I find to be the most decadent.
This store has some nice stuff, but just too expensive to make it a regular on my list.
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This is the best small grocery market in Oakland! Superior meats and veggies and butchers ready to cut meat to order, no complaints. Pre-prepared meals are tasty, nutritious, high-quality and don't make us sick!! Customer service is number one!
Freshest meat, seafood and poultry Check
Cute counter boys Check
Feels like a 1950-60's grocery store Check
Parking Check
Whats not to love? I plan my grocery week around when I can pick up meat here and what's on the menu. Their plethora of prepared food stands the lunch time crowd in good stead and you're guaranteed to find something to please. I used to think all grocery stores had the same stuff but no that's not true. Even when I moved away, I come back because my local grocery stores can not compare.
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Piedmont Grocery makes Whole Foods look like the Grocery Outlet. The prices are that outrageous.
This is not the type of place one comes to do one's weekly shopping. Most people who shop here only buy enough to fill a handbasket. They even have little carts that the handbaskets fit in, making cute little mini-carts.
I once stood in line behind a woman at Piedmont Grocery who had just done her weekly grocery shopping. Staples. Bread. Milk. Orange juice. Laundry detergent. Paper towels.
Six bags of groceries.
$450.
This is not a practical place to shop. Nonetheless, I love this place.
They have delicious prepared foods--fabulous sushi to go (which would probably be cheaper if you ate it at Kirala), nice salads, falafels, soups, and freshly cut fruits.
They have an amazing cheese counter, with a nice lady who puts out samples.
They have a very good seafood and meat counter, with lovely young men in crisp white cotton butcher coats to assist you with a smile.
They have a lot of hard-to-find-and imported items, including ethnic foods from India, Thailand, Israel, and Greece.
They have an extensive selection of wine.
The following is my Piedmont Grocery Fantasy Shopping List:
1 box Stella D'Oro Breakfast Treats
1 jar Talk o' Texas Pickled Okra
1 Mexican papaya
1 pint cubed watermelon
3 pints assorted berries
1 pound fiddleheads
8 ounces creme fraiche
1 jar Tupelo honey
1 spicy tuna roll with avocado
1 cucumber roll
1 California roll with fresh crab
1 mixed nigiri combo
1 pint ika sansei salad
1 pint wakame salad
1 jar Major Grey's Chutney
1 pound jordan almonds
1 bottle Taittinger Brut Reserve
1 six pack Orange Crush in glass bottles
1 six pack Squirt in glass bottles
6 liters Perrier
2 packages butternut squash tamales
1 dozen oysters
1 wheel Camembert
8 ounces Maytag Blue
1 tin octopus in tomato sauce
1 jar Tiger Tiger Vindaloo paste
1 Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar
1 cheesecake
2 cans Spotted Dick (http://static.dossy.or...)
Oh, and did I mention that they deliver? Yes! Delivery from a mom and pop store in Oakland today! It really doesn't get any more delightful than that. In my Piedmont Grocery Fantasy, I would have all the above items delivered directly to my home where I would consume them in private while watching a weekend-long marathon of Flavor of Love, seasons 1-3.
Except of course for the two Spotted Dicks. Those I would have delivered separately, one each to the respective homes of Joe G. and Uncle Steve.
Because it's MY fantasy.
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Nice, fresh produce, nice long lines cuz these friendly mofos that work here want to chat it up with EVERYONE. I'm not the social butterfly so, it bugs sometimes when I just want to get in and out.. but the goodness of the food makes up for it.
Salads are hella pricey - the cooked food looks worked by the end of the day.
I loooove the selection of Salsas by Casa Chicas & the tamales too.. SO much good stuff here. Just don't go if youre in a hurry.
I miss the Hella Hot Cheese Spread - bring it back, bring it back.
xoxox
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good salad bar.
but everything else is a bit overpriced. i'd rather go to trader joe's or whole foods.
UGH. look here, i am a broke college student, but i know my damned food. my parents owned and operated their own high end fine-dine-and-wine restaurant when i grew up, and i was raised on things like chicken parmesan and bouillabase. therefore, i am kind of a snob when it comes to my groceries.
yes, i understand piedmont grocery carries high quality products. but still, they are hella overpriced. and to be honest, i haven't found much here. for instance, i got a sweet ass espresso machine for christmas and i wanted to get some torani syrups to make things like hazelnut lattes at home. you would THINK a store like this would carry it, but nope.
plus i kinda wanna rip my hair out when i'm walking around and i'm surrounded by rude yuppies and their demon children.
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The best place ever. Some of the employees have been there more than 25 years. The store itself is over 100 years old now.
For every person who complains, "Eh, too pricey." You try finding any other grocery store with such a selection that also has employees happily volunteering to carry your groceries 5 blocks to the impossible Piedmont parking because you are 8 months pregnant.
The staff makes up for every price tag in the store and lets not forget that they are small business so they actually have to PAY MORE to get the food. They're not just arbitrarily jacking prices. You want 10 cent ramen then go shop Safeway. You want a nice bottle of wine for only 10 dollars they'll stear you in the right direction with their multiple liquor specialists.
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I don't care that I can never leave for under $60, Piedmont grocery is Whole Foods and Berkeley Bowl combined then writ small and navigable.
Keywords: cheese; produce; prefab salads and entrees; beer. There's also a comprehensive meat and fish counter for those of you so inclined.
Pricey, sure, but you get what you pay for so that's not why I've deducted a star. Parking, rather, can be impossible at times, as can the surly lot guard.
Still, armed with a fat wallet and thick skin, you'll do just fine. . .
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This place is my JAM! Me and the pooch walk up here, I park her on the bench in the back and grab a NY steak for us to share. A great deal for the both of us. Really though, P.G., though not the cheapest, is certainly one of the best. Good salad bar and hot food selection, good olive bar, good bread and produce and a great neighborhood experience. So next time you don't feel like fighting with all the SUV-drivers and vegans at Whole Foods, make your way to Piedmont Ave. for some good old fashioned, slightly over-priced fun. Oh, and the service here is actually GREAT, so there's that too.
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As a healthcare slave...this is my go to place for lunch in a hurry. I always get their salads and it always seems to do the trick. They have a great selection of cheese, carry the best falafel mix and fresh tabouli salad. This is also the first place I saw a Spotted Dick.....a canned English bread pudding...LOL. A little more expensive than Whole Foods, but they do the trick.
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Where can you find MARMITE, SPOTTED DICK, and SCOTTISH HAGGIS?......Aisle 7 of Piedmont Grocery.
They deserve 5 stars just for THAT! Their meat, cheese, and olive sections don't look too shabby either, AND their MOCHA HAZELNUT CHEESECAKE is the richest, densest, mochalicious taste of heaven that I've had in a long time!
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Great local alternative to the insanity of the monster Safeway. The prices are okay, not great, but they do have an excellent meat department. Their pre-made soups are pretty darn good as well.
I used to shop here quite often, when I lived in the area. Lately, I have been coming back because I enjoy taking my dog over to the Mt. View Cemetery down the street. So, after our walk, I stop in at Piedmont Grocery for goodies.
They have good quality products, a butcher counter, a pretty large cheese and wine selection, and big self service deli section. It's got everything you need without having to endure the aisles at Safeway. The only drawback is they are pricey. If they weren't so spendy, they would be getting 5 stars.
Oh, and one time, I was walking in to the store from the parking lot and there was this looney tunes sitting on the bench outside, screaming at one of the employees. I thought to myself, wtf? The poor employee had this dumbfounded look and you could tell was quite embarrassed. This lady was either drunk or just simply out of her gourd. I quickly rushed in to the store and could still hear her screaming profanities. I am pretty sure they called the cops. 5150? I think so.
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Clean bright store with wonderful variety of sometimes hard to find fresh produce, delicious fresh spring rolls, slightly expensive staples and lots of little interesting drinks/snacks.
Its best to support these small guys, especially with the encroaching Trader Joes' and Whole Foods thing in the area. Plus they often have pomegranates when no one else does.
Pricing: consider this closer to "true cost", if you don't have as much, you can find discounted fresh foods in one aisle.
Quality: very high and fruit seems to come from smaller producers, a plus in my book.
I read some reviews here from other people that mention how much the checkers like to talk to customers so much and hold up the line and I must say, i felt a little jealous. My experience with 2/3 of the checkers is that they're all rude and won't even look me in the eye because they are too busy talking shit to each other and keeping whatever "inside joke" they've had going all morning going on even further. The only actually friendly workers I've encountered there are at the meat counter and otherwise, have seriously started to ween myself off this place simply because of the employees. I am not one of those crazy high brow yuppies that goes in there and asks for each apple i buy to be packed delicately in it's own bubble wrapped container and am well aware of saying please, thank you, and having my pin number ready to enter and do indeed push the green "OK" button as soon as it's prompted. Why the 'tude? Perhaps I'll never know.
At first, I loved the convenience of a grocery store just 1 block from my home. I also enjoyed their hot soups and ready-made sandwiches and even justified the higher cost as the price I pay for supporting a local store. Almost a year later, I think I am ready to move on.
I was amazed when I visited the Whole Foods on Grand Lake when it opened a few months back. A huge store filled with awesome shit and seriously, no joke, the NICEST checkers every single time I've gone there. That is the kind of service that I'd hoped for in Piedmont Grocery and was sorely disappointed that I did not get. I mean, really, what else can justify the increase in grocery bill except for better service? If i want decent food with no frills, I'd just go to Trader Joes and spend a fraction of the money.
Yes, their meat counter and whiskey collection is well edited and always tempting, but otherwise, I find everything else to be not quite as "fancy" as their reputation would suggest. The fresh produce is hit and miss (try going to Monte Vista market just a few doors away). I inadvertently purchased a single pear there for SIX dollars. WTF.
Overall, this place is great in a pinch when i need that occasional bottle of Vinegar or some flour, but folks, don't expect it to be your "friendly neighborhood grocery store".
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Went in to Piedmont grocery to pick up some fresh bread...had to get a cart half way through my shopping experience because my arms were overloaded..... For example, I looked for polenta - found 5 different choices, looked for peeled chestnuts, found 3 choices and various canned creamed chestnuts .....the produce was excellent and the meat market was very appealing.
I will definitely go again when I am in the area.
For the quality and choices you have I found the prices to be just right.
Great deli and fish selection.... lovely produce, cheeses and wine. You can literally find anything here- like canned escargot or haggis (yikes) or fresh mint and shittake mushrooms. Love the laid back but awesome staff and the cheese sample section!!!! My only gripes are the grumpy, scary parking lot attendant (WHY they employ this guy is beyond me- does he have some inside dirt, or something???) who acts as though he would rather kill you than help you and the hot food section seems to cater to the old and infirm (lots of creamy, soupy, soft, mushy, poached meats, fish and pasta)... Still, love you guys!
I love they're hott hott breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. I love most of their soups, the red lentil is my fav (I'm a vegetarian). I love buying my greens and hummus from there. I can't think of anything I don't like except people walking around really slowly or stopped in the middle of everything. It does get crowded, but its worth it too me.
This is a great grocery to have 2 blocks away from where I live!
That said, you better not have a problem with crowded stores or navigating around old people or young people that are stupid and or lost. Just hit them with your shopping basket and move along.
They have a good selection of your typical brands as well as brands you might not find in Safeway or other chain-stores in the area. The wine selection is good and often there is something on sale worth taking a look into like the sangiovese I pondered today.
The staff is usually strangely happy and upbeat which is a pleasant change from what I normally encounter in grocery stores.
Hooray for having a great neighborhood grocery store.
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Yeaaaaaaaahhhh, so um, I go here and I never really think too much about it. Except my kids don't really like going in here because the stench of the meat counter permeates the whole store. Then they added that aromatic salad/food bar. Yum. Anywayz I like the store enough because they have some good stuff and I can walk there from my house. Always a plus. But the last couple of times I've gone, all the clerks have called me "sweetie" or "dear." "DEAR"? What is that? I'm 32 man! I am not 90! Is it because so many blue hairs shuffle through there any given day the employees are just on auto pilot calling everyone sweetie and dear? I find it highly annoying. That w/the smell and the costs keeps makes this a 3 star at best.
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+ Great, great butcher. Love the meat counter.
- Everything is far too expensive.
+ Carries Frostie Rootbeer and other nifty sodas.
- Only carries small sizes of regular Ritz, but large sizes of Low Sodium Ritz and Whole Wheat Ritz. WTF?
+ Free parking (although the lot is often crazy).
- Produce is iffy, rarely local, always way too pricey. And for some reason they prebag their lettuce and then water it so you get lettuce sitting in bags of water. Weird.
+ Minutes from my place.
- I'm too lazy to go anywhere else most of the time.
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Though it's a bit too pricey for every-day grocery shopping, this is the quintessential neighborhood market.
A deep liquor and beverage selection, great butcher counter, good produce and a really wide selection of specialty and international items make it a great spot for that one thing you can't find anywhere else, or that really good cut of meat you just can't get at the Safeway or the Trader Joe's. Lots of organic stuff, too.
Real butchers are the firemen of grocery stores, they make or break the business for me. I get incredible feedback from guys that love what they do or at least are honest enough to bitch about cutting up dead animals all day. Real guys on an avenue with few blue collar dudes.
Buy good meat from good dudes. (they also sharpen knives on certain days and buy your produce from the dirty market down the street, much cheaper and just as good)
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1 STAR for the butcher counter
1 STAR for the wine section
1 STAR for the cold/hot food bar (and olive bar)
1 STAR for having a wide variety of higher-end brands
1 STAR for having a wide variety of high quality product
Oh you Californians...with your MEGA-GARGANTUAN grocery stores with their WIDE aisles...two shopping carts could pass by one another at the SAME time easily, without touching. You're all so smug about it...it smacks of entitlement.
Piedmont Grocery is a welcome reprieve from all that QUANTITY without quality mentality. In fact, Piedmont Grocery is one of the few West Coast grocery stores that rivals some of the more exclusive gourmet grocery shops in Manhattan...namely Balducci's or possibly Dean and Deluca. It's all about quality...and a little about quantity...or perhaps I should say variety.
It's true, the store is small...but it is well-stocked with a wide variety of higher-end product. Have you seen their selection of teas?...fresh bread?...potato chips?...I challenge you to find a better selection of gourmet potato chips. If you are a wannabe foodie, Piedmont Grocery is a good place to do your shopping.
In my opinion, Piedmont Grocery is the crown jewel of Piedmont Ave.
One day my broke ass will be able to afford to buy more than just lunch at Piedmont Grocery Co. Until then, I will scurry over during my 30 minute lunch breaks for their entrees. They have everything from chicken marsala to couscous salad.
Minus one star because sometimes the lines are such that I barely have time to eat my lunch.
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I like this little store. It can be pricey but there are certain items worth venturing in there for and they offer a clean store with fresh items. The hot food table could be better maintained but the butternut squash ravioli is incredibly tasty!
I LOVE that this is only around the corner from my soon-to-be home. It so nice to be able to run out and get some last minute randoms or stuff for dinner. It's super mellow, I have never dealt with a cart traffic jam. The butchers are great and the meat is pretty reasonable. I LOVE the cheese section, Ooooo horseradish cheddar.
Their produce is really fresh and well priced as well. I have yet to try the prepared food section but it looks really good.
The fish meat and poultry counter here is AMAZING! Great cheese selection. Awesome selection of mustards. Just lotsa cool stuff here.
And the employees are always friendly too.
I love this market because even though it's on the expensive side, it has everything I need and it's not so huge (Whole Foods) and crowded (Berkeley Bowl) that I feel claustrophobic and/or overwhelmed.
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This is one of my favorite places to shop in oakland. Yeah, it's pricey for a guy like me, but some things in there are totally worth it. The hot food bar always has something interesting to try, and usually I stand there staring at the choices for at least 8 minutes before i finally decide what i'm gonna have.. (last time it was smoked Bbq beef briskit, and it was THE BEST) Since you pay by weight, i have learned what foods to buy, and what not to. I stick to fish, and light items. I never buy chicken wings, since it's mostly bone.. at 7.99 a lbs it's not too bad for as delicious everything is.
The rest of the store is nice too, the staff is really friendly, and over the years i've learned most of the staffs names, and they remember mine.
Over all this place just has a real nice friendly feel to it. I wish there were more places like this in oakland.
I'm that bitch in the grocery store obliviously talking on the phone while standing in the middle of the aisle you're trying to go down with my cart sideways trying to decide between Stonyfield or Wholesoy soy yogurt. Piedmont Grocery was ready for me, my cell gets no reception there. Boo!! How am I supposed to have that crucial pre-date advice session with my lesbo bff???!!
So I speed through the little aisles distraction free and able to politely move to the side when another customer needs to pass. The drive home is short but I can usually get a few good tips before I have to get off the phone to carry my groceries inside.
Although I do it because I'm lazy and reckless with my money, I wouldn't suggest going here for all of your grocery needs. Not that they can't fulfill them, they're small but they have everything I eat (and a lot that I don't). They're just freaking expensive. I never see the high bill coming either. Maybe the prices are just a tad more expensive than a place like Berkeley Bowl so it just hits you. Well, maybe it's also that they have all kinds of good date/single person stuff, wine, champagne, healthy tv dinners, chocolate cakes, yummy prepared foods, lots of cheeses, etc etc etc. Maybe I just get a little too excited when I come here and buy too much. Yeah, I think that's a part of it. My friend and I didn't touch the tart or the mango sorbet I brought to go with the enchiladas that I picked up there last night.
So let's see, that's five stars for having everything I need, being close to my house and having ample parking for a store that's in a cute little strip; and minus one star for high prices. I won't dock any stars for the lack of cell phone reception, I GUESS I don't need to be able to talk on the phone to grocery shop.
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The best neighborhood grocery. I have shopped there for over 15 years. The produce and meat market is superior and constantly good. The cheese area offers lots of free samplings. It's always nice to see the same faces too.
I particularly love the butchers. I was making a paella one time and the guy behind the counter took the recipe from me, selected and wrapped the 7-8 varieties of fish and meat I needed for the dish while I did some other shopping. Top notch.
This is the place I shop at when I'm in town since it's just a short walk down the hill. They have a great selection of wine, cheese and beer. It's a plus that they carry a lot of my favorite NW beers here too! The guys in the meat section are a total crackup! They remind me the guys at the fish market in the Pike Place Market.
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Piedmont Grocery is the closest I am going to get to a Balducci's and Citarella here in the East Bay. Why so little stars if Piedmont Grocery is supposed to be gourmet? The fresh meat counter is 5 star worthy (excellent cuts of meat and poultry, *fresh *fresh *fresh) but as a whole, the grocery falls short of goods that people can actually find useful. I think of everything here as party food since everything is expensive and the brands are all high class brands and imports.
If you carry Fiji water in your pocket like it's Kool Aid, then Piedmont Grocery is for you.
I, however, would rather shop at Safeway and TJs out of convenience. BTW, they sell Fiji water at TJs also.
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I don't shop here as often as I would like -- mostly because it is too tony for my tastes and wallet. That said they have an awesome salad bar (good luck getting out until 10 bucks though) and often put out tasty cheese samples. Their produce section is a bit lacking though.
They have an excellent hi quality selection of foods. One can find stuff you would not ordinarily find at Safeway. But you pay the price for it. In a pinch yeah. But I wouldn't go ordinarily.
As mentioned by other reviewers, the meat and fish counter is, for my money, the best in the east bay: in addition to great quality, the folks behind the counter are friendly and knowledgeable. Actually, everyone at the store is pretty helpful -- a number of times people have gone into the back to try to find something for me, always pleasant about it.
With the rest of the store, the variety is not too bad for being such a small place. The produce is usually good quality, but it has a limited selection and it's pretty expensive. I do wish there were more dairy options.
I could do without the aisles of imported and specialty items -- the store's cramped space could be better utilized by expanding its produce and dry goods. That, to me, would make it the model of what a neighborhood grocery store should be.
A note: the store can become unexpectedly busy, sometimes turning from quiet to madhouse in the space of half an hour. Shop as fast as you can so you don't get caught in a freak tempest.
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