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Categories: Meat Shops, Grocery, Fruits & Veggies, Seafood Markets [Edit]
Neighborhood: Williamsburg - North SideBedford Ave (L)
Mon-Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
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The refrigerated room is the most noteworthy thing about Tops -- it's kind of a stroke of genius given the store's bizarre, highly unconventional layout. Circulation at Tops is the pits: you have to kind of force your way around the store. In order to enter you have to shoulder your way past the queue at the checkout counters in exactly the manner you've been trained your entire life not to do. Entering or leaving the refrigerated room involves awkwardly pushing your way through a curtain of heavy transparent plastic flaps -- there's just no elegant way to do it.
Paying for your purchase is also unusual: in addition to the strange, satellite register that's cash only, one of the other three registers is usually reserved ONLY for people paying with cards. Why? Why not go ahead and add a line exclusively for people who want to pay using PayPal, too? And one for people who'd like to barter or exchange? A wampum line would be a nice touch.
Like most everyone else, I begrudgingly appreciate Tops the way soldiers during WWII must have appreciated government-issued cigarettes -- that is to say, as a not-so-good thing to which there is no available alternative. The produce selection is fine, the cheese selection is OK, pricing is decent, and on the whole it's leagues better than Associated or C-Town, especially for anything purportedly fresh, like meat and seafood. And I'm glad they're open until 9:00.
Best grocery store I've found in williamsburg. I love the huge refrigerated room- good selection of meats, beer, produce, fresh breads.
It would be 4-stars, but i've found several products that were expired by over a year. so check the product before you buy!
As I walked back across Williamsburg and rambled on and on with excitement about the produce and cheese and and.. it hit me! I am turning into my mother. The fact that I went into the store for one thing and then spent a good 20 minutes or so looking at everything they had as other people bought groceries made me mildly embarrassed but gloriously happy. And now I get my mom fully. It's not the trendy stuff, or the fancy stuff necessarily; it's just the stuff you need to make yummy food being accessible and fresh.
My only wish is that this place was closer to the south side. Otherwise, yippie!
"If you break it you pay for it", so says the snippy little sign near the front registers. Of course, this is logical, and while it's blunt I am willing to accept it. But it's a two way street. Tops can be as snippy as they like, but they can't turn around to sell you meat that rots two days before it is supposed to and refuse to take it back.
Tops is the only place in North Brooklyn to get good cuts of meat and a decent selection of seafood. I simply don't understand the dietary habits of this neighborhood - must be all the vegans. And seafood? Forget about it. Tops is the only place to go. So I have to live with it.
When I spend twelve bucks on a Filet Mignon that malodorously rots two days before its expiration date, only to have a sign snippily pointed out that says "all returns and exchanges must be made within 24 hours of purchase.", I get very angry. Clearly they're changing dates to save money, and if they can only guarantee things will stay fresh for 24 hours, why bother stamping things with a date?
I got an exchange, but only after a long fight. What gives Tops?
As far as neighborhood Williamsburg supermarkets go, Tops is definitely the best mid-range market in the hood. Prior to shopping here I would frequent places like Key Food on Lorimer and C-Town on Graham. I don't know about the rest of you but I do not trust any store that needs to wrap produce in cellophane and Styrofoam. Practicing safe sex is one thing but safe produce???? Makes you think....
The store is laid out well and divided into three sections; dry goods, refrigerated items AKA the "meat locker", and produce. A cautionary note: be prepared when entering the "meat locker. I was shopping last week and milling over the nutritional contents in non-fat whipped cottage cheese when I noticed that my nipples were poking through my tank top. Normally I encourage this look when out on a Friday nite but on a Tuesday afternoon in front of the Polish woman and her two kids, NOT CUTE!!!!!!!
Anywho, what I love about this store is the cheese section. Aside from Bedford Cheese Shop this place has the most diverse and highest quality of cheeses in comparison to Sunac cheese, which is primarily sodium. Half the fun is trying out new cheeses; Drunken Goat is my new summer favorite.
Also, how much do I love the fishmonger? Maybe not enough to have my babies but close. Seriously the dude is incredibly helpful. He will explain everything you ever wanted to know about fish including all the different kinds of cuts and varieties. He will even go so far as to suggest what sides go best with your selection. I heart helpful employees who love what they do!
All in all a great place to get your basic food shopping done. My only complaint comes when standing on the checkout line. Be prepared to wait.
Tops is a solid neighborhood grocery store, and is definitely my choice of the neighborhood supermarkets (C-town has yucky produce, and Khim's Millenium Market is just overpriced).
There is a good selection of most everything (cheeses, fruits, beers, etc) and prices are very reasonable. There is also a good section of natural bath & body products, and specialty sweets (marzipan, yumm). The giant refrigerated produce section was quite the novelty at first, though now I barely notice it. Great place to cool off in the summer though!
Admittedly, if I lived near a Trader Joe's, I probably wouldn't shop here so regularly, but it certainly doesn't disappoint!
Cheaper and offers more selection than Khim's Millenium Market - however, it's not as good as Trader Joe's and (my favorite) Fairway. I come here for convenience more than anything else.
They have a decent selection of cheeses and cured meats, and they have a decently sized olive bar.
Overall, great for people in the area but not a destination store like Fairway or Trader Joe's.
Honestly, a solid grocery store. It could be that I go there expecting less, and then find myself being pleasantly surprised. Good selection of organics and the price is not spit-take inducing like Khim's. The people are nice. The produce ain't bad. It's not Bay Area/SF fresh, but I've had a few avocado's here that were down right tasty. Plus, a really respectable selection of cheese, an olive bar, bulk grain and nuts. A REALLY good selection of beverages. I keep trying to justify the trip to Trader Joe's (which from Williamsburg, without a car, is an endeavor. Especially when you have a granny cart and a hungover, motion-sickness-having Babe in tow).
Plus, they let me bag. I love bagging groceries. I honestly think I could do it as a hobby. And I am really good at it. It's my moment of Zen. I once applied to be a Trader Joe's associate so that I could bag. They rejected me. I tell myself that it was because I was over-qualified.
It is two blocks from my home. I find what I need. I get what I need. I make dinner at home. I save money. I eat out less. I have less yelp-able experiences. I yelp less. oh no....Tops will lead to my yelping less.
I've been visiting the nut room (not a euphemism) more recently because I guess I've been eating more than usual...and they have some great by-the-pound stuff:
Numerous varieties of Porto Rico coffee (with a grinder on premises)
Dried nuts and fruits (all sorts, even without sulfites)
Grains like rice, barley, etc.
Chocolate and yogurt covered raisins, malty things, etc.
Sugars (raw, processed)
The only problem is that you must pay in cash for items you purchase in this area (but I think that is why the mark-up is low). And sometimes you have to wait because there is only one person working there and it is not self-service. But I love that I'm not paying for all that extra packaging and imputed marketing and advertising costs that comes with commercial brands of this stuff.
Update: It's open 2-9pm every day except Sunday, when it's open 10am-6pm
Tops is really Tops!
Tops is the only full-size supermarket in the area, and although they're not…
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i hate the heat. hate it.
titz gets turbo cranky in the summer unless:
i'm at the beach or have access to A/C on a steady basis.
tops has a full two rooms that are refrigerated. it's like a gas station beer cave but with meat, dairy, produce and nothing pertaining to NASCAR. although there is actually beer in there too. and it's nice and chilly.
in the summer i'll browse that shit like a used bookshop.
the staff isn't the sharpest but they gots what you need.
and i need my ass chilled from May-September.
Everyone likes the walk-in refrigerated room; a good variety there.
I have yet to find a place in the neighborhood that has Whole Foods or Trader Joe's - like prices on organic foods, and that sucks. Compared to those two, this place is a bodega. Compared to local bodegas, this place is a C-Town.
Dear Tops,
Thank you for being conventiently around the corner. You have met my needs for small things like bread, cheese, soy milk, all my baking items, perogies, and even some bath items. However, why do you close so early? I bet you would make so much more money if you stayed open later. Say like 10pm. That is my only complaint though. I loved the coolness you provided on those hot summer days walking home. I love how you have two of the same thing in different parts of the store. I love your rude employees. I love the items from different countries and I love the randomness of the store all together.
Love,
Yumi
The staff is nice for the most part and the bag boys help you carry stuff out to you car if applicable, and the giant walk in cooler housing the dairy, meat, poultry & fish is cool.
But...
The hours suck, the lines here are almost *always* a major inconvenience & the selection in nearly every department is rather bland.
Cheese is one of the areas Tops is not lacking in but with the Bedford Cheese Shop around the corner who needs cheese from tops.
Oh and there's almost no quality meats. if you're looking for good grass fed beef or any organic meats, don't bother looking at Tops.
Definitely great for bare necessities if you get there before they close.
Trust me, its worth driving to Fairway. Place is nothing short of heavenly.
I go in here usually before or after yoga to get things that I forgot in my FreshDirect order. They usually have more or less what I need, um, usually less. For some reason, organic dairy items are more expensive than at Sunac, and Sunac is pretty pricey. And diapers are as costly as at any bodega. It gets expensive being a hipster.
If they can get rid of the "rotten grocery store masked with bleach" smell, I would probably go more often. The apartment sized fridge room is great unless you just have a tank top on.
What a produce section! You have to have a phD in produce to work here. They even all have doctors coats on! LOL! The variety is incredible, the service is very friendly, and there is a room devoted entirely to NUTS. If I lived in Williamsburg, I would definitely frequent this market.
They have Mamey Sapote fruit.
End.
Of.
Story.
Okay grocery store, good produce, but not a big selectio of other stuff. I keep going because of lack of options. Very clean, and they are up for suggestions.
I agree with most previous reviews, but honestly it is the best food store around the area, and the prices are reasonable. For someone, who cooks mostly French and Hispanic cuisine, it is a dream come true, I rarely have a problem finding the ingredient I am looking for. They have an interesting dried fruit and nut selection in the back, their produces are beautiful and plenty, the butcher is a very helpful guys and I can find French dairy cheaper than anywhere else. The store could be a bit cleaner and prettier, the cashier could smile once in a while, and I miss the parking lot that was next door but is now closed to customers for some obscure reasons.
Love the store, and I am very grateful that it is there, because as noted the food option in North Brooklyn are limited....
I hate you and I love you. Im guessing it will be this way for years.
I was glad to have discovered this place - it's way cheaper than the local bodegas, and the selection is obviously much better. They have a really good beer selection, too - take your time browsing, or you won't realize how good it actually is.
Also, take a jacket. The refrigerated section is cold, and you end up spending more time in there than you'd expect - even if you're not beer shopping.
The main downsides of Tops for me, are the fact that they have a really crappy selection of snack foods (especially pretzels - where are the pretzels??) and they don't sell Marshmallow Fluff. I really wanted a fluffernutter the other day, but, no dice.
I like the big refrigerator room. It's the biggest grocery store near me other than C-Town, which has terrible produce. I find everything I need but it's a manageable size. The credit card machines often don't work. But I just like it there for some reason.. A good amount of organic options and not as expensive as Millenium. After TJ it's my favorite food store.
Tops is the only decent grocery store in the area (which sucks). They also have bad hours like closing at 6pm on Sunday. If you can deal with minor stuff like that it's a good place to pick up your essentials. I particularly love the meat/cheese/dairy/whatever section that is a giant walk in fridge. So fun!
The last time I was here there was a guy throwing out ALL of the eggs into a giant trash barrel in a frantic manner like "OH MY GOD ALL OF THESE EGGS ARE TAINTED WITH HIV." It was a bit weird but I'll just get eggs somewhere else!
Wow I could go on and on. Not only does can this place rival all the fancy huge places in the city (ie whole foods, trader joes, food emporium, etc), but you can actually go in, get what you want, and come out without having to go through a line so huge it wraps around the produce aisle and workers have to go around with little free samples of things in order to keep the peace.
The entrance is a bit strange, as it's the same as the exit, so you have to go through the same cashiers that other people going through on their way out.
Oh yes, do wear more than a t-shirt if you plan to spent more than 2 minutes in the refrigerated section. Brrr..
Wow - I went into this place thinking it was going to be a bodega where I could just grab a bottle of water and go. Instead, I found what appears to be a mini-Fairway! The place was a lot larger than I'd expected, complete with a couple refrigerated rooms containing fresh produce, dairy, meat, seafood, etc. There's an olive bar and tons of natural and organic food and personal care products too. I found a flavor of Vitamin Water I'd never seen before: "b-relaxed", which I bought and found to be delicious.
The bad thing about this place, personally, is that it's not really close enough for me to do my regular grocery shopping. It's about a 25 minute walk from my house and I don't have a car. Otherwise, I think I might shop here every day. If you're in the neighborhood, definitely check it out.
Top's is a crap grocery store riding high on their monopoly in the hood. I drive to Fairway rather than go here.
Great selection of the following:
Cheese
Fresh Fish
Meat
Beer
Carbs
I know, I eat like a dude. That about sums up what I would concern myself with in a grocery store so Tops + Sara = TLA4-EVA.
The customer service here is always a notch below aggravating. It's a good place for basics and they have an above average beer section, just don't expect anyone to answer a question. It's also wise to doublecheck your receipt as they don't update their prices at the register very effectively.
Bigger, better, and cheaper than your standard bodega - but cuter and less generic feeling than your average grocery store. They carry a decent selection of organic foods and non-organic staples, and seemed to have a few really exceptional sales.
The refrigerated room is really cool (oh see how I pun?), and takes up almost half of the store. The store is a little far for me to use on a daily-ish basis, but will be a fun walk when the weather is nicer, and is better than Key Foods, Associated, or C Town any day.
Oh and while you're there definitely check out the Academy Records location across the street. I could have blown a months worth of grocery money there in less time than it took me to decide on a brand of hummus I'm sure.
It's an eclectic little store that makes for a hippy-type shopping experience. I was there in the middle of winter, but I can imagine it makes a nice oasis during the August heat waves. Place could use some modern décor as it has a corner convenience store feel. Overall there's something about it that makes me feel 5% cooler for shopping there. Maybe it's the refrigerator room.
i've always LIKED tops. now i LOVE it forever.
i was in there last night buying some avocados, and having a hard time. they were all way past ripe or rock solid. i was approached by a produce stocker who asked me when i needed them for... i told him for tomorrow. he motions for me to come with him and we journey into the back room, where he opens a brand new box of really perfect avocados. he then hand-picked the 7 best ones for me (and he was right on the money).
so all this plus the awesomeness that is Tops... the custom paintings of all the produce, the organic and gourmet selections, the bulk food room.... this place is great. :)
I stopped at Tops to buy supplies for an "improvisational cookout" at a friend's place in Williamsburg. I normally would have very little to write regarding a grocery store, but this one has an interesting refrigerated area for produce, dairy, meats etc...: about half of the store is essentially a cold chamber that you walk into to do your shopping (and it's actually quite chilly in there). The selection of produce is quite good, as is the dairy section (a lot of cheeses, and I found butter from my hometown in France!). I also splurged on their olives. The prices are all pretty standard. I could definitely see myself coming here a lot if I lived in the area.
I really like Tops--- it's unexpectedly cheaper than C-Town with a pretty good selection. Don't buy milk here, though--- the refrigerated section isn't all that cold and it tends to spoil quicker.
One of my favorite grocery stores in Brooklyn, I love the odd layout of the store (separate rooms for all the goods; meat & cheese, fruit & veggies, dry goods, bulk goods). The huge refridgerated sections are especially nice summer and winter--you're either relieved to be out of the heat, or you're cozy still wearing your winter coat. I wish they had a bigger selection of organic yummies, but they aren't doing too badly considering the wide demographic of their customers. For some reason the checkout counter reminds me of grocery stores I went to when I was little, so maybe that's what makes this place special for me personally.
It's pretty dang cool. I don't think i've ever been in a refrigerator so damn big before. Prices seems decent and they have a big selection.
Yay Tops! Fun fun shopping! How often do you get to GO INSIDE the refrigerator!!! Although I am sure it's an energy sucking environmental nightmare. They do have a great produce section and a good selection of cheeses. A great find although you might need to venture elsewhere to fulfill your entire list!
Tops, separated into sections for types of food, is a high-quality grocery experience, centered (literally!) around a massive walk-in refrigerator containing the dairy, meat, and seafood sections. Perhaps they've mastered the idea of keeping different zones of the store at different temperatures for ideal food storage, or perhaps they just really like having a multiple thousand square foot fridge. Either way, Tops is a must-stop destination if you're looking for groceries in western Williamsburg, especially on those hot NYC summer days.
i've been shopping at Tops since i first moved to the neighborhood in 1995. It was brilliant when I lived a block down and needed food without the trouble of manhattan or the cost of smaller places... it's always been brilliant when there were no walkable alternatives... but really, Tops was the first (and continued to be the best) supermarket in the area. I love it and could say little more than that I agree with reviews about avocados and staff and the fact that it's never been as clean-and-wholesome-seeming as whole foods. The fact is, it's always been a reputable and dependable establishment. If it's not posh enough for you, hop the L train and go the Wholefoods at Union Sq.
Me? I'll happily take Tops.
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