If you like being up to your armpits in obnoxiously privileged hipster 30-somethings, you'll love this place. Total zoo, worse than Swami's line-up on an 8 foot swell. Do yourself a favor and buy local, Seaside Market in Cardiff is WAY better and has a real parking lot, not 12 spaces in a cave.
Outrageously over-priced a lot of what we saw was two to three times more than other grocery stores, but that's offset somewhat by the amazing variety of fresh foods... From an amazing seafood department, to meats, cheeses, and even a hot foods area with a stunning selection of hot & cold items, it's almost like a hybrid restaurant/grocery store. If you love having so many fresh choices, this place is hard to beat. If not, save a bundle at your nearest Vons, or Ralphs. The only thing that was disappointing was that the checker was really rude - Almost "snobby," as if he felt he was doing us a favor by ringing-up our purchase. Rest of the staff was pleasant and helpful, though.
A nice store, but overpriced. For example, comparing apples to apples, q half gallon of "Simply Orange" at Whole Foods costs $5.99, whereas the identical item at Wal-Mart sells for $3.99. Will I return? Yes, but I'm not as enthralled with Whole Foods as the typical moonbeam person.
Good place to get organic produce. I really like their gelato. I really like the hot food bar and the sandwiches. This is kind of attached to Condos. The Condos are upstairs. The cheese department here is great.
Living in North North County and working in Sorrento Valley I often to the La Jolla location for lunch and shopping, and have been patiently waiting for a closer 1 to my house. Finally Encinitas is the perfect place for a Whole Foods, what with the laid back, healthy conscious , surfer town. Like a tiny Bodega version of its larger brothers in La Jolla, LA, and OC. Same great produce, smaller selection of meats and seafood, but more than enough to lure you away from the chain supermarkets. Underground parking is cool to get into, but I can see some people having difficulties getting out. The outdoor patio is small and right within walking distance from much of Encinitas coastal this place is already a hit with locals and everyone else else. Oh just a little tip. The garage elevators, only some of them go to the condo's upstairs in case you're in the market.
Can't think of a better grocery store for downtown Encinitas. They've got everything you need and then things start to get interesting... It's worth a try, and has very friendly staff with a really nice location.
I bought chicken and roasted potatoes in their deli. The "chef special" was terrible. The atmosphere in the store was uninviting. I do not recommend this store. I've been to many whole foods stores and this one is the worst I've ever been to. Do not go.
Ken the wine and cheese guy is amazing! Really knows his stuff! The checkers though he are generally cold and unfriendly and have a tendency for double charging my card and snide remarks.
Love this location. The hot food bar is delish as always and they have homemade pickles in the deli! Good cookie selection too!
I LOVE the Encinitas WFM but I am concerned that the Salmon comes from a Norweigan farm. In the most comprehensive analysis of farmed and wild salmon to date, researchers analyzed toxic contaminants in approximately 700 farmed and wild salmon totaling 2 metric tons collected from around the world to be representative of the salmon typically available to consumers. The study, which was sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, examined salmon produced in eight major farmed salmon producing regions and obtained from retail outlets in 16 major North American and European cities. The study found that concentrations of several contaminants associated with serious health risks from neurological effects to cancer are significantly higher in farmed salmon than in wild salmon. The authors concluded that concentrations of several cancer-causing substances are high enough to suggest that consumers should consider restricting their consumption of farmed salmon. In most cases, consumption of more than one meal of farmed salmon per month could pose unacceptable cancer risks according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA methods for calculating fish consumption advisories. Because of the rapid growth of farmed salmon production, consumption of farmed salmon now exceeds consumption of wild salmon in U.S. and European diets.
