• Berkeley Bowl

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  • White Veg-options
Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
American
Pizza
Fast food
Take-out
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Supermarket with cafe offering vegan food options like beyond meat burger, butternut squash salad (say no goat cheese), sweet potato fries, acai bowl, vegan donuts and muffins. Order at the counter, and food is brought to your table. Store stocks both organic and conventional produce. Find bulk staples fresh fruits and vegetables, deli and prepared foods, household products, and more. Originally est. 1977 and moved to this space in 1999. Open Mon-Sat 9:00am-8:00pm, Sun 10:00am-7:00pm.


Venue map for Berkeley Bowl
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18 Reviews

First Review by Mimi710

Zombiecynthia

Points +5513

Vegan
03 Mar 2024

Local Grocer w/Vegan Gems

Memories coming back to this location after so many years. Still awesome and the folks are always helpful and friendly.

The bread section gets cleared out, so go early. I got an Acme Bread loaf and I had missed Daiya’s vegan cheddar blocks - this location has them!

The snack aisle is also great and they have some savings.
Vegan health products are spendy but they’re vegan/sustainable packaged.

Would recommend for visitors and locals alike!

Pros: Vegan Specialty Items, Locally Owned and Operated, Wonderful Service and Friendly Folks

Cons: Not Fully Vegan/Plant-Based, Parking Lot Gets Crazy (Smaller Lot), Lines Can Get Long (Peak Hours)

Gopala108

Points +3263

Vegan
15 Aug 2023

extensive bulk bins and heaps of vegan options

Berkeley Bowl sets the standard for a grocery store rolling the vibe of a cooperative mixed with essentials such as tabasco along with the fun of seeing food you never knew existed. While they have 10 different kinds of raisins or dried kiwi. Maybe you don't need that many variety of raisins or dried kiwi yet having it on hand is part of the fun of shopping here. The bulk bins are extensive. Bring your own containers & a worker in the bulk department will due the tear as well as price out your bulk goods.

Heaps of produce with so many options with all great prices. So many different kinds of mustards from special horseradish spicy organic mustard to non-organic mustards is how it works here it is a mish mash of organic high end with regular standards. Also great toothpaste, herb teas, & anything else you need or perhaps didn't need or knew existed. Find it here & you can also get a meal here too as some good options for dining in.

Pros: extensive bulk bins and heaps of vegan options

missmuffcake

Points +1369

Vegan
19 Dec 2022

Lots of vegan stuff

Berkeley Bowl has a lot of hard to find vegan items including import items. If you have a craving for chocolate - this is your place, I have never seen so many vegan options in one store! Lots of vegan cheeses, faux meats and staples like grains/beans.
The store is usually really crowded and parking can be a pain. Check out is usually fast though.

Pros: Unique vegan options, Lots of fresh produce

Cons: Parking is a nightmare , Needs more vegan hot case items

AshleyKolodziej

Points +78

Vegan
07 Mar 2022

Wish I had something like this back home

I am so jealous of anyone who lives near this place. The bulk section is incredible and actually reasonably priced, which is not something we have back in Boston. For example, I could get dried beans here around $2 a pound - it’s usually double to triple that where I live to purchase in bulk, unless you get a 35 pound bag through the local co-op, which is what I do. All your basics are available in bulk, from produce to dry goods. It looks like this place has the potential to be very zero waste friendly, if that’s a goal of yours - multiple flours, grains, spices, beans, and even dried chiles can be found here without packaging.

My favorite part is the bulk greens section. My rabbits would think they’re in heaven at the enormous bulk greens area. We’re traveling, but greens are $4ish a pound here, which is now the going rate at an Aldi in Boston. You can get yourself a MEGA salad’s worth of greens here for two people for a dollar and change. If you’re at an AirBnb nearby like we were, get yourself some of these greens, some fresh tarragon, a lemon, and some tomatoes, and use the olive oil, herbs, and zest/juice from the lemon to create a dressing for a bomb salad. You will NOT regret it. This place is a steal if you know how to cook.

Would rate 5 stars for the good prices and zero-waste friendliness of this place but can’t due to HappyCow restrictions. Consider this a 5 star review.

veganhummingbird

Points +212

Vegan
19 Jul 2021

Great vegan-friendly wines and vegan food to-go!

Vegan Chicken Bahn Mi was lovely!

gwennam

Points +469

Vegan
24 Jan 2021

Go-To

This place is my go-to for weird specific stuff. Millet in bulk? Five different brands of tofu? Hundreds of various vitamins and supplements? Strange foreign types of greens? Berkeley Bowl.
Their vegan curry lentil soup is incredible (prepared refrigerated section)!
A lot of what they make and pre-package in their kitchen can be found on their website if you need some reassurance from the ingredient list.
Love BB!

craziercatlady

Points +28

Vegan
08 Nov 2019

New to me...

I just discovered this store today, they have amazing options, specifically in their choice of vegan cheese. They sell “wildbrine”vegan brie that is new to me (too)
Far better than whole foods market.

Pros: lot of vegan option, good choice of bread and vegan meat, good choice of vegan cheese

madeleinepie

Points +24

Vegan
03 Jul 2018

Amazing variety

Berkeley bowl is amazing. The amount of options of fruits, veggies, faux meats, and vegan snacks is staggering.
They literally have vegan butterfingers, snickers, and milky ways!!!!
I'd like to rate it 5 stars, but this site's review system wants to be biased

steveveg

Points +2201

Vegan
25 Apr 2018

Huge produce selection

This store has the largest selection of produce that I have seen. There must be about a dozen types of avocado, and similar varieties of other fruits and vegetables. There is also a bargain room of marked down produce. A great place if you want fresh food.

TheAllisonBauer

Points +267

Vegetarian
11 Sep 2017

Great place!

Great store with an amazing selection!

renakatz

Points +64

Vegan
04 Sep 2017

Best market for affordable and diverse produce

Want to choose between fifteen kinds of oranges (when they are in season) or ten kinds of hot peppers? Mangoes, melons, persimmons, waves of local fruit flow through this almost-warehouse sized store. Sure, it's not a vegetarian store, but if you stay in the produce section you'll forget that.

Organic and conventional produce are in two separate areas.

If you're looking for a good deal, check out the discount produce section and bulk bins.

Don't even try the parking lot unless you need to park close. The surrounding streets will be much easier to find a spot (or ride your bike).

Pros: Fresh fruits and veggies, Huge selection including obscure herbs and veggies

Cons: Sells meat, Too crowded during busy times

eeleener

Points +25

Vegan
12 Dec 2015

A most beautiful store

I'm always wanting to go back because the wide selection of food there is just beautiful. For packaged products, there are several of veg options (faux cheese, meats, dairy-free ice creams etc.), but the fresh produce and bulk foods is where it's at. Utterly gorgeous variety. I also like to check out their imperfect/damaged produce section in the back; some are really ugly and quite scary, but I can usually score a good bunch of ripe bananas for 99 cents.

Pros: variety, veg-friendly options, lots of fresh produce and bulk foods

Cons: parking?

saveur

Points +1168

Vegan
09 Nov 2015

Not bad

Kind of like Whole Foods with a lot of variety.. But limited parking and very busy with a lot of people. Prices seemed OK for California

HollyCalifornia

Points +47

Vegetarian
02 Aug 2014

Great store!

There are two Berkeley Bowls:
920 Heinz Avenue Berkeley, CA 94710 | Phone: 510.898.9555
2020 Oregon Street Berkeley, CA 94703 | Phone: 510.843.6929

We always go to the one on Heinz as it's much newer and bigger. The produce department is divided into organic and conventional, which is nice for us. Huge selection of everything with "health" food and regular groceries available, unlike Whole foods and other natural markets that only carry certain "healthy" brands. There are plenty of checkout lines so fast service, and lots of parking under the store. We always have friendly service. It's more pricey than other markets, but it's a "one stop" shopping place for our family. They also have a separate restaurant and take out section across from the entrance to the store and nice, clean bathrooms for customers.

veganjess86

Points +499

Vegan
11 Dec 2012

A great local grocery store

I go here almost everyday. Large produce section, including lots of local fruits and veggies. Also a large bulk section, so remember your reusable bags! A big selection of tofu and mock meets. They carry some vegan cheeses.

Pros: local, organic, bulk bins

Cons: tofu case by the smelly fish, busy

imightnotloveyou

Points +62

Vegan
23 Apr 2012

Good but stuffy

They've got tons of stuff so I'm there a lot but the people su-u-uck. Full of those self righteous Bay Areains.
But they have tons of stuff!

When ya gotta go, ya gotta go.

Pros: tons of local produce, good natural/veg selection, they sell quorn!

Cons: Berkeley yuppie central , Oakland hipster central , the new one down the street is scary

toddx

Points +67

Vegan
15 Apr 2008

If you like the smell of rotting meat...

This place smells awful. I really hate shopping here because the smell is so bad. The employees are helpful and courteous. However the stench of the meat and fish department is worse than any any major supermarket. Moreover, there are several major corporate brands sold here that can be found on the shelves of a Wal-Mart.

The produce section is a mess, organic and conventional fruits and vegetables are not always clearly marked.

This place is crowded and simply does not have enough registers to deal with the number of customers. Shopping here is not enjoyable.

These are things I could overlook if it weren't for the stench.

There really is nothing here that you can't get get at any other health food store.

Pros: Employees, vegan goods, green products

Cons: smell, non green products, overcrowded

Mimi710

Points +640

Vegan
03 Dec 2007

this place is amazing

Huge grocery store that I would describe as half way between a Trader Joe's and a Wild Oats. The selection is amazing! Definetly go here to stock up on food if you are staying in Berkeley.




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