Fairway

Horrible service. Food too expensive. Way over-rated. more

Great prices and selection! Get there early in the morning between 7-8:00, After that, it's a mad house! more

The quality of the food is good to great. The prices are mostly reasonable and alot cheaper than the other ripoff places on the Upper West Side. The first time I went to shop, I was run into by about 6 shoppers and it was stressful. I decided to go off hours, grit my teeth and do what I had to do and get my stuff. So I am a regular shopper. And the Coffee is more than reasonably priced. The staff is inconsistent-sometimes friendly, other times bored to death. So, take your chances and it is worth going to see for yourself. Pros: good quality, fair prices Cons: bumper cars more

I've regularly shopped here for 15 years and am accustomed to the extremely heavy crowds and the understandable waits in busy periods. Mostly the checkout clerks here are very nice. The folks who run the coffee bean area are great. So are most of the deli clerks except a hyper angry one I encountered in Fall 07. However, Fairway's processes and customer service seem to be continually dropping over the last year or so. People should not have to struggle to understand Fairway's changing checkout line procedures (one line used to feed into each lane. now apparently they have one for each side of the lane). And when you bring it to the attention of the management, they shouldn't turn their back and walk away. Pros: good variety. good turnover with produce and other perishables. Cons: heavy crowds, displays that make it tough to navigate, poor cooling for dairy area freshness more

Totally will have to second people's descriptions of store management. I don't think they could get any ruder. Last time I was there, the store manager was so disrespectful and insulting he actually made me cry! Would never, ever shop in this disasterous hell-hole again. Fairway totally gives new meaning to customer ""service."" Cons: Worst customer service ever. Terrible shopping experience. more

The end of this story is that my friend -- who's EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT and was visiting NYC -- and I were told to stand up from our table and leave the cafe by the rudest, most obnoxious man whom I've ever encountered at a New York City restaurant. It was so shocking and upsetting. We were seated by a waitor at a large table, as we were waiting for a few other friends to make their way to the cafe from other parts of the store. Then the manager came over demanding to know why we were seated without our whole party. We told him that our friends were minutes away. He got in a fight with the waitor who'd seated us, yelling at him over our table in the middle of the restaurant. Then he told us that we had to get up. Motioning at my friend's pregnant belly, I said that if we had to get up we were just going to leave. He said, ""You should do that."" He stood back glaring at us until we stood up and walked out of the cafe. The manager of the cafe on Saturday afternoons is the type of guy who hurts New York's reputation. As a lifelong New Yorker, I would hope that Fairway doesn't support his kind of hateful rudeness... Apparently they not only support it but reward it by putting him in a management position. I can't review the cafe's food, but I can tell you that I for one will never be eating it. more

Fairway has a large selection of groceries and produce at good prices, but the store is poorly structured and the staff is unhappy. I have to be in just the right mood to venture into that store. For one thing, I hate how their food is always sitting on pallets outside on the sidewalk, creating traffic flow problems. Then it's terribly crowded inside and they always seem to be stocking the Fruit Loops during the busiest time of the day. Don't even get me started on the double-dippers in the olive oil section. If you're in there during off hours, it's fine for general shopping. If I want real quality, I prefer to go to Citarella next door and have a civilized shopping experience. Pros: Wide variety at decent prices Cons: Unpleasant shopping experience. Prepared food is unpalatable. more

Until recently, I shopped there regularly because it's cheap and convenient, but recently, the procude seems to be going downhill (bug-infested broccoli, anyone?) and the customer service has gotten even more terrible than usual. The number of times I've had to get a refund on an item that was ""accidentally"" charged to me twice is too many to count. Also, getting jostled, bumped and pushed in the name of grocery shopping is getting old. more

I've only eaten at Fairway Cafe twice, the first time a year or so ago, the 2nd time today and was very disappointed both times. The menu is a typical cafe fare with breakfast dishes, soups, sandwiches and other entres with higher prices than most diners but the quality was poor. First of all, our table was tilted. I immediately ordered coffee which took a long time to arrive. I had vegetable soup that had little flavor and was lukewarm. My sandwich was a Croque Madame, dry with little egg or flavor. There was a tiny mesclun salad that was wilted and 4 cornichon pickles that were dried out. Dessert was carrot cake, which the waitor served with a spoon. Overall the waiting staff was unattentive. This is not a cafe I will ever go to again. Pros: Convenient to shopping Cons: Mediocre food, unattentive service, poorly trained staff, overpriced. more

I wish that during the time I spend in LA I could shop at a place like Fairway. Amazing selection of unique foods and the BEST cheeses ever. Also, the cute restaurant on the second floor is great. The pizza they serve there is divine and really well priced, and so is the caesar salad. Great place to have relaxed lunch in. As far as the store, for the amount of traffic they get on a daily basis, it reasonably clean. It's NY, and a busy store, what do you expect!?! Pros: Great prices and selection Cons: Not the most friendly workers more

I use to shop at Fairway on the Upper West Side all the time until I worked for a small business that supply baked goods to Fairway. My company stopped doing business with Fairway after months of agonizing phone calls for unpaid bills. No one wanted to take responsibility and they just kept giving us the run around. One response my boss got was ""good luck seeing that money, you know how many people are waiting to do business with us."" That pretty much summarizes the attitude we got from everyone at the accounts payable department. Their complacency and the nasty attitudes make me think that it can only stem from the top. I have always like the selections of goods and value that Fairway offers but now I know that it comes with a ""price"". It is ugly behind the scenes as this giant bullies his way around. more

This is the best grocery store I have ever been to. They have everyday low prices and great fresh produce. Also, they have a large natural and organic section upstars, as well as a cafe. They also have prepared food to go or for heating up at home. It is all amazing! Pros: Quality, selection, value Cons: sometimes crowded at popular times more

I heard that this was a very reasonable priced steakhouse. I ordered the filet medium and it came out well done. I would rather go to Angelo Maxie's for steak for the price I paid. It was pricey for the quality. The only redeeming part was the side items. more

It's hard to find (up the stairs of the grocery store), but for brunch Fairway Cafe can't be beat. I hate to say this because it might spoil it, but it's line free, with delicious food. All of the fresh ingredients from downstairs turn up incredible upstairs. Sure, the ambiance is lacking and the service can be spotty, but at these prices for this food, you can overlook it. The egg dishes are perfect - the brioche toast melts in your mouth. The pancakes are more a mix of crepe and pancake and are incredible. The meditterranean plate is healthy food at its best. I haven't been for the BYOB steakhouse at night, but if the burger is an indication, we should all hurry! Pros: prices, fresh food, pancakes Cons: spotty service more

The space and furnishings are too spartan and the service amateur and scattershot (no smiles offered here - busboy serves mains with ""who gets the...?""). Further staff training is a must, as what might be a nicely relaxed atmosphere rapidly deteriorates into the sense that one has been abandoned at table. That said, for steak on the Upper West Side and considering there is no corkage fee, one can enjoy a passable meal for a very low price. The bread is very good; shame it takes four pleas to enjoy more than one small slice per person. The strip steak is decent, but lacks entirely the mineral undertones of the properly dry-aged offerings at Sparks, Peter Luger, or NY Strip House (on its good days). The ubiquitous molten chocolate cake (billed incorrectly as a Galette) is fine. Pros: Steak on UWS, No Corkage Fee, Price Cons: Service, Atmosphere more

Fairway has great food, ok. The customer service is pathetic and many times items ring up at the wrong price, very few employees can speak english... that can be very frustrating. It could use a lift... and the crowd!... one's always getting bumped and bumped, great prices, good stuff... but the experience can be really frustrating and time consuming. Pros: Good Food, Good Variety, Good Prices Cons: Poor Customer Service, Too Crowded, Not to clean more

I was extremely impressed with Fairway. It reminds me of Trader Joe's in CA - but bigger! Good selection, gourmet items, and cheap prices. What else can you ask for? more

But what a dump! Could really use a face lift! But then they would have to raise the prices. more