Erewhon Grove — Restaurant in Los Angeles

One star for the safe and peaceful environment.

Second star for items that are available that are not sold in other grocery stores and because there are a few items that are available that are only sold at Farmers Markets.

Removing a star for being charged for an item that I did not purchase and when brought up to customer service supervisor, while he offered a refund, he questioned how strange that this happened when the bar code was large enough on the item to scan. Whatever that means. Money is no object for me so I can assure anyone that an $11 drink isn't going to put a dent in my funds. It's the principal of the matter. If I didn't purchase it, I do not want to be charged for it.

Removing second star because my family is new to Erewhon only shopping there two times and on our second visit was aggressively hounded about purchasing a membership by one of their cashiers no matter how many times I said that I was interested, but would join when my son comes back with me. Also after coming back a few times to see how we liked Erewhon. The cashier asked why I needed to wait for my son when I could add him later. He just wouldn't let up. It was extremely uncomfortable. By the way, this is the same cashier that charged me for the item that I did not buy. It was apparently a bottled drink called, "Pineapple Dream" which I have no idea what that is since we are so new to Erewhon.

Removing the third star because I went on to ask this supervisor if the cashiers are paid a commission for selling memberships because that would be the only thing that would make sense to me why he was so obnoxious and aggressive when trying to [unsuccessfully] sell me an Erewhon membership. I explained how uncomfortable I was and while he did say that he'd talk to this cashier to tell him to tone his sales pitch down a bit, this supervisor went on to explain about how this cashier was the number one sales person that sold the most memberships. So, it sounded like this behavior was acceptable as long as memberships were sold. Despicable. Ruins the experience of grocery shopping. Customers come to a grocery store to shop for food and other items needed; we are not there to buy a car. It felt like an obnoxious pushy car sales person was trying to sell me a vehicle and wouldn't take anything other than yes for an answer.

I am disappointed in my experience at Erewhon thus far. I was very excited and looking forward to a relationship with Erewhon, however, before purchasing a membership, I will wait a little while longer.

If all else fails, I will stick to Whole Foods, Lassens, Sprouts and Farmers Markets which are all great options for a person like me who eats extremely healthy and really enjoys great customer service and a pleasant atmosphere. When it comes to the health of myself and family, I will spend as much money necessary to put the right nutrients in our bodies. With that said, I don't need a pushy person to help me do that. Just treat me with respect and value me as a paying customer. The membership will obviously come with...

Though it of course has its shortcomings (an absurdly small and difficult-to-maneuver parking garage, incomparably steep prices – there's hardly a kombucha here for under $5), Erewhon does provide a really excellent shop. They've got a better and more concise selection than the nearby Whole Foods (which seems to be their only local competitor), offering an abundance of small-scale local and specialty imported goods, as well as the best prepared foods we've had from a store of its kind, a good healthy produce section, and, as silly as it may sound, impeccably kept bulk bins.

They make an extensive selection of to-go snacks, meals, and drinks in-house, of which we've tried things like a cold-pressed juice they call 'Smashing Pumpkin', a raw vegan rendition of the classic Almond Joy, numerous sandwiches, and a grass-fed steak breakfast burrito. With the exception of some disappointingly lackluster raw vegan entrées (e.g. pad thai* and pesto zucchini pasta), everything we've had by them has been exceptionally good, and was made with ingredients that reflect the quality of the rest of the store - entirely dissimilar to say, Whole Foods' prepared foods.

More so than anywhere comparable, Erewhon definitely seems to cater more towards the vegan community, even specifically the raw vegan community. While this is an appreciated and fantastic resource for those that fall into this dietary category, it's a pity they don't more thoroughly accommodate folks eating similarly particular diets that include meat and dairy (Weston-Price, Primal, etc). Other than Organic Pastures, there isn't much in terms of raw milk cheeses, and the majority of their meat isn't pasture-raised or grass-fed, let alone anything resembling 'fresh'.

Even aside from food, Erewhon's dedication to sustainable practices is clearly visible, having put in place a bottle deposit system for their house-made drinks, choosing to use biodegradable ware, and not offering paper or plastic bags, but rather very well-made (and good-looking) reusable bags for a fee, or nothing at all.

If you can manage to swallow the cost, the quality of stock here more than makes up for it. There are certainly cheaper ways to go for good food in LA, but for many products Erewhon is the only option, and their prepared foods can be a godsend if you're in a pinch or tied to the area for an afternoon.

*Note: We've since retried the raw vegan pad thai and they've seriously upped their...

The single 19.99 strawberry is GMO. Products can be sold as ORGANIC & STILL BE GMO. If a fruit is larger than normal, it's because it HAS BEEN MODIFIED to grow extremely large. (Fruits are supposed to be small) originally. Apples should be the size of a lemon if they are authentic non-GMO. Organic Grapes should have seeds), think back to your grandma's garden or the fruit you picked as a kid. So it's ridiculous this store sells so many GMO products & people think because they are labeled organic (check for their certification on the website first), they must be healthy. Japan is generally free of pesticides as they don't spray their crops. So all you're paying for is the shipping cost from Japan. These are likely flown in. The water they claim is extra oxygenated does nothing to add oxygen to your blood cells. You have to BREATHE IN EXTRA OXYGEN to deliver it to your cells ( like in the hospital). They never give you extra oxygenated water. Dumb. DRINKING IT DOES NOTHING. So the $21 bottles of water & the huge strawberry are all B.S. to get your money because you're living in a rich area of town. Rich folks are literally throwing their money away. They never investigate what they are buying. They just take someone's word for it because their stuff is expensive & they have a chef in-store. A ploy to make it seem more than it is. You can't do that in today's world; just take someone's word. They think if it's expensive, it must be great. Just buy ORGANIC NON-GMO FOODS & START A FOOD PANTRY FOR THE POOR WITH THE REST. You can buy a lot of food for 20 bucks to donate to those who need it. Know where real food comes from. (Oranges Lemons Grapes CA) (Apples WA) ect. This store and its stuff are just selfish & stupid. I didn't buy a thing in the store. I could see the game being played. So I gave the money I was going to spend in this store to a few different homeless persons and canceled the 200.00 yearly fees. I started a savings bond for my niece, and I make sure the 200 a year plus the extra from what I would have spent in this store gets added to her account for college. Im OUT! And you...