Whole Foods Market

This excellent specialty food place can only be attended during off-​hours to avoid a claustrophobic destruction. For the size that they have, they do a great job having a little bit of everything but you cannot survive during peak hours (I generally come here after 7pm).
Pros:
* Great flowers, bulk section, and nice decorations
* Salads are the best I’ve had in Austin, even if the salad counter is somewhat unintelligible
* Service has been very positive
Cons:
* Way, way too small. Space out the shelves a bit more please.
* Price corresponds to a specialty food shop

An entire store of health food! Regular samples. Delicious food. Also it has stuff you can’t find even at other health food stores.

OK so let me start off by saying yes, this location is pretty small compared to others (Domain/​Downtown) therefore they will have a smaller selection… They shouldn’t get knocked for that because that’s a given anywhere you go…
Besides that, we all know that Whole Foods can be kind of pricey and yeah maybe now and then you will find the same product at your local grocery store for a cheaper price.
BUT the whole point to Whole Foods is to have a organic/​natural/​healthy selection! It’s hard to find that at your local grocery store because (almost) everything there has additives or chemicals to make a product last longer or taste a certain way, which is not good for you. But anyone coming to the Whole Foods Unilocal page already knows what Whole Foods is all about.
Love the customer service, everyone is always nice. Selection is great for the most part. Found certain foods/​drinks/​protein I didn’t know existed until I came to Whole Foods.

We stopped by here one morning to see if we could maybe grab a pastry with a coffee or tea for breakfast but instead found a whole new world of goodies! They had a breakfast bar with scrambled eggs, migas, tofu scramble, sautéed veggies, biscuits and gravy, and separate side full of oatmeal and toppings. They had warm breakfast burritos, quiches, and even warm croissant sandwiches. We ended up getting the oatmeal due to how delicious it was and I don’t even like oatmeal.(or at least I didn’t think I did until now) We will definitely be coming back here to venture out and find new things that they may have to offer! They also have ample parking and their staff members are kind and outgoing. hehe

Oh why I love Whole Foods so much.
This location is amazing for the fact it’s not located Downtown. I only wish it had the prepared food options like the Downtown location does. The quality of food here is always great. My obsession is their bakery. It’s beyond delicious. I’d have to say it’s even better than most bakeries in and around the Austin area. I’ve tried far too many bakeries and been far too disappointed. The quality of food is always excellent. It’s always consistent, never had a bad occurrence. The price isn’t amazing, can’t argue, it’s fair for what you receive. Best part of whole foods, they still give you bags as they always have!
They have a great selection of flowers as well.

It’s WFM so yes pricer but high quality. I am a fan of the BBQ here and their Pit master here Andrew Zimmerman! (Not the TV Celeb). Have had BBQ from the DT HQ, Domain — and Gateway is my favorite so far. Gives other ATX BBQ places a run for their meat as well.
Go early to get best choice cuts especially if you are a extra-​moist /​bark fan. The ala carte section is great too especially when it’s on sale.

This whole foods is like most. Plenty of good fruit and vegetables and the meat and fish sections are well stocked. Convenient location in the arboretum with access to several highway routes.

Love this place, love the staff! I go here almost every day

I have been to several Whole Food Stores across the country and this is by far the worst one. The food bar is extremely small and always has a poor selection. I promise the people who actually cook the food cannot cook. The food is either bland, poorly seasoned, overcooked or just doesn’t look appealing. They don’t try to offer options in their bakery such as gluten-​free or vegan. The fresh squeezed juice selection has the smallest variety I have ever seen at any Whole Foods. Poor selection… BLAH! THE STORE lacks selection variety in every department. The best thing about my visit was I watched a bird outside put a hole in the feed they left out and helped itself to a meal. It was awesome to watch. I am that person who likes to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at Whole Foods I am eating out there because I know I am going to get a good meal. Well, that theory does not apply to this store.
I enjoy Whole Foods stores even though it can be overpriced many times based on location but this Whole Foods gives Whole Food prices but do not give the ambiance, variety and store size Whole Foods is known for. Considering, ATX is the home of the chain I would expect every store to be the crème de la crème. I’ve been to stores in Houston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles that give the full Whole Foods experience so why can’t the Austin stores? Considering, it is close to a Sprouts store they should really step their game up. The stores does seem clean however. Service is ok. Nothing great to brag about yet nothing to complain about there. Yay! not!

The long lines at check out are a pain the store is well cared for and the clerks are very pleasant. I get a juice every day

Friday night picked up hot food from the bar for my 2 boys and myself. All three of us ended up with food POISONING. The worst experience. This occurred after eating at the Gateway store. When my husband called twice on Saturday AM to give you a heads up, he was put on hold twice with no response. Talk about shitty customer service and negligence in food prep. This type of behavior is outrageous! So what are you going to do to prevent this from occurring again?

Went to this Whole Foods today about 7:15 pm, to get a prime rib roast cut. I was told the saw was being cleaned, so I was out of luck. Next, I ventured to the nearby Domain location and was told the meat saws are shut down for cleaning at 7:00 pm – well excuse me for wanting to get custom cut meat after 7:00!
There are no manual meat saws, well just goes to show they could care less about their customers.

I’m not a big fan of the parking lot to get into this place and the last few times I have gotten grab and go foods here, they have been a little lower in quality than I would like. I’m definitely glad the Domain store opened up because it helps this store to not be too overly crowded. I prefer the Domain store both in general and because it’s closer to me but I would still stop by this store if I happened to be in the area and needed a few things.

On a Sunday afternoon a couple months ago, I did a whirlwind tour of all the WFM stores in Austin. It wasn’t a tour as much as it was a quest for an item, and I struck out at every store, but I got to compare and contrast them really keenly all at once. Bear in mind this is a grocery shopping experience, so if your primary reason for visiting is to drink or eat, YMMV applies.
This is the oldest operating WFM store in Austin. It was shut down and «freshened» after the launch of the Domain location. Funny how I couldn’t tell the difference, having shopped here on both sides of the remodel. Aisles seem wider than at the Domain, and the height of the shelving doesn’t give you the «walking through a canyon» perception. Also, it’s far easier to navigate this store relative to the Domain location. Parking can be a nightmare at peak times, as is ingress/​egress, primarily due to traffic volume at the surrounding intersections. Late on a Sunday afternoon, however, it’s easy pickings.
But, for a quick in-​and-​out shopping experience, I’d pick this store hands down over the Domain store any day.

I like this Whole Foods despite the fact that the much larger Domain store is just down the street.
I usually stop by here to buy baked goods and some groceries if I am pit-​stopping at the Gateway Shopping Plaza. The truth is, the bakery end cap here is smaller than the one at the Domain and there is less selection. However, it has most of the items that I enjoy and the added convenient location makes it a regular stop for me.
The staff is always friendly and helpful whenever I am searching for something and they always ask how my day has been. In addition they pay attention to my feedback. I recently mentioned that I have seen Apricot Oat Bars (and other fruit varieties) at the Domain store but I have only seen Raspberry here. I don’t mind Raspberry but occasionally some variety would be nice. They mentioned they would tell the bakery and hopefully on my next journey, they’ll have something different!
Also they have a great Zucchini Flax muffin that I like to eat for breakfast on my carb days. Overall it’s a really convenient and friendly location to drop by and pick up some quick items. For heavier duty shopping I would probably venture to the Domain.

Still a small store and yet I do like the aesthetic renovations that they did. I worked at the old Gateway store and I definitely can see where they changed things. They do carry a good selection of alternative cheeses and faux meats and yet such a small selection of Kombucha. This store just doesn’t have everything because of such a small amount of space. They only kept this location open because of the loyal customers that have been shopping here since it opened. PLUS this store alone used to pump out over 1 million a week and supported everything from the other stores to the corporate payroll.
I would only shop here if I was on this side of town or working. But they have a bakery, cheese area, juice bar, and hot food. I can’t remember the other areas of the store… as I think they have other food options. sorry!

I hate Whole Foods in a lot of ways. I will never go grocery shopping here because they don’t have the stuff I want. However, I will go here for lunch on a fairly regular basis. The soups are darn good and the sandwiches/​wraps that are made to order are also quite tasty. I rarely get anything else. So yeah… if you want a quick and tasty (and overpriced) lunch, Whole Foods will do the trick. Fuck this place otherwise.

My friends and I like to refer to Whole Foods as Whole Paycheck. But honestly, I come here for specialty items as opposed to my weekly shopping. This location gets 4 out of 5 stars since the inside was crammed and hard to move around in.
I am making pesto lasanga tonight and needed a few things for it that I couldn’t get at my usual grocery store. One whole nutmeg, pine nuts (I found out later that both were in fact at my normal store, sigh) as well as no boil lasagna noodles, 3 kinds of fresh specialty cheeses, and bonafide olive oil because they made a note in the recipe that my $ 5.99 discount bottle from Trader Joe’s wouldn’t do. Snobs.
I will say that I have never had an encounter with a rude employee at whole foods. They are always helpful and right there when you have a question. I snagged my loot, made a beeline for the register, tried not to crap myself when I saw the total, escaped the crazy parking lot, and was safely on my way home to enjoy some delicious Italian food.
From now on I will probably stick to the downtown location though because it just can’t be beat.

Not my favorite Whole Foods but I come when it’s convenient.
Location: HORRIBLE traffic if you try to come after work from 183. Just don’t do it.
Size: TINY compared to the other Whole Foods in the city.
Produce: Pretty & fresh :)
Food ready for eating– ok. Some stuff wasn’t replenished. I’d probably go to another Whole Foods for a meal instead.

Hooray for the remodeled WF Gateway! I don’t know how they did it, but somehow the aisles are wider and the checkout area is much less cramped, but all of the same products & stations remain. They also seem to have integrated several good features from WF Domain like the great coffee bar and the easy-​to-​pickup ready made foods cooler. My beloved breakfast pizza is even back!
Shhhh, let’s not tell anyone about this. I want to keep the new & improved WF Gateway to myself.