Mi Tierra Market

This is your go to for cheap and ripe, ready to eat fruit. These are not yellow bananas you have to wait days to eat. You have to pick the right time, or the lines can get crazy. Like others say, you have to pick through and finish it and say 2 days. Works for me, as I can go through produce quickly. Until today, it was my go-​to market. Granted there are several in this area. The entrance to the store is the width of one person. So it can be difficult getting in and out, especially when you add on folks browsing. This morning, the man that runs the orange juicer in the front. (which is smack dab at the entrance, so dumb) starts yelling at me to move out the way as I am entering the store. Granted, I am waiting for a elderly woman to exit the store so I can enter. It was so rude and he was very, aggressive in his tone. This will be last time I frequent this establishment. His behavior was highly unacceptable. Granted this market is not in the best area, but you can’t treat anyone customer or not so rudely.

It’s true… a decent find in the heart of the Mission. You can’t miss it… it’s right by 16^th Mission BART, and the MUNI bus stops.
It’s cheap. Plenty to look at, but the aisles are crammed full (of stuff and people). So browse with care. This includes the various produce bins outside on the sidewalk. (Although, I would take more care as there are some colorful characters outside, and not necessarily their clientele.)
I’ve purchased produce (huge selection, decent quality but take your time looking, and there is a bargain bin section), smoked pork chops (ask the friendly butcher!), canned chipotle peppers and various bags of spices. While they have plenty of basic essentials, Mexican and Latin ingredients, they also have an assortment of Middle Eastern ingredients.
Ordering from the butcher results in getting a number placard, which you’ll need to take to the checker for him/​her to pick up your meat/​cheese items at check out.
This place is somewhat organized in chaos. The floors need some help but I’m sure the heavy foot traffic makes it hard to keep it consistently tidy, plus the overly-​packed aisles.
Prices = cheap to moderate. Depends on what you’re looking for. They accept cash and plastic (not sure what their minimum is for plastic.)
Service = friendly. Spanish helps but English is tolerated.
Line = one long line, and it’ll be alongside the butcher’s case. You were warned. They usually have at least 3 checkers but it takes a while sometimes. (Refer to above note re butcher ordering.)
If you’re in a hurry and trying to catch the next bus or BART, I suggest you seriously consider skipping this place or just give yourself enough buffer time to account for the inevitable line.
Note: deadzone for cellphones. My phone went to 2G, and I couldn’t pull up a recipe for my shopping list. Lol Time travel is free. :)

Pro: produce is extremely cheap. No matter how much I buy, it’s tough to spend more than $ 10 there.
Con: produce quality is not great. It takes a while to pick through their selection to find acceptable items, and those don’t tend to last more than a day or two.
Proximity to Bart makes it a very convenient stop for last minute needs. Generally works just fine if you plan on using items immediately, or need something less delicate (like potatoes)

I was going to say this place is rotten but then I read all the adorable, affectionate reviews of it below. That’s so sweet!
Good for you Unilocalers, changing my mind and making me see the world in a better light!
You’re right this place IS super cheap. You’re right, I should be grateful to be struggling to meet the 5 $ minimum.
I got a hunk of browning broccoli and a handful of wilty greens and some purple, mushy garlic for like 1 $.
It’s useful for those on a budget. And the people who work there are so so lovely. But if you have the means, get yourself some fresh produce from Rainbow Co-​op

I almost don’t want to write this review, lest San Francisco’s best kept secret is discovered by the swaths of vest-​donned mission hipsters brunchnoshing $ 15 kale benedicts mere blocks away from this utter gem.
For the few of us left in San Francisco that actually pay attention to the prices of produce, Mi Tierria’s might make you question whether or not you’ve read the handwritten signs correctly. «50 cents a pound for fuji apples,» you think, «what a steal!» until you realize with the giddiness of a five year old with a ring pop, that the price is in fact 50 cents for THREE pounds of apples. And that cilantro, labelled a dollar out front? Turns out it’s actually TEN for a dollar.
It is legitimately difficult to meet the $ 5 debit card minimum here. When your backpack full of jicama, mangoes, bananas, and broccoli totals $ 2.25, you’ll find yourself throwing in a giant wheel of queso fresco, tortillas, and salsa, scrambling to find anything in the store labelled with a price that doesn’t start with a decimal point.
Even waiting in line at Mi Tierra is a pleasurable experience. Everyone who works here is delightful. I’ve been handed cheese samples, been tossed fresh-​fried chicharones, and been educated (in a mostly comprehensible Spanglish of sorts) in the various applications of underutilized parts of a cow (true «nose-​to-​tail» consumption is promoted here: neck. brains. tongue. tripe. Way to be sneakily on-​trend, Mi Tierra!).
To those of you kvetching about the industrially grown, pesticide-​bathed nature of the produce, I say: Fine! Go spend an hour’s wage on three pristine figs from Bi-​Rite. Once in a blue moon, I do that too. But you know what I also do? I buy a two pound box of organic arugula and four pints of organic strawberries that Mi Tierra has in stock once every three weeks or so, and have leftover change from paying with a $ 5 to drop in the cup of the guitarist at the BART station AND pay for my ticket home. Boom.
The coins you’ll find under your couch cushions will likely buy you enough cucumbers to open a pickle franchise, a bag of spinach so big it won’t meet FAA carry-​on size restrictions, or so many fat beets you’ll want to put on some phat beats to celebrate.
Mi Tierra: You are to me what kombucha is to a hungover startup manager recovering on the slopes of Dolores Park: you are my lifeline, my habit, my absolutely life necessity. You’re a little bit sweet, completely refreshing, and surprising in all the right ways. Don’t ever change… or start carrying kale. Things could get ugly.

Absurdly cheap produce and some decent options inside. I come here exclusively for cheap produce… often as little as an onion or a box of strawberries. Benefit of living on the block I suppose.
You can occasionally get free samples on the street, and keep in mind the registers have a bit of a wait around dinner time.

There are five (5) other grocery stores within 1 block, and this one is usually the busiest, since the prices are often the best. They tend to carry a lower grade of produce than, say, Safeway, so you can expect many items to have some blemishes or be a bit overripe. Some items are pathetically past ripe, and it makes me wonder who buys the stuff? Then again, some items are basically grade A. A few months back they had beautiful orange bell peppers — perfect condition — for 50 cents a pound. meanwhile Safeway had them for around 4 or 5 bucks a pound (assholes).
I’m deducting 1 star for the line, which is often long, and it’s hard to access — you have go to the back of the store to get on line. That may sound like no big deal, but the aisles are like 18 inches wide and only fit one person.
The meat looks a little scary. I haven’t tried it, so i won’t comment on it. Wait, i just did.

Great prices on produce — giant Keitt mangoes were on sale today for 99 cents each! Be careful with the prepared foods though; on a recent visit, a fly buzzed behind the grease covered glass of the carnitas display.

This place is fantastic! I got almost everything I needed to make lunch for 15 people for $ 35! The meat selection is pretty extensive and cheap for such a small place. The produce has everything you could want. Patronize this place, it’s a small operation and they could use more patrons. Fuck Safeway, I’m coming here for groceries!

4.5 stars!
Fantastic place to shop for the budget-​minded. Not the freshest ingredients — in fact, much of the produce are at their ripest point or a bit past that — but it is more than made up for in the low price.
A year ago when I worked in this part of town and had to commute by BART so I would come here quite frequently before going home. You might be able to get a week’s worth of vegetables for less than a dollar a day. Fruits are also incredibly inexpensive. In the summer, pineapples can go for as low as $ 1.50 and large grapefruits for $ 0.50 each.
They frequently ship in ripe produce and push them out at very low prices, so visit this place often to avoid missing any «sales».
The adjacent supermarket on 16^th St does seem to have fresher produce, but I’m happier paying less for slightly less fresh produce.

(See pics)
Being healthy does not need to be expensive. Come shop at Mi Tierra.
The vegetables such as lettuce, all kinds of peppers, herbs, tomatoes, all sorts of South American veggies and even some Asian ones. All are fresh, in abundance, plumy looking and are very very cheap!
They also carry some meat items and were actually quite good as well.
Love how friendly and fun these folks are when I asked what to do with 2 pounds of strawberries (2 bucks = 2 boxes = 2 pounds), they gave me a few excellent ideas such as smoothies and desserts. And sometimes they will have sales like a dollar for 4 pounds or a full box of bananas! There are also all types of apples, oranges, plantains, very sweet mangoes, pineapples, mandarin oranges, pomegranates (whole or just seeds from POM POMS), watermelon (99 cents for a smaller one), honeydew. And amazingly they also carry green coconut in whole for only 99 cents!
Service was very fast and nice.

I was going to get something here today, but after witnessing an argument ensue over a purchase, it left a bad taste in my mouth and I decided to go elsewhere. I don’t quite completely agree with the phrase ‘the customer is always right’, but it does not give employees the right to belittle and essentially shame a customer over 50 cents.
I will say that the products here are cheap, but customer service and attitude are important in establishing one’s business, which this place clearly did not do today. This outburst may have been a one time occurrence, I don’t know, but I still feel that it is unacceptable. Sure, the long line may have been a factor in this dispute, but nonetheless it was very unprofessional and I will be taking my business elsewhere, and so should you readers.

So I’m visiting San fran from New York and wanted to take advantage that I was out of the BIG BAD CITY, and find some decent produce, cause back in new york farmers markets are scarce and meglamarts are all you find. I went here pretty much because of the rave reviews on Unilocal.I was extremely disappointed. The produce here is SUB PAR, they are cheap yes, but they taste horrible. I bought peaches and apples. The peaches were bland, not even sour, just bland and the apples, which were Fuji, were mealy. I bought 4, and ALL OF THEM were mealy. Outside of the produce, everything was waaaay over priced. More expensive then New York. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because the cashier was from New York and extremely friendly. I’m sorry guys but maybe its San Fran, but meglamarts in new york have better produce than this.

This place is awesome! There are a few different little markets near the 16^th and Mission Bart area, but this one has the best prices by far! I had a plastic bag of groceries for $ 2.50 today! A pound of strawberries, 2 ears of corn, ½ pound of mushrooms, 2 pears, and 2 small avocados, for $ 2.50!!! I’m quite sure none of it is organic or any of that stuff, but it’s one heck of a deal.
I feel the best prices are for the produce and I think everything else is probably average. So this is a great stop for getting your fruits and vegetables for the week.

I was able to get 50 cent organic blueberries and stawberries on sale today! Careful rummaging through the produce is required since it is almost open and comparable to a farmer’s market and the lines for the registers are long but fast. Its was listed in an SF periodical as one of the cheapest indie markets in SF. (My brother read it and told me) The shop is very small and many items are in Spanish.

I avoided this place too long. I was scared off by vegetables in sidewalk crates– especially near those crusty sidewalks– exposed to the emanations of traffic that packs together here. It’s at 16^th & Mission, where many less wholesome things are for sale. The produce seems like the standard stuff– cheap and sourced from who knows where. Maybe mexico, or maybe (I heard) the same stuff that Safeway stocks, except a cosmetic grade lower because it didn’t grow the ideal shape or didn’t shine as nicely with waxing and buffing. Well, that doesn’t sound bad.
It turns out this place is actually good. They put effort into keeping things looking decent inside, and they even display the produce in a pleasing way. It has an excellent selection (for the narrow aisles) and the prices are unbelievably friendly.
Besides generosity with produce, the usual corner shop shelf goods are here, but with more utility (less junk and more staples) and waaay more mexican stuff. They don’t seem to have a lot of certain other perishables (baked goods for example) except the butcher case is huge and full of mysteries. That’s good because I would rather get scared by pig heads and weird coily organs than bored by rack after rack of chips and soda. Safeway is big, but when I go there I only buy the same dozen things I already knew they had.
A person on a budget would have a really hard time finding a better place for fruits & veggies. 5 stars in it’s category as a small cheap neighborhood shop.

Mi Tierra has everything I love about mission grocery stores — plenty of characters, tons of food I will never, ever go near (pigs feet? fried pork skins??), and the reason I keep returning — cheap fruit. Today’s Unilocal was inspired by the guy standing out front handing out free slices of watermelon. The perfect scene on an almost perfect spring day (go away wind).

Best place in the city to get fruits and vegetables! Everytime I go there, I get as much as I can carry with my bill only totaling $ 7-​$ 12.