Santa Barbara Market

Fresh vegies, great deli meats and friendly service :)

I discovered this place recently and I went almost every week for the past 2 months and I probably won’t be returning due to the poor quality of service. Almost every time I went I got a different employee and they all seem more miserable than the last. I’m not sure why, I did the same job for 2 years and I’ve always been pleasant and friendly. I don’t understand the point of working at a job you hate. Are they keep prisoner of this establishment? Or are they just others in this flood of Douche Hipster Service where being rude and unhelpful is considered… I don’t know what it’s considered, hipsters have yet to figure out what their point is, it seems. They can be as lame as they want but it will be without my 50 $ a week contribution.

Good place for produce, and they also carry gluten free oats. If I need to pick up a few things, this is my go-​to place.

Excellent produce and selection of italian foods. Deli has great selection and good prices. it’s a bit crowded in there, but I don’t mind as I’m not in there for long periods of time. I like their excellent selection of imported pastas, and fresh breads from local italian bakeries.

Selection of produce is very good. They have a zillion kinds of apples. They are so fresh so I had to buy a bag of Ambrosias. The line ups are long and the cashiers are a bit slow. The only downside is they don’t take credit card. Cash and debit only. Parking is also metered and not a lot of spots out front.

Best place, hands down, to purchase European deli meat, cheeses, olive oil, and fresh produce.

If you want to find a really good quality cheese, ham and sausages, look no more!
And you cannot beat their price!
Yesterday My French friend and I went to Commercial Drive for Italian day but their over priced street vendors were a total turn off so we just got some cheese and ham along with baguettes then sat in the park and had a feast for less than 5 dollars!
Yummmmm soooo goood!

This used to be my go-​to spot before I moved further down the Drive, and last night I was in the area so popped in to pick up some deli items for dinner. Nothing has changed in here, and I doubt it ever will! It’s typical of so many spots on the Drive — slightly grubby and a little dilapidated, but absolutely does the job.
I came in and grabbed a number right away — thankfully they weren’t too busy so I only waited a few minutes. They have a piece of cardboard with all their meats handwritten on it, which is a bit overwhelming as they have A LOT, but is easier to follow than all the little pieces of paper that used to litter the cabinet. I grabbed a couple of different kinds of sausage, some rosemary prosciutto cotto, and some Mexican salami, took a quick wander through the store and paid up.
The wine chorizo went perfectly with my tomato gnocchi! I munched on some of the prosciutto while it was cooking, and I have to say it wasn’t as good as some other kinds I’ve had as it was quite thick cut and fatty. It would be great in a sandwich, but not so good for just nibbling on (for some reason my preferred way of eating it!)
The service is usually quick, and the deli workers are polite enough but they are extremely busy so don’t expect a conversation! I’ve always had a soft spot for Santa Barbara and I always will. It’s a great spot to pick up your necessaries, and some little frivolities!

I have been coming to this market for 20 years and while I have always enjoyed the cheap deli and drive like atmosphere, the customer service has seriously gone downhill. Staff seem angrier and more abrupt especially in the deli. I joked around with the cashier girl today and said whoa everybody seems so somber, did someone die? She responded in a katty tone with” have you ever worked cash before?” Whoa!!! I asked her if she had ever worked with addicts. She said no but it was similar. Damn! Seems I am declaring an official divorce from this place after 20 years. Plenty of good options elsewhere.

Great selection of natural products. Great prices.
Produce is decent, but truly great when they have the bushels of local fruit/​veg outside.
Dairy is good and offers a wide selection of great price and great quality choices.
Deli products are not quite as natural, as most contain nitrites, but are very well priced. Be prepared to wait, and for goodness sakes, when your number is called, be ready, and order all meat together/​cheese together. No back and forth business.

Santa Barbara is one of my favourite places to shop at on The Drive.
It reminds me of one of those little side street grocery stores you’d come across in Europe.
This place has a top notch selection of fruits and veggies, pasta, and canned goods, but truth be told, everyone who comes to Santa Barbara is usually coming in for one reason alone: The Deli.
You usually have to grab a number and wait, but the wait is always worth it. Santa Barbara has an amazing selection of hams, cheeses, olives, and other European delicacies, and all reasonably priced.
The only reason this place doesn’t get 5 stars is because of the customer service. The staff usually looks bored or annoyed.
Let’s work on that n’kay?
FYI: The weekends get Ka-​Ray-​Zee here! Shopping here during the week is usually your best bet.

When I was younger and significantly more naïve than I am now, I used to daydream about my future ~fancy lady~ life where I would have a cool job and a wicked apartment and the weather would be great all the time, and I would walk home from the office and stop by the neighbourhood grocer and inhale the aroma of succulent, perfectly ripe tree-​fruits, and then I would pause there and fill a wicker basket with beautiful things, then take my plunder home and make a delicious dinner for me and all my best friends (and my dog) and we would all laugh and laugh whilst sitting on the patio eating and drinking.
Suffice it to say, my actual non-​fancy lady life is not anything like that. However, if it were, the neighbourhood grocer of my dreams would be something like Santa Barbara. I love this place so much, mostly because of it’s straightforward approach to groceries. Some grocers turn food into this huge ordeal, where the process of acquiring goods to fuel yourself becomes mired in concerns about labels and brands and non-​this and pro-​that and all kinds of other miscellaneous things.
Santa Barbara keeps it real, man. The deli, which is arguably one of, if not the single best in the city, runs by an orderly, numbered system. There is a healthy selection of meats and cheeses to choose from. The prices and quality of the produce reflect what’s in season, and the meat, cheese, and produce are supplemented by other staple products like breads and sauces. So, I recommend that you channel your inner fancy lady and drop by Santa Barbara. Nectarines and peaches are coming into their prime! Less than $ 2.00 a pound!

Always been a supporter of the smaller grocery supermarkets, lucky for the local residents on the Drive.
Pretty well to get your basics but probably won’t have all the brands of the frozen TV dinners or junk food.
But they should advertise their deli section better, as I’ve dropped by a few times for their bavarian & honey garlic smokies.
All of their fruits they put outside on the front, and veggies inside on the right.
Not a place to really drive to as parking’s tough here, or you better be a great parallel parker like me, esp. during rush hour. You can park on this side at all times of the day.

Santa Barbara for some reason is a dear to my heart. They have a decent selection of fruits and veggies, enough choices of pastas, canned tomatoes, legumes, breads, dairy products all very nicely priced. The size is just right. Does not have the claustrophobic feel of Donalds on East Hastings, nicely spaced and laid out.
It does not stand out as a specialty food store like BOSA or La Grotta, but all in all a wonderful supermarket with a great neighborhood feel to it. The best part of it is the deli counter. I love the whole attitude of people from different neighborhoods. Maybe they are intimidated with the whole Italian thing. Peter, Paul and Mary from Burnaby, starts to talk like Carmela, Tony and Giovanni. Yep that Italian immigrant– American accent, the hands starts to move, kind of amusing. I guess it became the tradition in the hood, really fun and part of the experience.
They carry most of the common brands of meats and cheeses with great prices. Look for the pitted, spicy green olives and golden pepperoncinis in the bulk section, they are awesome!
Avoid during rush hours to save a bit o peace of mind, space and time.
–E Parmesan? 400 graams, grazie. Quattro, bene.
–Dude, what’s up with the accent, you are not Italian, the deli staff isn’t Italian, mind you %90 of the products in the display case is not Italian either…
–Go with it.
–Ok let me try. Hey goomba, do you have prosciutto di Parma? Also enchilada with a fish a Baccalà.
–Those are the words to the ”Mambo Italiano” idiot… Get back in the line up…
–Bene.

I used to live a couple blocks away from this shop when I was in my twenties. At this time in my life I was struggling to make my pennies stretch all the way to my next pay day. Shopping at Santa Barbara ensured that I actually had something to eat. I am still a frequent shopper here as the prices can’t be beat. I go here for the cheese, deli meats, olive oil, olives, vinegars, pasta and canned tomatoes.
They have a pretty good selection of produce, although not many organic options. They always seem to pass on the savings to their patrons when items are in season. For example, in the summer they sell huge bouquets of fresh basil for around $ 2.00. If you buy quantity they are always willing to make you a deal. I bought 25 pounds of grade ‘A’ B.C. cherries in July for $ 1.80 a pound. Of course there was a bumper crop of cherries this year.
If you want something from the deli go straight to the back and get a number as soon as you arrive. You can linger in the area and do some other shopping, but as soon as they are around 6 numbers away wait patiently for your turn next to the counter. Make sure you know what you want and the quantity to save everyone’s time. If you have never tried an item, and you ask nicely, your server may even offer you a sample. Like when your at the gelato shop, but way better.
Keep in mind this place is cheap and likely hasn’t been renovated in decades. The aisles are narrow and the shelves are a bit shabby. However, if they did renovate the prices would likely climb and well who wants that.

I love this Italian market. The selection of meats and cheeses is huge with some of the best prices in the city. Because the deli part is so incredibly popular, the meat and cheese turnover is rapid so the food is always very fresh. They also have a really nice variety of olive oils, ricotta, dried pastas, canned tomato products and fresh breads.
For the uninitiated, be sure to go immediately to the deli and pull a number. I usually use the first few minutes to grab a piece of paper and pencil from the counter and make a list of everything that I want so when my number is called I hand them my list and then I’m off to do the rest of my shopping. Be sure to check out the bags of meat ends that they put in the end of the cooler near the hard cheeses — I’ve picked up some chunks of prosciutto costing next to nothing.
They only accept cash or debit.

I love this place for meats and cheeses. It’s busy and there is always a wait, but I don’t mind it in this case. I get to hear what other people order. That’s fascinating to me.
I’ve been looking for sheep cheese for months and months. And I found some sheep manchego and other good sheep cheese’s… not a lot of places carry sheep cheese. Or maybe I haven’t looked hard enough.
My main to go food items here are the canned tomatoes, chicken peas and kidney beans. as well as mortadella, prosciutto and calabrese hot salami!
Oh and they always have good pricing on their produce. Especially when red/​yellow/​orange peppers and asparagus are normally expensive. When apple season hits, they have such a great variety as well.
I could go on.

Your owners manual to Italian epicurean satisfaction in Vancouver.
1) Go to Santa Barbara Market
2) Walk directly to the deli counter and take a numbered ticket. Weekend waits to be served can be 10 minutes, 20 minutes or more.
3) Choose from a myriad of imported dried pastas at very reasonable prices. Dozens of cuts and dozens of brands yielding a selection in the hundreds awaits your hungry tummy. Factoid: virtually all Italian pasta is produced with Canadian durum, this is the best the world has to offer.
4) Choose from dozens of brands of import and domestic canned tomatoes, beans etc. No better selection exists in the city. Factoid: the chemistry and taste of a tomato changes irreversibly when a tomato hits 11 degrees C. That is why a quickly processed, canned tomato has the deepest tomato flavour possible. Confirm this for yourself with a taste test!
5) Choose fresh fruit and vegetables from a typical produce section but, with an alert eye for rarely found escarole, brocolli rabe and fennel of very good quality.
6) Finally, your deli counter number will be called and choose from over 100 cured, smoked and processed meats with quality and prices that make you wonder how Urban Fare, Whole Foods etc can continue to gouge their customers with 300+% mark ups. And don’t get me started with the 500+% mark ups that local restauranteurs try to pass off as charcuterie of marginal quality. (Oyama Sausage on Granville Island, along with Santa Barbara Market, is also excellent and noteworthy.) By now, you will have seen why the lineup is so long, every slice of meat is hand sliced per the order of every customer! If you can’t get what you want here, it is your own fault for not knowing what good processed meat is.
7) While you are getting your meats choose from dozens of 3 litre cans of olive oil with astonishingly low price points and high quality.
Granted you will have to suffer crowded aisles, dirt on the floor and long waits but, with the high quality, outstanding selection and seemingly decade old pricing, you will entertain your family and friends with food made with love that is better than what is served in virtually every Italian restaurant in town and wash it down with your favourite amarone or super-​Tuscan for a fraction of the price.

I need a place like this place in my neighbourhood. In fact, everyone needs a place like this in their neighbourhood.
I’ll gladly go out of my way on a weekend to hit this grocery, produce and deli Mecca of the Drive. Produce that you will not find at a supermarket, or will disgust any supermarket in comparison. Fresh basil, reasonably priced pineapples, beautiful tomatoes, a sidewalk of fruit, they’ve got it all. European inspired groceries. The best and cheapest place I’ve found to buy pasta, olive oil, yogurt, sandwich meats, chorizo, bocconcini, corn tortillas, polenta… the list goes on. An amazing assortment of meats and cheeses behind a crazy chaotic and super efficient deli counter that will have you wondering what kind of dreams those girls must have at night.

I love this place. I know that whenever I walk in here that I am going to be there for like an hour… this place is so busy and I am convinced that all the deli meat is fresher because of the high turnover rate.
Their produce prices are cheap… not as cheap as up the street, but everything is here for one stop shopping… I don’t have time to run every which way to save like twenty cents. Everything is always fresh… I can always find all the veggies and fruits I need…
Their deli prices are like half of what they are at the regular grocery stores or other specialty delis. Great selection of fresh sausages too. It’s so easy to stop here and pick some up for a quick dinner. Their feta is such a good price too.
All their canned goods are also well priced. I buy my tomato paste in a tube here for a song… They have fresh bread. Their pasta is cheap. I have so many different types at home because I love variety.
I buy everything here. I only go to other shops to buy meat that I can’t get here. Everything is so well priced that I gladly spend the hour here… I can spend the time waiting looking for things I want to try.