Metropolitan Market

As a former employee (who had a very positive experience) I was shocked when I received extremely rude customer service. I was calling on behalf of a local nonprofit organization seeking donations for an annual event (most stores are happy to do this) and got instead an angry rant about how they are sick of people calling them for donations.
When I was working there, Met Mart seemed more than happy to support local causes, in fact I thought it was one of their best features. Maybe I just got the wrong guy on the wrong day, but it seems like Met Mart has lost touch with the community. Very disappointing.

This place is *epic*. Prices are reasonable, and you’ll find yourself wandering around in this bed-​bath-​beyond of grocery stores.

I like Metropolitan Market. I’m not a frequent shopper, but I do enjoy coming in here when I’m looking for something special.
Metropolitan Market to me is kinda in the middle of Whole Foods and QFC. Whole Foods is expensive but has products you won’t find anywhere else. QFC has a big selection but the prices are steep for the products. Metropolitan is expensive, but I do feel like the products are good quality and unique and the prices are somewhat justified.
The vegetable selection is great. And the cheeses this store has. if you love cheese, you’ll find some great options here. I visited the store during a cheese tasting and it was hard to not buy them all.
They have a decent selection of beer for the size of the store, too. Convenient parking and nice staff.

Good-​bye, Metropolitan Market.
For some weeks now it has been announced that the upper Queen Anne Metropolitan market will be coming in a few months.
Another blow to the Queen Anne neighborhood. Another concession to developers. Who, by the way, does the neighborhood belong to, decades-​long residents or «deep-​pockets developers?»
No one was ever asked what they wanted or needed.
While the rest of the Avenue underwent vulgar «urban renewal” – ugly, anonymous blocks of brick and glass for the nouveau riche – , Metropolitan Market maintained a sense of normalcy, quality, and commonsense.
The charm of Queen Anne, Madison Valley, Madison Park, Ballard Avenue, Market Street, 15^th Avenue E./19^th Avenue E. on Capitol Hill, or Ravenna (65^th St.) were their scale and the uniqueness of their shops.
The staff of Metropolitan Market have been on every occasion I can think of unfailingly polite and friendly, even under pressure. The pint-​sized nursery and floral department were a delight. The store itself was at a human scale. You could find whatever you needed, and what MM carried was of quality. Prices granted were not always the lowest you could find, but there was a weekly flyer.
I don’t think I will be the only way to feel sad about its imminent closure and replacement by another grotesquely over-​sized multistory commercial building.
That’s lip-​service to «sustainability,» Seattle. Who needs more of this – especially in their own neighborhood?
In hard economic times, the changing façade of Queen Anne Avenue goes on, unfortunately, in oblivious, non-​stop, self-​congratulatory fashion. Profitable but devoid of charm.
«That’s progress.» Yes, in the way that the razing of the Seatte Public Market, would have been. Knocking things down simply for the sake of the bigger, the newer, the more indecently profitable seems to have been built into the very genes of this city.
Ready to raze the rest of W. Highland Drive («Queen Anne Boulevard») – after the historic Black House was demolished and left a gaping hole in the ground for four years before construction of townhouses began?
Seattle says: What’s good for real estate developers is always good for the City. Let Paul Allen, his cronies, and downtown rule!

Can Met Markets get any better? Just uphill from another nearby Met Mkt, this one is just as awesome. With a smaller selection it might be good to frequent both spots but I really loved this store’s layout. Again the cheese selection is phenomenal and I always appreciate the small basket/​box of cheese samples that are for sale for typically under $ 2 because they’re the leftovers of larger blocks of cheese. Just as good but less money? Sure! Once my sister bought a bundle of these for me as a Bday gift and it was just about the best gift ever. :hint hint:
I even admired the cookie cutter display here. If you ever want to make some awesome cookies these Met Market has a rack with easily 80 different designs. Anything from dog bones to footballs and dinosaurs. Great for themed parties or just for DIY cookie baking at home.
The produce was fresh and plentiful, the wine selection was decent… I really can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like!

Our WEDDING FLOWERS were AMAZING! We had our Wedding in November and worked with Betty in the Floral department who did a fantastic job! The flowers were more gorgeous than I imagined and she worked hard to help us find flowers in our colors and in our budget. I highly reccommend!

It’s all about the Cupcake Royale cupcakes and the Peach-​O-​Rama. I went in over the summer for the P-​O-​R and had some of the most spectacular peaches ever. Surprisingly it was the non-​organics that were the best, so I guess I like chemicals after all, but they were great. Prices are pretty average for an upscale market, but the quality is there, so whatever. I just can’t wait for some more peaches next summer!

Pros:
Friendly, helpful, and patient staff: I asked a guy stocking wine for a suggestion, and he dropped everything to provide a brief history on regional reds and a personal anecdote about his last bottle.
Inviting store layout. Roaming the aisles of this store makes me want to spend money. (See also: Cons)
Samples! My palette is about as sophisticated as a monkey’s, but I suspect if I dedicated enough time haunting Metro’s deli samples and asking questions, I could learn enough to front like a foodie.
A few weeks ago, while waiting on a bus to cart me up the counterbalance, I popped into the lower QA store to grab whatever six-​pack they had on sale. (Note: MM sale prices = full price everywhere else. See also: Cons). On the way out, I walked by a woman making and sharing fresh mozzarella. After enjoying a sample-​sized religious moment in my mouth, I left to catch the bus. If I’d had more time, I’d have probably spend the rent check on cheese.
Choice kitchen wares and gifts: As a professional procrastinator, I’ve desperately combed MM’s stationery and gifty items on several occasions, and almost as many times emerged triumphant with a last-​minute house warming or birthday token tucked next to an obscure microbrew. A gift for you + a gift for me = win win.
Cons:
$$ For a while I refused to shop at Metropolitan Market on account of the prices, which range from «oh my, that’s a bit steep» to «what the @#$? These people are f*cking kidding, right?»
In line at the registers, wallets quietly whimper and hide from their humans. «I could’ve sworn I put my money in here somewhere.» If you ever have an urge to spend too much money on boiled potatoes mixed with mayo, then get yourself down to Metropolitan’s deli where you’ll find people gleefully taking out second mortgages for the privilege of a pre-​mixed summer salad.
Though there are more items listed under pros than cons, this particular down side is, for me, big enough to outweigh the relative benefits of the pros.
But hey, if you’ve got a little money burning a hole in your pocket, I hear they’re having a sale on cole slaw!

As Metropolitan Market locations go, the one on Upper Queen Anne is lacking. The one near Seattle Center is superior to this one.
The space is reminiscent of the Sand Point location in which the aisles are smaller and goods are more bunched together. However, that location at least has a bakery and deli. But this one does not, which makes a big difference. There are baked goods and deli items, but they are delivered here rather than made in-​house.
There are some pros like a meat service window, a demo cooking station and a decent floral selection. But overall, this store is not as comprehensive as other locations. The products they do carry are of great quality, but I would highly suggest the Lower Queen Anne MM location over this one for a better shopping experience.

This high-​end grocery store has served Upper Queen Anne since 2003, but that was just a change of name and purpose from their old moniker — Thriftway* (operating on QA since 1971) because they wanted to distinguish their gourmet stores from their regular stores.

I’m not a regular everyday shopper here, but I do like their emphasis on quality locally made products. They also have a very good produce section which beats the pants off of Safeway across the street! At times you can catch me at their gourmet soup counter, the bakery section, novelties/​ice cream section (Snoqualmie brand ice cream), or the meat department. The meat department has a cioppino section that is most excellent! Plus it is available every single day! For those of you that like to make sliders, MM is the only place I’ve found that carry dedicated slider buns (excellent for tailgate parties)! They also have a great selection of cheese and wine!

* An aside — as a child growing up in Seattle, Thriftway was quite the hot spot for the singles scene. Man, talk about being born in the wrong era! Ha!
My cucumber. It’s bigger. No, vegetables are sensual.
I think vegetables can be People are sensuous.
sensuous, don’t you? /​WHAT? My boy!
| _​/​\ _​/​
O /​O\ /​O\ O
|– o– | bcbc! bcbc!**O |– /​/​|
/​\ /​\ -/​\ /​\ /​\
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​ME_​MOM_​DAD_​_​_​_​_​_​
**bcbc!bcbc! = brownchickenbrowncow!

Great grocery store. Everything is modern, clean and well presented. I also enjoyed the variety of food options. I would easily choose this market over whole foods.
Great deli and seafood section.

Even though it’s smaller than the one down the hill and has less sections and no deli, this is the original store. It is easier to access, find parking, and safer than the store in lower QA.
Many items are more expensive than at other stores, but you cannot beat the fresh seafood and meats. Also, they have the best tomato soup and chicken salad bagette sandwiches. The Cubano is good too. The soup alone gets them 5 stars.
If you goto lower QA, try the carrot soup.

The world’s best peaches. Yes, really — wait until the fall, a week or two after they start their «Peach-​O-​Rama sale,» then pick up a case of Pence Orchard peaches. I never much cared for peaches until I tried those, but now they are my favorite fruit: full of flavor, very sweet, and so juicy that if you eat them out of hand you will need to stand over a sink. (Metropolitan Market also sells Frog Hollow farm peaches, which are organic, but not quite as tasty.) You don’t have to buy a full case, by the way, but you get a nice discount on a case, and you know that people haven’t been bruising the fruit.
Otherwise: a fine cheese counter, excellent meat and shellfish, a very interesting wine department, and pretty good produce. The prices are OK — more than Central Market and Ballard Market, but less than Whole Foods, PCC, and QFC. (Strangely, for what we buy, QFC is actually MORE expensive than any other grocery store.)

What can I say about this place, Its great.
They have a lot of different spices and herbs along with some fresh baked breads and vegetables.
The chicken was savory and the mushrooms were fresh.
But the best part is, They have Carlsborg, great Danish beer that most supermarkets don’t carry.
I give them 4 out of 5 because their layout is somewhat small and the strawberry’s had gone bad, But to be fare they were selling them for a decent price.
Cheers Queen Anne Metro Market.

Meh. I went in to this grocery store when we first moved up to Queen Anne and I noticed everything was overpriced. I did buy a few things anyway and when I went home, I found out more than a few of them were stale. The bread was sort of stale and the pre-​made meal wasn’t very fresh and tasted slightly off.
That said, the cake I bought was excellent.

I love Metro Market — their soups and breads are a fantastic lunch. Today I used my free soup coupon that I got in the mail, and struck up a friendly conversation with the lady tending the soup counter about what is 16 ounces (it’s the medium size), the tastiness of mixing Broccoli Cheddar and Tomato Basil (I’d already had it when Tomato Basil was running low, and it was quite tasty), and then she went off to get more Broccoli Cheddar when she noticed it was running low.
Overall, it’s a great little market with friendly staff, and a decent selection — and it’s the best place to get flowers on short notice. Last Valentines’ I joined a line of a half-​dozen guys in the floral department late in the afternoon.
And when you go by, say hi to Walter for me, and buy a RealChange paper from him — he’s a good guy.

The only reason they don’t get five stars is because of that little thing we like to call «metropolitan mark-​up.» It can be on the spendy side. Not quite Whole Paycheck, but still.
That said, it’s OPEN 24 HOURS. And the overnight crew is wicked cool! Not weird and cracked out and distant and awkward like overnight crews at other places.
I find the produce section to be stellar. Then again, I love apples, and they always have a huge selection of shiny apples in all colors and flavors. The cooking demos are great. The meat and fish top notch. Wine and cheese selection A+. A variety of soups that are always good. And the whole rotisserie chicken is always piping hot and fresh. How do they do that? OH and TONS of great breads from artisan bread bakers, in addition to your everyday bread.
Plus one time the big illuminated board on Queen Anne Ave said «EMILY’S NUTS» for like a week. That pretty much changed my life for those few days. I was all «that’s RIGHT dawg! Step up and check deez nuts!»
I shop here three x a week, minimum.

If you want organic/​healthy/​non-​pesticide/​expensive/​local food, this is your joint! I had to write a review, not after sampling everything I bought, but right after I just had my California Style Chicken Salad for lunch. This thing was amazing: field greens, grilled chicken, red onion, goat cheese, dried cherries, walnuts and honey balsamic dressing. The smaller portion was $ 5.99 and it’s perfect for lunch. I’ve never had something of such high quality from any market (that includes you, QFC).
I bought some crab dip (which was awkward to try since I forgot to buy crackers), but extremely good!
They get their rolls & tarts from local bakeries. I got all excited for the Bakery Nouveau croissant for this morning, but it was… stale. If you want truly fresh, go to your local bakery instead.
If I wanted to do a homemade 5-​star dinner, I would get my meats from Pike Place Market, and tasty side dishes/​appetizers from Metropolitan Market.
Seafood is still best at Central Market. I wouldn’t get soup at the Met either. It’s a small store, so maybe I’ll try the uptown location and report on that one.

I LOVE Metropolitan Market in Queen Anne! LOVE IT, LOVE IT!
I LOVE…
–Fresh salad bar with the best ranch dressing eva!
–Soup bar with over 8 different soups to choose from! (Coconut Curry Chicken soup is oh so amazing)!
–Deli with fresh panini served either cold or toasted!
–Fresh flowers that are healthy and live long lives!
–Café with super helpful and friendly baristas!
–Fresh, fresh, fresh produce and gorgeous slabs of red meat from the butcher!
–Stellar costumer service throughout the entire store!
Everything, I LOVE everything about Metropolitan Market!

Metropolitan Market is my absolute favorite grocery store, ever!
Metropolitan Market, please open up in Hawaii! That’d be great! Thanks.
Competitive prices, quality local products, fresh produce, and convenience are several of the reasons that kept me as a loyal customer while living in Seattle. Plus, they carry my favorite Fran’s Chocolates Gray Salt Caramels!!! Woohoo! No need to go all the way to U-​ville!
Anyway, I’d totally recommend Metropolitan Market for any and every college student, cook, wannabe-​cook, mom, dad, boyfriend, etc. In other words it’s definitely some place to check out if you like to cook, or are trying to cook. And looking around will definitely motivate and inspire the cook within!
Unilocal 365 — #041/​365