Whole Foods Market

"I was meeting a friend for coffee at the Hill Country Galleria this past week, and I needed to pick up a few grocery items. Normally I would go to HEB, but since Whole Foods Market was literally right next to where I was going, I decided I would visit the store. Unfortunately, the parking lot at Whole Foods right now appears to be partially occupied by construction, so there may be a bit of a walk to get inside the store, but at least there are plenty of spots in the Hill Country Galleria so you wont have to worry about fighting for parking. When I walked inside the entrance of store, there were free organic oranges on offer, so I definitely grabbed a bite of those and then walked the aisles looking for some wheat bread and organic milk. If you are only looking for a few essential items, it would appear that this Whole Foods Market is not that much of a premium over other supermarkets, and I enjoyed walking around seeing the busy workers getting the store ready for an expected lunchtime rush. Ultimately, I would not go out of my way to visit this store to do the majority of my shopping, but in a pinch or if you are in the area, it is a very pleasant shopping experience and undoubtedly you can find what you need."

"Amazon did right but not changing the secret sauce that makes Whole Foods what it is. I recently purchased a couple of pre-made side dishes and a choice cut of meat for a dinner. Not only was I blown away with a quality, but when I calculated the total cost, I found the savings was about 60% from a comparable quality meal at a restaurant. Although other grocery stores may carry a few side dishes, none have the variety or quality. So you could get a couple of single meals from local stores for the same money, or find something you really crave and have a four star experience."

"Really great location in the Galleria... I just wish the store was a bit larger. The one downtown is just so great with all the different restaurants to eat at inside and outside I just wish we had that here because there really is a lack of good restaurants in the Lakeway area. If you just visit here for a little while it might seem like there are a lot of great options, but if you live in the area you know... there's really not that many good places to eat that are affordable and broad in terms of types of food. The best parts of the store IMO: The cheese department as well as the main cheese guy himself is freaking awesome... he knows so much I feel like we are kindred parmesan reggiano spirits or something. He knows his stuff and always has a recommendation for when I don't want to spend $22 a pound for Reggiano lol (sometimes you just bite the bullet). That being said the guys in the seafood department are also very well versed... a favorite of mine are the smoked peppered salmon nuggets. Salmon cubes that have been smoked and covered in a sweet peppery sauce, and they are just gold. Such a great snack to have when you are too lazy or in too much of a hurry to cook anything but want salmon. The only thing I wish that they did more was spot check the salmon nuggets for bones when cooking hem. There are a few negatives to this store in particular though. The biggest one I'd say is produce... now I cook a lot... like a lot a lot, and the produce here is just something I don't buy anymore because of not just the really high prices, but the quality of the produce is just bad. Things are either way way too ripe, or not ripe enough, or just bad... and that's in store with me feeling up the produce and checking for mold, and other damage. Order produce through prime and you will be very disappointed. Usually there is a lot of rotten produce and I've needed one or two items and I've come in to get them, but left empty handed only to drive to HEB to get organic items because the produce here just sucks! Another big problem is the meat department. The meat department sucks at least in my mind for a variety of different reasons the biggest one being the system they have at Whole Foods. I get it... be different but when the entire meat industry world wide operates one way and you go the complete opposite way it's just confusing. I think animals should be respected and the meat industry as a whole should be held to a standard to which is why I typically buy from a butcher (when there is one) who locally sources meat as well as shows exactly where it came from and has a certificate which talks about the living conditions of where he cow or animal was raised which comes as a card with every piece of meat you order doesn't matter if it's a 1/4 pound or an 1/8th. What is level 4 meat? Is that prime? Select? Choice? I've had the meat guys and girls at the counter try to explain it to me, and everyone else there and they just can't its like an open joke. I've had a few people at this location and others blatantly say to customers that it doesn't make any sense. Also... it's not just about the confusing rating system they have... the meat at this location and the downtown location is not good. It just isn't. The only meat product that I buy is packaged ground Bison. That is it. I've bought Level 4/5 steaks here that were horrible. Like it looks fine when you buy it, but when you cook it, and I know what I'm doing it is just a horrible product that costs more than other stores so why buy it? Really bad bacon/pork/lamb choices too. Bacon is way too fatty and that's packaged and unpackaged. Amy's frozen burritos/products are a bit pricey. However, organic frozen fruit choice are second to none and he prices are good too. Checkout lines can also be really long and there aren't nearly enough cashiers. Lastly this one is a big one, but scanning your phone for amazon prime discounts almost never works because for some reason there is no cell service in the store. That's all I have for this Review! Peace!! -DD"

"Grocery store in the Galleria shopping area with so many organic options. Integrated with Amazon and has a Amazon returns self help kiosk at front of store. Pizza and salad lunch / dinner area are bonus. Second floor sitting area by restrooms. EV charging in parking lot and parking garage very near. Including photos of inside. If you like this review please click thumbs up or mark as helpful - thanks!"

"Stopped here while visiting Bee Cave and this is a really nice Whole Foods. Have a good selection of food. You can even sit on the second floor or out on a patio and eat your lunch. They didn’t service hot foods but I think it is because of the weekend however, they had pizza and salads. Everyone was really friendly and helpful too."