Bear Market

It does its job--that is, serving as a mini market for Cal students. It has the things like juice, cereal, yogurt, fruit, chips, ice cream, microwaveable meals, soy milk / milk/ almond milk, etc.Yeah the prices are higher but cmon, it's generally meant for students with meal points. I definitely would not shop here if I didn't have meal points. The staff is friendly enough. I just come here and get in, get my stuff and get out. I'm not looking for customer service or whatever.

Overpriced!!! Unless you have meal points, avoid this place. I sometimes come here to grab something with a friend who has meal points, or if I'm about to pass out after a work out at the RSF nearby, but otherwise, there's so many better places to spend your money. Take a pack of 2 AA batteries for instance. If I remember correctly, they're priced at $9.99 or something absurd. Find a friend, go to Costco, and buy a bulk pack of 24 batteries for $9.99. The markup is insane. Berkeley is really trying to gouge students.The staff working here are pretty chill about their job. Not very helpful, not very fast checking out, but they get you in an out in decent time.

2.5/5. Bear Market has a decent selection for a college convenience store, but most of the items it sells are extremely marked up. A frozen entrée that might cost $2 at Trader Joe's retails for $8+ here. It's a place that most students avoid, unless if they have spare meal points to spend. That said, Bear Market does have a good selection of natural chips and drinks and it carries mochi ice cream and chocolates, among other things. I often find myself suckered in by the market's unparalleled selection of Naked juices. At $4.50 the bottle, they're not cheap. But the convenience is sure worth it.

A necessary evil.Come here if you have excess meal points to spend or get sick after eating in the dining halls (me, among others). This place would be great if it wasn't extremely expensive.Go for: Candy (normally priced), slushies (normally priced), smoothies (great), coffee (fine), and Cal bakery cookies (a good meal replacement/snack).Avoid: Cereal (like $7 a box), batteries, laundry supplies, and mostly everything else.By the way, watch out - if you're like me and just come downstairs for a carton of ice cream in bare feet, the manager will yell at you in front of the whole store about health violations. I'm pretty sure if she's concerned about bare feet she should be freaking out about the moldy strawberries and under-cooled ice cream sandwiches in the main freezer... ew.

I adore their vast selection of Ben and Jerry's. In general, the selection of food is pretty good. And it's cool how they have a microwave. I haven't set foot in here since I stopped using meal points though. It's a little messed up how the university can force students who live in the dorm to pay too much for their food and use excess meal points to buy food that isn't worth as much because it's extremely overpriced. I don't think the convenience is worth it because here is a Walgreen's nearby.

I don't really buy here anymore since I don't have points (though I do occasionally mooch on those of others.) But if I did still have meal points, many of them would definitely be going here. In the last two years, Bear Market (and Cal Dining overall) has made a pretty extraordinary effort to be sustainable and organic. The product selection (except for the very corporate Coca-Cola drink area) looks like it was pulled from the shelves of Whole Foods. They sell everything from Amy's frozen dinners to Seventh Generation dish soap to fair trade chocolate to fresh fruit to the best yellow corn tortilla rounds ever. They also carry some more Safeway mainstream things, like Pepperidge Farm cookies, Duracell batteries, sour gummy worms, Haagen Dazs ice cream, etc. In a smart nod to the fact that Cal's population is like 45% Asian, they even carry Hi-chews and nori. Their prices are obviously not the best, which is why I'm reluctant to buy anything now that I don't have mealpoints. But I'm honestly quite tempted to, not just because it's convenient but because it really carries some yummy items that aren't so easily found elsewhere. (Minus one star for the aforementioned prices, and because, for god's sake, we're college students and sometimes we just need to eat Cheetos, not Fig Newmans!)

I wish there was one located closer to Units 1 & 2 (no, The Den doesn't count). The fridges remind me of Safeway and Walgreens and Cal Dining has got the feel of a grocery store down. You can load up on unhealthy snacks here ranging from chips, candies, to cookies. There are also Asian fruit gummies, Pocky, Sour Patch, first aid materials, lotion, cereal, instant rice, ramen, soups, pre-packaged rice bowls, salads, sandwiches/paninis, ice cream (Haagen Dazs pints and bars, ice cream sandwiches), yogurt parfaits... The standard Coca Cola Company drinks are in the fridges along with Odwalla, Vitamin Water, Synergy, and plenty more that I haven't tried or heard of.

This place makes me sad. It's basically just stealing from rich parents. They sell cool stuff, but c'mon-- I did a survey of 10 products (including Kleenex, frozen waffles, detergent, Think Thin nutrition bars and Odwalla juice) while my friend was shopping, and it was an average 50-60% markup over Monterey Market/Whole Foods (to say nothing of Safeway, if you shop there). I know it's in the dorms, but college kids are poor. Take the bus to Safeway.

Of course everything is pricey unless u got meal points. I live near it so it us convenient for me to grab a snack after midnight since it opens until 2am

The food is crazily overpriced, don't shop here unless you're using meal points. They don't restock the trail mix bulk station often enough.