The Annex

Abysmal service at the bakery today. I placed our order after waiting a long time even though there were no other customers. She took out a piece of cake and put it on the counter. Then she asked if I wanted anything else. I repeated the order for two other items and told her that we were going to eat there because the cake was in a plastic container instead of in a plate. Then she said ok to the additional orders and just walked away. I asked her if she had gotten my order. She said yes but continued to help someone else instead at the register. Another lady saw that we weren't being helped and said she'd take our order. Again, we waited several minutes for her to actually take our order. She was also putting things in a plastic container so I said that we were eating there. She still put our food in plastic containers. At the checkout, I asked for plates and a tray. She took a long time to move our food to plates. It took close to 10-15 min to place our order and get the baked goods even though there was no one else waiting to place an order.My pecan chocolate cheese cake was delicious which is why I'm giving them a 2 star instead of 1 for the horrible service.

I absolutely adored their selection of bulk items and natural health/beauty section. Found a few items here that I wasn't expecting to find in person anywhere! The one thing that I wasn't able to find was white vinegar for cleaning unfortunately, but that can be found at most other large grocers so not a big deal. The staff and atmosphere were also very friendly :)

Good vegetarian options in a cheerful atmosphere. Healthy options abounded too. Prices were reasonable.

Apparently there's a lot of "health food" stores around here but there really isn't. This is nothing like what I'm used to. It looked like something like Whole Foods from the outside but inside is not it. Sometimes they have a random loud ass band in there. For the boomers! LolI also thought it was a specialty store but no. I went in there hopefully to get a good dessert but they didn't look good or fresh. But apparently they have good vegan options which is good. Maybe it's a timing thing as well. They had a lot of wine/presecco options but not a lot of pastries or cake. Well when I went there wasn't any I wanted to buy.

The grocery store is pretty good for "natural" foods, but the "Annex" is a bad joke. Their food and drink was over priced, not good, and the woman taking my order had to ask 4 times and point, because her accent was so thick i couldn't understand what she was saying. I blame the manager, as you don't put someone who can barely speak English as a order taking cashier, this is like hiring a doctor to be your mechanic, stupid. Also, these prices and they don't even give you WIFI in the Annex, WTF?

This company has done a lot of good for healthy food awareness and ecology awareness far beyond its local customer base. 5 stars for that. Combining the Annex ratings with the store is problematic. Convenience, recyclable containers, interesting prepared foods, no complaints. Prices are what you'd expect in this sphere. Topic: Groceries and produce. We've never had fruit rot more quickly than it has from this store. And the Acme baguette was stale on day of purchase and hard as a rock the next day. Canned goods, packaged goods, no complaints. Butcher guys are very helpful and proteins are very high quality. Check the dates on dairy. Cashiers and staff overall are communicative and excellent. Eat the produce same day as purchase 'cause they are not spending money on keeping those fruits, herbs, salad greens etc. cool anywhere in that building. Berries? Forget about it. Eat them on your bicycle on your way home.

This is specifically about the roasted chickens at the Food Annex. I like the Food Annex, but their roasted chickens, while seasoned nicely, never seem cooked enough. I like my meat falling off the bone. I get roasted chickens from a lot of different markets and farmers markets, and the meat is always falling off the bone from all the other places. But at El Cerrito Natural Food Annex the thighs and legs are harder to pull of the bone, and always slightly pink at the base. The breast meat seems okay. But overall the meat is a little bit chewy, which tells me they need to cook their chickens longer. Why prepare them "just done"? Is it a trend? But the worst was the last chicken I got. It was an extra large one, so the "just cooked" method did not turn out well on the larger chicken. It was more pink at the base of the thigh with pink juice running out. Not OKAY! I had to put it in the oven and cook it for 30 minutes.

It's ironic, but I love their simple sandwich; it's perfect. I also enjoyed their fried rice. Their lemon dessert is fantastic. I can't remember the exact type, but if I see it on the menu, I'll order it. Regarding customer service, I found the girls more approachable than the guys. It's okay, but it does make me question their overall customer service. Even though I don't live in the Bay Area, the ambiance looks nice. I've eaten both inside and outside. The only downside is that I wish they delivered to my job so I wouldn't have to drive or take an Uber and better chips . Not a big deal! Ha ha.

The counters are rarely wiped down anymore, always residue of the last persons meal or perhaps last few peoples. The front of the house is so lax with hygiene that it makes you wonder how is the kitchen etc. The staffers individuals that are nice people but is very insular not looking around at the environment. Not their fault rather its the management or lack thereof. This is a problem when you have homeless people that are allowed to use the buffet consistently

‍Last minute nite family request for butter mochi and NO vanilla extract. I ran to the store and the cashier directed me. This was first time in the store as I usually go to the Berkeley BowlI'll try again to see but the assistance in mt "emergency " gives this rating