Roche Bros. - Downtown Crossing

Basically the location is ideal for commuters and local residents! The food selection is always fresh and properly marked with expiration dates to get the freshest for your family! The atmosphere is inviting and easily accessed!The Service is always helpful and attentive and courteous. Especially if you're in the meat and poultry area cases.The Butchers are ready to answer your concerns or questions about certain cuts of meat and how to prepare it for your family. Just a shout out to Roche Bros to let them know of a Butcher who enjoys his work and helps and interacts with customers!His name is Nino and you can't help but notice his Italian accent! With Associates like him on Staff is a huge asset and builds great trust for this location!There are several other Associates that make your location at Downtown Crossing a positive experience!Whenever in Boston, I will make a point to shop knowing that I will have great experience!

When people say capitalism works I want to take them to Roche Bros. It's the illusion of choice. These places are usually cavernous but by some quirk of reality they have nothing you need. Yes, they have shelves and shelves of overpriced oat milk smoothies, but do they have oat milk? Sometimes? I imaging the person coming up with Roche's stock just going to the supplier website and sorting by price.Their bakery is honestly astonishing. Before Roche, I thought there wasn't a croissant on this earth I couldn't eat. But guess what? If disappointment had a flavor, it would be Roche.I'm extra down on this place because it tends to take the place of actual useful supermarkets. I'm not going to say Star Market is all that, but it has cleaning products, eggs and oat milk. Roche is a specialty store where its specialty is making you sad.But to be fair here - the staff is actually really nice. That star above is for them.

I mean.......what can i say......I was craving some chicken and filled a small container with two scoops of rice, 4 broccoli crowns and 3 drumsticks from the open bar on the first floor..... the price... 11$ and some change...... WHAAAAAAAAAAT?

Another long overdue update. Often I've stopped in during the Pandemic on my runs into the office, and now post-Pandemic, I'm usually in the store before work at 9AM so it is a pretty quiet and they are stocking (to be expected). Staff are usually friendly. They have a very large, alcohol section, coolers with all kinds of micro brew beers, seltzer, etc. All these pretty pink bottles with flowers, I think are champagne or sparking wine which look very festive. To note, there is a section adjacent to the alcohol with party supplies, colorful napkins, paper plates, etc. Pricey though but at least this is a place, and the store is on the high side with prices which is typical in urban super markets, although they have their own in house brand for some items, and also another generic brand Crave, that are a bit lower. To circle back to alcohol, they do card regardless of age refusing an older gentleman who looked like a tourist, who then asked me for directions/after being refused because he did not have ID. In the mornings, they have about 2-3 cashiers but they are usually fast and efficient. There is still a pretty large grab and go selection upstairs--sandwiches, salads, desserts and water, different soda/options, etc. Full service market is downstairs so you take the escalator or elevator. Generally the store is very clean and the escalator usually is working and is not treacherous like the ones in certain MBTA stations.

This place is really over priced! I thought whole foods was expensive, this place is insane. Are the products high quality? Sure. Do I think it is worth what they charge? no. I get that they are in a prime location at Downtown crossing but yikes! unfortunately, they are like the only grocery store around. A bonus is that they are HUGE. It is a bit deceiving since it is all underground but there is a huge selection. I just wish that I didn't have to use my month's pay for 3 days worth of groceries!

This place was a really nice surprise, and basically situated exactly where Filene's Basement used to be. It also slightly reminded me of a gourmet grocery store that used to be just down the street called J bildner& sons. A fancy grocery store with a range of prices, very convenient for people who work or live downtown. Or for those who are in hotels locally. They have all kinds of stuff made in house like salads and sandwiches and that sort of thing, as well as lots of national international and local options. Their shelves were very neat and organized in the place is well-appointed. It's like a cross between a central market and a trader Joe's. I liked it.

Roche Bros is in the spot where the long gone Filene's Basement used to be. Going there for me brought back memories of my mother dragging me along on a Saturday while she pawed through stacks of clothing looking for the right size. As a kid, I was able to tolerate that because she would say that when she was done, we would go to lunch, which for me at the time was the best part of the trip. Ah...but I digress.The first floor of Roche Bros is mainly items like a prepackaged meal for one plus other to-go items. The grocery store was downstairs, in the basement. I give them credit, they do pay homage to Filene's basement with two enlarged of photos of the crowds rummaging around looking for just the right article of clothing.The first time I went there, I just browsed their offerings. I found the store to not be logically arranged. When it was time to leave, getting out, when you're not buying anything, is complicated. I ended up asking a security guard how to get out. He opened a gate near the up escalator and told me he wasn't supposed to do that but would do it this once for me. Lesson learned.The second time I went there, in a fit of nostalgia, I wondered if they had any Hoodsies. Hoodsies, for those who don't know, are small cups of ice cream that's made by Hood, hence the name Hoodsies. I was all excited to see that they did have some, even if it's in the form of a 6 pack of them. That's okay. We had a fridge with a small freezer in our room. Hoodsies once came with small wooden spoons for each cup. That's no longer the case. So...I had to buy plastic spoons. Back to things not being logically arranged---at first I could only buy fancy plastic spoons, which weren't cheap. Then, I browsed some more and came across the cheap ones. I ask rhetorically---why can't they put them all in one spot?Paying for your groceries means getting into one long line. When you get to the head of the line you wait for an automated voice to stay something like "proceed to register number (whatever number)". At each register there isn't much room to place your items to get rung up which slows down the process. All that said, one thing I did like --- while standing in line, there are cold drinks like water, soda and juice. It made it easier to just add them to your shopping cart.I discovered that stores in Boston no longer give out plastic bags, just paper which is fine but each paper bag costs 5 cents. So...when shopping in Boston, be sure to bring along a bag with you.The best part about going? --- The Hoodsies plus the homage to Filene's basement :)

I have always loved Rosche Bros for their prices but the workers are the best part as they are ALWAYS so quick to help. Today Jenn S who is their cheese manager whipped together so many boards and provided the best recommendations for which crackers would pair well with the cheeses. Emily also answered my call immediately, and answered all questions with patience and clarity. These two workers made my day and definitely deserve a raise!

I personally don't like this grocery shopping concept. 1st floor is the deli. To get to the grocery store you gotta take the stairs down. Odd. The prices are way more expensive than Texas prices. $8 for strawberries?! They're like $2 in Texas. I went twice for water-- a 24 pack is almost $6. In Texas you can get them for $2-3. It's crazy. Oh and in Boston they charge 5 cents for each bag. It's free in Texas. The worst is lugging the groceries back upstairs and back to your hotel or car or whatever. Parking is at a premium and not cheap. Overall I'm glad this concept does not exist in Houston.

I made the mistake of returning to this store after having had a checkout clerk not bag several items that I paid for. Today I went in to take advantage of several items that were advertised for this location on my phone app. Several items were out of stock and additionally when I checked out the advertised deli sausages did not show the discount price. I showed the teller and the deli manager the price, within the advertised date, on the app. The manager could only say that he has been selling the items for that price all week. So either he has been selling it for the wrong price or Roche Brothers is unreliable. Also no effort was made to adjust the price. My advice is to avoid this establishment forever.