Fresh & Wild

curlynewf

Not exactly highway robbery... 25th October 2008

1 found this helpful

I don't dispute that on the whole F&W is expensive, but some of their items are either on par, or under, Sainsbury's prices around the corner (e.g. yogurt, cheese, coffee, wine etc.) Their produce, however, is way too steep. I live in Camden and while don't recommend a full shopping order here (it does rack up), it's good for more obscure items like molasses or wheat bran - things you might assume would be somewhere inside the gargantuan Sainsbury's nearby, but aren't - or takeaway lunches from the deli counter or special treats like homemade chocolate. Customer service is a bit more personal too - the bulletin board where you can make requests or post complaints is a great idea, and the staff is pretty well informed and attentive.

Of course, I wish they'd lower their prices too, but I'll still make an effort to support them when I can. It is a good service they're offering and a nice break from the regular supermarket grind on occasion or when the farmers market isn't an option.

Mez

Fresh and Wildly Extortionate 25th April 2008

1 found this helpful

Tasty and healthy food but ridiculously priced. I know so many people who come back shocked from their first (and last) shopping experience and literaly feel robbed.

For that I've had to ditch it as a good place to get lunch and slap it down to 2 stars.

LOWER YOUR PRICES!!!!

foxie

25th February 2007

1 found this helpful

A bit on the expensive side, but has a huge variety of all things natural and healthy from food to personal hygene.

nootopian

This place should be called... 25th October 2006

0 found this helpful

Fresh and Wildly Expensive

sokratis

Tell yourself a great story 12th October 2006

2 found this helpful

Been reading a book lately about how we buy things and visit shops not because of what we need, but because of what we want and the story we tell ourselves when making a choice.
Fresh & Wild encapsulates this concept perfectly. I tell myself that I will feel better and live 5 minutes longer, by buying a wheatgrass juice at £3.50; that the Spirulina cake will give me a few extra IQ points after lunch and make my hangover go away; I can feel my intestinal walls glowing sparkling clean after I eat that German rye bread. All this might be partially true, but there is one clever guy in an office working out his/her dividend from all the profit the stores are making – well done to them I say, excellent idea, greatly executed.

The shop does provide a very nice selection of fruit, organic meat and veg produce, very nice freshly cooked food (good lunch option if you're working around Camden) and also serves some very nice cakes and coffee. I never had anything from there that didn't live up to the high quality standards, even taking away any placebo effects. They also always have little tables with tasters from various products, which is nice.

The staff can be a bit smug though. ‘You should wash all your vegetables anyway' is not the answer I'm looking for when I ask ‘Is this salad pre-washed?. A simple yes, no or I don't know will do very nicely thank you – I do wash my salads anyway before eating them and I'm just about to pay a tenner when I just came in for a sandwich, so please save me the health lecture as I'm not in the mood (I'm not always that grumpy I promise).

Mez at 18/10/06

liar! you never washed your salads! or if you do now, then it's definitely something I'm proud to have taught you :)

sokratis at 18/10/06

what? I have seen salad grow and know what it's sprayed with (aaahhh the days in the farm) so I aways wash it. Never learned that from you ;-)

Buraco at 24/10/06

you don't win friends with salad. everyone knows that. washed or unwashed.

Add Comment