Market Organics

I really loved this place. My Air BnB host told me about it and this became my go-​to store to pick up snacks and food and coffee. They had a very wide variety of foods, fresh made and packaged, some produce and a ton of other organic more local products. I especially loved the Maple flavored cotton candy, I had to go back for one more.
The staff was pretty helpful and nice. Their coffee was pretty decent for a morning coffee. Once time i forgot my card their post payment and went back to pick it up an hour later and they had it safely waiting for me. I loved this store. If you are in the hood and into organic, more original brands and foods, i would definitely check this place out.

Try the coffee… it’s amazing! This is your run of the mill organic store, located slightly off the beaten path. They have quite a few options in terms of groceries but also in to go food. I have only enjoyed the coffee from here and it was really really nice.

I work nearby and I have been visiting this store nearly every day over the past two years. There is not many vegan or veterinarian options at the market and I used to love Market Organics. However, I have noticed a lot of changes over the past year — in the staff and the menu — and unfortunately not for the best. First of all, they really narrowed down their vegan and vegetarian options (and added meat options), it is basically the same vegan items every day. Secondly, the quality of food has dropped significantly. What used to be light, fresh and delicious now has tons of salt and sugar, is often not fresh, over or under-​cooked. Their veggie pâté sandwiches used to be amazing, now they are dry and overly salty. It is salt especially that they have been overusing a lot, it gets so bad you can’t taste the actual food and feel like drinking a gallon of water after eating. Similar problem applies to their baked goods — sugar. I understand most of their bakery is vegan, but every good vegan baker knows — doubling the amount of sugar is not a good way to boost the taste. In addition, the bakery is often not very fresh. I got a lemon-​something pound cake from the Market Organics today and couldn’t even stick a fork in it, it was so stale. It was also a little bit burned on the bottom. Honestly, I used to love everything about this store, and now I think twice before getting my lunch there. The quality just doesn’t keep up with the prices anymore. I think the management should really think about making some changes otherwise they will loose most of the customers who still remember what that store used to be.

Nice little store with a decent selection of vegetarian and gluten free items. They also have a large selection of personal care and household products as well as supplements. I stop by from time to time to find some hard to find items, but I find their gf items are priced high. So I won’t be making this place my main grocery store any time soon. Also their household products and personal care items seem good as they are natural, but when reading the label there doesn’t seem to be anything natural about the products. This leads me to believe that they simply buy stuff because it says natural, even though this is misleading.

I’ve been to Market Organics a lot & I will be back. They have a very large select of a variety of things. Everything that a «regular» grocery store would have but organic/​healthier. They have a lot of gluten free options, vegan options, nut free. Great to get those items that are harder to find in other stores. They also have a pretty large bulk sections, natural beauty/​bath products, cleaning supplies & even a togo section!
The reason I personally like the store is the togo sections they have dishes I wouldn’t normally make at home that are gluten free/​vegan. With the lack of restaurants serving dishes I can eat with my diet on those days I just don’t feel like cooking I’ll come in & get something. I adore the faux macaroni salad, it’s a much try! I also enjoy the bulk section. It is very pricey but for those days I was just a little special treat I’ll pick something up. I will be back to grab some natural soap as well. I’m looking forward to really exploring there natural bath/​beauty sections I already have a bunch of products I want to try.
The reasons I don’t love the store is mostly just the price of everything. I find pretty much everything very expensive. I have been to oodles of health food stores in lots of cities so I am very accustom to the prices of healthy eating. Yes, you’re always going to pay more because it’s organic but I still find the prices very high. I am wondering though if the prices are higher because the cliental isn’t that large in Ottawa so the store might have to have higher prices to stay in business. Just a thought though, I have no idea if that’s the case.
The service has always been friendly to me (some more then others) & knowledgeable on the products. I always think that’s important in a heath food store. If the prices were lower I would give this place 4.5 stars. I personally will be coming back & I recommend you check this place out if you’re in the area. It’s a really neat store with oodles of cool things just be a smart shopper with the prices of everything being so high.

I happened to be downtown on some other business so I stopped by Market Organics today for a look. I was impressed by the size and selection of this large U shaped store. You enter at one end of the U and exit at the other which is smart because you have to see the whole store! They have a complete range of all the things you might expect at a natural food store. Teas, coffees, produce, supplements, a little bit of wellness pet food, and organic meat and dairy. I bought some Himalayan natural unrefined salt ($ 8.99), some non dairy spread, and organic currants ($ 4). I found the produce section to be fairly priced given the downtown location, and I’m sure you would find whatever supplements you were looking for. They also had a very diverse selection of teas and coffees with a coffee grinder to make fresh if you like. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the questions I asked. At the checkout a young man ahead of me looked like he was doing all his grocery shopping there. I made that comment to him and he said he indeed does all his shopping there, and that I should try out the great food from the kitchen. The girl at the checkout later told me sometimes he spends 300 – 400 in the store. So it does have some loyal fans which speaks highly of the store.

This is the biggest independent organic grocery store I’ve ever seen. Very impressed with the variety!

This store (conveniently located on York Street in the Byward Market) is a great place to go for some hard to find items.
A bit more than half of the store is groceries — all organic and/​or natural. Some of the hard to find items we’ve managed to find here and no where else: Rice Bran Oil and Chipotle Chilli Sauce. (I’m not saying they are impossible to find elsewhere, only that I have not been able to find in any of the big chains, or any of the other specialty stores I’ve gone to.) They have a great choice of bulk goods too — think gluten free flour, specialty flours, pastas, spices etc. It’s kinda fun looking at everything.
The rest of the store is devoted to ‘other stuff’ related to organic and natural goods — like cosmetics, soaps and supplements.
One thing I tend to buy here — goat milk soap — they have bars for under $ 3 (at time of this review). Look for the unwrapped soaps… this is a good price for natural hand made soap. (Generally I see pricing in the $ 5 — $ 7 range, and sometimes up to $ 12 a bar — crazy!)
In the supplements — prices are competitive or better than a notable competitor in Rideau Centre for what I’ve comparison shopped on.
Another reviewer mentioned the prices were high, but didn’t mention specifics about what and compared to where. I’m not personally seeing that as the case when you compare the same product and maker between brick and mortar stores — though I’ve not done exhaustive research — just enough to satisfy myself that I’m paying a fair price when I buy here. Organic and natural goods are more expensive because of (a) organic certification fees and (b) lower crop/​animal yields since they stay away from GMOs and don’t use growth hormones etc., on their animals. I accept that pricing.
If you want exhaustive selection beyond organic/​natural — head to a big box store.
Would I recommend: Yes
Would I return: Yes

Prices are a bit too high, perhaps it is because of the location. Great variety, clean store, helpful employees…

I was looking for a Whole Foods in Ottawa but I couldn’t find one. My friend told me to check out Market Organics that I lived by but didn’t know about. It’s located in an older building but I heard it was recently renovated.
The store is a decent size but items seem really spread out and there isn’t a large selection of groceries. There is however a lot of vitamins, spices and health and beauty products as well as cleaning supplies. It’s not a bad store but is really lacking on items in the food section. It’s a pretty small selection but maybe it’s because it’s winter? I also didn’t find the produce the freshest.

Market Organics was recently renovated and now it is a vast organic/​heath store.
No matter what you are looking for, you can find it here! I went in to check out their organic/​green/​natural cleaning supplies, obviously safer than all the chemical-​laden sprays that we normally use!
Market Organics also has beauty products and lovely soaps.
But food is the main reason that most people visit! There is a salad section for those who just drop in to grab lunch. Organic meat is a available, as well as all the veggies that you may be looking for. My favorite area is the bulk area (similar to bulk barn), where you scoop the quantities that you need of pastas, flours, nuts, grains, seeds, etc.
Staff are very knowledgeable and helpful. The location is ideal in the market and their are several parking lots around the side of the store.