Food Basics Food Stores

Went in here multiple times. Poor service.
The fridge the milk is kept in is barely below room temprature.
So I get to the counter, put my basket on the counter, so I can get the water that is at the exit, to make it faster for everyone including those in the queue right? She can check out what’s currently in the basket while I take 10 seconds to get a bottle water. Nope. Instead, this girl with dead eyes, checks out the next person behind me. I come back, she tells me I can’t put my basket on the counter, even though everything I had was completely easy to grab and I had a mere 10 items, so seriously? She tells me how the belt can’t move. Seriously? I have 10 items, they would’ve taken more space without the basket, it would’ve made no difference.
Anyways, this place has a parking lot which is completely useless considering you still have to carry everything you have because they don’t let you take the carts there. There’s a blockage of carts in front so inconveniently you have to move them all if before you can exit because of this poor layout.
Good thing is this is Toronto and there’s stores all over that have great deals and appreciate courtesy for queues.
She also put the wrong code for the water in and refused to change it. Okay, she REFUSED. Like what the hell.

If you are going to compare Food Basics with Loblaws you may want to consider not stepping in this store.
However, if you are ok with the almost fresh produce, bargain prices for most items and courteous staff, this is your store.
Situated between tons of apartments, make sure you are there either early morning or late at night otherwise you may want to upgrade your phone’s data package … You’ll need the 5 gigs while waiting in the line!

In a word, SCARY. I have bought groceries here once, and in all honestly that was one time too many.
Yes, prices are low. Standards of cleanliness and quality are even lower.
The quality of produce here is dismal. Everything looks like it is about to spoil, or in many cases of already has.
The aisles here are narrow and dark, only made worse by the crowd of shopping carts and shoppers you’ll find on a weekend.
There is also a bizarre flea market outside on the weekends with what may very well be stolen merchandise. This on its own makes for a very unsettling experience (and perhaps a bit of entertainment)
You are FAR better off walking a few feet to the small, independent and CHEAP vegetable mart down the street that offers quality produce at unbeatable prices.
For a full grocery store, comparable prices and a far superior experience can be had at either Freshco or No Frills; both 10 minutes or less away.

Not sure how else to put it: this store straight up sucks. The produce is always terrible, especially on weekends after the decent produce is gone. Stuff that is on sale sells out really quickly. Lines are always crazy, no matter if you go on a week night or the weekend. The store is always messy. I hated shopping there, even though it was closer to me than the No Frills that was on Sherbourne. Thankfully, that No Frills closed and relocated on Bloor in a way nicer space. No need to drag myself to Food Basics anymore! So long!

Never enough cashiers… even at rush hour. Every time I end up here I think…“How did I forget how bad it is?”

I was thinking of giving it a 2 star but the only convenience I get with this store is that it’s under 2 minutes away from my studio.
Pros:
–Cheap prices
Cons:
–Dirty.
–Unorganized. Hard to walk around in there with boxes in the way and narrow isles.
–Homeless people around who pick fights or are a general disturbance.
–Pigeons in the store sometimes and always right outside the doors.
–Not enough cashiers working so lines are long.
–Selection is poor and generic, stuff is on sale because it’s about to go bad.
–Employees audibly complain, I don’t blame them but most don’t do their job properly.
–Atmosphere is awful, just sad people and sad employees.
²⁄₁₀ avoid if you can.

It’s never pleasurable to shop at this store There’s never enough cashiers to serve you so there’s always crazy lineups and then getting to the cashiers there either rude or unfriendly or really really really slow– they just don’t give a damn and they show it-​I had one cashier throw my food down the conveyor belt as I was checking out-​I asked her if she wouldn’t mind not throwing my food as she scanned it and then she proceeded to look at me roll her eyes and suck her teeth.
I ended up leaving my food and walking out. I called the manager the next day and he didn’t seem to care and never apologized on her behalf and I swore I’d never go back. It’s been 2 years now.
It just seems really dirty and rundown. It’s too bad because now I have to make an extra trip down the street to FreshCo which I find clean and the service is great with lots of cashiers and great service.

I love the prices here. Not the cleanest nor the most organized. Not in the greatest area either. Hoodlums in the area will harass your bike if you lock it here.

This place is an odd mess of grocery store. The location is smaller than the other food basics I have been to and the setup is quite cluttered.
I guess their selling point is the low prices but they can surely improve the cluttered look. On the plus size the they do take Amex so there you go that’s the reason I came here and the item I was looking for was in stock. I would recommend the Freshco nearby as its a lot bigger and cleaner.

This Food Basics is one of the least pleasurable grocery shopping experiences that I’ve ever had.
First of all, the store has a very dirty feel to it. The floors don’t seem regularly cleaned, surfaces are a bit sticky, it just doesn’t feel like it’s had a proper cleaning in years. Second, the place is often just packed and overwhelmed with customers… checking out can take a really long time. Nothing about this place makes you think, «Ah, I like shopping here.»
My biggest complaint though is that the produce is pretty generic and the prices are almost identical to Loblaws, Metro, etc. This area is basically a food desert since the closure of No Frills, so they can charge whatever they like. The quality of produce and meats is low here.
Instead, I recommend making the trek to Loblaws for a nicer shopping experience, taking the free shuttle to Freshco, or for fruits and vegetables using the Sunny Green market almost right next… their prices are way cheaper and the quality is way higher.
Overall, this supermarket is a giant miss.

The saying «you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover,» is something we have heard many times during our lifetimes, but when it comes to this supermarket located in St. James Town, it takes a new direction. After the recent closure of Rob’s No Frills on Sherbourne Street in July 2013, I was left looking for a supermarket close to home that offer both convenience and competitive prices. I had known about the Food Basics store for some time already, however, since it was located in St. James Town, I was really weary of entering it and encountering all sorts of unusual characters that reside in that neighborhood. Having no choice, one Sunday afternoon I took a walk to the store to experience it firsthand. When I entered the store, I was pleasantly surprised how clean and orderly it was, and the décor was by far more eye-​catching than the décor at the former No Frills. Prices were exactly the same I was paying at No Frills and although this store has rather small frozen foods section, the fact it’s within walking distance from my home actually validated it’s purpose and new found importance for those who were left searching for a new supermarket after No Frill’s closure. Until Freshco opens up in the former No Frills location, Food Basics (a subsidiary of Metro Supermakets) will do when it comes to my shopping needs.

I never thought I’d find a big, chain grocery store in Toronto where I feel even cheaper in than at NoFrills, but then came Food Basics.
The lines on a weekend are madness, therefore avoid them, but it’s even cheaper than NoFrills!
One does not feel particularly clean or nice in it, but that goes without saying, and frankly, I feel the same at NoFrills, so…
And I love the area, it’s my old hood, and you are always bound to see some… interesting…folks millin’ around. So it’s good for the entertainment value, as well!

Between Food Basics and the two No Frills stores close by I guarantee you won’t find groceries in the city for cheaper.
I really wouldn’t recommend the produce, but anything canned, boxed or frozen is a steal.
I never thought I’d say this about a grocery store, but oddly the music they play in store is quite good. 0_​o

Prices are probably the cheapest around — no matter what I looked at, everything seemed to be at least 50C cheaper than at e.g. Metro or Loblaws. Also, the store is of a very decent size (I’d say about 50% bigger than the Metro at Yonge & College) and therefore the selection is not too bad either.
But the prices of course results in various shortcomings…
I wanted to buy plain yogurt and looking at the dairy shelf, there was fruit yogurt to my left, milk to my right — in the middle… a huuuge hole with absolutely nothing. I’m talking multiple feet huge. Of course that was where the plain yogurt was supposed to be.
Onwards to the Häagen Dazs (which is currently on sale) — just around five pints left, all of them coated with lots of ice and I’m already thinking «Damn, this doesn’t look good». But I had a craving as huge as that hole mentioned above and figured I’d see whether it feels odd when I squeeze it. Well… it did… it was more like Häagen Dazs milk than anything else.
I also looked for a certain product from their recent flyer. Didn’t find it though and asked one of the staff — the guy wasn’t even looking at me: «Should be in isle 5 on your left». It wasn’t.
Produce of course often looks sketchy — who would’ve thought.
So I grab what I find and actually looks and feels like it’s supposed to (or at least almost — wasn’t sure about that lettuce…) and go to the checkout… never before have I witness cashiers this slow. Five customers waiting at each checkout didn’t make them want to chat less and concentrate on their work more at all.
Conclusion: Unbeatable prices but you might have to put up with a couple of things should you decide that’s worth it. And I’m guessing this is a store where you might wanna check the expiry date on every single product.