Whole Foods Market

At the food bar and in the prepared foods dept, December 13, 2015:
very good:
bean and Chorizo dish
corn succotash
seafood gumbo
sweet potato patties
carrot, lentil, pumpkins seed, couscous dish
tomato bisque
good:
gen. Tzo’s vegan chicken
minestrone
barley mushroom soup after I added salt
chick pea, black bean, kidney bean dish
chicken tortilla soup
matzoh balls
wings: teriyaki, BBQ, buffalo
spinach, artichoke, tomato dish
okay:
low mien
couscous veggie dish
yellow rice and black bean dish
not worthwhile:
(Moroccan?) lentil soup
vegan chicken liver
beef chili
saffron rice
wheat-​berry dish
I look forward to going back, but only after they post ingredients and nutrition facts on their website.

Most of the employees I’ve come across have been quite helpful and friendly. I make sure I fill out the comment cards at customer service for the truly exceptional ones who go out of their way to make my shopping experience happier.

So sad because we go to whole foods often but 2 days ago, I bought some fresh tilapia with a pistachio crust & the1st bite, there was a good size piece of glass. I thought it was a part of my tooth or a rock but once I looked at it, it was a sharp thick piece of glass. So bummed & disappointed. I’m lucky my 2 year old daughter was sleeping & I didn’t give it to her. I called right away & spoke to 2 different people since no manager was available & still didn’t get a call back till I called in a 3^rd time today looking for a manager! The other issue is that they carry «organic» baby & toddler food products made in China & in Thailand! When I asked someone at checkout she looked at me like who cares! I do when I’m spending $ 4-​$ 5 a box for 4 organic crackers!

This place is always friendly — I can’t help but come out with a smile, no matter what kind of day I’ve had. It’s not the biggest store, and the selection doesn’t have everything I’d like, but it’s just such a pleasure to shop here that it doesn’t really matter. They have what I need and the layout makes it easy to find it all.

The staffs were very kind and I was greeted by most staffs when I walked by them.
Also, the vegetables and fruits seemed to be more fresh than other whole foods stores.

This store is a little bit small, but very pleasant to walk through. I like to come here at lunch to either pick up random assortments for lunch, or visit the hot bar. The hot bar can get expensive very quickly because it’s by weight, so be careful of that.
There is seating inside, as well as around the corner from the building adjacent to CVS. It’s nice to have outdoor seating, even if there isn’t a view of anything besides traffic on Sunset Hills.
It’s pretty neat that they have electric car charging spots outside, too.

What I like about my local Whole Foods: friendly and helpful staff. The salad and other healthy cold bar offerings are usually good. What I don’t like: the hot bar. Unimaginative and often unappetizing dishes. Instead of consistently Indian selections why not rotate ethnic selections? A Greek day with baked chicken and orzo pasta would be welcomed as would Asian selections other than the one deep fried one sometimes offered. The prepared food case also usually features «the usual suspects» — meatloaf, lasagna, boneless chicken, etc. why not London Broil? Jambalaya? Chicken pot pie? Stuffed peppers? I visited the Whole Foods in Short Pump, VA and was wowed — size of store, selections offered.

This review is not for the grocery service area or items. This is for the hot food section, wine bar and seafood bar. The bottomline is that if they need more eating space within the grocery area. Why? Because the Ramen place does not allow you to take their bowls beyond the check out counter. And, plastic + hot soup = toxin. Therefore, I chose to wait for available table. Uhhh… so, you guessed it right! I had ramen noodle. Had to see if it is at par with NY ramen and YES!!! It was worth it…
Next, seafood bar. Fresh oysters and seafood cioppino. WOW!!! Freshness galore! Pair it with a portugese wine ($ 5.00 per glass). Happy hour price? Not sure… Anyway, everything was great!
Wine bar at the second level. Great selection of wine that you can try 1 oz for dessert wine, 2 oz, 4oz or 6 oz pouring. Purchase a card and you’re free to self-​serve. :-)
There’s a staff willing to help you. He was so attentive and pleasant! I wish all WF had this wine bar. One blogger said this place is still too small co

Living next to the Whole Foods at Fair Lakes… there’s no comparison. Of course no grocery store is better than that one. This location is much smaller, it feels like this whole store is as big as the wine section at Fair Lakes. Ha! Exaggerating just a bit! This one gets the job done, has all the veggies, fruits and snacks I usually get and the buffet/​prepared/​bakery food section has a good selection. I come during my lunch break since my building is next door, so even though I’m not in the parking lot mess, I’m still in the mess with all the other people weaving in and out getting lunch. The salad bar is always fresh and stocked. The soup area is my other favorite place, has all types of soups! Bakery… don’t get me started on that. The cannolis are my favorite! But I have to say the hot food area is a hit or miss. Mostly a miss, you have to take a chance. I would stick to the salad bar and not waste time on the hot food.
Somehow, they manage to check out people quickly, which is great. It’s never too long where I’m getting annoyed or thinking I hate this place. Employees are super friendly, anytime someone has walked by me they always say hi and if I need help. It’s organized and clean. Don’t get me started on prices because you should already know how much you’ll end up spending here for a couple of items. Well worth it though!

People are nice and helpful. They have good sales. The buffet is a little over priced. Always get the small box and only fill it half way to pay 8 $. I think they should subtract the weight of the box. Anyhow, the food is good.

I love whole foods but this one is so disappointing. It always so cramped and just not a pleasant shopping experience. The one in Fair Lakes is so much better in every way. If you’re in Reston and need groceries just go to Trader Joe’s!

This Whole Foods never seems to be fully stocked up on products compared to other WFM in the area. Staff isnt as friendly either.

Special news bulletin: Whole Foods now has 2 electric car chargers in their parking lot close to the entrance. They also created a handy cart drop off shelter outside. Still, the parking lot here is extremely busy. Go slowly to avoid near misses if drivers fail to yield or don’t see your car backing out of a space.
The layout inside the store is simple with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood section and butcher shop just beyond the entrance with the natural supplements, breads and snacks on the far side of the building. Because this store is relatively compact navigating the aisles requires your full attention. If you’re a new customer know that lunchtime and dinner hour are always busy for anyone wanting to pick up prepared meals, salads or a pizza.
For the most part my bags get carefully packed by people i think are the nicest cashiers in the neighborhood. They usually have someone outside who is available to help you carry groceries to your car.

Small and cramped… No where near the one in fair lakes… Not a bad place, but i’ll usually pick wegmans or fair lakes whole foods over this.

Hubby and I were coming back from Leesburg what foodies do — follow food! We needed to pick-​up some groceries for the upcoming week – checked google to see the closest WFM and bam – the net sent us here. I’m familiar with the area… quaint location. Nestled between other restaurants. The staff were pleasant and I would frequent again if I’m in the area. Fruits and veggie were fresh! #winning

It had been several years since I had visited this location. This was one of the earlier WF stores in the area. The store must have been remodeled at some time; it was larger and had a different layout than I remember. The store is still smaller than the newer stores. There’s a good size area to obtain ready to eat food. There’re areas for pizza and sandwiches and a salad and hot bar. I suspect they do a good business during the week with all of the nearby office buildings. They were very busy on the Saturday afternoon when I was there.

Very nice but small grocery store with great fresh produce.
Bakery is exceptional and groceries are always fresh.
Friendly staff.

The store itself is too small if I want to compare it to the one in Fair Lakes, for example. And it has no café (or anything like that) attached to it either which would be a plus.
Just because I am used to the one there and love how big and spacious it is, I take one star off.
Otherwise it’s all good and since I live in this area now, I will go there again.
It’s clean, organized and has good products.
Whole Food has of course its prices, but I feel that I get what I pay for and am not being «tricked» into something. They feel sincere and caring to me.
The service has definitely a much higher standart than stores like Walmart or Giant.

Needs improvement… Definitely not as efficient as the other Whole Foods.
Perhaps because it’s smaller than most, I found it difficult to navigate the checkoutlines, particularly the Express lines. The Express lines are poorly placed (2 rows of 3 registers such that you can’t really see which one is free), and they don’t have light indication for availability. Nor do they call out «next»…
Also not efficient in providing numbers for services when there’s a crowd. For instance, while the staff are still nice, there was a lot of confusion with which customers were being helped in the bakery section… About 6 different parties in line waiting to be helped.
RE: bakery product freshness and quality. I was a bit disappointed with the cake. It was super sweet, possibly because of the top frosting, which was sugary and hard. The cake seemed less moist than usual. I was also disappointed that the «Happy Birthday» message was written on a big, thick cookie and was written in a yellow color that was almost the same color as the cookie. It was massive and didn’t stand on the cake. I usually go to the Vienna Whole Foods (which is excellent), and they write messages on a thin, flat circular piece of chocolate.
Also, parking stinks here. Just not enough spots for the amount of stores and traffic.

Whole Foods is a favorite store to browse and pick up wholesome foods and delicious treats, and the Reston store, while well-​stocked, is far more cramped and chaotic than its sister store in Fair Lakes. Fewer options for carry-​out and prepared foods — no bbq, small cheese counter and bakery, far fewer bulk foods. My take: pop in for lunch or a few items, but drive a few miles to do your main WF shopping at the flagship store. Parking here is, in a word, awful. It shares a mid-​size lot with about 20 other stores and restaurants, so don’t go at lunchtime or be prepared to troll for a spot if you do.