Central Market

I visited Central Market recently and was genuinely impressed. Everything felt incredibly fresh and well-organized, which made shopping there such a pleasant experience. They carry a lot of premium products that you don’t usually find at a regular H-E-B, which I really appreciated. I loved the freshly baked sourdough they were making right on the spot, and the wine selection was surprisingly diverse. The cheese section was also amazing—tons of variety, and one of the friendly staff members even offered us a tasting when we couldn’t decide. Thanks to that, we found a really delicious cheese to bring home. Overall, it was such a fun and satisfying visit. I’ll definitely be going back!

Food is great if you want something nice and light. They experiment with alot of flavors so it's always neat to try their seasonal foods. They also have a nice seating area outside which is perfect during live performances.

Definitely what representative of what you'd expect from a fancy grocery store. A plethora of select organic and fresh foods, all for more expensive prices, but works for me when I need to go to a grocery store in the area. All the produce is organized very well, and there's a wide range of fruits and vegetables you might not find at other stores. However, I was hoping to get some Chinese eggplant and was disappointed there was only regular and baby eggplants. I do find the Gelato there very delicious though! I like to get a pint for $7.

Central Market is one of the best grocery stores in Austin. It is a higher end division of H-E-B that specializes in produce, and hard to find foods. Their produce section is fantastic, and the sheer array of different types of apples, citrus, fruits, vegetables, and even mushrooms that you’ll never find any place else is very impressive. They’ve got a smoothie stand, and have fresh gelato as well as coffee and tea. Their cheese selection is amazing and so is there meat and seafood. Their deli has a lot of excellent fresh selections, and a salad bar, which is just so so. They also have pre-prepared meals in the refrigerator near the salad bar, which are complete with entrées and sides and are really good. They have several different types of fresh ground Nut butters in the bulk section. Inside the restaurant, grocery store is a restaurant that has excellent meals, and occasionally has live music. Central Market specializes in interesting foods that are difficult to find so if you were looking for something that you can’t find elsewhere, Central Market is a good start. And their floral department Has an impressive array of different types of flowers.

Bravo to CM North Lamar catering! They did an office lunch for us today, Eric was wonderful to work with, so helpful and the food is super fresh & delish. Highest recommendation! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely love CM! We've been coming here for 25+ years and adore the store. I saw this Zum goat there the other day and was reminded how CM is The Goat of grocery stores + so much more. Their meat dept. is next level (love the prime steaks & preseason wings for grilling) always great service there also - recently an especially nice staff member, I believe his name was Ben? Last night we went to see Hot Club of Cow Town on the cafe patio and it was so much fun! It felt like a true community event, made us love our neighborhood, neighbors & Austin so much. Very friendly staff person at the coffee/ gelato bar last night named Gabriel & super helpful young lady in the self check-out area as well. Also just remembered the flower dept! We got all of the beautiful flowers for our office Holiday party there and the lady who helped me then (curly red hair) was wonderful as well. Highest recommendation - love y'all.

Every single mango I purchased from here today was bad. Very disappointing, especially after seeing such high reviews. Didn’t find out until I got home 30 minutes away.

First time shopper here and I must say it was an amazing experience! So many unique items to try that I can’t wait to come back and try them all. This location gets packed so I would recommend getting there pretty early to avoid crowds. There are so many items to highlight but what stands out the most for me is the customer service. The staff here is amazing and was very attentive to all of my needs. From the store manager to the ladies in the bakery section being very helpful,this location is top notch! Curbside app available Curbside pickup Amazing bakery section! The sour cream pound cake and peach cake is scrumptious! Soup bar Nice cheese section Clean restrooms Fantastic selection of fresh coffees Large wine section ( non alcoholic)

Central Market is way out of my way, but I like to come here just for their produce. And walk around and see what else I find. Everyone is always super nice, friendly, and helpful. I like going up and down all the isles and read labels. And find something new to try.

Great for lunch and work. Freshly prepared lunch at the Central Market Cafe made for a nice spot to get on a Zoom call. My new favorite office on the road spot. Eat, work and be merry!!!

My band was hired to play there in mid-August for a 2.5 hr show and have yet to get paid. This is the 2nd time we've had issues getting paid by HEB/Central Market. Normally, a band is paid at the end of a gig, but we agreed to allow them to send us a deposit the day after the show. Apparently they've moved their corporate offices recently to Dallas from San Antonio and the office staff who are supposed to handle the issue keep giving us the run around - we've submitted the same paperwork to them now 7 times and they're still asking for it. We submitted it via email as well as through their portal, and have made several phone calls to a very nasty staff who speak to us like we're idiots. Although, dealing with the local staff at our prior gig wasn't really any better. Since we've played for HEB in the past and they already had our information, we didn't think we'd have issues again, but were informed AFTER THE FACT that they kick you out of their system now after 90 days of inactivity (this is where treating musicians like a food vendor is just plain stupid). We were actually asked by a non-profit to play for their event that night (not our first time playing for them) and Central Market was in charge of paying us. Sadly, we probably won't help out the non-profit if they do their event at Central Market again unless they agree to pay us and have Central Market reimburse them. Pretty crappy way to do business in the "music capital of the world".

This grocery store has some really nifty niche items. The bakery looks so good! We went here to look for a specific high-end chocolate bar and after some searching found it ($10/each). They support local and you can find some great local foods here, albeit at a high price.

Love the location on North Lamar. Partners always friendly even if they are busy! Love the produce department especially the hydroponic strawberries!! They are always a must when I shop there. They are pricey but so worth it!!

Central Market is an exceptional grocery store experience. Not only can you find every food item of your dream, you also can sample almost anything from their meat and cheese deli areas. I was so impressed by the set up of their produce section and how thoughtfully everything was placed throughout the store. Considering the quality, things were reasonably priced and it made me consider moving to Austin! I overindulged in their pecans and smoked chipotle turkey meat. I wish I had brought a checked in luggage because they had an impressive selection of chocolate nut spreads. To end my grocery trip, I got 2 scoops of their delicious gelato- perfect way to end your Central Market excursion!

I got a shrimp wrap! It seemed to be part of the tropical themed event, so I don't think that this is a regular entree offered at the cafe. The filling was surprisingly spicy! I had to add mayo to cut through some of the spice. I tasted the shrimp and black beans, but nothing really beyond that. The wrap looked pretty and had a lot of potential, but I don't really know what the flavors were. The sweet potato fries were really good. This store always has live music events. There is plenty of outside seating as well as on the second floor of the store. I like how there are trees that provide shading and a park right next to the live music area.

Central Market really takes grocery stores to the next level. You get farmers market level quality of food and they have just about everything you would want in a grocery store. It is on the more expensive side of things so I wouldn't do my grocery shopping here every week. A wide selection on just about any item you are looking for and you can tell the quality is world class.

Best grocery store in Austin great selection and awesome scenery outside , always fun to grab lunch here on a day with nice weather !

Central Market is one of my favorite spots for a food adventure! I recently received an email offer for $10 off a purchase of $50 or more, so I decided to stop by after an appointment in the neighborhood. I appreciate the various types of fruits & veggies available, I especially like the many different varieties of apples, pears, and oranges they offer. I also discovered a wide selection of olive varieties. I couldn't resist picking up some grass-fed steaks on sale and trying their salmon patty, which turned out to be a stellar find. When I visited in the mid-afternoon, it was a bit busy, and parking was a bit more challenging than usual. However, the checkout process was quick and friendly. The staff were incredibly helpful and even pointed me to specific items I was looking for.

I went to the Central Market cooking school for a cooking class. The class started at 6:30pm and check in started at around 6:05pm. I arrived right around 6:25pm. I was seared at a table of four. We all had name tags which took the initial awkwardness of meeting new people away. Executive chef Sid welcomed us, explained what we were cooking, some history about the chef author and the food we were cooking for the class. We were instructed to wash our hands and wear our aprons. We were served a white wine while waiting for everyone to settle in. We started with the dessert portion of the cooking because that had the longest cooking time. We then cooked the appetizer portion of our class, and sat down to eat while the cooking school staff cleaned up the kitchen. I love cooking but hate washing dishes so this was an awesome part of the class. We then washed our hands and learned how to make the other two dishes. We then plated and ate our creations. We were served a red wine with our meal. I recommend this for a date night or a special friends' night out. The wine pours were nice and heavy. Parking was very friendly. Who doesn't love cooking adventures without the cleaning part? I do! And I bet you do too! I recommend 5/5

This review is just for the gelato counter at the coffee shop! I would definitely recommend the strawberry which tasted very fresh and had lots of bits of strawberry in it. It was a good portion for $3.50 for the small cup, plus they overfilled it!

Central Market is just a ridiculously awesome grocery store that just turns the dial up to 11. You don't need to be a foodie to appreciate this store, but it helps. CM is an old Austin gem, and every visit is more like a fun culinary adventure than a normal trip to the grocery. The stuff that is awesome: the insane produce, meat/fish butcher alley, great beer and wine selection, the cheese, the bakery, the deli and house made gourmet products, the sandwiches, the desserts, the restaurant. CM also features an insane, family friendly patio and outdoor play area. My son is a teenager now, and he spent countless days raising heck on the playground as a little guy. Bottom line, this place is an absolute institution and a gem. Don't let the crowded parking or the crowds scare you off. This place is legit.

I really enjoyed shopping at Central Market while I was visiting Austin. It was massive and had tons of speciality and non-specialty items and foods. I also really enjoyed seeing local offerings interwoven on the shelves and showcased. I purchased a variety of items, ranging from produce, to locally roasted coffee, to bakery, and everything was super impressive and of high quality. The bakery items were unbeatable, especially for the price. Central Market is definitely a must next time I'm in Texas.

We recently stopped by Central Market (N Lamar) with out-of-town guests to pick up a few things. And, we wanted to show our guests around the store. We live farther away from CM than in times past, so it's not often that we're in that part of town. CM market is an amazing place full of just about anything you could want. Almost every section of the store is over-flowing with the "the best of" whatever you're looking for... produce, meats, seafood, beer, wine, gelato, bakery, soup and salad bar, etc. You name it. We didn't have time to sit down at the CM cafe, but this is a place to get consistently good grub. Recommend CM, even if you're not going to shop for groceries, it's a cool place just to wander around!

One of my favorite grocery stores in America! I love their premade bakeries and gelato section. The tiramisu and blackberry gelato are amazing. Produce is wonderfully diverse and fresh - the mushrooms, apples, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. I have never seen so many kinds before and all so fresh. I appreciate that they only sell good quality produce because with HEB sometimes you have overripe avocadoes or old apples. Throughout June, there is live music from 5:30-8pm and huge patio seating with a nearby playground for kids. Lovely area and supermarket.

Came for the kick off of citrus season. There were many amazing citrus products all orotund the store along with samples and deals. What more can you ask for everything was amazing and we got a $5 coupon.

Good food, place to meet friends. My one pet peeve is the idiots that are allowed to pick up the tip jar of the band and go around putting everyone on the spot to donate, they have to answer to her. Who thinks that's a good idea? I wanted to bring my tip up to the band at the end to meet them. Please don't allow this. My experience with people I know who are like this is they are the first to crash a party and not bring anything.

How have I never reviewed Central Market? It's consistently been my favorite place for a casual treat since I've moved to Austin. Sometimes that will be salad from the salad bar, or their hot soups. Sometimes I'll go bigger and order an entrée from the café. Sometimes that will be a specialty deli item. Their cheese selection is impressive! Also good for specialty snacks, condiments, meat, and produce. Their bakery is one of the best in town. Whenever we don't know where to go for lunch after church, we go to Central Market. Whenever my parents are visiting, they ask to go to Central Market for a picnic dinner at the park next door. However, we don't do our regular grocery shopping for staples here, and jokingly call it "Central Markup."

You can be assured that Central Market has everything you need when entertaining and cooking a great meal. Unfortunately for me the locations are both on Lamar north and south. Wish there was one near north Austin around Round Rock/Hutto area. The meat market staff are so accommodating and nice. Love the selection of all types of products that you cannot find anywhere else. The produce has never disappointed, and the meats are amazing AND the cheese selection are awesome. The bakery and olive bar are nothing to sneeze at either. Really love this market. Hatch Fest is coming in August, and I cannot wait!

Good Luck getting paid if your a band and perform at Central Market in Austin Texas

Produce section at entrance is sure to impress all . For foodies looking for hard-to-find ingredients, exotic selections, and constantly changing products, Central Market in Austin is a must-visit grocery store. This epicurean emporium has an awesome bulk section with just about any dry good you can think of. Olive oils, specialty sauces, ingredients for cooking just about any international cuisine. The produce section truly can't be beat - the freshest, ripe fruits and veggies that are constantly being restocked. The bakery and ready-to-go sections offer an array of freshly prepared foods perfect for a quick meal or snack on the go. Central Market prides itself on offering foodies products from around the world that you won't find anywhere else. I'm always discovering something new and exotic to try in the aisles. However, don't get too attached to products you love here. I've had many favorites get discontinued abruptly. The ever-changing selection keeps things interesting but can also be frustrating when a beloved item suddenly vanishes. While not every department is perfect, the store overall caters to food-lovers seeking quality ingredients and unique products. The fish section always has the freshest catch. The butcher offers custom cuts of meat. The cheese selection has selections from all over the world with staff to help you find what you need. And the wine and beer aisle will satisfy any connoisseur. With helpful, knowledgeable staff ready to answer questions and make recommendations, Central Market elevates grocery shopping in Austin. Foodies rejoice - this store was made for you! Just be prepared to say goodbye to treasured products now and then. But the consistently perfect produce and the thrill of finding new foodie favorites to fall in love with is what brings me back to Central Market.

Amazing amount of beautiful food. The vegetables are pristine and large and abundant. Meat and fish departments are excellent.

I have to admit that since COVID is over, things are better at the flag ship HEB Central Market store. Just picked up some amazing boneless ribeyes and they are fantastic. Took just 10 minutes to cook.

Visited the cafe in central market for the Nowruz Persian inspired special. Ordered the sabzi polo ba mahi from their cafe special menu and while it was a good portion, it was very under seasoned. The cheeseburger off of their regular menu is good. They also have a few different unsweetened iced teas to choose from, I liked the ginger peach iced tea.

Central Market is one of those groceries stores where I don't go to that often, but I always enjoy myself when I do. For me, I was completely satisfied just with the desserts and gelato alone since I have a huge sweet tooth. However, I love the amount of varieties in this store when it comes to breads, pastries, beverages, alcohol, produce, and several others. I know Central Market can be a little bit on the pricier side, but it really is worth it and the quality is well deserved for the asking prices

Second Central Market I been at today! Lots of foods to offer!! Excellent service from their partners (workers) Love the ambiance Central Market it is part of HEB!!

CM is my happy place I'm a regular shopper of the central market down south but found myself up north this week and decided to stop. I'm truly always impressed and was especially impressed with this store. Soo beautifully decorated for the holiday. All the shelves were neat and plentiful. I even complimented one of the managers I saw walking around and told him the store looked great :) thank you CM for going above and beyond to make grocery shopping so fun!!

I came for the cake! My friend has purchased some amazing and delicious cakes here so I came here for a tres leches cake. Be sure to call in advance as they do get busy with orders and you want to be sure they have your cake there when you need it! The ordering process was smooth and easy. I arrived and was able to get my cake. I just wanted a tres leches cake with the fruit on top (how they have it on display). I thought the cake was delicious and honestly I am not big fan of tres leches since it's spongy. So that should tell you this cake was good. Fruits on top were fresh and good. Yum! The cakes in the display looked amazing! I wanted all of them to try.

The crème de la crème of groceries minus their minimal vegan and gluten-free options. Yes, they have some of the essentials, but if they upped their game in these categories, they would squash competition. What I would love to see: more items by Simple Mills, Banza, Schar, Kinnickinnick, Three Wishes, The Humble Seed Co,, Johnny Pops, Harvest Snaps, Hippeas, Siete, and Miyoko's.

Well this review is a tad delayed, say.... 1.5 years in the making, whoops! Basically in a nutshell you can describe this market as a mini whole foods but with better stuff! SO. MUCH. VARIETY. OF. ALL. THE. THINGS! From all the seasonings to all the different wines and rice, name it, they have it! Parking was plentiful when we went the last time. Snacks? yes!! whatever you're craving they have it for you!

Food in cafe is hit or miss. My favorite are pizzas here: Margherita and mushroom artichoke ones. The best part is playground. While kids are playing parents can enjoy some coffee and food. Gelato is delicious here. Plus you can shop here before heading home.

Love to shop here...huge variety of produce, baked goods, meats...pre prepared food as well as fresh coffees and sorbets by the cafe. Live music is available weekend evenings. Very family friendly and somewhat dog friendly!

I love the variety of bulk items, especially the coffees from around the world - delicious!

Sooo many posh products, but not a Diet Coke in sight! A little too fancy for me. I had a $60 per diem to spend while working in Austin, and it didn't go far here. Salad bar was fairly good, but pales in comparison to Whole Foods. Parking lot was nearly impossible to safely navigate, but found a spot.

we have been shopping at CM since they opened in Houston. since the pandemic I have been using the curbside pick up. everything is usually done very well except the seafood department. on many occasions I have received fish that I am sure they would not offer to an in store shopper. I bought swordfish yesterday and it was poorly butchered and not what one would expect from CM. almost makes want to stop at an HEB or Whole Foods instead of driving by them

I have no nostalgia when it comes to CM. All I can do is compare it to higher tier grocery spots like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. For me, this place is hard to grade. It definitely has more items, selections, and categories than Trader Joe's but TJ while smaller has items that completely blow away CM and WF. WF and CM are similar in size but I prefer nearly everything more from WF than CM. The cheeses, sweet bakery and especially the hot foods items, I like better at WF. I do like CM fruits section more and they have some great breads. I also like shopping at WF more. I don't know, the setup for CM is highly irregular, narrow and difficult to navigate. I find the employees happier and more helpful at WF as well. For my kiddo, the playground is extremely dirty with used utensils and cups laying all around. It's quite disgusting. I have heard there's live music and all that but never experienced it for myself.

Mmm food is so delicious and wide variety of many foods I would recommend dons kitchen the sweet and spicy chicken is soo good!

Steven in the meat section always steers me right. Knowledgeable, friendly, and always great to my son. I love the cheese section. The mongers are knowledgeable and always know how to pair a great cheese with a nice bottle of wine or a meal. These people are serious about their food. Going to Central Market is a real treat as it feels like you're on an amusement park ride (my kid rides in the car trolly). First we hit up the fruit and vegetables (check out the pepper section), then you get to the meat and fish which is always fresh and we say hi to Steven. Then the wine, the dairy, the bread and dessert station which is really dangerous, then the deli counter, ice cream and coffee, and then we head to the interior of the store for all things international, boxed, fizzy, or cheese. While it's not the cheapest, it's also not the most expensive, but it's worth every penny when the produce is fresh. i think the real star is the meat and fish and the wine and cheese. Whatever, it's all good.

The cafe offers better fare than you expect from a grocery store.

I was excited to see that they had a Banh Mi on the menu so I ordered the chicken. I found the bread was just a bit dry and making it difficult to bite and chew. The abundance of filling on such a small baguette caused an avalanche of veggies spilling onto the table floor and me. I'm all for having a nice serving of ingredients but not at the expense of needing a Tide stick afterwards.

This Central Market had very unhelpful staff. Their 'Customer Service' attendant Allie? with long brown hair, Caucasian, 30's, claimed that they didn't have a phone charger and was very disrespectful of persons in need of assistance. The baristas also were out of Oatmilk and when I requested water, and was clearly in need of water, they gave me a plastic cup that was empty and did not help me. There was a person that did stand up, Kathleen, that understood the severity of dehydration I was experiencing that was able to find water and give some to me. She is the only reason this review has any stars. Please instruct the rest of your staff to at least be respectful to people, regardless of gender, color, age, or whatever their supposed excuse for discriminating against me or anyone else. Disgusting. Ugh.

I ordered the cornbread dressing and turkey gravy for curbside pickup for Thanksgiving 2023. 2 hrs before my pickup time, I got a text saying an item wasn't available. Turns out it was the cornbread stuffing. I didn't think too much of it, so I got to the store early to get some kind of dressing. I then went to the curbside and got my order, which did have the dressing after all. Not a problem, we love dressing! At least we used to....I heated the cornbread dressing up just as the instructions on the container say. 30 min later, I learned they're woefully innaccurate. Now to serve, it was crumbly as chalk, didn't have much flavor, and was dry as chalk. After some gravy, it turned into a large flavorless corn meal. No one liked it, and they certainly didn't finish it. I threw it in the barbage! It's worse than any generic bagged brand anyone could find.

Great place for families. On the weekends they have live music outside and there is a jungle gym for the kiddos. You can simply walk in buy what you want to eat and drink and then sit at a Punic table and just enjoy the day.

I love central market! It's always an next level foodie experience and never disappoints. The meat market, produce and seafood are top notch! The deli and bakery hit it out of the park. All around customer service is amazing. I would say more outdoors events would be fun Beyond this no complaints.

I love Central Market! Everything's great until I purchased teh Collagen Peptides. Wow, the plastic container is a tall but the ingredients filled less than half of this plastic container. It's wasteful space. :(. Try to order the actual container that fits ingredients inside as being filled.

I have had nothing but wonderful experiences at Central Market. They have tons of local products and everything is so tasty! The also have live music which me and my pup loved. We will be coming back very soon!

Love their meat, bakery and variety of goods. Personnel are so helpful and friendly. Cafe has very delicious salmon salad and good seating.

Best cranberry muffins in town! Desserts are appropriately sweet or tart. Cheesecake has a delightful texture. Both the berry and tres leches parfaits are always fresh--and sell out quickly, so get there before noon! The large cream puffs are bigger than your fist, with fluffy cream and a light puff shell. For breakfast, I highly recommend the challah French toast. The berries are always fresh, the bread has a lovely vanilla taste, and it will be cooked perfectly.