Fiesta Farms

This place has it ALL From free parking, through awesoke variety of products, to great prices! Check it out for yourself and you'll be impressed of how close to Toronto downtown a store like this can be. You'll love the mushroons variety, produce, international products, non-alcohol beverage section. And all the vegan products too. Don't miss out

I’ve walked by here for years, but it was the first time I’ve ever actually entered into this store. What a lovely surprise. There were so many products here, that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. I understand why this place was hopping! Would definitely come back, especially since there was a gentleman giving away free samples. I love my freebies!

Fiesta Farms is a large store with an impressive variety of products, especially when it comes to produce. I always find what I’m looking for, and their bread is particularly delicious. That said, prices can be on the higher side, so I usually shop here for specific items rather than full grocery runs. One small downside: the cashier didn’t offer to help pack my bags, even though no one was in line behind me. It’s not a big deal, but after getting used to the friendly service at my local Farm Boy, I notice the difference. Overall, it’s a great store with a lot to offer. It is just not always my first stop for everything.

I've thought long and hard about writing this review, as FF has been my local store for the last 20 years. Sure, it's gotten expensive but I've managed to make regular visits for seasonal produce and a few staples. But my last visit was special. I was buying chicken in the butcher section. Asked the butcher if they would slice a few breasts for me for schnitzel (a week earlier, another person behind the counter did it, zero problem). The butcher told me to buy what had already been pre-sliced and pre-packaged – different brand and cost $6 more/lb. They said if they were to "custom-slice" the meat for me they would charge $6 more/lb as well. I tracked down the person who claimed she was the manager and asked her to explain this pricing system further. Her answer: "This is how I price things. It's my personal pricing system." Not sure if I can go along with that, unfortunately. Bye, Fiesta, you used to be good to us.

For years Fiesta Farms has become my go-to grocery store. The 20-minute drive is absolutely worth it! The quality of their produce is exceptional, and the selection of international goods is impressive. From gourmet cheeses to exotic spices, wide variety of exotic mushrooms to a curated selection of European delicacies, they have everything you could possibly need. The staff is always friendly and helpful, making every shopping trip a pleasure. Plus, you never know who you might spot! I've even seen a few celebrity chefs doing their own shopping. While I miss the larger deli meat section, the store continues to offer a fantastic shopping experience. If you're looking for high-quality food and a unique shopping atmosphere, Fiesta Farms is the place to be.

My favorite grocery store anywhere in the world. Amazing selection of great products and produce is always stunning and fresh. If you want to buy more expensive exotic things, Fiesta Farms is fantastic. For basics, their prices are comparable with budget supermarkets, but with incredible quality, especially in produce. It's a one-stop shop where I can get the best of everything--great produce a great prices, and some exotic little extras that make me excited to cook for myself.

Wonderful independent grocer. One of a very few left in this city. Staff are friendly, there are actually real cashiers, can you imagine such a novel concept?! A great deli and cheese counter. There is so much to love about this place.

Arguably one of the best grocery stores in Toronto. Fresh produce, incredible range of products, excellent service and located a short walk from Christie subway. I've not been able to find the quality and types of fruits, vegetables and fish that I've found here any place else. Of course, it can be expensive, so I shop here on occasion.

Love. this. place. How can you tell this store is run by Italians? 1, the produce is the best there is. No crappy beans, no mushy mushrooms, no wilty lettuce, no beat up broccoli or mouldy cauliflower. (It is insane that big chains expect us to pay through the nose for veggies worse and more expensive than sidewalk fruit stands.) Way better choices in apple and peach and pear and orange varieties than elsewhere. 2, the cooked meals portion of the store doesn't take away space from real groceries like in all other chain stores. 3, really big focus on Ontario products. Why go afar when fresh is near? 4, great selection of oils and cookies and deli meats and specialty products like polenta and pancetta and mineral waters. And at Christmas, they bring in special import products - like unique direct from Italy pannetore and torrone! 5, really decent garden centre for such a small space that is open something like April to December. And then there are others things not related to their Italianness, like the crazy selection of yoghurts, Hewitt's dairy products, local frozen asian dumplings, breads from Blackbird and Fred's and Martin's, and non-alcoholic beers. The quality of this store is just through the roof. Now there are a few downsides. Some are weird - like their insistence on practically soaking the veggies. Note to staff - this doesn't keep them fresher than a fine mist would, it just makes them a sloppy mess in your cart, a gloopy mess in your bag, and a hazard to any of the other products you bought that may react negatively to moisture (e.g. onions) or that are made of paper (e.g. anything boxed) as anything you store near gets wet too. Also, the berries just aren't the best. Not sure why. Others are down to store size. It is squishy! There is no room. Leave your kids at home please. The ambience is frantic and the clientele is some of Toronto's worst - enough money to be demanding but not enough to be classy about it. The kind of people that think they are doing the world a solid by shopping here. Limited selection of pantry, boxed goods, meats, toiletries. It is expensive. Sales are limited. Most boxed products, canned goods, chips, pop, granola bars, cereal, cleaning products, toilet paper are better deals elsewhere. (Want carbonated flavoured water? Be prepared to skip a mortgage payment.) But the thing with Fiesta is, it doesn't feel like they are hosing you. It feels like it's just the cost of a small business doing business - unlike when you go to Loblaws and you remember their executive salaries and stock buy backs and corporate profits and you know that when the price of their PC carbonated water has tripled in the last four years that's mostly padding their bottom line.

Was first time there today. Bough sour dough bead - nothing special; a few type of salami - to tinnily sliced and mixed with plastic dividers. Not sure if got more salami or plastic. Taste: bad, like in stores. If you can - find good Hungarian or Polish food store. Prices will be low--to fair and here they are too high. On the other side - the store is huge but not much to write home about!

I have been shopping at Fiesta Farms for years. It is my favourite store as the quality of foods are superior to all other stores I have ever experienced. I know most employees personally, and they go out of their way to help you find a product, answer your questions and help you find the right product. From the managers to the cashiers, and everyone else in between, they are all friendly, receptive to questions and suggestions, and respectful! What I see is that they truly care about what they sell and are very helpful and accommodating with their customers.

Just discovered fiesta farm even though I live 15 mins away. They have a great selection of vegan and health products options. I got a bag of prune plums and soy yogurt. 4 stars because the prices are quite high.

I'm obsessed! It has been a longheld dream of mine to live within walking distance to Fiesta Farms. I'm not quite there yet, but the dream is still very much alive and I make the stopover whenever I can. There's something about Fiesta Farms. It's the wondrous local products and new finds. It's a layout that just makes sense. It's how nice all the customers and staff seem to be. I truly find something great that I've never seen before and have positive interactions each time. Most recently and excitingly, I picked up a pack of frozen spanakopita that are the perfect on the go snack for a savoury girl like me. In the same trip, I picked up a bright yellow bar of Cows Creamery sea-salted butter. Consider this my start in my foray into cool, Canadian butters. This one is from Prince Edward Island and you can just taste the difference in richness. Christie Pitts, you are one lucky lass.

At Fiesta Farms there is a sign on the entrance door stating "No live animals". The CDC, EPA and WHO have warnings on their sites stating the proportion of emerging diseases being zoonotic has increased to 75%. Health and safety faculties at University Of Bari and University of Colorado in Denver have published reports that 50% of the pathogens found in urban environments have shown, through DNA, to come from dog faeces. At the local Farm Boy there is no "No live animals" sign on the entrance. There is a "Service dogs welcome" sign.

I just hate Fiesta Farms even though I shop there often. Why do I shop there? I like the items they carry - specialty international items, good coffee selection, hard to find artisanal food items, nice produce, fresh salmon, almost like a poor man's Whole Foods. Why do I hate it? I have a stroller that has made me realize how completely inaccessible the shop is to anyone in a mobility device/wheelchair. First, just to get into the shop from outdoors, it is completely closed off by metal rails that I can barely can squeeze my tush through. Once inside, you can only exit if you are purchasing something (ie you have to go through a checkout to leave) and only aisle 7 fits my stroller or anything larger. So I'm faced with either lining up in aisle 7 even if I'm not buying anything OR if aisle 7 is closed - they put an upside down shopping cart in it to block it off!! So aggravating and the people working there don't give a care at all!

Fiesta Farms is one of my favourite places in the whole wide world! And that says a lot coming from someone who hates grocery shopping. They have all of your usual grocery staples, with the added bonus of a variety of local delights from farmers across Ontario. I sound like my mother when I say they honestly have the best produce out of any of the competing Sobeys, Metro and Loblaws stores in the area. As a vegetarian, I love that they also have all the "weird vegan things" I like to eat, like chia seeds, hemp hearts, and various tofu products and mock meats. The prices are competitive as well. I usually find it much cheaper than the other shops, though they could do to have some sales every now and again. Plus, whenever I come in it seems like they're always playing the best 80s hits overhead?! If Fiesta Farms is a party, then I want to keep this one raging all night long.

I love this little gem of a grocery store! Fiesta Farms stocks many unique foods products that I hadn't seen before - I had a lot of fun wandering the aisles looking for some grocery treats. They also seem to have a big selection of organic products as well. When I was leaving on my last shopping trip, I was struggling with a giant watermelon (lol no joke) and a kind man working for the store named Vito came over to assist and helped walk me to my car. Too sweet.

Italian, family-owned and operated grocery store that stayed in business after Loblaws moved into the neighbourhood in large part due to a move towards local, organic and alternative foods. It's known for the huge garden centre that occupies the parking lot off Essex St in the summer. The selection at FF is better than the chain grocery stores in the area but expect to pay for it. I get my Wildwood Probotic Soy drink here and it costs me dearly for wanting soy-gurt that doesn't contain milk-derived cultures. The breads and bagels are from local bakeries and are delicious but you have to get there earlier in the day or the baskets will be empty. There's been a selection of yummy but expensive vegan cookies from a bakery in London, ON. My backyard harvest was weak this summer so I started buying romano pole beans at FF until I realized they were something crazy like $16/lb. The building is a terribly unassuming windowless box. It looks like an old Food Basics complete with a sign where they spell out the specials of the week. They have those ugly metal bars jutting out of the sidewalk that keep you from rolling out of there with one of their shopping carts. The result is a sea of shopping carts clogging the entrance way and cars lined up for short cart to car loading distance. People also lock their bikes here which adds to the obstacle course. A Toronto Star article a couple years ago claimed that this is where local celebrity chefs do all their shopping. If you are a foodie or like trying out recipes that call for rare spices and salts beyond the range of 'sea' and 'table', this place is for you. The produce looks amazing on first glance but choose wisely as the turn over is not as high as at other stores so it tends to go bad quickly. You can expect that bag of organic kiwis that was on sale to be rotten within a few days. Check expiry dates before you purchase, sometimes they sell items that are not marked down and past due. Keep an eye out for 'Deals of the Week' in bins like bags of organic sugar 2/$5. Moral: This is no Trader Joe's for atmosphere and turn-over. Load up on mainstays at a chain store and save FF for hard to find produce, specialty and artisanal foods.

Neighbourhood grocery store close to my heart (and home) I have been consistently going here since I was in elementary school. This grocery store is the epitome of a one stop shop. They have all your typical conventional brands from the major CPGs as well as a large selection of organic, natural food items you may find in a Whole Foods. I used to live and breathe their hot food section. One of the few grocery stores in the area where you can buy bulk buns, stock up on olives from the olive bar and snag planters for your front porch. Wouldn't say prices are exorbitant; you are definitely supporting a local business!

I hands down think this could be the best grocery store in Toronto! Being a vegan I'm always looking for new places to buy organic/vegan food and this place is it! I was amazed to see certain brands that I didn't think they carried anywhere in Toronto so I will definitely be coming here over whole foods from now on.

Hidden gem in the city! Really great selection of produce, meats, speciality cheeses and non-dairy products, and Italian products you'd find in Vaughan or in speciality boutiques. Prices are great (more affordable than Metro or Loblaws!) and the quality is fresher than most grocery stores in the city. Free parking!

Normal grocery store but most things are severely overpriced. Would much rather just buy items at the fruit & meet markets on bloor near the subway station.

I'm definitely a fan of coming here. Especially since I sometimes go on a gluten-free diet. Pros: such a nice selection of tasty, gourmet-friendly foods; produce tends to be fresh-o-fresh; prices are reasonable. Look out for any cool savings; special reason to enjoy this place? Their variety in carrying items that come directly from Italy or Europe. Otherwise typically hard to get in your average grocery store, they have many Italian brands of foods, cosmetics, pastas, sauces. really great Organic selection, in particular. Most places don't stock this much! goodness - their garden centre is a dream. They treated the public to a corn maze during the fall, and were offering cocoa during a part of the cold winter season. Not only this, but they offered pumpkins to a neighbouring school so that each class could decorate their own pumpkin for free. Supernice of them. Cons: still feel awkward to return anything. Easier to not return an item and regret purchasing, than returning anything here. You have to go through a couple of people - both the cashier and the store manager (who is called in to authorize the return, after asking you some questions about why you want to make the return). Luckily, I don't normally want to return anything here. I debated whether I'd give 4 or 5 stars, but FF does so many things right - that despite having a con-notch, it is still always a lovely place to shop at!

DAMN, THIS PLACE IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When you walk in you are greeted by a HUGE selection of fresh produce. Sigh, it is heavenly. As soon as I saw the array, I was inspired to make some grilled veggies that day. One of my pet peeves at most grocery stores is the lack of variety in their fruits and veg. Fiesta Farms has raised the bar and I love that they cater to local varieties. This place should teach classes to the supermarket chains. The variety does not end at the fresh produce. You want juice....they have every type, and organic! You want butter, they have every type, and organic - including cinnamon butter! You want milk, they have every type and organic - including THE HOLY HARMONY ORGANIC CHOCOLATE MILK!!! People, if you have not had this, go to Fiesta Farms now (*see business hours first*) and take one container home, light some candles, play some soft music, and I guarantee a heavenly experience. Not only did I do the foodie gasp at the Harmony chocolate milk, but I did the foodie gasp at the meat selection. You like Rowe - got it, you like Beretta - got it. You like sausages - and who doesn't?!?! - they got about 10 different varieties. I swear a spent a good 5 minutes choosing my sausage. Customer service here is fantastic too. Very helpful, and they take your cart back to the store for you. Fiesta accepts debit and credit cards. Their reusable bags are made of burlap.

Though a bit pricy, this is a store with quality goods. There are some things found here that I haven't seen elsewhere. Like for example $9 cola syrup made with cane sugar. I bought it, and it was terrible. But when my wife brought it back, explaining how it tasted off, instead of a refund or even a store credit, we were simply told it seemed fine. I'm cheering for independent businesses. But here's the thing: I can buy something disgusting at Costco or Loblaws or even Walmart, and return it without a receipt or even a question. You, as an independent store owner, need to take the $9 hit and make me feel good about buying the next weird thing in your shelf, and the next, and the next... Otherwise, I leave with a bad taste in my mouth.

Definitely the best full service grocery store in the downtown area. Great selection of organic and local produce. The fresh meat counter has a nice range of selection between bison, PEI grass fed, lamb, sustainable fish and sometimes waygu. Great selection of dry foods, local, specialty, ethnic, vegan and gluten free. I don't get people on here complaining about the staff. I find the staff here to be fine. It's a tough gig working service in a grocery store. Give them a break! geez. The Garden Centre is great too but is is higher priced then other places though the selection here is great.

I love fiesta farms, for a lot of reasons. - Good prices: almost everything is cheaper than loblaws and the other chains - Great selection. They have hard to find items that the chain grocery stores never have. This includes overseas items from ton's of different cultures. - Amazing butcher: ethically raised meat is standard (eg free range chicken), and at the price of commercially farmed meat else where. Their butcher's counter can handle custom orders quickly (15 lbs of cubed pork shoulder? no problem!) - Great garden center in the summer. I can only hope they get a licence to to sell beer and wine! I know their selection would beat any loblaws.

Having moved to TO from Yellowknife, where the grocery pickins' were slim slim slim, Fiesta Farms felt a little like Nirvana. Okay, so most TO grocery stores felt like Nirvana compared to YK, but I'm happy that I live near this place. Walking in for the first time, I knew they were different. It's not the largest, nor the swankest grocery store I've been to, but there are options galore, and the freshness of the produce area impressed me. There's a good number of alternative selections and farms to choose from, and although I'm not a big fan of pricier organic options, there are other choices available if I'm not feeling too snooty. All said, I wonder about the prices, and I imagine I'm subsidizing all these options somehow, somewhere within the cracks of my grocery bill. Coming down from the North, though, where everything is at more of a premium, may leave me blinder than most as far as cost-consciousness goes. But it's great little grocery store, and is usually my first choice between the also nearby Sobey's and Loblaws.

I've come here many times, and just assumed that I was getting a good deal, but never knowing for sure. I know for sure that produce is fresher and cheaper here, but not by how much. As for the other items, I would get berated by my fiancee that I am going to a speciality store and spending too much money. But then I had a lot of time to kill the other day. I came to FF to buy my groceries. I bought mostly produce and sale items. And I left ground beef to buy at Loblaws, as experience taught me that chicken was cheaper elsewhere. Then I took my receipt and went to Loblaws and did a little comparison. The majority of items in FF were cheaper! Case in point: eggplant at $9.95/kg (Loblaws) vs $4.95/kg, natural maple leaf cold cuts at $3.40 vs $6something. Even eggs at a few cents. Whatever it is, I was still willing to pay a premium for only going to one store for my gluten free and natural food items that Loblaws doesn't offer. My only complaint it that the sale yellow labels don't show the original price well, so how much am I really saving? Or I just have to assume it's cheaper. More about the parking: there are some helper boys that will keep your cart watch and help load your groceries during the weekend. Today when I came, you must beware of women on a mission to fill up their carts. They will bull doze you with their shopping cart if you're not careful. Don't really get it.

Fiesta Farms rocks my world. I wasn't going to review it, because - hey, it's a grocery store. Grocery stores just aren't that exciting. Unless you're like me and you LOVE grocery shopping. Fiesta Farms is a foodie paradise. They have such a great selection of organics and imported food items. I can always find lots of new ingredients here. I also love that it's locally owned and operated. The meat section is well stocked with lots of local Ontario meat and plenty of organic/hormone free options if that is your thing. The produce section is also a haven of organic options at reasonable prices. The bakery section is huge and I often go early on Saturday/Sunday and bring bread home for breakfast that's still warm from the oven. My favourite part is that the queues always move so fast, I rarely have to wait to pay. (Not like @$%^@%^% Metro or Loblaws). Across the road is a huge Garden Center, also owned by Fiesta Farms. I've been 5-6 times in the past 3 weeks as I've been busy planting my veggie garden. The garden center is beautiful - huge variety of flowers, plants, herbs and vegetables and all sorts of garden supplies. So glad this place is close to my house.

Fiesta Farms .... 1. manages to be independent in a world that is being conquered by Loblaws and Wal Mart 2. Has a surprisingly great selection of cheese, produce, and ethnic specialty foods. 3. Has decent prices that are often better that major chains. 4. Is an old store, but is well-maintained and clean. 5. Has a private parking lot located adjacent to its garden centre.

Fiesta Farms is my local grocery store and, as a result, I always look forward to my weekly grocery shopping. The first couple times I visited Fiesta I was frustrated that they don't carry some products (e.g. crumpets) that the chain stores carry and that the layout is not very intuitive. However, I'm now used to these things and I actually like that Fiesta's layout is nonstandard - it reminds me that I'm not shopping at a chain. I would say that Fiesta has a well curated selection of products. They don't have the ridiculous variety of brands that a place like Loblaws has. Rather, they pick the best brands and also carry some interesting things that you won't find in Loblaws. Their international section is quite good and, as Val G has noted, they have a focus on organic and alternative foods. You won't find 100 types of granola bars at Fiesta like you could at Loblaws but you just might find 100 types of olive oil. As a vegetarian that likes cooking from scratch I spend the majority of my time in the produce section. Fiesta has great fruits and vegetables and they have a sincere focus on local sourcing. On top of all these tangible characteristics that I love about Fiesta there's also a certain less tangible quality that keeps me coming back. There's something about supporting a local business and seeing the same customers and staff each week that I like. It's sort of a community feeling. Pro Tips: 1. Fiesta has a lot of interesting products and I try to impulse buy something I've never tried before each week. Some things I've discovered this way are: Sunflower Kitchen hummus, Macedonian feta from the deli counter, and Abuelita Mexican hot chocolate. 2. Talk to the manager of the produce department, especially during the growing season. He's extremely knowledgeable about what fruits and vegetables are best that week. I've never gone wrong by listening to his recommendation.

Grocery stores are one of my favourite places on earth. When I travel, I make a point of roaming local grocery stores to get an idea of the local fresh produce and how things vary from country to country. If it's true that you are what you eat, I get closer to the truth of any culture than any other tourist out there. Needless to say, I know a good grocery store when I see one. Fiesta Farms is an excellent grocery store. Not only is their produce wonderful, well priced and varied, but I was flabberghasted to see hen of the Wood mushrooms and black trumpets in March and a whole locked display case of all things truffle. Great selection of game meat. They had portioned rabbit saddle separate from the legs, duck breast, chicken livers, rabbit livers... if I hadn't been shopping for a Mexican dinner, I would have been buying offal galore! The fish is fresh and the selection is good-- everything from pre made salmon and cod cakes, to nice fresh tuna and salmon. In additional to many national brands, Fiesta Farms carries many smaller label foodstuffs in almost every aisle. Now, normally the people at any given grocery store are the worst part and it's difficult to find anyone working there that gives a rat's ass about anything, let alone the customers. One of the produce guys noticed that my purse was open and he came over and reminded me, citing a story of some incidents in Barrie in which women were having things stolen from their purses. I'm careful to make sure I don't leave my cart in places where people are browsing or staff are restocking. One guy, who was stocking veggies thanked me for this. Ladies at the checkout were friendly-- like small town friendly! Now, I come from a small town and I appreciate people who just want to shoot she shit and chat about vegetables or whatever. The people here are excellent, as well. And almost all my veggies and incidentals for my Mexican dinner, plus three bundles of beautiful tulips came to just over $40! I reckon that all that stuff would have set me back double that price at Loblaws. All this, and I haven't even visited the nursery! I might just burst when I come here in the spring!!

Years of bad customer service, and today was the last straw. I just saw the clerk behind the til, watch a mother holding her newborn baby, try and bag her own groceries. I actually stepped in and helped her. They must have an management. Zero Stars.

If you live in the Christie Pits area, there are no shortage of options when it comes to grocery stores. However, since everyone is after the same goal in grocery shopping (lowering the bill) there are some options better than others. I have been a customer of Dominion-er, Metro, Loblaws, Sobey's, etc, etc, etc and have finally found a grocery store that beats these when it comes to prices. Fiesta Farms is this store. It contains all the basic things you'd need from produce to meats, and also has a fantastic international aisle and junk food section. Best of all, I've never had to wait more than a few minutes in a line to pay!

From a food lovers perspective, Fiesta farms is _almost_ perfect. I recently moved to Toronto and one of my first missions was to find a great place to get good food at a good price. Fiesta Farms has an awesome selection of Ontario products from fruits, vegetables, and a solid assortment of raw meat as well. They have specialty shelves from Rowe Farms which is great, but a tad pricey (with due reason, but not something I could afford weekly), and Kerr Farms which is a nice middle-ground for anti-hormone and free range meat while being at a good price level. The store brand meats are at a great price and have so far tasted great. The vegetable and fruit selection is great! Not many stores will you find Garlic Scapes (short season!) and Morel mushrooms .. atleast not where I came from :) Their baking isle is impressive and fresh daily, their international selection is awesome and the fish monger has some great deals as well. The only reason I will not be giving Fiesta Farms 5 stars is because their Deli counter is a bit lacking for me. They have a decent selection of some Italian meats but noting too exciting. Would love to see some more European style deli like Blood Sausage, Patte's, etc. Overall, a wonderful store and it's now my place to go for my weekly shopping needs.

I hadn't been back to Fiesta Farm since the late 90s and boy has it changed! A great grocery store to get cool, specialty products...I went there to get Specialty Butter and was not disappointed...My best pick was the Stirling Churn 84 Organic, one of the best butters I've ever had! I also bought the the Fresh Wagyu beef burgers from the meat counter and can I say, one of the best burgers I've had in a while! Definitely recommend this place, a foodies dream!

A great grocery store with friendly staff and a wide variety of items that you don't in most grocery stores. A good selection of vegetation items as well.

This place is like the no frills of whole foods. I have been going to fiesta farms for years and always find it to be an extremely satisfying journey. I love grocery shopping and I love a good deal, so when I can get organic, local produce, dalry and meats at the same price as conventional I go bonkers. Just bonkers. The garden centre is insane in the spring and summer, the selection is without compare in downtown toronto and the deals in the fall are fantastic.

A true fiesta of produce, organics and lovely local snacks. And this isn't some tiny health food store, it's a full-on, grab your cart and get lost grocery store. I've always been aware of Fiesta Farms, but I'm a lady without a vehicle, and my bike wagon can only fit so much. So I even though Fiesta Farms is just a couple of blocks away, I lean towards Sobey's for big shops because it's a wee bit closer. But this summer I found my Fiesta Farms niche: flowers (have you seeeeen their garden centre? Hold onto your floppy hat!), and chow pick-up en route to picnics: organic somosas, pasta salads, pre-made sandwiches and of course pounds of precious produce. PEPPER'S PISSED: It is, however, pricier than Sobey's for similar healthy treats.

Best selection of organic meats & produce and unique hard-to-find grocer items that I've found in Toronto!

What's this? An independent grocery store in Toronto that isn't tiny or focused exclusively on specialty foods? Well needless to say upon learning about this I couldn't help but head out and see what was in store (pun intended). I will say that this place is great for fruit and vegetables, baked goods, meat, and basically anything fresh that expires. We got some great cuts of meat, cheeses, and vegetables at average to good prices. Take note that for all the standard boxed/canned goods or household supplies you'll probably be further ahead going to a standard grocery store unless you are willing to spend more. But the fact that they do offer familiar brands as well as organic alternatives and unique products you won't find in your average Loblaws/No Frills/etc, I deem this place 4 star worthy!

Vast selection of local and organic produce, some meat, and plenty of specialty products that you generally only find in smaller health food stores. Prices are UNBEATABLE for the quality and selection. They also have a large nursery in the parking lot. Conveniently located with parking for bicycles and they have regular grocery store hours. Support the small guys!

After reading reviews on Yelp, I went to Fiesta Farms for organic produce, and I must admit, I was really impressed! There were items here that Whole Foods did not have - like organic celery. Evidently Monday is a busy day, so the parking lot was full, which was a hassle, so next time I will go on another day of the week, but I was told by the cashier, never on the weekend, its supposed to be a zoo on the weekend! Like Arnold said in The Terminator, "I'll be back...."

Fiesta Farms is an awesome grocery store. I love it for the interesting local food stuffs you can get there that you can't find at a lot of other grocery stores. The local produce and meat alone makes this place great. I also love all the limited release chocolates and treats that you can't find anywhere else. Mmmm, spicy chili dark chocolate bars. I haven't found the prices very different from other grocery stores. Of course there are some pricy things but that is only because they are good quality.

My favourite grocery shopping in the city. Not the cheapest of anything, but great selection, generally friendly employees, convenient, and love to support local. The cheese and fish selections are fantastic, and I LOVE the garden centre.

Things have changed! Used to be a spot for beautifully displayed fresh produce. Obviously that produce manager has moved on. Things look like Walmart produce. Purchased some sliced prosciutto as a treat, but when I got it home it was dry ad chewy, nota treat at all, but after reading other reviews, no point in returning it for a refund!. Luckily Vito was no where to ne seen, hate it when he literally begs for presents.

Since moving to the Christie Pits area I have done my grocery shopping almost exclusively at Fiesta Farms. They have an excellent selection of produce and grocery, with almost everything in both organic and non-organic varieties. I haven't seen many mentions of the best part of this store, which is the meat section. You can get 'free-run' chicken breast and thighs cheaper than anywhere else. I'm always a thrifty grocery shopper (read: cheap), but I'm not even sure if they have non free-run chicken anywhere because the price is so good I haven't bothered to look. You do pay a little more for certain things at this store, but it is usually for a higher quality product. Canned/packaged grocery items can go either way, but are usually on par with normal loblaws/metro prices, though you don't get the same kind of 'big sales' here. The layout and organization of the store takes a bit of getting used to as well, and so the first few times it can be tough to find what your looking for... but in a way I kind of like that it's not formulaic like every other giant chain store. Support local!

So. I am giving this place a lower rate because of the people who work here. Not the selection or produce/products. In fact I ADORE this store, they have such a large selection or natural, gluten free, vegetarian, organic items. I haven't been to a better organic grocery store in the city. (Namely the Big Carrot). I literally go to this store twice a week. There a few tricks that you can learn about this location too that could save you some money. Specifically they have a discount rack in between the ice cream section and soda section. Usually there are a few good finds. For example there was maybe 15 boxes of kids gluten free cereal. The downside is definitely the staff. I have had experiences with a good number of them that have left a bad taste. The checkers can be impatient and judgmental. Take for example if your card doesn't work the first time, they are not understanding but annoyed that you are wasting their time. I've had this happen with two separate cashiers. (Sarah was one of them). Also the older staff/cashiers seem to greet people with anger and annoyance rather than cheer. The other distasteful experience was I heard one of the (I assume "senior") staff members getting angry at/belittling an employee in the middle of the store (for shelving things incorrectly? ?) But again it was the same attitude of judgment. He told didn't just correct the employee, he said "why don't you take the afternoon off" as discipline? First of all, if a suspension is issued this should not be done in front of customers. Then the "senior employee" continued to ask questions designed to confuse the employee. The whole thing seemed in poor manner. So go for the items not the staff!

The pros: -Fiesta Farms carries a lot of organic produce, unusual produce, organic meats and fish, European and other international foods, and artisanal foods--more than most other stores. -They have a very good garden centre operating across the street from spring through fall. The cons: -Prices can be high; be careful. -The staff bulldoze around very very fast in narrow aisles with enormous stock carts. Watch out: they won't stop for you, and if they bash into your shins or run over your foot because you couldn't get out of the way fast enough or because they came barreling up behind you and you didn't see them, they won't apologize, and you could be seriously injured. -The lines can be really long. Bring something to read or listen to on your phone. -Bring your own bags. The thin green ones they offer will break when loaded with very little weight, and the cashier will overload them, virtually guaranteeing a bag-breaking disaster as you struggle to get your groceries past the sea of metal barriers and shopping carts outside. You can also buy heavyweight lined burlap bags from them.

Like an affordable version of Whole Foods. Full of surprises... like Italian treats from my family's hometown in Italy... or extraordinarily tasty, surprisingly affordable cuts of family farmed, hormone free or grass fed meat that you never see in the chain stores like Loblaws or Metro. Don't get me wrong, Loblaws has its strengths too, but these days I would always try Fiesta first. Might have given 4 stars, not every item of produce is perfect, had some weird non-ripening bananas earlier this month, but am giving the extra star because of the massive improvement in service. Someone's evidently been training the cashiers... back in the day there were some grumpy ones, just doing their minimum wage, minimum effort, but this last year or so, they have transformed: I mostly go in the evenings and weekends, and they are friendly, polite, bright eyed and surprisingly knowledgeable - they seem to be able to memorize the number codes for all sorts of odd vegetables, Jamie Oliver would be impressed! The two store managers are interesting, both look Italian, straight from central casting, yet they are complete opposites, I think they are both called Joe, just to add to the stereotype, and they are consistently welcoming and super helpful. Happy to support this enterprising local business over a big box store any day of the week!

Great selection of organic and free range products... prices are not too bad!!! I compared the meat prices with a few of the "organic and free range butchers" ... the prices here are a few dollars cheaper :) Deli meat and cheese selection is great!! Breads are okay and the pizza dough is fantastic. It's not the place to shop if you need condiments - the bigger chains are better priced but for fresh local food - this is the place to go!!

Amazing selection of produce, ranging from anywhere to locally grown to organic. Fruits and vegetables are always stacked neatly. They offer a wide variety of fresh meats. The organically raised beef and chicken to appeal to health junkies like me. The cheese department is bound to satisfy any cheese lover. You get great service and great products for a price that's usually cheaper than Loblaw's. They also have kombucha here for $3.99/bottle. They used to have organic Italian honey here, but they don't stock any of that yummy goodness there anymore. This store puts Loblaw's and Sobeys to shame.

I wasn't blown away by this place. Maybe I should try it again. The reviews below saw something I didn't. I will try it again next time I'm in the neighbourhood.

Love this place! Helps that it's close, but then so are Loblaws and Sobeys, which are so typical of big box stores and so unlike Fiesta: family-owned, serious emphasis on organics, veg options, fair trade, etc. without the marketing gloss. I hope this place remains open forever! (Oh, and a couple of the cashiers are super nice and make you feel like a neighbour...)

About 15 years ago, this place was the local Portugese grocery store, with the odd shelf of Jello thrown in. Nowadays, it really caters to it's changing clientele. Gorgeous produce (not cheap though), an entire refrigerated section devoted to mushrooms alone (must read up on what's what in the world of fungi..), excellent game selection, inexpensive sliced meats (cheaper than Metro, Loblaws or any other grocery store - including No Frills) and inexpensive meat section. You can find things like goat's milk here, Organic cereals etc. A good place if you only want one stop shopping (and can afford it).

Where else can you find a wide selection of organic, esoteric, 'ethnic' and delicious food at a great price? (this is a rhetorical question, but the answer is no where:D)