Top Banana

This is the place to go for the best and freshest produce, fruit, vegetables you can buy. Better than Safeway or Fred Meyer, Albertson's. Prices about the same or slightly higher, but worth it. Huge variety. Jimmy has been here over thirty years now and takes great pride in his products. It's covered and cool inside during the summer, the same as any other season. He's open year round now, eight to eight. Convenient. And right next to Jumpin' Jimmy's Java a few feet away. Absolutely recommended. Please see my photos.

I come here quite often to buy veggies and fruits. The staff is always super nice, welcoming, and helpful. The food is really high quality and very affordable. The fruits are very juicy, flavorful, and smell amazing. The only downside is that they don’t sell water or meat, which I think are pretty essential products for any store. But aside from that, it’s a great place to buy fresh fruits and veggies! Highly recommend.

Top Banana is a GREAT local spot for Xmas trees! Extremely friendly staff with all the patience and advice you could want. It's a pretty small lot, but they pack it with great fresh and healthy trees and are constantly bringing more in. Many (but not all) are organic naturally raised local trees that make you feel good for getting one. They're a little spendy ($15/ft) but we think it's well worth it for supporting a good small company. They're happy to cut a fresh slice off the bottom of the trunk, wrap it up in twine, and tie it to your roof at no additional cost. We ALWAYS come here for our trees and love them.

Best produce and Christmas trees in town! I used to work for Top Banana long before the Time Bandit and Jimmy is very particular about displaying only the finest product. Full service Christmas tree season too and I will be there for a couple days.

Seattle foodies are in love with Fresh. Seattleites in general love to support small local business as well. Which is why I love Top Banana Produce Company across from Ballard High School in Ballard, WA. It's low tech - with plenty of fresh and delicious, locally harvested from Washington farmers and family-owned and operated. Think of a roadside fruit and veggie stand in eastern Washington without the drive. In addition to produce they have snacks, nuts, a few grocery items and they work regular cash registers - not POS systems. They are ebullient and friendly and unfailingly welcoming. Try something unique like the blood oranges and papayas. I peach cobbler all Summer long and now we're into root veggies, squash and pumpkins. They also have a funky coffee drive-thru in the parking lot and Christmas Trees will be coming soon. Get back to home-style produce served with kindness and a keen eye to organic quality and freshness. If Google Reviews at bananas instead of stars, Top Banana Produce would rate 5 BIG BANANAS!

I really love this produce stand. They always have super fresh stuff that looks so much better than grocery store produce. Look at the color of the tomatoes! All the basics plus some asian veggies and over 20 different types of apples. The prices are totally reasonable. I always stop by when I'm in the area.

A great variety of produce and other great products. No organic produce, though. Friendly neighborhood spot. They have been generous with donations to local entities.

Just moved to Ballard. I am thrilled to find this produce market within a few blocks. Everything looked so fresh and high quality. I am now eagerly deciding what manner of tasty soup I can whip up with such gorgeous parsnips.

Such a cute little grocery store in the Ballard area. Love the local feel and they have great prices on produce including bananas. We try to stop by every time we're around this block because it's just a fun experience to shop there. Great service that seems to employ some local kids, and there's a decently sized parking lot if you are driving here. The only downside is a credit card charge for any purchases under $10

I love this place for local produce that's fresh and well priced. Everything from bok choy to rainier cherries. Also not busy either which makes it easier to walk around and browse the selection

Super expensive. Skip and just go to grocery store. 9 bucks for tiny bag pf potatoes. Owner friendly Clean Limited choice Just burn your paycheck at the door Very disappointed. Expecting a regular fruit stand

This place is the best! The staff is super helpful and they have a really wide selection-it's rare to find berries that juicy in the spring! I had a blast walking around and feel like the selection was far superior to a grocery store. It was farmers market quality at grocery prices. I stocked up and found checkout to be really simple and easy. I loved that they also had flowers and plants and the parking wasn't bad. I can't wait to go back!

Fruit, like life, comes with no guarantees. Inspect any fruit before you buy, no matter where you shop, but especially at a fruit stand like Top Banana. Snowflakes who complain about avocados being brown must be too busy staring at screens to pay attention to merchandise while shopping. Learn how to spot the avocado's stem button; no button, no buy! Grow up; put down the phone and learn to shop. While you're at it, come to appreciate TB for what it is: a locally-owned fruit stand with great prices on as many local fruits and veggies as are available. Cry-babies who need a completely sterile, nickel-chrome, antiseptic, germ-free-clean, corporate, air-conditioned market that contributes to global warming can shop elsewhere. So, go to wherever that is and leave Top Banana to the rest of us. Check out my pictures. Top Banana is cool. Grown-ups should go check it out.

Best produce in the Ballard area! Everything they sell tastes a thousand times better than what you buy at the grocery store. They have a special place in my heart because they have some Hispanic goods like tamales or salsa Tampico that I don't have to go to the Mexican market for if I'm short on time. It's really well organized so you'll find everything you need and spend no more than 15 minutes shopping. Checkout is super quick and their prices are a bargain! It's definitely worth making a specific produce run for the quality you get.

For the seven months we have lived in Seattle, Frank's Produce at the Market has been our "go to" for fruits and vegetables. But my Wisconsin roots "main man" at Frank's decided to move on, and I chose Top Banana as maybe an alternative for my fruits and vegetables fix. While the produce was okay at Top Banana, not as good as Frank's but cheaper, the staff reminded me of the border guards when I was a student visiting Czechoslovakia in 1970. I tried to ask questions, and they looked at me with utter dismay. It was rather apparent I wasn't welcome for some reason. I had just showered, brushed and flossed my teeth, wore my mask, but the staff was not into helping me. I was spoiled down at Frank's. At Top Banana, I felt like I was back in Kentucky and Utah; "a stranger in a strange land." It was creepy. I may return to Top Banana, but this time I won't shower or brush my teeth. Maybe they'll treat me better. This was more then a Seattle freeze. In fact, they were the least accommodating people I have met since I moved to Seattle. Weird. I guess I won't return to Top Banana. No one should be treated the way I was. It's not human or humane. A little warmth and compassion goes a long way to creating an empathetic world.

Best spot for tasty, affordable produce. They also have a small but high-quality selection of dairy (ZOI yogurt, Ellenos yogurt, various cheeses and milk). Prices are great, parking is convenient, and service is always friendly.

This is my favorite produce stand. Great prices, selection, and customer service. Lots of parking. Also convenient hours.

Stopped by here for some fruits and veggies during quarantine. They had Clorox wipes to wipe down baskets which was really nice. The variety of produce here is amazing and the prices are reasonable! I would prefer coming here instead of the grocery store. We picked up avocados, cucumbers, organic Fuji apples, mangoes, corn, mushrooms, blueberries, eggs, Essential Bakery bread, etc... they have so much to offer which is super convenient! Everything looks fresh too and high quality.

I really appreciate having a local produce stand in the neighborhood. The prices are great here and the quality of produce is always better than what you find in the grocery store. This place makes it easier for me to add more fruits and veggies to my diet. I also like that they have locally made tortillas too.

These guys have the best price on single La Michoacana ice cream bars - $1.75 - but I was disappointed by them today. The discount bananas were totally brown except 3 small ones. There was a box of past-their-prime bananas under the table, so I asked the girl working, and was told they were not discounted yet. I looked through the brown ones again, then went up to pay. I mentioned the box of not great bananas I had seen, and that these 3 were the only edible few in the whole brown bunch. He told me the box were not quite bad enough to discount, same as the girl had said. I don't know whether to go back tomorrow to look again, or never return due to the stupid policy. Do you really want to make your customers work that hard to save a few cents? I guess you could say the same about me, but they're the business, me, the customer. Who's ever heard of 3 categories of deteriorating produce? If that's what you do, then at least keep it somewhere I can't see it.

This place hasn't changed much since I went to school across the street. The produce is great and they also have a ton of other things so you don't have to make a full on grocery store run. Plus support for local businesses is excellent!!

I have lived directly across the street from Top Banana for the past year. First of all, to say anything other than their fresh produce is top tier, would be an understatement. Their produce is extremely fresh, clean, ripe, and presentable. My girlfriend would walk across the street every morning to get fresh produce for breakfast, and would be greeted by Jimmy (the owner) with a smile and a gracious attitude for supporting his business. Jimmy runs an extremely clean, well organized, and honest business, which is an incredibly hard thing to find in the Seattle area. His prices are overly fair and for the high quality produce he is supplying, makes shopping here a must every day. I cannot say enough nice things about this honest and clean business, and it's people like Jimmy that are a reminder of why we need to support our neighbors and our hard working local business owners. We unfortunately had to move from the Seattle area, but shopping at Top Banana every day will always be one of my favorite memories of Seattle!

Great place to buy a variety of fresh vegetables and fruit, a lot of it local, at reasonable prices when compared to big box stores.

I'm embarrassed that I never only come here for Christmas, and only because they have a wide selection of really nice Christmas trees. Every year, I stop by, and every year, they seem to have the right tree for me, and family. From large to small, they have it all. The guys who run that section of the place, are cool folks, they tend to know their trees, and they are super helpful with getting the tree onto the of our car, bound and everything. I know I should be looking at the produce here also, but for me, they are my go to for all my freshly, Christmas tree needs.

what do you need to know? I have been visiting here for over a decade and it is the most easy in / out shop. You know how Frmeyer and big boxes you have to park, walk, shop, wait n checkout? I do love that it is not a chain and is a quick easy place to grab your veggies and a bunch of other stuff. 10 minutes in and out - easy as you please-y.

How could anyone negatively review this place? I have never had a bad experience. Yeah, he hires kids that attend school across the street. Go him. He's competing with Safeway, Trader Joe's, Fred Myer, Amazon Fresh, PCC, and now New Seasons! He is open 8-8 daily and has the best tasting fruit by far. No AC? Please, people. A) This is Seattle. FML. Go back to LA and kill the planet from there. B) It's a produce stand. Get over yourself. If you get something bad then return it. I have. That's bound to happen. Fruit goes bad. Shocker. It's got no preservatives. The owner has personally helped me pick out fruit. He's come to the checkout while I'm purchasing items to mark them down and refund me. How many places like this still exist?! Keep it up. You're def the Top f***ing Banana to me!

Super fresh produce at prices lower than you'd find at the supermarket. They even have specials, including reduced priced apples when I went, many of which were barely imperfect. I was impressed by the different varieties of apples and citrus, a lot of which were specific varieties I had seen marked up at other grocery chains. Truly a neighborhood gem.

Third time hitting Top Banana for produce. Really love this place. Pretty good selection so far and the prices are pretty good. Sometimes they have local which is great. Minus one point because there are usually a couple of items well passed their prime, they use plastic bags instead of the compostable, (I'll start coming with my own), and their organic selection is lacking. Otherwise, great spot for fruit and veg.

The only thing missing is more organic items. But Jimmy and his staff work really hard to have good produce at a good price!

This place is the best! Jimmy really hustles to get fresh produce at good prices. The apple selection here is outstanding with lots of unusual varieties to try. They always do right by us!

I come here almost every single weekend! All the staff are super friendly. The store provides Clorox wipes to wipe down the baskets with long handle. There are a variety of local produce and seasonable fruits/vegetables. They offer reasonable price that many times lower than typical grocery stores. They have majority of the common produce for home cook meals, but if you're looking for specific peppers, leeks, or radish, then you will have to go to the grocery stores. From time to time, there are staff pick items and definitely worth purchasing/trying. In addition, the store also sells tamales, yogurt, milk, honey, bread, olive oil, various seasoning items, hot sauces, etc.

Great place to get your christmas tree in the city! We have been coming here for the last few years to get our tree. We actually tried to get a tree from Fred Meyer's a few years back but there were slim pickings at the time. The employee there was very nice and recommended to come to Top Banana and we've been coming back ever since! They have a few parking spots which is nice. They have all sorts of trees to pick from. The employees are super friendly and helpful! Once you pick a tree, they measure it and give you a ticket to pay for it inside. They will wrap it up for you and load it in or on top of your car. I can't recommend this place enough! Great trees, located in the city and very friendly people!

Still on the hunt to find fresh, affordable produce in Seattle and was told Top Banana was a good place to fulfill those two requirements. While the statement holds true (for now, as I am still looking for better deals elsewhere), the downside is that there isn't a HUGE selection of produce. For example, I was unable to find arugula. Nonetheless, you will find a lot of your more conventional fruits and vegetables here, and if you're in the area, it's a great option to visit. THE HUNT CONTINUES.

Best local market ever! The kids who work her are so kind and helpful, always! They have everything from fresh fruits and veggies to tofu, fresh tamales and alternative milks. I try to do majority of my shopping here.

I liked this store very much, and agree with most of the other positive reviews.With the exception of one Ben from Chicago, who wrote, " ....honest business, which is an incredibly hard thing to find in the Seattle area..." I don't agree with that at all, Seattle is filled with friendly and yes, HONEST small businesses. But back to the Top Banana. Absolutely the best produce and reasonable prices. And yes, very friendly employees.

Top Banana is a great family owned business. Jimmy and the kids are always so friendly and helpful. People DO NOT realize the cost of running a family business, cost, city tax over the moon and I personally like helping small businesses as I know they need to support and take care of their family too. Plus great produce and I can even get my latte driving out.

We have shopped here for 3 years . Wonderful quick shopping for fresh produce and some cooking essentials like milk, yogurt, breakfast bagels, and local and less well known condiments. Sometimes I get a surprise and they have locally made huckleberry syrup in season. That's just one of the added perks if you go regularly because it sells fast!

Moved to Seattle not too long ago and I just kept passing by this place, wondering if it was really as good as what people have been saying. Went here for the first time and now I have to ask myself what the heck I've been doing with my life all this time. IT IS SO MUCH BETTER. The quality of the groceries are great and about half of my produce cost much less than the produce I've been buying at other grocery stores. I still can't believe how lucky I am to live near a place as great as Top Banana. It takes a lot for me to come to Yelp to review something and this place really impressed me. If you're new to the area, just go here for your fruit and veggie needs and don't waste your time elsewhere like I had.

Such a friendly place!!! I work nearby and this place is super convenient. There is always parking, which is not common for this area. There is a large selection of fruit and veggies, along with locally made products that include salsa, smith brothers dairy, sausage, jerky... I am always greeted by multiple people when I am there. Checkout is fast and easy with as many bags as you need. Great prices! Even in the crazy avocado us market, they are still only charging 99 cents per avocado (they are 2.49 at Whole Foods right now!) Only drawback is the space in the aisles, which can get tight if there are distracted customers. A neighborhood gem which I hope will continue to be a Ballard institution.

Fresh and ripe fruits! Just keep in mind that you will be charged credit card fee if less than $10. I never had to worry about that since whenever I drop by I would pick up like 5 different types of fruits :) They have so many variety of fruits and produce, just love going here on a weekend!

It's a cute farmers market- like produce shop that makes you feel like you are shopping near a farm! Small place, ripen produce with a organic selection and friendly staff! It does have some flies buzzing about but that's completely normal or an open market selling sweet fruit!

Top Banana, have I told you how much I love you? Let me count the ways: 1. Fresh local produce 2. Very reasonable pricing 3. Friendly, helpful people who work there 4. Samples to turn me on to new choices, etc. One of today's samples was the "Temptation Melon"-- aptly named--and will be on my table tonight for a little friends' dinner. X0X0, A loyal customer

I just love this little gem. The staff is always very helpful, and I appreciate the fruits and veggies that are locally sourced. When farmers markets just aren't really around right now with the pandemic, this is a breath of fresh air. Cute and small, but almost everything I need. They are prepped for COVID with sanitized baskets that have elongated handles on wheels, and people seem to maintain their distance. The produce is plentiful and prices are super reasonable. It's an open air space, and very homey. They even have local honeys (the sap, not the hot chicks lol), and breads, and carry Smith Brothers dairy products. I love coming here when I'm up in that area. NOTE: If you use WAZE to get there, somehow the destination point is off by a couple blocks, might be better to plug in their actual address.

This place warms my heart. After all the changes in Ballard it's good to know some things just haven't / won't change. This place has the best produce, old school Seattle feel and is close to my kids school. Always great for produce and a snack it's also a great place to get an Xmas Tree! With Covid end no where in site it is essential to keep supporting this stand so we can enjoy this awesome place in years to come. Top Banana you have my business for life !

The injera that she sells is sooooo good!!! It used to be different but now the injera she sells is much improved and my whole family loves it!!!

Don't get me wrong. I love myself a Farmer's Market. But I love a good deal just a little bit better. And to be honest, why drop a wad of cash when you can come here and afford everything plus more! Top Banana really is Tops. The owners here won't cheat you, but give you the best of the best in quality, selection, variety and price on fruits and vegetables. Weekly deals on seasonal and local produce keep me coming back. A lot of the time their deals are better than Fred Meyer, Safeway and QFC. They offer both organic and non-organic produce. And not everything is super local. For example: they carry pineapple and mangos...but I'd like you to show me where in Washington a farm can grow tropical fruit..... Come here for a treat if you are hungry cause they always have samples :) Crazy wide selection of apples: at least 10 varieties. Incredible friendly, informational, and fun employees. They always bust me up laughing. Willing to give you a deal too. For instance I informed them my mango went bad/rotted before I ate it, so they gave me a new one, no charge, no questions asked. If you love the gorillas at the local Woodland Park Zoo, you'll be happy to know that Top Banana sends a box of fruit to their gorillas! Bring cash - they accept cards, but they get charged a premium for card service. Support this local mom and pop shop. They are here to support you!

This is my favorite produce stand in the Seattle area. The prices are really reasonable and the staff is always friendly. This is my second year getting a Christmas tree there. I will probably go back every Christmas- even though I don't live in the area anymore. DJ was really friendly and helpful. Thank you for helping us with our trees!

Easily my favorite produce store in the city, because of the attention the people here put into procuring and caring for their produce. This care can be seen in how they tend to the fruit they sell - new fruit is kept underneath the shelves to air ripen, and when ready, are brought up to the fruit pyramids. Those that are fully ripened and ready to be eaten are kept at the very top, while those that still need a day or two are kept lower in the pyramid. Wandering the store, you'll notice that the same type of produce will oftentimes have different prices. This too, is an indication of the care they put into procuring their produce. Those that are priced higher are cared for more during transport, never being placed in cold storage, and are oftentimes sweeter than their cheaper counterparts. My personal recommendation is to try their organic strawberries - hands-down the best strawberries I've ever had in my life. In fact, they're so popular among customers that they oftentimes aren't in stock, as people will go in bright and early to buy entire flats of them. As several others have mentioned, they do take credit, but only for orders over $10.

Wow, I am reviewing a fruit stand in a city I don't even live in. Still reading? We came here twice this past weekend based largely on the fair pricing of Rainier Cherries and convenient location, but came away uber-impressed. As others have said, the service is super friendly and will not hesitate to cut you a fat wedge of fruit to get you a taste of that fruit you are about to buy. Nice variety of organic and non-organic alike. Buy Seattle and buy local. 5 stars for the Top Banana.

A small family run fruit and vegetable stand. Here are the reasons I love this place (not in any particular order): 1. Its got a giant monkey on the sign. Who doesn't love giant monkeys? 2. As David said, the owner Jerry does look like a short Al Pacino. I just wish he would yell, "Say hello to my little friend" once in awhile. (Or do I.....) 3. Jerry loves to haggle. The first time I came here I was looking for lemons and limes. I didn't like the price so I walked out. Jerry followed me out of the store and asked me why I was leaving. I told him the price was too high so he made me a deal I could not refuse. 4. I like to pretend that Jerry is a mobster and I work the for the FBI. 5. The prices really are good and the quality beats anything your going to find out side of whole foods.

We love having Top Banana within walking distance! Variety is always great, and reasonable prices with friendly customer service.

Fresh produce, good variety, Great customer service and good prices. Also love how clean and careful they are during COVID 19. Thank you!

Banana-rama I stumbled on this place as I was zipping around the city. It is an amped up fruit stand but not quite a grocery store. Some produce looked awesome (blueberries) while the other didn't look so hot (corn). I'm guessing you need to know exactly what is in season to get the best deal. I couldn't find any organic stuff so not sure if I wasn't looking hard enough. It's a good back up to the farmer's market. If I could only find the organic stuff...

Excellent selection of fresh reasonably-priced produce, dairy products, and small selection of plants. Workers are helpful and friendly, fast and efficient. Come get your yumminess here!

Love this produce stand. Met the owner once, very nice and generous local owner. Love supporting small businesses. The prices cannot be beat here and their coffee stand is great! Buy local, Y'all!

Was just there on st paddys day. Im there 2-3x a week. Been a neighbor to TB for 15+ yrs. i get my xmas tree there. I like this place- until recently. Been there a few times recently- you know its citrus season. Was checking out and suspected that i was being overcharged for things and was proven correct today. I didnt have the wherewithal to say something- i should have. A few of my purchases seemed more than i thought. It was confirmed when i bought romaine that was billed for 1$ but sold for 1,50$. Im pretty certain other purchases were incorrect. An honest mistake? Possible but ive noticed it on more that one occasion so it makes me think the workers may forget the prices? Should i ask them to tell me what each item costs per pound? I will go back but i should be more aware or inquisitive. Buyer beware!

This place got good reviews so decided to go check it out. They had local asparagus, which wad reasonably priced. I didn't like how most of the produce wasn't labeled (so have no idea from where it came). I was expecting more local produce (or at least from the U.S.). Some stuff didn't look so that fresh and I just noticed that there's a huge patch of mold growing all over a strawberry. I'm not sure how I didn't see it. I guess that serves me right for not doing my usual inspection. The raspberries were in paper cartons so I figured they were pretty fresh but the girl up front told me that they don't grow here (yet), so they are from elsewhere... she didn't know where. I decided to take a walk on the wild side and get them anyway. A little pesticide won't kill me... right away. Jk.