West LA International Market

I used to shop at this store for many years!!!this morning I was surprised, the store is so dirty the meat doesn’t look fresh and new . I was looking for semolina and it was all expired with the mold on it . They should either makeover all the store with more hygiene or just close it .

West LA International Market is one of my favorite stores to visit and shop at. The store is very clean and organized. The employees are very friendly/helpful. :)

Boyfriend told me about this market several times. Finally went very happy I did. Had variety of Pita Bread I was looking for. Also very happy with produce, prices much cheaper then market. Decided my Go To Spot for my fruit and Veggies, now. I was surprised and 😊 happy

This place is no longer like it used to be, we go there mostly for the butcher to buy halal meat but the store is really not clean, I feel like it gets dirtier each time I go.

Butcher offers very good service, he always trims and chops my whole chicken and meats for me.

Very large selection of middle eastern food, ingredients, cheeses!!

I always get my weekly halal meat and chicken here. It’s great quality and such a big selection. They have lots of international Arabic product. Fruits though I’d prefer Trader Joe’s or so

Great products and friendly service.

They offer Halal meats, and the butcher is extremely friendly and nice! A major plus! The fresh groceries are not what I frequent this store for, I go about twice a month for my Middle Eastern/ Asian spices, beans, rice and breads. The groceries seem decent, but their produce is not my jam. Everything else is clean and never expired unlike other markets around. There is plenty of street parking but they have a lot in the back too with a private entrance. Highly recommend for dried goods. Don't go for service, they hardly talk to you. Do your thing, you'll find it haha Here's to home cooking Yelpers! Cheers xx

Overpriced grocery items, produce generally past prime, wilted and unappetizing. Meat market is okay, but I wouldn't bet on cleanliness there. So many better options for middle eastern markets in the area.

This is limited to their meat counter, which is one of the few places in the neighborhood that offer lamb chops and lamb liver. The guys back there are friendly, feed any meats through the grinder two times for a finer and more evenly ground finished product, and prices are very reasonable.

I love their meats including fresh merguez sausages, ground chicken and beef, chicken and other tasty items. They also sell a lot of diverse spices from all over, a great range in fact. Plus various fresh herbs and olive oils from the Middle East and Europe.

Always busy, always crowded, always with the prices going up. Only place that has pretty good grape leaves, but inflation is a hot mess.

This place does not deserve the one star. I went there few days ago early in the morning when they first opened and, was looking to buy an item from the frozen section. Packets all miss placed, open, freezer was very dirty, many items with expired date. Please be extra careful. They sell expired items check the date that is if you can find it. No need for a grocery shop to be so dirty especially when they first open!

I wanted to get some naan bread to go with dinner tonight. Instead of Ralph's my fiancé recommended that we go here instead. He came home with naan that had a best before date of January 2018. So gross that a store could have a product that is THAT expired still on their shelves.

This is connected to Al's Hot Chicken. You can park in the back for both. Small grocery store. My friend wanted to look around to buy fresh Tamarind (which they had) and candy (which she found a sour kind she liked, which I think was Mexican). So she was pretty happy to find Tamarind here instead of having to go to an Asian market in K-Town or something.

Excellent place. Both breadth and depth of offerings are top shelf. A huge well chosen produce section, halal meat counter, olives, cheeses, shelves of excellently chosen goods. Prices are way low as well. Great find.

Great selection of middle eastern dry goods that are reasonably priced! I needed authentic rose water for a recipe and found a bottle for $3 which is less than the grocery store knockoffs. A lot of the brands are based in SoCal too which is a + for environmental impact. Found some nostalgic treats from my childhood like halva and honey with nuts too. I went 30 min before closing and there was plenty of parking available in the lot and I didn't feel rushed in the store.

Yes it is a bit of a divey place, but I enjoy prowling around such ethnic markets and discovering good prices on pickled lemons, tahini, grape leaf rolls or other delicacies which would cost you a pretty penny at some bourgois store like Whole Foods. While you're here, pick up some za'atar or some spices that would set you back at the steep pricing of regular stores. Don't come here for the fancy store experience of a Westwood specialty grocer. Here products are stacked on humble shelves, and you're best appreciating the slightly cheaper price point than wringing your hands about presentation. Buyer beware. Don't buy the produce if you're not too happy with its appearance. I found what I wanted as far as middle-eastern products and I'm happy. Also I can't comment on the meat because I don't buy meat unless it's from a pasture-based farm whose source I know. I simply don't eat industrial agriculture meat, which is based on sadistic genocidal cruelty. So if you insist on eating meat and buying it here while complaining that you don't think it looks good, umm...I am not really going to be sympathetic.

IMO this is the best halal store in the culver/palms area. It's connected to Al's Hot Chicken and there's parking in the lot at the back or on the surrounding streets. I get my halal meat and middle eastern specialty foods from here. They don't have a big selection of South Asian foods, so I go a few buildings down to the A&S Market for those.

Woah?! This place has almost everything middle eastern you're looking for. We found mortadella, basterma, pita bread, roumi cheese, dates and Egyptian rice! And much more... Prices are little more expensive on some items than other larger middle eastern markets but supporting a small business is better for the community. If you're claustrophobic, you might want to stand outside since the store is small and packed with goodies. But don't let that intimidate you, go shopping for all your grocery needs here!

perfect place to purchase fresh goat or lamb meat. amazing store with organic products. Highly recommend.

Very good grocery store, fresh meats, great customer service We liked the store, variety of international food Recommended

This place is nice for any one looking for Arabic grocery!!!! Wish they more stuff though

I buy lot's of things from this store , i like it very much , the prices is very reasonable but i don't like when i order red ground beef meat and turn my back to pick some other stuff up they just put the bad meat and melix it with new one , i don't know what point unless if they won't sell or do their job . Please watch that because there is no joke with bad meat at all , as i'm paying money to get something good not bad . Thank you again , hope this will never happen again, for me i will keep watching the meat guy correctly and never move to different sections. Best regards

This place would get much higher stars for me if they would actually clean the market. So much of the produce always seems to be rotting with flies hovering above them. The prices (when marked) are fair but for a reason. Nothing seems clean. The cans are dusty. It's very old and run down. Very few of the shoppers respect the 6 ft rule and wear their mask around their necks, not on their face. If only they would shut down for a few days and deep clean, they would receive five stars from me.

This place is a complete joke. I wish I could 0 stars. I used to come to this location many many years back. However, their prices have shot through the roof and their produce is old and dirty. The main reason though for the need fir ZERO STARS, is the butcher or meat and cheese department. For lack of better words, they are crooks. The butcher over charged an item when no other store or location charges that mutch for a pound of meat. At the same time, they do not list lroces for everything. They also attempt to charge you weight for the wrapping as well as the plate that its placed in and the plastic wrapping based on the price per pound per the item you chose. After seeing how many times he wrapped and how much the difference in weight went up after packaging it and attempting to charge me i demanded them to charge me for the weight of the meat. I can only imagine how much they are making by fraudulently or by misrepresenting a price of something in their department. They should be shut down or sued. I will never come back here.

Only one star I wish if they have less!! This is what I found in soda barley algae and musty I don't recommend this market to anyone of you.. It's low price very low material It's not the first time to I buy something expired or have insect on it from this store it's halal food how come with this much of cheating !

Wow. Very rude. Blatantly ignored me when I asked a question 2x. Then guy manages to barely lift his head up, waves randomly toward the back, and tells me to "go look in the market" when I asked where an item was. I walked around the market unsuccessfully with no help. Items looked old and cans rusty. First and last time for me here. I will go to the market down Venice nearby instead. One would think they would welcome business during this difficult time.

They've actually got a GREAT butcher shop inside this market! We've bought so many cuts of meat here as well as Cornish game hen at great prices! If you tell the butcher how you'd like your meat cut, He will gladly cut it that way!! This is my new go to for meat. I love that it's halal as well. It's always fresh! Now the produce on the other hand, I usually skip that. The dry goods are great because if I'm maybe making a Persian dish they've got everything I'd need here without having to drive to Westwood!

Lots of ethnic surprises here. Stopped by for some lemons, although they were small, they ended up to be very juicy. On my way out, spotted one of my all time go to Indian snack foods. Haldiram's Cornflake Mixture. It is slightly sweet, more savory, hot, peppery with a crunchy texture. Not the cleanest market, but certainly this one adds a touch of sugar and spice to the neighborhood block. I like to browse, it makes me feel that I am on the other side of the earth here.

West LA international markets have very good price good service delicious foods.And much moreHighly recommended this place

This is the best place for EVERYTHING. They have a wide selection of spices, dried goods, fresh veggies, and breads galore! Many brands have no preservatives, which is a blessing. They should look into delivery during these times.

I called to find out if they had an item and was so excited when they quickly said yes. Drove over to learn I was lied to :/ felt like they just wanted to get me in the store and waste my time.

This market needs a bit TLC. It's great to have a resource for Middle Eastern goods. However, a good scrub-down is needed.

I love this market. They are the payless international market. Most items are about a $0.50 to $1 cheaper!! I will def. make my way back here when I am in the area. However, I did take advantage of this place when I lived close. They have everything you may need in the store and lots of fresh pita, meats, and veggies!

So many spices... an wide variety of exotic foods that you won't find at Ralph's or any other typical American grocery store. Buy ingredients here, make more interesting food, feel more cultured. Voila! The butcher section has some rockin' meats, including premarinated chicken that we just had to pick up... Prices are quite fair, and this place is close by. I'll be back often, I think....

When I first entered this market I felt back home in Jordan and Lebanon. It has the same atmosphere, display style and all the ingredients and utensils a Mediterranean immigrate persons may miss and need. As a vendor and supplier of Baklava, Mediterranean dessert made of filo layers stuffed with nuts and soused with lemony sugar syrup, I found this is the perfect place to provide all Baklava lovers the most real Baklava they may taste. Look for Amal's Baklava -walnut & pistachio- at the cashier and on the sweets' shelves on your left in the main entrance. Also you may ask the cashier about Amal's Baklava elegant boxes. Thanks Payless International Market.

Nice shop with a lot of choice of international products. I was looking for a specific semoussa rolls and I found it

I always come here to buy fresh meat. The quality of the meat is pretty good but the vegetables are not as fresh. The customer service is not as friendly, but I just go and get what i want and leave

A veritable treasure trove of international delights. Come for the goat meat, stay for the everything else. Halva, wafer cookies, spices, dates galore...

I want to be fair with this market! but really it's horrible​! you should be aware of what you are buying​ from them! mostly it's expired or almost! problem with the price tag on items, sometimes you find different prices in a different shelf in the same market!!!​ only one good thing about​ this place the Meet Section, but!! very expensive compared to​ others with the same quality! please West LA International Market, fix your place, I wish to visit you in 2018 and I see a difference​

Watch out before buying.. I bought expired barbican and noodles among other stuff.. and didn't know until after I drinked 2 of them

Good meat selection and nice grocery store tbat carries a bunch of middle eastern, european products.

This place is a cool little market. Has everything from fruit, meat, spices, dairy, rice , etc mostly from Middle East origins. The fruit/veggies are not always the freshest so you need to pick but it's cheap!! Everything is really responsibly priced here compared to regular markets. Staff is nice & there's a small parking lot in the back.

I've been shopping at this store for nearly 8 years and never have I felt such embarrassment as I did on Sunday's morning. I usually shop about 3 times a week since I shop for two houses and the cashier told me and I quote "you must be eating all of it" and "I'm not gonna bag it up unless you give a tip." Now like I said I've been shopping there for 8 years and I never had this problem. But this disrespectful and rudeness should not be go unnoticed. I personally feel he should have a talked with the manager.

The produce is really cheap (granted, it isn't organic, but unless you're an uppity westsider who always shops at Whole Foods you'll stray from the all-organic diet from time to time due to cost savings), the meat is halal and fresh, and you'll find everything you need to make your Middle Eastern/Indian dishes. They're generally very helpful but when I had gone there during Ramadhan, they closed the doors on me 10 minutes before closing time. Sort of unprofessional but I can understand that it was nearing iftar time and everyone was very hungry. So it's not a big deal. The things I buy from here to cook Middle Eastern/Indian foods because they're cheap: 1. Rice 2. Meat 3. Mint, parsley, cilantro 4. Garlic/ginger (whole and paste) 5. Tomatoes (whole and paste) 6. Onions 7. Grape leaves 8. Spices 9. Lentils 10. Yogurt 11. Pita bread (and other Middle Eastern breads like lavash etc.)

I've found no truer manifestation of the melting pot than Payless International Market. Mexican and Moroccan butchers sell custom-cut halal meat. Egyptian cashiers address the produce staff in Spanish. The produce, dairy, and canned sections feature hard-to-find and very geographically specific offerings of an astonishingly wide variety of countries. Need frozen molokhia for an Egyptian dinner? Check! Epazote and chayote for a Central American stew? Check! Curry leaves? Prickly pear? Thai eggplant? Champagne grapes? Haloumi (grillable) cheese? Grape leaves? Foul? Dried chickpeas? Pakistani spice packets? Check, check, check! Not surprisingly, the clientele is just as diverse as the range of cuisines represented here.

An update. Been there recently and admired the good changes I've seen. No awful smells anymore but large fans for ventilation and opened doors for air circulation, no more flies greeting me at the door every time, the outside entrance to the store is taken care of "no more trash or empty boxes by the wall", less cluttered inside and better lit. Good improvement guys.

halal meat and chicken , prices and Arabic spices and goods. DATE OF EXPIRE MUST BE SEEN!!!!!. Shame since they sell halal many time I go and tell them that material is expired but they do not give a shit!! the place should be renovated! (bamia-molokhia)vegetable,poke cream cheese,Indomey noodles and Barbican beers (non-alcoholic) and for sure pita brown breads which come daily. Generally not bad if u live near around, but it depends on what do u need to get from there!!

I think this place is wonderful. To me, it's primarily a produce market, and as such, it's only as good as the herbs are fresh - and I've never seen their basil wilted. I'm not one for meat or prepared foods, but their spice selection is fantastic, the dried (and fresh) fruit is great (how often do you see dried mulberries on the west side?) - great papaya, good watermelon, probably the best and cheapest plantain in the neighborhood. No, it's not a "glamorous shopping experience" (there's no shortage of that in West LA) - it's exactly what it says on the door: lots of produce, pretty darned cheap.

Solid place to get halal meat and Middle Eastern/Southeast Asian groceries. I actually never knew it was called Payless Market as it is connected to Sofra Kabab House which is a Turkish restaurant. Its located right off of Overland and Venice just West of the Best Buy. They have all types of chicken meat, goat, lamb, beef, fish, and even various marinated versions of each meat if you're lazy lol. They have parking in the back lot. It isn't the most cleanest place but i guess it gives you that awkward legitimacy that you found the right place.

Good place to get halal and desi grocery. Good prices but not the freshest fruits and veggies.... the quality is highly dependant on the time you go there. Other than that, u can find shan/ National masalas easily there and all desi masalas and pulses.

I've been shopping here for years. It's a great market for Middle Eastern, Indian and Latin items. They also have a great selection of fresh produce for a fraction of the price that you would pay at the big grocery stores. I come here at least once a week to stock up on produce, Indian spices, rice and yogurt. I usually get the same cashier each time I go and he always recognizes me, says hello and chats with me while ringing up my items. Overall, a five-star shopping experience.

At first I liked this place. Cheap prices on produce, carry Bulgarian feta and lots of types of olives. But the service sucks and the cleanliness needs help. The cashier had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to him to speak to me in Spanish or English?!? Such a close minded , ignorent, idiotic statement. I felt like going off on him in one of the 3 languages I speak. I chose English. Not coming back, I'll get my butt down to Valu for cheap produce and will avoid them when I go to one of my spots, Copelia's. I don't appreciate stupidity, appreciate the customer!

Dirty, messy, expired merchandise, rancid goods, this place is a shame for the middle eastern community! Several times I have bought packaged food that had torn inner packaging probably by rats!! The health department is way overdue for a visit. The meat department stinks so bad, you have to hold your breath when you are near it. This was the last straw for me, I walked in, turned around and walked right out. I would prefer to drive to the valley or Glendale to get good quality products, sadly.

Best butchers, best meats and produce. Great customer service and products. Short ribs are freshly cut to the size you ask for and great veal, lamb, goat. Chicken too. I love this place. My advice: Always tip your butchers, those guys are great.