December 12, 2011
Went here with my main squeeze after a pretty nice breakfast. This is simply a grocery stored pretending to be a fresh market. The beer selection was pretty good, but what was really nice were the prices. $12.99 for a 12-pack of Sierra Nevada Celebration! Are you high? Of course, I’ll take that. I found literally a couple of bottles that I haven’t seen anywhere else. I can imagine that this place would be one of your last chances of finding a beer that generally sells out quickly at other places. Overall, I’m impressed with the prices. The selection was great, but still, it’s nothing to wet your pants about. The QFC in the U-Village blows this place away. Cheers. Oh, wait, the food is quasi market food, and the service is grocery store service, meaning, we were asked if we needed help, and that was about it. Start serving stuff on tap, please.

May 23, 2010
If you live in Ballard and like beer do yourself a favor and give these guys a look. They have a good selection if not the best prices, but they aren’t the worst either.

October 13, 2009
Busy grocery store that has a beer selection that I would put close to that of Whole Foods. Decent selection and they seem to be one of the places that gets new releases first. However, prices are some of the highest if not the highest in town. If you are in the area, it is worth a stop but I wouldn’t go out of my way to hit it.

January 14, 2009 [ Updated May 15, 2009 ]
Visited Tuesday evening Jan 13 2009. This is a nice grocery store with an above average beer selection. Bunch of locals, good selection of others. I picked up two Pliny the Elders that were brewed 9 days previous, quite impressive. Prices seemed a bit on the high side, but singles are plentiful.

June 25, 2008
Seems odd, but this store may be better than Bottleworks depending on what you want, how much you want to pay, and when you happen to stop in. While they don’t have the range of selection that Bottleworks has for Belgian beers, they do carry a ton of great stuff, more than most Seattle-area stores. And they also have rarities on occasion that the Bottleworks crowd has already bought up by the time you get there.

March 3, 2008
Central Markets (the chain which oversees this supermarket) does a great job of picking up good stuff from the distros. They buy wine like fiends, so it stands to reason that beer comes flowing in alongside. You can get sandwiches and other ready to eat stuff here, if that matters. It’s one of the better-stocked supermarkets in town, right there with Whole Foods. That said, the Shoreline Central market blows this one away, usually, and Whole Foods blows away both of them.

September 22, 2007 [ Updated September 14, 2008 ]
Decent selection of beers, both local and imports. Reasonable pricing. No problem getting a mixed six pack.

September 20, 2006
Have been going here for 22 years

September 11, 2006
The Ballard Market is a high-end grocery store that’s been in the neighborhood for many years, always with a very good beer and wine selection. Roger, the head of the beer department, is very helpful and knowledgeable. While the selection is not quite as good as Whole Foods, it’s still large, even for Seattle. Prices are competitive with some good deals available. Check it out if you are in the neighborhood.