World Foods

Well, let me just start by saying that this is now my favorite shop in Portland. The array of carefully selected, delectable treats is amazing. The local items and the specialty products are SO GOOD. The staff there are also so friendly and helpful. Now, I need to tell you that Tyler from the wine department is a Godsend. We had our wedding in Portland on Leap Day 2020. We are from Seattle, so we wanted to make sure that our loved ones had fabulous gift baskets in their hotel rooms when they arrived. We had very specific wants and were hoping to have locally made items, wine and treats for our guests as a special thank you. Originally, we were going to put this together ourselves and transport them on our trip down -but NO- we didn't have to. We ran into John (the awesome general manager) and Tyler the wine connoisseur and they were incredibly kind, gracious and helpful - telling us that they can put them together and deliver them!!! We just needed to chose a dollar amount and they would do the rest. WOW. Now of course I had several details, some preferences and restrictions that varied by basket. Tyler was exceptional in handling my requests and making my vision a reality. He even went elsewhere for some bubbles to add to the baskets that were for the rooms with kiddos. Our guests were over-the-moon and thought they were the coolest thing EVER! Thank you SO MUCH Tyler, John and World Foods for being exactly what we needed.

Wonderful and quaint grocery market. It has pretty much everything you could need. There’s fresh, local produce, hot meals, and a little cafe. I’ve discovered some interesting fruit, including some apples from up in Washington that had a slight berry flavor. They were one of the best apples I’ve ever tried. I could spend forever in the chocolate aisle, feeling like a child at the candy store. The drinks at the cafe are all good and worth getting while you’re there shopping. All the employees are always so welcoming and kind.

They had fresh squeezes orange juice which was made right in the store itself. When I couldn't find a particular hot sauce that I liked the staff spent a long time searching for a suitable replacement. The sauce that they ended up giving me actually turned out to be MUCH better than the one that I was first looking for. I also really appreciated the extra time and energy that the staff spent on helping me, which they did even though it was almost closing time.

BWF Pearl has a great selection of interesting goodies. And a really great deli. I shop there for the uniqueness of it all... Do you know what amazing customer service tastes like? It begins with feeling acknowledged when you step inside the front door, or when you sit at the bar, somebody might ask you if you'd like to order something. NOT TODAY! Not even a head nod or a smile. The $35.00 imported virgin cherry soy sauce? I get it. Good customer service is priceless. Consider importing that. Please.

Very personable atmosphere. The owner is talking to some regulars about their vacation as he’s handing out samplers of a new beer (yes, this organic food shop has beer... and a happy hour). He also walked me to the restroom. Great selection of food and drinks for meal or snack. This place defines the neighbourhood grocer everyone wishes they had on their street corner. The pearl district is lucky to have this hidden gem. And the prices are decent too!

Outstanding deli. The za’atar fried chicken was excellent and we loved the quiche and grape leaves as well. So many wonderful deli items to choose! The market is chock full of great food, wine and beer. We will be regulars here!

Overall it’s a great little grocery store and deli. The prices are generally reasonable, a lot of the plant based proteins and fresh made items are comparable with big chain groceries. I also haven’t found the employees to be unfriendly, maybe other reviewers are used to being in a Whole Foods or something where the employees are pressured to be artificially friendly, but personally I prefer the low key vibe. No, the employees aren’t going to ask if they can help you when you’re just browsing, but to me that’s nice. I can browse in peace. When I’ve actually had questions they’ve been perfectly friendly and helpful. Just don’t expect fake chattiness, if that’s something you want for some reason. So why the 4 stars? It’s pretty specific honestly. There’s just a big flaw in their process for fresh made deli food. So if I want a falafel wrap, for example, I order it at the deli. They make it at the deli. But I have to go pay for it at the main checkout. Which means that while my meal gets wrapped up by someone with gloves and a clean workspace, I then have to hand it to the cashier, who (reasonably) isn’t wearing gloves and has to put my food on the scanner to charge for it. It’s not the end of the world but it’s kind of a weird experience to have your food carefully and safely prepared, then have someone handle it with bare hands at the checkout when they’re handling packaging, paper money, etc. I hate to chop off a star over that but come on, it’s not the cashiers fault but a bad process I guess management decided on. Just let me pay at the deli counter when I place the order and then nobody else has to handle my food after the cook takes so much trouble to keep it safe.

I am here on business and was told to go to this location for my product. I had a very good meeting with the buyer very sweet man. While I was waiting I have a chance to wander around the store it's not small but it is not large it is absolutely beautiful. The prices are very reasonable for the products that they carry being organic vegan and of that nature. Was happy with everybody's service their hospitality it just made me feel very comfortable as a sales consultant. I will be back to go shopping on my next round to Portland

I love this place and the staff! ❤️ I'm editing my review right now because I went in tonight to pick up dinner and I met your new employee named Ron I'm the prepared food dept. I was wearing a black and white keffiyeh that represents Palestine. He asked me if he could have it. A Palestinian woman who I got out of Palestine and into Egypt sent me this handmade. I told him that you absolutely cannot have it. I had a couple of other keffiyehs that I bought, just to have. I told him that I would bring him a black and navy one. He could not have mine because it was Palestinian made. The other ones are too but they're not a sentimental as this one's is. He's like okay cool cool cool. I still support Israel, if you support Israel get away from me and my keffiyeh. Everyone gasped when they heard that he still supported Israel but wanted my keffiyeh so forcibly. He literally just told me to give it to him. It's the audacity for me. I'm not happy, this was a horrific experience and other customers saw this happen and were affected. I hope this is not your ideology because if you don't support Gaza and support Israel. I will never give you a dime. Let me know where you stand. I need to know where I can spend my money.

There's a lot of interesting and yummy food here. We really enjoy the pita. I think other people might like it too, bc it runs out if you try to buy it too late in the day! We've gotten meat, produce, frozen goods, sweets, and tea here - so far, not a single miss.