Wholesome Choice

This is your safe bet as you can pick and choose b/w different cuisines. Food is fresher during lunch time. oh and Chinese/Korean dishes are halal, once again ! (both stalls display the Halal notice)

to let everyone know I recently went to the food court and asked if the Chinese food was halal. they told me that it was changed about 2 weeks ago where they use haraam meat instead of halal meat. just to let everyone to be aware of this. I only know this about the Chinese food but not the rest. to be safe just ask.

Assalamu'alaikum. This place isn't that bad. I've gone here a few times for the food court and came out satisfied. Some of the reviewers are correct in stating they do sell non-halal meat; however I personally don't go here to buy meat. I just go get lunch and on occasion dinner and then I'm out.

As a grocery store this has to have been one of the best Muslim establishments I've been to. A large variety of stuff. Clean and well set makes it on par with the best American chains. the food court is ok for a food court in a mall. The Persian food prices are almost on par with those at a restaurant though.

Even though I love this place, I had to stop buying meat from there because the Halal is mixed with other meats. I have brought this issue on several occasions to the management's attention but to no avail. They promise to seperate the Halal from the other but their employees could care less. The last time I asked for the leanest ground beef but as the butcher, who is persian, told me after he scooped the meat that it is not Halal! I told him do you see the head cover on my head, why would u do that. Also the halal chicken is mixed with the " NATURAL" Chicken. I have returned meat on several occasions to make them understand that we will not take it anymore. They should go either all Halal or Not. Lets us boycot this place so they pay attention and put some rules in place. DISGUSTING..........................

I visited the store and I loved the food and the price of the food. I don't understand why people care about what the store used to be. In order for them to survive they have to offer products to American Market too. I like their halal food and I relly don't care if they offer pork. I don't buy it. All I can say is, if you don't like it don't go there.

I feel they have some spell to make their store so popular because the place isn't even all that. The store used to be Wild Oats so it's a nice building and location, but the produce and grocery they have is mediocre. It's always so crowded everytime I stop by like everything is is being given away for free. Anyway, this place is NOT halal because they serve pepperoni, ham, sausage, salami, etc and carry wines and other alcohol beverages (check their website or walk in). I've been tempted to try out their prepared food a few times, but I asked and they do NOT serve or sell halal meat but have a sign for halal. Since I haven't eaten their haram meats, I can't really write a review about quality of their prepared foods so I will give no rating.

I last visited this store more than a coule years ago, so I'm not sure if things have changed. At the time, I was told by some of our muslim brothers that this grocery store is the way a muslim grocery store should be. That they have zabiha meat, etc and I should check it out. As other reviews pointed out, they sell pork here. They probably sell alcohol as well. This is where everything stops for me. Nowadays, IMHO unfortunately there is a lot of questionable practices going on at our "halal" markets anyways, for muslims to be buying meat from a store that mixes not only zabihah/non-zabihah meat, but to actually mixing it with haram is really sad. I hope muslims who are shopping for meat here take a closer look at the meat department and decide against shopping here. I know some may feel that "well I'm buying halal meat not pork, so what's the difference?" Since I'm not a scholar or a mufti, so perhaps your right. However, sometimes it becomes a matter of fatwa or taqwa...I choose taqwa.

Asslam o aliakum. It was our first time visiting this store. The very first thing I did as a muslim, I went to the meat dept. and looked around for all Halal meats with the label. I found by the meat dept. PORK which was cut and packed in the store according to the meat dept. employee. I was shocked by hearing/seeing packed PORK in this store where they have Halal Certified Meat in display. As a Muslim/true believer, this is where you STOP. I didn't eat there nor did I buy any meat product. The fresh produce are good, fresh, and ok prices. If you are Muslim, don't buy any meat product. May Allah Bless you.

Assalamu alaykum, I am very surprised that this market/restaurant is in the zabihah halal site. I went there and was unable to find halal food...just because it is owned by people from Iran does not mean that it is halal.

When I loved in Irvine this was my favorite place to buy not only halal meat, but also halal deli food. They had pizza, pasta, american, japanese, persian, and thai food. All were halal except for the indian food because, as I was told, each stall is owned individually. Overall its a great place for students on a budget, although their prices can get high for groceries.

The food court food is not halal all the time. I dont eat it anymore, I was told by the workers that the pepperoni was pork and that was enough for me. The rest of the store is ok with the halal products.

I have been there on many occasions and every time I get a different answer about the Halal meat in the "resteraunt" sections. some days it is, other days it isnt. i have even been told by the owner, than when they run out of halal meat they use non halal meat but do not put up a sign nor tell customers. this is just my personal experience. not telling neone wat to do, or not to do.

As a grocery store this place is awesome. The produce is super cheap, has a great variety, and is usually of pretty good quality. The other sections have cool ethnic foods you'd have to go to five different ethnic india, persian, arab, chinese place to find. The being said We don't buy meat here or any of the meat dishes served in the "food court" area. Once someone asked one of the servers if the meat is halal and he answered "everything is halal, the meat is halal, the wine is halal, the pork is halal, everything is halal." Also, generally it's not worth asking the workers if something is halal, because most of them have no clue.

Well I went here, didn't get any food though. It looked very suspicious to me. As for the magazines of scantiily clad women, many indian halal shops have Bollywood magazines with the same things.

Salam, I went to this Persian supermarket yesterday and what a pleasant experience it was. It was nice to know that they were serving Halal meat in their food courts. Tried chicken Kebobs and beef Kobideh and they were just great. There's plenty of parking and you can find such "delicacies" as Haleem and Firni, among many other Asian/mid-easter delights that they stock on their shelves. Just great overall place to buy and eat food.

I have been told that the only halal items in the food court is the Persian food. Enjoy yr wait, bc it's frequently very busy and if you are female, you might be treated to experience of the many customers (Iranian) who seem to stare at women with hijab. The staff here is very rude as well. Women that wear hijab may also not feel comfortable in the whole store as this place is filled with Shahi people. The freezers contain more Kosher and non-Halal items than Halal. And not only do they sell alcohol, but they also sell those same commercial magazines that feature scantily clad women with lurid and/or self-help headlines. I would rather drive all the way to Anaheim.

The main served Halal food attraction here is the Persian cusine. For the other types of served food, it is not always Halal (ask before ordering). The Persian food is excellent and a great value. Also a great place to buy Halal meat. This store does heavy volume and moves a lot of meat and prepared foods. Another main attraction is the good prices on merchandise. Recommended dishes: Koobideh and Barg kebobs.

i go here regularly, very convenient irvine location for us OC muslims. very good selection of fresh veggies, fruits, meats and cooked foods. carry an array of halal meats and cooked food items. serve the BEST oven baked fresh bread (sangak)! don't know what i would do without this place :)

The service is definately not what it used to be. Quality of the produce went down and prices for everything went up. The meats are still doubtful. You never know if it actually is halal or not.

I like this store because of there hilal food stands. There persian and chinese food is cheap and very good for the price. Ther carry the widest variety of naan one can imagine. They have seperate section of hilal and non hilal meat so i am sure the yfollow the procedures. I really fell in love with this store during my 7 month stay in Irvine and everytime i visit Southern cali i make a point to stop there. Oh yes, service is very rude. dont count on it

I used to love this place. I used to go there everyday. But now the quality of their kitchen food and their groceries have gone down greatly. Their fruits and vegetables are low quality and not fresh a lot of times (and sometimes even spoiled). The meat section smells bad. There is not much of a "wholesome" selection anymore. They even sell cigarettes now.. how wholesome is that? One thing I do still like is their Persian food, although their service is horrible. I hope they improve their store to how it once was when they first opened. Until then, I'm shopping at Trader Joe's.

So is there ethnic food corner (mexican, indian etc...) Halal, yes/no?

They claim to carry hilal meat. they sell pork and use the same machines so how strictly they enforce hilal regulations is highly in doubt. Also all the staff in meat sdepartment is hispanic which puts me in doubt about the hilal credibility. However they have signs around claiming all meat is hilal.As a whole store is really good with all type of ethnic foods.

I don't know the last "Irvine Resident", nor am I affiliated with this place. The last guy didn't perform a very noteworthy analysis of the meat selection. This guy's been watching too much Scooby Doo.

Wholesome Market is a great persian market that all the Iranians in Orange County love it, no doubt, but I am suspicious about the halal meat they sell. Once I asked the meat seller to show me the inner side of the grilled meat and to my suprise, it was near black while the outside had a nice color or pink meat. I have heard that if the zabihah is not beheaded as Islam rules, then some blood remains in the meat and then makes it to change color to black, while Islamic beheaded ones may take a longer time to change color. Besides, when keeping the meat in freezer, it changes color faster than usual. So, I think they really don't sell halal meat, and it's just a proganda to sell more. Also, as I have heard from inside staff, the kitchen is not so clean that it seems to be. By the way, it seems the Muslims in Orange County have no better choice and should trust what it claims.

I LOVE WHOLSOME CHOICE i seriously get excited every time i go. They have the best chicken kabob wrap omg its delicous. anyway i would recommend it to anyone.

this place is the best thing that ever happened to irvine! i was always a picky eater, esp since zabihah meat isnt always available but wholesome choice has made that option available. they have really great cooked food(gyros, chicken sandwiches, burritos, burgers) as well as groceries at reasonable prices. Oh, and their bakery stuff is soooooo yummy! They even have a few HALAL/ZABIHAH deli meats! Now tell me, who else can be so wholesome?

I did a little investigation regarding the Halal Meat, speaking directly to the owner, general manager (Everett), and the head butcher. Although they do provide pork, it is cut, cleaned, and handled using completely separate equipment (shown to me personally). All the Beef products used in the Deli/Kitchen is Halal, because they purchase from only one ranch, Harris Ranch (which is notorious for following strict halal guidelines). I was very impressed with how clean the store was, and how great the food tasted. The price for food and vegetables also seemed to be unbeatable. It was obvious the owner take pride in the store, which shows by the quality of products they carry.

Anyone who has shopped at Wholesome Choice knows that they are legitimate. I have spoken directly with the owner and the general manager. Both have assured me that they keep and cut their halal meat separately from the rest. As you will see when you go there, everything is separate. They are extremely clean and I feel very comfortable shopping there. Thank goodness for Wholesome Choice!

Correction to first entry below: used to be Ralphs, then Wild Oats, and then vacant. Then new owner with concept leased and set up as Wholesome Choice. I love the fresh baked breads ... you wait while they ACTUALLY BAKE IT IN FRONT OF YOU.