The Little Grocery Downtown

Delicious New Addition to the Menu… The Sally Special: Ham, Avocado, Tomato and Egg Sandwich on a Roll/​Croissant/​Bagel.
Great compliment to all of the other wonderful items like muffins, bagels, fresh coffee, home brewed ice tea (green and raspberry), and much, much more!

I finally found the trick to this place — it’s to call ahead and place an order for pick up. Ordering on-​site can drive you crazy enough to smash your head into the milk fridge. I’ve found that it takes forever for your order to be taken, and often gets messed up, and then takes forever to be made. I get it — the space is small, and they’re basically working off of hot plates. At the end of the day, the breakfast sandwiches are delicious. So, save yourself the stress and just call ahead for pick up.

This place deserves 0 stars. Do NOT waste your time here.
I ordered (1) Quiche du Jour and (1) Egg Sandwich with Meat & Cheese. My options for the sandwich were croissant (second option: everything bagel, third option: plain bagel), american cheese and bacon. What I received was an egg, cheese and ONION omelette on a WHOLE WHEAT bagel. I’m extremely confused as to where the onion came in as a replacement for the bacon (I can’t eat onions). I also paid for extra bacon on the side and received none. And what’s up with the restaurant not calling to check that it was okay to use a whole wheat bagel? I provided 3 options for my sandwich bread and whole wheat wasn’t one of them.
Additionally, the Quiche du Jour was inedible. So upsetting because I love Quiche du Jour! Little Grocery Downtown’s Quiche du Jour tastes like someone accidentally dropped it in a dirty sink.
Food aside, my biggest concern with this place is the customer service. I called the restaurant to let them know they got my order wrong and the guy who answered the phone was in denial. He told me that it said I wanted onions… as I was staring at my order confirmation that said otherwise. I told him the correct order (read it word for word from my screen) and he said «Well we’re closing in 15 minutes and I have two more orders to deliver so you’ll have to come in tomorrow to get a refund.»
Excuse me? No. I kindly told him I will not be coming in for a refund. The purpose of ordering food online is so I don’t need to leave my house (I am sick). Second, he can take the responsibility of getting the order wrong and deliver the correct one OR process my refund electronically. I guess he didn’t like this answer because he HUNG UP on me.
When I tried calling back, he would not answer the phone. Since I placed the order on
, I reached out to them for support and explained the situation. The
representative said she was able to get through to them but they told her they are closing and that if she calls back in 15 minutes she could speak to a manager. Well, she has called back several times and no answer. So now
is taking the responsibility of providing my full refund.
I will be telling my many friends and family in the area that we are done doing business at this establishment. My suggestions to The Little Grocery Downtown are to 1) Read your orders carefully. Putting an ingredient (onions) in someone’s food that they are allergic to and did not ask for is a serious health hazard. 2) When you make a mistake, own it and apologize for it. You got the order wrong. That’s okay. An apology and fixing it would have been the best thing to do. 3) Never hang up on a customer. This is extremely rude and unprofessional and reflects very poorly on your business as a whole.

This place reminded me of the cafes in Paris. Small but authentic. I had the spinach quiche, which was mostly spinach with very little crust. My husband had ham, egg and cheese on a crossaint. The crossaint was from Balthazar, which is one of my husband’s favorite bakeries in the city. The crew were very friendly. I could definitely chill there whole day.

The sandwich was good and the market is super cute. However I felt it was a little over priced and the older spanish woman making the sandwiches was a little rude to us. I don’t think I will be returning anytime soon for lunch but their catering options look really good so maybe for an office party down the road.

I don’t know why this place has 4 stars. I’ve gone in multiple times, wanting to order something, and always so turned off by how dirty the place is.
I did order a sandwich once, and it was nothing special and overpriced.

Perfect place for breakfast or lunch Owner is fantastic and food is made right in front of you. Feels like stepping back in time — it is very small but cozy. Great to see these small places up and running amongst their sub-​par corporate chain competitors!

Great little breakfast in Hoboken with a cool atmosphere. Typically get breakfast sandwich or the big breakfast. Spicy omelette is great too
Agree with other users that quality will depend on which person makes the food. If it’s the owner, you won’t be disappointed.
The lunch sandwiches are quality but find they are getting progressively more expensive. Don’t think a simple chicken club warrants a $ 10 price tag.

Was disappointed with this restaurant after reading previous Unilocal reviews. Service was slow, and my breakfast sandwich fell apart each bite I took. The food is definitely fresh as they make it right in front of you, but I still would be hesitant to go back.

So, although I had high hopes for this place, this was a let down. The outside décor and the appeal of small french hideaway was a draw. Once inside, you’ll feel like you’re in a convenience store/​studio apartment. We got two omelettes, one French and one Veggie. The plate looked like it was missing something and was just too bare. We ended up ordering a few more pieces of bread since that’s all they had. The muffins didn’t look fresh. The omelettes weren’t bad, but definitely not mind blowing or to die for. Overall this is a resounding «Meh».

Grabbed a breakfast sandwich here — can’t complain! The staff here is really friendly and quick. Luckily I live pretty close so will definitely come back.

Good service, great food, best spot for bread pudding and egg sandwiches. I like to call and order before hand, quicker that way ! Always fresh and hot when I get it. Good for breakfast

recent dropped a star due to the new chef. Will give it a 5 if owner is at the shop!
The place is small but comes with great food. The owner is very friendly and funny if he knows you. Both my wife and I stop by there often for a Sunday brunch after church.
I usually go to Dino, American, or Salmon omelet. The egg is soft and gets along with other items. The coffee is decent and I love the fact that they have their own ginger ale.
However, they recently open another shop on Washington St and the new chef covers this place from time to time. If it is not the owner, run away because the new chef makes the Denny’s standard omelet.

This place is wonderful. Small, local place with great food! The egg sandwiches are awesome and I just had their chicken salad cranberry sandwich and it was to die for! Simple, homemade goodness.
There is sometimes a wait if you go on weekend mornings (and it’s a small kitchen so it’s tough for them to keep up) but it’s worth the wait!

I really wanted to like this place, but for various reasons I cannot. I tried The Little Grocery last year with my wife and we were both underwhelmed. But that was a while back, so I thought this summer I’d give them another chance. What a fool I am! I had to return food twice in the last week. Yes, I know, I should have learned my lesson the first time, but its close proximity and enticing menu persuaded me to try again.
This past Saturday my wife and I ordered breakfast for pick up. The French toast was a soggy mess of disintegrated egg and bread-​meal, soaking in a stagnant pool of thick syrup. It was an abomination and an insult to motel buffet breakfasts everywhere! Initially I thought it was a mistake, so I brought it back and the woman behind the counter told me that the tiny tinfoil container of sludge was as the chef had intended it. It was «real» «French» toast and was rich in egg and other ingredients and was supposed to have that appearance and consistency. A «chef» was responsible for that culinary atrocity?
The translation for French toast is «Pain doré» or literally translated, «golden bread». I’m not an expert, but I did spend many of my summers growing up in France and did most of my undergraduate in Dijon, and I never once encountered such a perverse mockery of a breakfast item so beloved across the world. The Little Grocery did refund my money, however, with no questions asked.
I was never going to return, but today I was ravenous and needed to grab something quick between conference calls. I decided to give them another try because I was craving a salad and figured that even the Little Grocery couldn’t mess that up. Ha ha, my naïvité will be the death of me. I called in my order and ran over to pick it up. I made the mistake of not examining the contents of my order before I left.
Well, I’ve already spent too much time on this place so I’ll wrap it up. The salad portion was tiny and instead of grilled chicken it was some dodgy cold cut chopped up over wilted lettuce. I returned it immediately and informed the owner why I was displeased. He refunded my money without making any eye-​contact and offered no apologies or explanation. I know first-​hand that customer service is not the forte of the French, but pride in culinary creations usually is. At the Little Grocery, I’ve found that quality and accountability are two ingredients that they are severely lacking.

Great place for a quick yet satisfying breakfast! I had a large ice coffee and croissant sandwich with egg white and turkey to finish a great morning workout. Both were perfectly done and the owners were very nice.

4.5 stars
«Home of Hoboken’s best egg sandwiches» — well, I haven’t tried them all but this is definitely a strong contender.
Came in this morning and wanted a breakfast sandwich, and being a cheese man, was pleased to see the selection of cheeses they had for their sandwiches. Ended up going with a ham, egg and Brie on a fresh Balthazar croissant (I came at the open and watched them come out of the bakery box). Fluffy eggs cooked to perfection, but minus half a star for slightly light on the ham, and Brie on only half of the sandwich.
Delicious nonetheless, and a hidden gem with cool ambiance.

Grabbed a breakfast sandwich to go here this morning. This place is TINY! But I like that it’s a mom and pop shop, keeps it authentic.
The owner was sitting down watching Euro football, or soccer as we say here at 830 this morning. There was one guy behind the counter and he cooks the eggs and food right in front of you on skillets. It’s nice to see how your food is being handled or
Prepared.
I ordered a sausage, egg and cheese on a roll to go. It took about 5 – 7 minutes. It’s a smaller breakfast sandwich but is tasty. The sausage really gives it a lot of flavor and it stayed warm/​hot for about 25 minutes before we ate it.
They take CC and there aren’t many places to sit inside but no one was really eating there.
It can get a little packed because the operation is so small and therefore a little slow but definitely worth going to.

Such a cute little breakfast stop! As some people have already mentioned, the owner is hilarious. We asked him for a second or two to look at the menu, so he said, «One potato, two potato, are you ready now?» Then, when we said we were ready he said he was about to sit down and have his coffee now, too late.
I love funny people with a good sense of humor. You can tell they care about their customers, and they are on a first name basis with their regulars. Anyway, I digress. Since I’m such a fatty, I had the french toast AND the smoked salmon, capers, and goat cheese omelet (Sike: I shared). But, they were both absolutely delicious. I know they are known for their french toast, but the omelet was equally as good. Very filling dishes. The place is very small and quaint. I went around 11am on a Saturday, and we were able to get a seat, and our food was ready in a matter of minutes.
If I lived in Hoboken, I would be here all the time. I love helping small businesses, especially when they are friendly and the food is delicious.

Finally made it to The Little Grocery after hearing to many great things about it. I got a sausage and egg sandwich. I was a little put off by the price initially since I could get one of these for $ 2 or less at your typical NYC deli. But this sausage+egg sandwich is definitely a step above your typical NYC breakfast sandwich. They use good bread (from Balthazar) and decent quality sausage.
This place is tiny so it’s really more of a takeout place. The owner is so friendly. Highly recommend!