Alligator Wholefood is undoubtedly the best place to buy organic vegetarian produce in the York area. Although the main attraction is the fresh produce and dry food goods, unlike many other wholefood shops, it is possible to do an entire grocery shop i.e. including non-food items such as detergents, soap and sanitary products.

Alligator also has the advantage of being small and friendly (like a Yorkshire Terrier on valium?) - it’s always a pleasure to go there, and should you buy a vegetable you’re not familiar with someone is sure to come up with suggestion as to what to do with it (no not that!).

The staff are very knowledgeable since they do actually eat that kind of food (though there was once a woman there whose favourite food was Jaffa Cakes but she’s left). In spite of the compact layout of the shop the range is comprehensive and the proprietor and staff are always keen to obtain any special things you might require. In any case it’s always worth asking for things which are not immediately visible â€" I mean food and stuff â€" not scale models of the Taj Mahal or spare parts for your lawn mower.

Obviously there is no car park - but that isn’t a problem since the staff are always happy to help carry your stuff to your car - and they get to stretch their legs a bit.

The only troubling thing about Alligator is the puzzle of why the shop was named thus in the first place - no-one seems to know or remember!

STC

Reviewer Steve C has written no other reviews

My favourite shop in York. Alligator sells a fantastic range of organic, vegetarian, often local and fairly traded food. But it is not this alone that makes me continue shopping there after first 'givng them a go' around 3 years ago. It is the character of the place, from their tardis-like ability to offer such a wide range of products in their smallish shop, to the friendliness and helpfulnes of the staff, who make our shopping experience much more fun than when we used to visit the bland supermarkets, which we have now given up. I worried when we gave up the supermarkets that this would be a more expensive way to shop and that we couldn't afford it, however we have found our monthly spend on food has decreased since shopping here and that we're cooking more and more things from scratch and eating healthier. You can get pretty much anything you need, especially if you cook seasonally and they're always willing to order things in especially for you if you want something not usually stocked and as you can buy a lot of things by weight rather than in big plastic bags containg a predetermined amount, you can buy just what you need and save money by getting discounts on items you use a lot of, by buying them in bulk.

Everyone shoud support amazing independents like Alligator to ensure they keep going and that we're not all sucked in to the bland supermarket system.

Reviewer Rebecca D has written 2 reviews

I have been using this shop on and off since 1991 and now that we have moved nearer I am a regular customer of this remarkable place. The range of merchandise is first rate - and in many cases available to buy loose in the quantities YOU want. The staff are friendly and very responsive to questions about provenance or how one can cook or prepare particular ingredients. But it is more than that. Now that the High Street has become so anonymous and shopping in so many cases simply a commercial transaction, how often does one enter a shop, ask about the precise colour of some packaging and end up having a fascinating discussion with the owner about the history of the discovery of colour blindness!? If you want a quick, anonymous in-and-out shop Alligator is perhaps not the place to go - one of the delightful eccentricities of the place is that your shopping bill is added up on paper while more often than not one falls into conversation with other shoppers - but if you want to conduct trade that is fair in every sense of the word in a fashion that accommodates the foibles and fads of customers in a courteous and understanding manner then Alligator is definitely your shop. Highly recommended!

Reviewer Simon D has written no other reviews

Alligator was the first place I looked for when I moved here for a job in 1980. It was nearly impossible to find vegetarian food in those days. The place hasn't changed much - the staff are a bit more polite now, but the ethos is the same.

Other shops have come and gone but Alligator has stood the test of time, because it has established a niche in the market. I'm not vegetarian now, I'm vegan, and their range of vegan products is considerable.

They stock the best range of organic and local-unsprayed, i.e. very fresh, veg of any shop I've seen. They sell decent bread, hard to find for vegans, and an excellent range of ingredients in drums to be weighed in whatever quantity is required. And there's just about everything else needed for a vegetarian lifestyle. The prices are competetive too.

Alligator has a great range, and if something isn't immediately available the friendly and helpful staff can order it and it appears within a few days.

It's a pleasure to shop there.

Reviewer meg s (Yorkshire) has written no other reviews

This is my favourite shop in the world! Locally-grown veg, cruelty-free toiletries and cleaning products, vegan chocolate spread and ice cream, as well as an extensive range of nuts, dried fruit, cereals, grains, pulses, herbs and spices sold by weight. And a very impressive selection of teas, soya products, olives, and much much more.

The friendly staff, community noticeboard, sound ethics and warm welcome are all a bonus, and make shopping at Alligator an enjoyable and rewarding experience. I thoroughly recommend it, and really hope it stays in business for many years to come.

Support Alligator, before it gets pushed out of the market by the big chains!

Reviewer Cecile B has written 2 reviews

This is the ultimate whole food-local/organic produce-neighbourhood shop with friendly knowledgeable staff and a fantastic range of produce and products.

Everything from locally grown organic or unsprayed fruit and veg. to unbelievable Zotter chocolate, with juniper berries, sushi ingredients, all sorts of herbs and spices from standard to obscure, even shampoo and handmade greeting cards. All kinds of rice and flour and oats. Choose your quantity---even just a tablespoon if that's all you need.

There is so much on the wooden shelves of this friendly compact shop here that it's like a cross between an entire market and a reference library of food and household products!

Paper bags for produce here, no nasty plastic and styrofoam packaging.

Reasons for shopping here: delicious quality foods, a real connection to the seasons and to this region, the freshest and best local asparagus and raspberries anywhere, good prices, a real neighbourhood/community atmosphere.

Big supermarkets with all their plastic wrappings, food miles and impersonal ethos cannot hold a candle to Alligator!

Reviewer m g has written 2 reviews

Quite apart from its terrific location, close to the River Ouse and a short, scenic walk from the city centre, Alligator is a treasure trove of high quality organic fruit and vegetables, chocolate (the Zotter range alone is well worth investigating!), vegetarian and vegan products as well as everyday staples.

Even after living several years here in York, there are still things in the shop I’m sure I haven’t discovered yet. There is more variety than might be expected for an independent shop of this size. The shelves are packed with an impressive array of different items; you can easily do your whole weekly shop here. To find, for example, three organic non-corporate colas on sale in the same chiller cabinet is quite a treat! Some products are difficult to find outside vegetarian magazine adverts and yet Alligator often has them shortly after they have been launched.

The staff are extremely friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. They are often willing to arrange special orders even for relatively small amounts and can offer their opinions and advice on numerous issues (from the best chocolate flavour combinations to what brand of detergent is most suitable for vegans). They have even been known to open the door for me on occasions when I’m struggling out with my heavy bags!

For vegetarians and vegans also attracted by the notion of more ethical shopping, it is great to be able to buy exactly what you need. Shopping at Alligator is far less wasteful than bulk buying vegetables and other ingredients wrapped in layers of plastic from the supermarket. Nothing beats the excitement of being able to buy all the separate ingredients for a Christmas cake and bring them home in separate paper bags! There are a number of local growers who bring in produce (sometimes unsprayed rather than organic) and, if you shop regularly in Alligator, you get a real sense of the seasons, for example, that fantastic moment when the asparagus season comes around again. All the other fruit and veg is labelled with the country of origin, so it’s easy to make an informed choice if you are trying to reduce your food miles.

Alligator is a special place because it’s got a real community spirit about it. It is the epitome of anti-corporate shopping. For a vegetarian new to living in the city (and being a southerner to boot!), finding Alligator helped me to feel at home and made me feel a part of the vibrant vegetarian community living here in York.

Reviewer M H has written no other reviews

A good range of quality produce, innovative ideas (think chocolate ... !), friendly and quirky character, and good prices add up to make this my favourite shop in York (and as a York resident for over 20 years I'm familiar with what else there is).

Having my other favourite shop in York (York Beer shop, which incidentally is also an excellent cheese shop) a stone's throw away is a bonus. And I mention them in the same breath deliberately as they share the same ethos - shops which pioneered principles like organic, locally grown, and supporting small scale producers years before they were fashionable; shops which have remained true to those principles; shops with a friendly and really helpful character.

So what specifically do I like about Alligator ?

They sell things I want to buy at competitive prices. I thought they would be expensive but when I looked more closely I found that their prices for dried fruit were actually cheaper than Holland and Barrett - even with H&B doing '50% off' offers. And their dates are the tastiest around as well as being so well priced. The owner can quote you examples of their prices being less than half the price of a standard centre-of-town equivalent if you want.

Their locally grown fruit/veg is always worth keeping an eye out for as it's especially tasty.

Over the last months a huge hit has been the specialist chocolate bars they have introduced. The Labooko (organic and fair trade) range is superb, a shining light in York's competitive chocolate market, and is a winner for presents. My wife is a chocolate connoisseur and this range has gained full marks for approval from her.

They also sell a good variety of things - today I wanted juniper berries. They had them and I could buy the quantity I wanted. 40p it came to. The other week I wanted arame - again, they had it , and I could buy the number of grammes I wanted, and it was cheaper than buying a pre-packed box elsewhere. And so on. I'm not saying everything is cheaper than a supermarket, but more is than you'd expect. Personally I much prefer buying herbs/spices when (as at Alligator) you can specify the quantity you want and don't have to pay for excess packaging - the result is so much cheaper, and gives what you wanted.

Talking of packaging, ironically you may leave with your produce in a Morrisons bag as they reuse bags from other shops - if you've ended up with more bags than you need take them along.

If you shop regularly there is a loyalty scheme (which comes to about 2 - 3% off everything you buy when you average it out).

They also do deliveries for orders over a certain value. I've never used that, though, as for me half the value is in the thoroughly civilised nature of the shopping experience : I leave the shop feeling richer as a person, and thinking what a fine place York is to live.

Reviewer Richard H has written no other reviews