Best Supermarket in Palermo!!

[A&A]

What do expats in BA think the best grocery store in Palermo is. Ok, sure "best" is subjective...but the criteria are:

In descending order of importance:

1. Selection (both variety of items, and multiple brands)
2. Size
3. Cost (hey money matters)
4. Convienence (sure Jumbo on Bullrich is huge but its far for some)
5. Customer service (ok...stop laughing...)
6. "Expat-y-ness": (selection of products from home, English spoken or at least beginner Spanish accepted, "Yes, we take foreign credit cards" that sort of thng)


Ok, I guess that's plenty....from Chinos to SuperMercados to Jumbos, its a grocery store food fight....and your champion is....???

 

[tangobob]

Not strictly in Palermo, but there is a Jumbo on Guardia Vieja and Yatay.
Pretty big but like all these stores, be prepared for very slow checkouts.

 

[MizzMarr]

If you're looking for "expat" catered shopping, you've narrowed down your selection to the big chains like Jumbo (but the prices are in general quite a bit higher). Even those selections aren't very good anymore. It always boggles my mind when I see imports like Pam non-stick spray and peanuts. I think that a letter needs to be written to whomever does their importing to give them some suggestions.

For convenience it's all about finding what you need around where you live. I shop at the market next-door to my house, get chicken from the carnicería around the corner, and fruits/veggies at verdulerias down the street. When I need cheese I go to Disco or Jumbo (I like the big fynbo wheels--but I wait until the days that they offer a discount for my bank), and when I need imports I go to Barrio Chino. For natural skin/hair care and food items I use local dieteticas. I have found that there is no such thing as "one stop" convenience shopping here. Everything but Barrio Chino is within walking distance.

 

[French jurist]

Jumbo, Carrefour, Disco are overprice imho.

It's much cheaper to buy products in specialized shops (once you know where to go).
Price differences are usually 20/30% higher in those big supermarkets, sometimes 100% more on a same product (I have for example a camembert), up to 1000% (rucula : 10 pesos at jumbo, 1 peso in a non-fancy bolivian shop).

 

[PhilipDT]

Also you can usually call to a lot of those carnecerias etc. for delivery.

 

[French jurist]

Meat is much better in carnicerias too !

 

[A&A]

If you're looking for "expat" catered shopping, you've narrowed down your selection to the big chains like Jumbo

No, not at all. I was just trying to see where people shopped at and preferred no matter what it is. Carrefour, to El Sirio, to the chino on the corner. I just threw out some criteria. The expat thing was just because once in a while everyone looks for that one thing from home. So I wanted to factor it in but not a huge part of it.

 

[theglow]

I like the "Chino" Supermercado on Costa Rica between Humboldt and Fitz Roy. It's SUPER clean and has a decent selection for the basics - they even bake fresh bread in the back! I usually hit up the Jumbo once every 10 days or so to stock up, but I use the Supermercado for daily needs. The guys in there are extremely friendly as well.

 

[MizzMarr]

I forget what it's called (el Cordial?) but there is a nice supermarket on Serrano (Borges) just past Costa Rica on the left side of the street--nice produce, cheese, olives, fruit/nuts, even turkey slices. I used to shop there a lot when I worked nearby.

 

[starlucia]

I find I can avoid the Disco altogether by hitting up Hausbrot bakery, New Garden Villares/La Esquina, and the Chinese grocery/verduleria (as a vegetarian, I'm off the hook about carnicerias.) I go to Hausbrot for the great organic, whole-grain breads and pastas; New Garden/La Esquina for "specialty" items like raw honey, tahini, dried fruits and legumes, spices, quinoa; the chino for basics like wine, paper towels, bottled water; and the verduleria for fresh produce.