Dominican Supermarkets

[NALs]

What supermarkets do you frequent the most?

A) Pricesmart
B) Nacional
C) Super Pola (La Sirena)
D) La Cadena
E) Bravo
F) Plaza Lama
G) Jumbo
H) Carrefour
I) Other supermarket(s)
J) I don't shop in supermarkets.

You can choose multiple options.

Please explain what you like or dislike about any particular chain/independent store.

[windeguy]

Most shopping is done at Janets Supermarket in Cabarete.

We grudgingly get some items at Playero in Sosua.

Pricesmart from time to time for the cheese and other items that are more like back home and are available almost nowhere else near us. Higher quality items than at most other supermarkets.

La Sirena in POP to get some different items than are available in Cabarete.

I only shopped twice at the Nacional in Santiago and it seemed pretty good. I have never shopped at the others listed that I didn't already mention.

[johnny]

Bravo in Los Cacicazgos. my favorite.
Nacional in Arroyo Hondo very good too. and National in Ave. independecia, the only supermarket in DR. that has boneless thigh.
Carrefour has the best prices, but they never has enough cashier to pay.

[bigbird]

Carrefour and Nacional at Lincoln and 27 both have very good selections, hot food bar, fresh squeezed juices, and a good booze section.

[whirleybird]

Not being close to any of the aforementioned large supermarket chains, we tend to restrict our grocery shopping to the local supermarkets - Supermercado Rodriguez in Sabaneta and Super Yudal in Cuesta Barosa village. What they don't normally stock on a regular basis, they will get for us on request. For meat purchase we use the local butcher but we do have our own home bred animals for pork and lamb which, of course, we are happy to supply to others too - see our bigpalmfinca advert in the classifieds.... Occasionally we do visit Playero in Sosua but only under sufferance!! We just feel it is worth a trip to POP or Santiago to save a few pesos which we would spend on fuel getting there anyway!

[Matilda]

Iberia in San Pedro. Significantly cheaper than the newish (3 yrs) Jumbo and helpful staff. Appalling fruit and veg so get that from the market in San pedro.

matilda

[Yachtmaster]

I have lived, worked and travelled throughout most of the Caribbean and I must say, overall, the supermarkets in the Dominican Republic are pretty hard to beat!

You can get get pretty much anything you want and then some, and in a nice shopping atmosphere to boot.

The only killer is the 16% IBITIS

[InsanelyOne]

The best I can do is the Iberia in Higuey but I guess it's worse for us in the east. I must confess that my biggest complaint about living here is the quality of food items. The vegetables are appalling. Virtually everything at the stores is rotten. Every time I'm in the States and visit a Whole Foods or Wegman's I feel I'm in heaven. I enjoy cooking but it's just not the same here. What I would do for a quality piece of beef tenderloin!!

Yachtmaster, have you been to Sint Maarten/Saint Martin? I find the food/veg/fruits better there than here in the DR.

[InsanelyOne]

The best I can do is the Iberia in Higuey but I guess it's worse for us in the east. I must confess that my biggest complaint about living here is the quality of food items. The vegetables are appalling. Virtually everything at the stores is rotten. Every time I'm in the States and visit a Whole Foods or Wegman's I feel I'm in heaven. I enjoy cooking but it's just not the same here. What I would do for a quality piece of beef tenderloin!!

Yachtmaster, have you been to Sint Maarten/Saint Martin? I find the food/veg/fruits better there than here in the DR.

[okgo]

while living in santiago i did most of my shopping at nacional and i was always pleased with their selection of both dominican products and american products, i also didn't mind the free presidente samples every once in a while. I also spent some time in caberete, and used Janet's supermarket to pick up a few items every so often.