Supermarket or small corner shop for grocery shopping in Poland?

Do you prefer food shopping at supermarkets or vising the shops -- family-owned groceries, bake shops, butcher's, fishmongers, etc. Or both? Why?
The Polish markets in Michigan are a lot like the old corner grocery, esp. where meat is concerned. They've got these long butcher counters where meat is on view in glass-front, refrigerated display cases, you take a number and when it turns up you get to pick out the cut you want and discuss things and with a real, live, flesh and blood butcher (or butcherette). The mainline American supermakets have self-serve open meat counters where everything is pre-packaged and you can't see what the bottom is like (through the styrofoam tray) so you never know what you're throwing into the trolley.

There are no trolleys in America. They're called shopping carts. And are you talking about shopping in the US, UK, or Poland?

Primarily, the market, then, the shop. Supermarkets are for people who can't cook, or live in a place where there are no good shops.

Supermarket. Mainly because catfood there costs one zloty and two grosz per can less than the corner shop and I get thought 120 cans a month. And because the nearest place that sells the cat litter I need is in the same building as a Carrefour. And partly because the selection of beer is far better at the supermarket. And slightly because I'm too lazy to cook.

I like both. Supermarkets for lower everyday prices and shops for more ethnic variety selection.

I prefer local shops most of the time because they're much more personal and a lot friendlier. If they don't have exact change, they'll give me what they have on hand and I'll bring them a zl or two later. Sometimes it works the other way. And sometimes I don't have to say anything other than hello (in Polish, of course) and they smile and give me my regular purchase. That ain't gonna happen at BOMI.

In addition, I live 100m from Hala Targowa in Gdansk Old Town, so convenience is a factor. The meat and poultry shops I frequent will also order things for me if they don't have them, or don't have them in the quantity I want, as in a large leg of lamb or 16 chicken breasts for a dinner party I'm having on Saturday.

I know that people complain about customer service in Poland, but because I've been going to the same shops for years, that hasn't been my experience, at least with them.

And I get to improve my Polish by chatting with the small shop owners.

Local shops for the win!!!!!!

For everyday items, I usually shop at a supermarket. For a specialty product, such as homemade kielbasa, I shop at a mom n pop delicatessen.

Bottom line is that that in the" ma and pa" shops you will pay a premium for the "hands on" service.In the the grocery chains,the prices are cheaper but you are on your own to fend for yourself.Like they say---"you get what you pay for".

120 cans of cat food a month? Are you feeding a small tiger?!

Merged: Cost of grocery shopping in Poland?

Me and my 4 friends are going to Poland with my friend for 1 week and I was wondering how much the grocery shopping would be? Thank You!

Polish tesco online site. In English. See what you plan on buying and you'll know: s.tesco.pl/en-GB/shop

The 'targi' for fruit, veg,eggs and meat, supermarket for tinned and dried goods and things like detergent.


Yes, in my local Warsaw supermarket there's a choice of buying from the pre-packed or the butcher counter. The quality of meat in Poland varies regardless of where you buy it but on the whole it's probably better than America. I saw a truly horrendous documentary about the American food production industry and large scale farming which would really put me off eating meat from an American supermarket.

Dunno that much about the prodcution end of it but I reckon maximum yield at minimum expense rules the day. So you probably get meat containing traces of hormones and antibiotics from animals possibly fed with GMO fodder and grazing in pesticide-rich pastures. (GMO is still banned in Poland -- I was speaking in general terms.)

However the beef in America and the British Isles is defintiely superior to Poland's. Often what you get is the beef from an old milk cow going under the knife after she stops giving milk. Tough as shoe leather. One can buy premium-quality Argentine beef in Poland but the prices are sky-high. In general Poles are a nation of pork-eater, so beef is a definite also-ran.

Corner shops for fruit and vegetables, supermarkets for the rest. Corner shops are hideously overpriced.

Well there's no doubt Irish beef is far better than Polish. I'm also surprised at the poor quality of milk in Poland. I'm not a milk drinker but I use it in cooking for things like porridge and my husband likes to drink hot milk. Even though the percentage of fat in Irish milk is no higher than Polish, it's so much creamier. You can really see the difference when you boil it and the that lovely creamy froth rises to the top with Irish milk. You don't get that with Polish milk, it's very watery by comparison.

If you get the chance, try the raw milk from a mlekomat. It's fantastic stuff, and the price at the minute is between 3-3.50zł a litre. I'm very fond of it.


Did you look in Biedronka? They've got some decent cuts of meat recently for not very much money - they even have lamb in my local one!

" Even though the percentage of fat in Irish milk is no higher than Polish, it's so much creamier. "

Could this be a difference between UHT (Polish) and simply homogenised (Irish) ?

Irish milk is certainly yummy :)

I meant the fresh milk. It's about the same fat content as Irish. UHT is an abomination. Along with prawns and elasticated underpants (according to Harry, see this thread polishforums.com/news/poland-duda-invited-march-independence-day-76186/ it's an affront to the Almighty. Unlike the Almighty I'm a great fan of prawns. I'm too much of a lady to comment on the underpants.

You can buy both pasteurised and raw milk in Poland. I'm pretty sure "full milk" is "full milk" and it's the same in Poland and in Ireland.

The thing is that you don't know what you have paid for until you take it home and try to cook it. So far we have struck out. One time we even got fillet steak that was as tender as shoe leather and you had to chew, and chew and chew.... The most usable beef in Poland is mince (for burgers) or shank which has had the hell boiled out of it. Run it through a mincer and you've got great meat-filled pierogi. The leftover beef stock makes a nice base for broth, bouillon and different souips.

Yes, the Mrs did once pick up some nice New Zealand lamb chops at LeClerc I believe, but they weren't cheap.

It's not easy to buy a really raw milk (not pasteurised) in Poland.

Generally, there are 3 types of milk available in the shops. Within each of these types milk of a different fat content is available, which is usually distinguished within the types milk of a given company by different colors on the package.

1. UHT milk - usually sold in cartons, you can find the UHT abbreviation on it - in a more visible or a less visible place:

Stays fresh for the longest time, don't have to be kept in a fridge before opening, but it's most processed (it's heated to about 135-140 deg. C and then quickly cooled down to about 20 deg. C) and, probably, most unhealthy.

2. Pasteurised milk sold in bottles - described as "pasteryzowane":

Stays fresh much shorter, has to be kept in a fridge, but it's less processed (it's heated to about 60-90 deg. C to kill germs) and, probably, less unhealthy than the UHT milk.

3. Pasteurised milk sold in plastic bags - also described as "pasteryzowane":



When you leave it for a longer time in a mug in a warm place, it will not get spoiled, but soured. I don't really know how it's different from the pasteurised milk from bottles, but it's somehow more similar to the milk "straight from the cow". This type of milk is rather not met in chain supermarkets, but it's possible to buy it in local shops.

The last type is fresh milk "straight from the cow". Some time ago in bigger cities, near shopping malls, vending machines selling such milk started to appear, but AFAIK, they disappeard as quickly as they appeared. I know that they are still in some places - you need to google under the term "mlekomat". You can also look for it at local street markets.

Why would you say that UHT milk is unhealthy? It has slightly less nutrients, that's true (slightly less vitamins B, C and folic acid), and no bacteria, but it's not unhealthy.

In Poznań and in Wrocław there is plenty of "mlekomaty" to be found and they don't disappear.
mlekomaty.org/swieze-mleko/2.190.lista-mlekomatow

They seem to be more popular in Czech Republic.