# Supermarkets!



## applesandpears (Mar 1, 2018)

Hi everyone,

So I'm sure we have all experimented with a lot of supermarkets since being in Dubai - I however can never seem to figure out which one is best to shop in regularly!

Spinneys is definitely expensive though they have products you wouldn't find elsewhere. Carrefour, Nesto, Union, Lulu Hypermarket etc... what are your best supermarkets budget wise?


----------



## Reddiva (Feb 24, 2016)

applesandpears said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> So I'm sure we have all experimented with a lot of supermarkets since being in Dubai - I however can never seem to figure out which one is best to shop in regularly!
> 
> Spinneys is definitely expensive though they have products you wouldn't find elsewhere. Carrefour, Nesto, Union, Lulu Hypermarket etc... what are your best supermarkets budget wise?


Carrefour for branded items ( Cheapest here)
Marks and Spencer for UK items ( shop in the evening as they discount stock that will expire) organic shop 3/4 weekend of the month for pork as 20% off

Spinneys and waitrose are ridiculously overpriced so i don't shop there


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Carrefour has the best balance between price, range and quality. Produce is fine. Big organic selection. Best is to go early in the day before it gets too busy. I've never bought meat at Carrefour so can't comment, but they have the largest and best cheese selection and reasonably priced too.

Prime Gourmet for meat.

Spinneys and its Waitrose clone for odds and ends. 

Union Coop is supposed to have excellent prices but I don't see enough of a difference or appeal to justify going there over Carrefour.


----------



## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

I used to like Geant because they had Rotel and some other oddball stuffs I liked and the fiance liked the fish market. Carrefour is where we shop for a lot of things including cheap meat, steak and decent vegetables but I prefer Spinney's for steak. Park n' Shop I also go to for some US items I can't find anywhere else like US pork sausage, Miracle Whip and whipped cream without added sugar.


----------



## Winks13 (Oct 8, 2012)

My local is Choithrams, good balance of price and selection and a lot of them have a pork section.


----------



## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

These days we use a lot of Choithram's because of their online shopping (which others too offer - e.g. Lulu)


----------



## Malbec (Jan 2, 2014)

TallyHo said:


> Carrefour has the best balance between price, range and quality. Produce is fine. Big organic selection. Best is to go early in the day before it gets too busy. I've never bought meat at Carrefour so can't comment, but they have the largest and best cheese selection and reasonably priced too.
> 
> Prime Gourmet for meat.
> 
> ...


I generally agree with this statement, although for me Spinneys is number 1, I like it even better than Waitrose as some things are done in a different way or have slightly different product variations. Regarding Union Coop, the italian products they carry (in some special designated area of the supermarket in Al Barsha) cannot be found anywhere else. Union Coop has actually improved a lot in my opinion and even the range of imported cheese is very good and better priced than Spinneys.


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Malbec said:


> I generally agree with this statement, although for me Spinneys is number 1, I like it even better than Waitrose as some things are done in a different way or have slightly different product variations. Regarding Union Coop, the italian products they carry (in some special designated area of the supermarket in Al Barsha) cannot be found anywhere else. Union Coop has actually improved a lot in my opinion and even the range of imported cheese is very good and better priced than Spinneys.


Par for par Spinneys/Waitrose is better than Carrefour. But you pay a lot more for the privilege, which is an understatement  

I should take another look at the Barsha Coop.


----------



## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

The ability to sell pork is important and the big Europeans ones don't do they by and large do they ?

I've never seen a pork room in a Carrefour or Geant at all but maybe I missed it.


----------



## Reddiva (Feb 24, 2016)

twowheelsgood said:


> The ability to sell pork is important and the big Europeans ones don't do they by and large do they ?
> 
> I've never seen a pork room in a Carrefour or Geant at all but maybe I missed it.


Sadly pork isn't sold in either.


----------



## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

twowheelsgood said:


> The ability to sell pork is important and the big Europeans ones don't do they by and large do they ?
> 
> I've never seen a pork room in a Carrefour or Geant at all but maybe I missed it.


No pork room. Never has been one. You think they would due to the national origins of the markets and the large demand for pork among both European and Filipino expats but I've been told it's because the supply chain logistics for C4 and Geant find it easier not to deal with pork. C4 has many branches around the Middle East / North Africa and they know how successful they can be without pork so why bother just for the UAE?


----------

