Things to Know When Doing Groceries in Italy

Once you come to Italy, you will have to go and buy groceries at some point. But where should you go? And how do you make sure to get high quality products? Let's go and find out! 

Where to go

There are 3 different type of places you can go to buy groceries: 

1) Supermarkets (Supermercati): I supermercati are perfect is you need to buy in bulk or if you need to make a big weekly or monthly shopping. If you are in Northern Italy, I recommend you "Esselunga", which in my experience has the highest quality food at an accessible price. If you are in the South, "Conad" and "Coop" are some of the best supermarket chains.  

2) Local Stores (Negozi di alimentari): In Italy there's plenty of local groceries stores, especially in small towns. If you find yourself in a very small city, go ahead and try out some negozi di alimentari. These locals stores are usually cheaper than big supermarket chains, on the other hand they usually have a limited catalogue of products. 

3) Open Air Markets (Mercati): I mercati are the king of fresh food. In almost every city in Italy there is the mercato, a weekly or biweekly event that gathers the local farmers. This is by far the best option if you are looking for fresh fruits and vegetables, but also fresh fish. Every city has a different time for mercato, in mine for example it's every Wednesday morning. 

Things to know

A) Don't touch the food without asking in the mercato! Always ask the merchant if you can serve yourself by saying "posso fare da solo?" (Can I do it by myself?)

B) There is no bargain culture in Italy. The price you see on the stands cannot be debated. That is of course the case for supermarkets, but also for local groceries shops and open air markets. Asking for discounts it's not seen in a good lights and therefore not advised. 

C) Almost anyone speaks English, unless you find yourself in a quite international city (Milan, Rome or Venice). You need to know few Italian sentences to survive when doing your groceries like: 

• Quanto costa? How much is it? 
• Quanti kili vuoi? Vorrei 2 kili per favore. How many kilos do you want? I would like two kilos please
• Un sacchetto per favore. A bag please.
• Vuoi lo scontrino? Si, grazie! Do you want the receipt? Yes, please!
• Grazie mille! Thank you so much! 

Ci vediamo al prossimo post! I will see you at the next blog post! :)