Great place to do your grocery shopping. Fresh produce, and…read moretons of varied staples, and more. Great service, and great, great value!

This large local market was only a few minutes away from our AirBnb so we stopped by to pick up…read moresome goods. It was much larger than a Conad and very similar to an American market except their offerings are much more interesting. I was in love with the vast yogurt selection. Picked up some Pistacchio Yogurt for breakfast and it was delicious! They also had fresh fruit for decent prices and plenty of food souvenirs to take home. I found a box of Ferrero's Pocket Expresso that I've been searching for and some juices. Plenty of locals shop here as I didn't see too many tourists. Bonus: You can also buy bus tickets here!

... this Coop in Montevarchi is truly a feast for the eye ... their stock of vegetables, fruits,…read morecheeses, meat cuts and pastas is very expansive ... also very much seasonal.

This supermarket is simply amazing. It's buzzing with life and has more variety of food than you…read morecan imagine. It's a pure joy to stroll along the isles and discover new foods. Take your time, it's life you're looking at. Enjoy it ;-)

My go to place for supplies. Skip the expensive convenience stores and load up on your drinks here…read more- including water and wine. Produce is a bit expensive, so just stick to the basics like breakfast items, snacks, and drinks.

Limited selection of items compared to the other Carrefour expresses in the area…read more Greeted the cashier in Italian, yet he was noticeably more rude compared to the way he treated the other customers.

Busy store with good selection of cheeses, salami (have deli counter) and wine. However, wine…read moreprices are high compared to other nearby stores. The exact same wine (a Chianti Classico) I paid 6.5 euros elsewhere was 9.6 euros here. Limited selection of prepared meals/salads.?

Convenient grocery store with so many items jammed into the small space. The bakery and deli offer…read morea nice selection. Try not to go during peak hours or you'll be bumping into people.

An excellent place it shop while you are in Italy. Great food bargain and had everything you need…read moreto survive.

Perhaps some remember and dream of the days when Italy did not yet have gigantic supermarkets…read more.. but all I can think is that it was much less convenient then. With stores like this Esselunga, despite it's size, we can get our shopping done in 20 minutes and then move on with our lives. On the other hand, we are eating relatively standardized foods, including the vegetables, in their little plastic trays, which last oddly longer than those purchased at the Coop. All in all, while I prefer the Coop, the Esselunga is a good thing, and there are reasons to shop here. They have the best specials on packaged things and cleaning supplies. They have ample underground parking and big carts, so it is perfect for stocking up when you need to. Their stock is generally pretty consistent - they don't run out of food at the end of the day, and you usually find what you came for. For fish, see Coop S. Salvi Cristiani which I reviewed - the fish section here does not smell good :(

Oh Cara Esselunga, how much I love to hate you - but also love you, and hate you at the same time…read more This grocery store - supermarket in every sens e of the word is an institution to those who actually live in Florence (south) and besides the big Coop in gavinana usually the store with the most selection Pros: -lots of choice, including American style bacon, coconut milk, cranberry juice and lots of goodies that us expats enjoy. -good deals -carta fidaty (loyalty card that is free to obtain and gets you more discounts) -easy underground parking Cons -for some brilliant reason they often pick the busiest time of the store to restock goods which is just not smart -for those who just have a basket, not a cart, Esselunga STILL hasn't upgraded and gotten the carts with wheels like Coop, and the crappy yellow ones they do have are tiny and always broken/dirty. They need to clean their baskets -no self-checkout -no cheddar cheese (that is me being greedy but coop gavinana has it). -the water section is really far from all of the other drinks and kind of hidden, why? -often dirty advice - NEVER EVER go on a Sunday unless you are masochistic and want to be around a bunch of middle-aged women who will push you using their cart or leave their cart in front of whatever you are looking at. All in all, I would recommend trying to go as local as you or get your veggies delivered from a local farm and just go to esselunga for the basics such as pasta, milk etc etc. They are way better than the thieves at Il Centro and Meta Market. enjoy!

Basic grocery store in Mercantale with good local produce (tomatoes, cherries, basil) at extremely…read morelow prices. Interesting how vast the selection of cheeses, cured meats is (see my picture of a giant ham leg). If you're trying to find the eggs, they are across from the meats section and are not refrigerated. They also only carry them in half dozen packs. My only complaint is the personal care section. There aren't a huge selection of toothpastes and shampoos there FYI. They don't speak English.

If you're staying around Mercatale, this will be your go-to grocery store in town, since there are…read moreno other options. Get your cheese and meats up on the square, but for the rest, you'll be stuck with the Coop. This one is very small, a limited selection. The food is still amazing, fresh, seasonal and local, as it is in most of Tuscany. If you need anything you can't find here though, try the bigger coop in San Casciano (keep in mind that things are so seasonal in Tuscany, that they may be out of tomatoes if it's the middle of winter, even though that's a staple you'd expect to find anywhere in Italy). If you still can't find what you need, seek out the hypermarket 45 minutes away, near Florence, called I Gigli. My main beef with this Coop is that the staff is incredibly rude. Even if you speak Italian, as long as you look like a foreign (blond, blue eyed, light skin, or any race but white), they will treat you like crap most of the time. They will hurl your fruits and vegetables to the end of the bagging counter, they will not be patient if you don't have your money ready or try to pay with a card that doesn't work, and certainly don't expect them to smile or wish you a good day. And if you don't speak Italian, expect nothing at all from them.