This review is primarily for Nations pineapple taro bun. Usually when you visit a Chinese bakery, the staple pineapple buns are: plain, red bean, custard and maybe a savoury one like BBQ pork. Hence why I was super surprised to see taro and pineapple at Nations in Hamilton. For about $1.49, if you like pineapple buns and taro, you will love this match made in heaven. Besides the pineapple taro bun, Nations is a great grocery store to have in downtown Hamilton. It's got prepped foods, produce, and lots of specialty goods. I even snagged a pack of shallot egg rolls, though unfortunately that buy was underwhelming. Pre-COVID days Nations also had a mini food court inside, which seemed fun. Not sure when that'll open up again but I'll definitely grab more than 1 pineapple taro next time I pass by! read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Hot food table, everything is nicely pre-packaged and easy to grab - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

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The market is well organized and clean. The hot bar and the sushi are amazing. The sushi here is better than some restaurants I've tried. The Fire House Roll is my absolute favourite. The bakery is pretty decent as well. You can find more exotic fruits and vegetables here but they can be very pricey. You can also find some snacks from other countries that you wouldn't normally be able to find elsewhere. The service at checkout is not the greatest. They always seem to have an attitude for no reason. But the sushi and the hit bar keeps me coming back. read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Fire House Sushi Roll - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

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Amazing combo grocery store / eatery with hot bar and variety of items. We tried the chow mein, spicy chicken, and green beans 2 item combo and it was delicious. Sushi, soups and a whole other hot bar, salad bar, sandwiches and pizza. Service was good, it's a busy place on the weekends. I'd like to come back when it's not so busy. We picked up 2 plants for $5 too. Lots of tomato's, peppers, eggplant, cucumber and some herbs and special items. read more

A multicultural supermarket with great variety! I went in to quickly pick up a few items for a Vietnamese dish and was swiftly blown away by the ABUNDANT selection of fresh exotic produce on offer ! Mangoes, Breadfruit, Sugar cane , soursop ! WOW ! I hadn't seen this many tropical fruit since I was in Jamaica . They also have Caribbean & Latin foods , a large variety of teas & spices as well as a cosmetics and skin care section. NATIONS is located on the lower level of a local Hamilton Mall so be aware of that when you're trying to find it. --VERY IMPORTANT--- NATIONS ONLY ACCEPTS CASH OR DEBIT CARD AS PAYMENT (which is highly inconvenient to be honest) .. so be prepared for that before you shop . The staff is efficient but definitely NOT friendly my any means and the floors could be a bit cleaner. This place could be a 5 if it weren't for the last few points. I'll still be going back because the prices a reasonable and you can't beat the variety !! read more

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Crazy big grocery store with food from all over the world... my kids went berserk with all the oriental goodies and. Sushi bar .... I wasn't happy with my spicy chicken sandwich, y husband got the Indian food at the hot bar. Very busy market!! read more

I really love large grocery stores - especially those with comprehensive food courts of various multicultural cuisines. Nations' foodcourt includes so much, the food is fresh, the quality is great, and the prices are fair! Sushi was only about ~$7, fish and chips was $4.50 on Fridays, and the pay-by-weight build your own boxes allowed me to choose from so many delicious options! I ended up getting a parmesan chicken, roasted squash, and macaroni and cheese for around $7 while my brother chose jerk chicken, coleslaw, and rice and beans for about the same cost. It's a shame we don't have Nations in Markham/Scarborough! read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Food court foods - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

I had returned here many times in the last couple years. Decided to take my review star down a notch. Why you ask? Well I think I am getting weary of the cramped interior and large crowds. This feeling I am a mouse in a maze, amongst hundreds of others. Never seems to be enough room no matter what section or aisle I am in. The produce area is so ridiculously busy and cramped that sometimes I just don't bother going there 'forget the bananas' I told myself last time. Nevermind taking a stroller or full size shopping cart through. I have noticed the aisle signs to not always match up to what is down the aisle. The organization of the aisle doesn't have a flow. sometimes they just do not have the brand or specific item I am looking for. They never have egg bread in stock! Never! ( Can you tell I love this bread, it is such a disappointment every time I go they are out). I am tired of the long line, once I was In a line 15 people in front of me. That is crazy right? The hot foods can be really disappointing. The flavour is missing. The prices are really reasonable, but is it worth it when you don't get to enjoy authentic cuisine and flavour? I am thinking it might be better to make the drive to Mississauga for Asian foods. read more

First thought that comes to mind is that it's very clean for an "Asian" supermarket. There's a buffet food selection that goes on sale after 4/5PM (I do recommend the pho place in the corner). Their grilled chicken, pork chop, egg and rice combo is actually one of the best in Hamilton. Their pho is cheap and usually satisfactory - however, do NOT get the XL as they do tend to decrease in flavour and be composed of soggy noodles??? However in terms of groceries - since they are one of the largest supermarkets (Asian) in Hamilton - they are sort of a monopoly. Therefore prices here for the groceries are slightly higher than the ones in Toronto though. read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Pork chop, grilled chicken, & fried egg rice :) - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

This grocery store is absolutely gigantic and carries a lot of different foods, most of which will be a first for someone who has only shopped at the usual grocery stores. I personally find it hard to leave without buying a lot of things that I have never seen before. My review really cannot compete with seeing it for yourself, but I can't stress enough just how wild the variety is. On one trip just for snacks, I left with salmon jerky, chocolate mochi, dragonfruit, and lychee jelly, 4 items with absolutely nothing in common other than that they are all great. Due to the sheer variety it's the top of my list for international food locations. This place has a food court, while I don't have much experience with this particular part of the store, what I have had was consistently very fresh and tasted great. There's also a bubble tea station, I have not tried many other locations so I can't compare with much, but it tasted great. In my own experience the place has good customer service, one unfortunate situation left me having to spend 30 minutes out of the store to get money due to me not remembering they didn't accept cards at the time, absolutely my own fault, but the staff kept my admittedly oversized order on the side and re-scanned it when I got back. This was a few years back. Would rate the staff 5/5 for being so helpful and understanding. The only real negative of the store is that not all items carry English translations, which can be a pain for those of us who only speak English, but to be fair you shouldn't be expecting English on everything at an international food store. They do their best to translate what each item is if it doesn't have English on its packaging, if you cannot find it, just ask someone. This is Hamilton so never be afraid to ask another customer if you have to, they'll almost certainly help if they know the item or language. Overall, this place is simply fantastic. I personally recommend it to everyone I know. I don't want anyone to miss out, some of the items may sound weird to the average person but they're all good. My review may not be the most helpful, the best organized, or even be well written, but I wanted to leave one simply to get across that you really should visit this place. read more

Single-handedly the best Chinese supermarket I've ever been to. There is a massive selection of produce and products, many of which are Asian foods and drinks. There is a huge hot counter, so this place is perfect for lunch or dinner. Pro-tip: Come after 5 pm for sale on some hot counter items. The store opens 9 am to 9 pm every single day of the week. Service here is sub-par though, the cashiers aren't friendly and a bit slow. This place is near the Jackson Square food court and close to a Starbucks at the Sheraton Hotel. Pro-tip 2: Roast pork and chicken here is very tasty and cheap too! read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Fresh bento box, $6. - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

Not allowing people without masks into your store is discrimination and is in violation of the Human Rights Act of Canada. I'm a person with a disability and I was refused entry. I will never shop at your store again. Shame on you. read more

What a fantastic selection of foods right in the middle of Downtown Hamilton. They have everything here including a large hot counter. The foods are definitely oriented towards the Asian market with Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean foods, but there is something here for everyone and the prices seem pretty reasonable. Their take-out sushi dishes are delicious! read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

Pretty good for a Chinese Supermarket in Downtown Hamilton, it's the closest one for students in Hamilton. I love the wide variety of selection in their food court from Chinese to Pho to Japanese to Italian and others all located within the same range. It's literally a food court inside a supermarket. Their bbq duck with rice and broccoli comes to about $5 for a box, buffet style boxes are $6.99 a box, the rice noodle tasted very rough, soya sauce tasted a little funny as well and is about $2. The quality of food is decent. There's a large selection of groceries in Nations, however if we were to compare prices, I'd still say Toronto and GTA region is slightly cheaper as many products from Toronto and GTA get transported over. This supermarket also does not provide bags, so be sure to bring your own. read more

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Good Asian market selling international foods. Parking is quite hard to find because it is underground and you need you buy over $30 to get 1 hour free of parking read more

I have gone for some sale items a few times and they never have them. I asked the guy last time if they were getting more. Per usual he didn't know when or if they would have any more. Also very curt and rude -not sure he even speaks English.They show pork hocks in one piece in their flyer and twice I've gone there and it's always cut up in little pieces. They don't have an explanation for that and say they don't have any not cut up-at least the ones who can understand what you are asking and they obviously don't care. Now if you call to see if they have something advertised you can't get through to anyone to ask. You would have to go there to find out and waste your time and gas for nothing- again. False advertising, extremely rude and ignorant, many can't understand or speak English and seem to be getting worse. I'm finished with the place. read more

Huge variety of international groceries. The freshness of the produce can be hit-or-miss, and you won't find any prime cuts of beef at the butcher, but the prices are generally better than elsewhere and the selection is impressive. There is a large prepared food section, as well. I recommend the Chinese BBQ and the Pho Restaurant in particular. My only pet peeve is that they don't accept credit cards, which is a shame for those who like to collect points or cashback on groceries. read more

If you like trips to the zoo where you're one of the animals, then this supermarket is for you. Overly small aisles, cheap developing-nations products, staff that can't speak English (and don't know how to smile or say thank-you), and confusing checkout lineups are just some of the joys that await. We tried to ask the sushi staff if there was any sushi with masago and it took several employees to finally get the near relayed. The cashiers and hot food staff have these permanent scowls on their faces. The only staff that had at least common courtesy were the non-China ones. I'm of Chinese descent, and it really angers me that many of these recent immigrants aren't adapting to Canadian norms. Nations was a great showcase for this. Sure, the groceries were a bit cheaper than other places, but I really did notice that the produce was not as fresh. The only thing good about this place is that you can find many Asian items unavailable elsewhere. I would absolutely not go back, unless there was something I couldn't find elsewhere locally. read more

We were referred by friends to Nations Fresh Foods and went there today for the first time. It's located in the Jackson Square Mall in Hamilton. First off, parking is a bit of a nightmare to find a spot during day time hours. The sign said parking covered for shoppers of Nations Fresh Foods but here's the thing, They only cover 1 hour. I spent $180 in groceries and on my way out had to pay an extra $3.00 to get out and the machine is ill designed where I could no access my $2.00 change. Customer service Fail! The store itself if big and has a huge selection of items from Asian countries and regions. China, Philippines, Vietnam and Korean produce were featured. They have a huge selection of ready to eat foods and a nice food court to enjoy your meals. There's no public wifi and inside the market my 3G connection was unavailable, another little thing that annoyed me. The seafood section is smaller that the other market we usually go to but still have live fish, crab, oysters, clams and lobsters. They do not accept credit cards, debit and cash only. Checkout service is bland, again, you are nickled and dimed for bags. (Make plastic bags recyclable and give them away) When I first walked-in I was impressed, but as time went on I start seeing small things that made rethink about coming here instead of going to T&T. Good store, good prices, so-so service but the thing that stayed in my mind after leaving were being charged for bags and parking. read more

I have been to Nations several times for their Pho soup and never had a problem until today. Just got our food when all of a sudden a cockroach appeared. We had no idea if it was in the food. When we brought it to the attention of staff all they had to say was sorry. Never eating there again! read more

I have an unhealthy obsession with grocery stores, and have been to many, big and small, all over the world. I've spent a substantial portion of my life in grocery stores. This is easily the BEST GROCERY STORE I HAVE EVER BEEN TO. Yes that was meant to be in all caps. Because it's so true. Produce is as cheap as a Chinese grocery store, cheap spices like in Indian grocery store, tons of import items from Asia, Europe, and elsewhere. Typical grocery store goods too. Everything is so cheap. You can find all the ingredients to pretty much any recipe you want. Lots of cheap and good prepared food too: Western food bar, olive bar, salad bar, Asian food bar, cheap sushi, Chinese BBQ, Japanese teppanyaki, Chinese dim sum and congee, a full vietnamese restaurant (!), a bubble tea stand, a coffee bar, a pizza station, a panini station, sub sandwich station. So much goodness. The only downsides I see: limited chip selection (who cares when they have so many other snacks?), and no credit cards (this is legitimately annoying). Some tips: * A lot of the prepared food goes on sale at around 7pm every day. * Most of their fried noodle and fried rice dishes aren't very good. Starchy and not flavorful * Their roast pork is great. * The ramen is bad. Go to Neko's instead. * The Japanese teppanyaki combos are all great, especially the unagi * The sushi is a great buy * They sell pre peeled garlic in the far left corner of the store. So convenient! Combine with a garlic press for maximum enjoyment :) * They have packaged small chillies in the corner near the garlic. Great for spicing up Indian food. read more

Horrible service at close We had an extremely bad experience today. On the flyers we found online, it clearly indicates that the hourlong s are 9am-9pm. However, we barely got in at 8:35 because the front door was already closed. We felt extremely rushed and was unable to find the stuff we were shopping for. At the cashier, I was literally ordered to stop chatting with my partner and start to put the groceries into bags because they were in that much of a hurry. I explained to them why it's unreasonable to kick people out before close and how it makes us feel when the businesses fail to keep their promises especially on such basic things like business hours, but they argued back saying they have to be closed right at 9pm and I should just come earlier next time. When we actually left, it was not even 8:50pm. They should say they are closed at 8:45 if this is what they do. We drove 30 minutes to get here from out of town, and felt extremely frustrated and defeated after we left. We were actually shopping for the month so they lost a $200 business. Will never go back again. read more

Yup, pretty much one of the best grocery stores I have been to. If you like T&T you will love Nations. The produce selection is outrageous and many items cannot be found at any major chain which would explain why I always see chefs in their whites shopping there. The fish and meat department has a selection, including an offering of live tanks that puts to shame the major chains and the prepared foods selection spans North American and Asian delights of all kinds. You can get just about any type of fish you can think of here. Now for the best part, the prices. They are so good and there are some ridiculous regular deals like large containers of strawberries for $3.99, live Lobster for $8 a pound, the fattest tuna steaks ever for $6 and three bone, well-marbled prime rib roasts for $10 to name a few. Just about any and every meat cut is offered like pig ears, tripe and tongue. A good fresh sliced fine cheese selection is lacking but Asians aren't that big on cheeses. The store is clean and modern and the prices at Nations are far below the major chains on just about everything. After shopping at Nations I truly felt ripped off by the other grocery stores. So glad I found this place. read more

Sometimes they have fantastic prices on their produce and meat so I give them that but I bought something today to which I asked for a bag. She didn't give me one so I asked her again. She was very rude and said I didn't ask for one. My first purchase had been completed and she actually charged me again on debit for the 5 cent bag. WILL NOT BE GOING THERE AGAIN. VERY RUDE STAFF. read more

We went to Nations two days ago at the Hamilton location. I was so disappointed at the service. The cherries on the flyer indicated $2.99/lb. However, the price was showing $3.99/lb in the store. I checked with Customer Service counter, and they said it was for a different type of cherries and they believe it was sold out. I then asked a gentleman (worker) at the produce, and he said, there is ONLY one kind of cherries we carry. I went to check out and the register incicated $3.99/lb. I showed the flyer to the cashier, and the original woman at Customer Service came by and said it was $3.99/lb. What irritated me the most was both were not willing to help. The cashier said, "the price is the price". The woman ignored me and said too bad, we're sold out. We explained the situation, but both were in different and couldn't care. I understand sometimes there are mistakes made in print material. However, I don't think Nations would go bankrupt if they honoured the price. The difference is $1/lb. The attitude of both employees made my husband and I extremely upset. I asked to speak to the manager. She said, there is no manager on duty . I find it hard to believe that on your busiest day of the week that there is no manager on duty. My husband asked another employee about this issue, and they said, many others have brought this up about the difference. Then I wonder how many with the end result. We split our Asian grocery shopping between T&T and Nations. Unfortunately with this experience, both my husband and I will not be returning to Nations. It's not the price difference of $1. It's the employees' attitude that turned us away. read more

Excellent pho inside the grocery store. Tiny little restaurant with cheap prices! My fiancé and I ate there for $15 Canadian and had two medium sized bowls of medium rare beef Pho. They where so big we couldn't finish them, so when we went back the next day I got the small and it was perfect. I've been to Vietnam and this Pho is pretty close to the original. I can't get enough. Will definitely be back for more, and you should too. Excellent and convenient. read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

Hands down the best ethnic grocery store I've ever been to in North America. It's catered towards Asians (especially Chinese) but you can get ethnic groceries from all over the world here. And what makes it stand out is that it's clean and doesn't smell like your usual ethnic grocery store. Only one downside which lost this place a star, it doesn't accept credit cards. Inconvenience. read more

I've only ever come here for food during lunch. I don't usually buy my groceries here but I know they have a wide selection of international food and snacks. The food is usually pretty good. There's a wide selection to choose from. You can get custom made pasta, sandwiches, wraps and sushi to dim sum, Chinese rotisserie and pho. The prices are pretty decent too. Depending on what you get, some items are fresher than others and more worth the money you pay. I've gotten a bowl of congee with a fried dough stick for $3 and it was very filling. I've also had customs made pasta for $2!!! They have this special quite often and I don't know how they make money from it. You basically choose what meat you want, your vegetables, type of pasta and sauce and they make it in front of you. Thinking that since it was only $2, it must be small so I ordered 2 but I could barely finish 1! It's a very full serving and good deal but make sure you have time because it usually takes them about 15 minutes to make it! I like coming here for the many options they offer. No matter what you're craving, you'll definitely find something here to satisfy it and all for a decent price. read more

My children and I stopped in on a Sunday for a bite . The buffet selection was incredible, I found the price abit steep as it's based on weight. (I've heard there are coupons in the flyers). The food itself was very good, great tasting and the kids loved it. I myself had the pho , found the price fair ($6 for a medium size bowl) . The staff was friendly as to recommending a selection. It had huge flavour, lots of noodles and meat. Can't wait to go back. read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Pho - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

The variety of grocery and food options/selections is quite extensive here. Check out lines tend to be rather long due to the sometimes complicated arrangement of who can go where which leaves some customers confused as to what line they can use...Or maybe that was just myself and several others lol. Anyway, there is a plethora of excellent take out food options that are priced very well...its on the grocery side where most items are priced at a premium when compared to other comparable supermarkets. read more

Best quality buffet style food to be found in Hamilton! At great and affordable prices too! Definitely recommend. read more

Nations Fresh Foods - Grocery Near Me - Hamilton, Ontario

A good selection of frozen and pantry items from around the world. But really awful staff. And there seems to be a disconnect- between the price you see and the price at the cash register. Only buy the fresh seafood! The frozen is poor quality and harvested improperly . read more

Used to love any Vietnamese food items from this place but since the main cook chef is no longer here I can't find the same taste like before. The pho soup broth is way so plain and way too much of msg that numb my tongue and gave me a headache. The grilled meat dishes is way too dried, not moist like it's used to be. Very disappointed! It's used to be the best and the affordable Pho in downtown but now it's the worst. read more

I like this place! It's a fusion of east and west, grocery store, bakery, coffee, gelato, deli, and my favorite the prepared food counter. Plenty of fresh veg with some less common items like fresh tumeric and lots of greens. But the prepared foods... Daughter loved the duck over rice, bbq pork is good too. They have one of those two or three entrees over rice things, or order full dishes Sushi, some dim sum items, bubble tea and juices to round out the meal. Prices were very reasonable, plus free parking with purchase. Everytime we go to the Hammer we'll be sure to stock up! read more

I loved this place. Amazing options for everyone. Salad bar, hot bar (I got vegetable lasagna that was wonderful), sushi, sandwiches, fruit, take home meals, a huge bakery and more. The only downfall of this place (for a traveling business person such as myself) is they only accept cash or a Canadian debit card. Luckily we had American cash but unfortunately they didn't convert it over so we lost a couple bucks when she gave us change. read more

Love the store, not impressed with the check out services. I am a stickler for manners, and would like to be ac! knowledged at the check out, please and or thank you would be nice. Please show all reviews, not just the positive side, you shouldn't have to look for the not so positive one's read more

What an awful place, badly managed. I live close by and there's no competition so I am a captive audience. More and more of it is aimed towards the Asian market. It's okay for basics, and I mean, just okay. No matter the time of day they never have enough cashiers so the lineups are long and kinda nasty. It's a stressful place. When the students come into the mix it's a crowded nightmare. The good: some produce is cheap and can be tasty. For those who crave fast Asian food, there's lots; but basically, it's all just passable. The bad: everything else. It's not geared to the average Canadian buyer. They've even shrunk their ethnic section. Two thirds is Asian. The sales are pathetic. It's overcrowded and rude. If I had a choice, I would not shop here. read more

Were skeptical as we were walking through the mall looking for this grocery...how good can a grocery store in a mall be? Really good apparently!! There were all types of food here. The majority of it was Asian in origin but there were a few surprises sprinkled throughout the store. We were on a time crunch to get back so we did not get to slowly stroll and peruse each isle. We will make an excuse to come back before we leave! I rated it 4 rather than 5 stars because it only accepted cash and debit card. We are from America and our cards did not work; good thing we had cash! read more

Bought a frozen prepacked prescaled turbot fish weighing at 0.562kg. When I checked it out at the cashier, the fish became heavier weighing 1.54lb which is 0.699kg, adding 0.137kg. There was something wrong either with the label or the weighing scale. read more

Awesome place! Fresh seafood produce and amazing noodle bowls!! Must check out!! Open 9qm-9pm.

A great supermarket in downtown Hamilton. A great variety and selection of vegetables, some people say it is more expensive than in Toronto but if you live close to Hamilton this is a good option. If you are hungry, there are sooo many options here from pho to burgers to kale salads. It definitely gives more life to Jackson Square. read more