It was my moms birthday and she wanted a "Latino feast". So first place I thought of was Paraiso Tropical! We ordered the empanadas, Salvadoran tamales and Colombian tamales too. We also ordered the chicharrón con yuca and crema fresca. We also got a slice of the tres leches cake for dessert! Seriously guys my mom was SO happy with her birthday meal! Paraiso even went above and beyond and wrote a "feliz cumpleaños" message on the cake box which made it feel extra special. Thank you to the entire team at Paraiso for this special meal and delicious food! The tamales were so yummy and authentic, the bigger ones even had a drumstick of chicken in them which was so awesome! Highly recommend Paraiso's hot food if you're looking for an authentic Latin American meal. Will definitely be ordering again! read more

Paraiso Tropical - Kitchen Supplies Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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What an amazing little gem. Cute little latin market with a kitchen. We found this place because we were looking for a place in Edmonton that does Pupusa and then realized they also did Birria tacos, so naturally we had to order that as well. The Pupusa was amazing with their pickled slaw and the Birria tacos were delicious. Paraiso is a must check out place in Edmonton, we will definitely be back to try more on their menu. read more

Paraiso Tropical - Pupusa - Kitchen Supplies Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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This grocery store is jam packed with a wide assortment of Latin foods. There are aisles of canned, dried, frozen, fresh and hot cooked foods available here. I especially enjoyed checking out the variety of juices and soft drinks. I felt like I was transported to a tropical Latin country when I walked through the doors. It was a fun adventure to check out the different aisles. In my opinion the prices are fair considering the majority of the foods are imported. The store was well organized. Proper Covid precautions were being followed. They had hand sanitizer at the front of the store and face masks were worn by the customers. Overall, I had a great first experience visiting this grocery store. I will definitely be back to buy more products! read more

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This was my first time at Paraiso Tropical. What a cool local shop. We were so impressed with the safety protocols in place. We entered and didn't immediately see the sanitizer, but one of the staff quickly mentioned it to us so we could go back and do it. We were grateful! We knew they are keeping safety top of mind. This shop has a lot of super cool stuff! I definitely recommend taking the time to peruse and see everything there is to offer. I was particularly fond of the large selection of beverages. I can see myself coming back again and again to try different treats and snacks. On to the food.... cassava is one of my absolute favourite snacks. They were so crispy and just overall delicious... there were two types of cheese empanadas, and I definitely preferred what I think was the Brazilian cheese empanada... I could be wrong, but it was sort of more pastry-like and flakey... really really good. All were good though! There are certainly more things on the menu I would like to try. Unfortunately the things we wanted to try were not available (but I don't blame them it was 30 mins to closing time when we finally got there today). The lady helping us at the food counter was so kind and helpful. Very very nice. read more

Paraiso Tropical - Kitchen Supplies Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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Edmonton boasts a beautifully robust Latin community and one of the best places in the city to experience a full celebration of these cultures is Paraiso Tropical. This Latin grocery store and kitchen has been around since 1991, is family owned, and entirely operated by staff members with origins in various South American countries. If you want to feel as if you've wandered into a market in El Salvador, Brazil or Colombia - this is absolutely the right place. With two locations in the city, one in the north end and one on the south side, you are never too far away from empanada goodness. CBC Edmonton called Paraiso Tropical the Best Wild Card in their Best Restaurants 2019 article and I was eager to find out what this place is all about. I personally chose to hit up Paraiso Tropical's south location because it is literally blocks away from my house in Allendale. This one is the newer of the two locations and you'll find them in a small strip mall area right on Calgary Trail (which means that you've driven by this place a million times). You simply cannot miss the vibrant and festive awning on the outside of the building - it's green with stylized tropical fruit all over it - and it's urging you to come inside. Their branding is actually very nice and consistent throughout. Entering the store, it looks very much like a typical grocery market situation. But when you look a bit closer you realize that you are no longer in the same country and that you may have stepped into a shop while on vacation to someplace much warmer. The aisles are filled with exotic goods and I was especially impressed by the large selection of dried chilis. You could spend a lot of time going up and down the rows discovering all sort of new ingredients and finding endless inspiration. To the right side of the store you will locate the "Kitchen" area, where hot foods are being sold. There is no seating (a couple of tables could be so nice!) and the food is being prepared strictly for takeout. But let me tell you: some of my favourite cultural food experiences have taken place in very similar grocery store situations. I was feelin' this whole thing! Approaching the hot foods counter, I feasted my eyes upon an array of South American delicacies and couldn't help but get a very "street food" type of vibe from it all. I really love that the dishes featured originate from various Latin countries and not just one - it's like you're taking a tour of the continent with your stomach! The woman working behind the counter and dishing up the goods was incredibly friendly and helpful in answering my questions. While they offer quite an extensive menu, they don't necessarily make every item every single day. Because of this, I was very pleased to see that all of the items that I was hoping to try were available! But first. DRINKS. There is an entire shelf dedicated to rows upon rows of imported Latin beverages and I grabbed two. First, a Mxcn Cola Jarritos, and secondly, a Purple Corn Drink that caught my eye. At this point most people have likely seen and tried Jarritos because they are fairly available even in regular grocery stores. They are certainly recognizable by their rainbow of at least eight different flavours. I have been in love with their Mexican cola for several years now. It's my favourite cola beverage on the market and I like it better than Coke, Pepsi, or any of those. This one is the best because of the real cane sugar used to make it. It's quite amazing that the flavour can be made so much better simply by using better sugar, but it really, really makes a difference. Try it for yourself and see. The second drink was surprisingly wonderful! Imported from Peru, this beverage is made with purple corn, pineapple, quince, cinnamon and clove. I loved it! Each of the flavours were totally there and it tasted like taking a tropical vacation at Christmastime. Next it was time for food! Paraiso Tropical makes a bunch of different items including three types of tamales and three types of empanadas. Plus soups, tacos, arepas, and a bunch of other things. It's all pretty snacky and I can imagine myself running into this store to grab a hand-held treat in the future. And again, I love that so many different countries are represented in their offerings. First, I leaned in hard on the empanadas and got all three: Brazilian Cheese Empanada ($3.50), Colombian Empanada ($2.60), and Pastel Brasileiro Carne ($3.75). The Brazilian Cheese Empanada involves queso! Cheese and more cheese stuffed in a soft wheat flour shell. Light and flaky with a bubbly crisp outside, salty gooey cheese on the inside. It kind of reminded me of a bigger, more involved version of a pao de queijo, a Brazilian cheesebread (which they also sell). I loved this one. It was my favourite. I will be rolling up and grabbing some of these on the regular. Next was the Colombian Empanada, smaller in size and yellow in colour. A crispy corn shell exterior stuffed with a savoury stewed read more

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I had heard of this Northside success opening another location & had yet to give it a try. I was happy I did! From the excellent Latin grocery to the varied cuisine I was not disappointed read more

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One of my big #keto joys is chiccorines con carne (not that styrofoam-like snack you find in bags in the chips & pretzel aisle). When traveling, I'm always on the lookout for Latin American grocery stores for a flavor blast when snacking and cooking. Paraiso Tropical South delivers what I needed: an extensive hot foods menu, my beloved chiccorines, and aisle after aisle of everything from cane sugar to dulce de leche. It's near to Whyte Ave, for walking, and the ETS bus lines, for when I wee bit lazier. All in all, a good resource to have in your back pocket. read more

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Latin food store with small bakery. Small but worth the visit. Was able to find special nuts I've only ever seen in Mexico. They have a great variety of frozen items for your next first. At the bakery, I tried the beef empanada and the cheese enpanada. The beef was ok but the cheese enpanada was incredible! Flakey with a very generous portion of cheese. read more

Paraiso Tropical - Yep elite squad - Kitchen Supplies Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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Happy 30th Anniversary! my first visit here and everyone was soo friendly and the yuca chicharron was super delicious! I'm so excited to have won the $500 contest and can't wait to go back to spend it all #Feliz30th thanks to the recommendation in Linda Hoang's newsletter for letting me know about this awesome Latin market! read more

Paraiso Tropical - Feliz30th contest entry - Kitchen Supplies Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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Finding an ethnic food stores is a hobby to me ever since I moved to Canada 14 years ago. I'm still doing until now as I moved to Edmonton 2.5 years ago and just found out this place couple months ago as we moved a house to the Southwest area. Driving through 104 street often, I got attracted by the sign. I ended up to have some hot ready to eat foods. A week after that, I took my boyfriend to have some quick snacks. read more

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This is a little latin market on the southside just off Calgary Trail. It's close to our place so we like going there quite often. Even though it's a small store they pack a lot into the space. They have tons of canned and boxed goods, kitchenware, lots of specialty drinks, fresh and frozen food, and our favourite -- the kitchen with hot food. We often pick up some empanadas, papusas and other goodies for a weekend treat. They have a picnic table outside so on those sunny days you can enjoy your food outside. Many of the items are gluten free as well so if you are Celiac just check with them what items are safe. read more

A really nice local Latin grocery store - lots of selection, especially their drink and snacks! Worth checking out if you want unique snacks that you wouldn't find in a regular store. They also serve quick hot food to-go, which I was surprised to see! The lady behind the counter offered to make us fresh empanadas which was really nice. The brazilian cheese one was a really good size and the beef colombian one was nice and crispy - we really enjoyed! While we were there, we saw several people come and go with the hot food, so it appears popular! The store is located on Calgary Trail in a strip mall with easy parking, worth checking out for Latin foods. read more

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I haven't been at this store in a while and I just went because of the Yelp event so thank you Yelp and Paraíso Tropical for the yummy empanadas!!! They where so yummy and I took the opportunity to buy some candies too I was surprised with how much more stuff they have now and a pretty good prices!! I will be going back more often instead of the other Latin stores I go!!! read more

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Thank you Yelp for treating me to some treats from here. That's what I love about being an Elite: the treats! Paradise has a lot of different spices and food items with a Mexican, Brazilian flair. The also serve hot food. Try the Brazilian Cheese and their pork ribs!!! Wow!! Their tacos looks pretty good too. Will have to go back for those. read more

I went to the market to pick up some tasty grocery treats and products I had previously had in Mexico and the selection did not disappoint. When I was there I discovered they had a cantina full of delicious homemade goodies like my favourite the Mexican tamale... there are many other countries versions of this tasty snack. Also chicharron, yuca, flautas, empanadas and more. The 2 times I've been there was in the evening so I think there likely is even more selection throughout the day. The service was friendly with the counter guy even making suggestions for us. This will become a regular place for me I know. Definitely recommend this place! read more

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Such a great price for all the items here. We came to purchase chips to accompany guacamole that we were making at home. While there we also looked around to see what else they had in stock. Most definitely I would buy tostadas & corn tortillas here especially if having guests over as they are such a great price! You can also purchase lots of different chilies here, make your own horchata at home as well as those bottles of Guava, lime or mango sodas that are usually so $$ at a restaurant are very affordable here! Service is friendly as well. Go give them a visit as you will certainly find all the items you need to enhance your Latin cooking at home. read more

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My absolute favourite treat when I am near either location. The cheese empanadas and Salvadoran tamales are top of my list.

I only recently learned that Paraiso had opened a second location on the south side, which is highly convenient for me; I've never visited the north side location, as it's just too far for my own sporadic forays into Latin cuisine, and as there is another fantastic store for ingredients closer to me. However, having the option of two stores on the south side is extremely attractive to me. Especially on the day that I actually visited this place. I had been to the other store (not going to name it, as they have their own page/reviews), but they did not have the item I was looking for. I stopped by Paraiso, where lo and behold, they had the item I needed. I was in a rush, so I didn't have the opportunity to fully explore, but the store appeared to be well stocked with most of the items one might need to cook Latin/Mexican/Carribbean dishes. No produce, though. The young lady working the register was extremely friendly, but I felt kind of guilty while speaking to her. Due to my unique physical appearance, people assume that I'm Latino, and start speaking Spanish to me. I know enough of the language to muddle through basic interactions, but I got the feeling that I was being a little terse and/or rude, as she gave me a look that said "Hey! You should be contributing more to this conversation, buddy!" Apologies, senhorita, but I'm Japanese. No hablo Espanol. read more

There are items at Paraiso that are cheaper than the other South end latin market (Tienda Latina), such as horchata and small corn tortillas. You can purchase a very wide selection of dried chillis for half the price in some instances because they sell smaller portions compared to Tienda Latina. When I went, they had some produce out- plaintains, $1 cactus pads, half a meter long dried white fish, and more. They also had some hot food items like tamales, both the Mexican and Salvadorean version (one wrapped in corn husk, and the latter wrapped in banana leaf). read more