Groceries in Grenada
 

Hello friends:

As we settle on Grenada as our next destination just want to ask for your assessment of their grocery stores. My presumption is that since its a pretty big island their selections are pretty good?

We thought about packing some frozen steaks/chicken etc as we intend to cook in our villa for some of the nights...but if quality is good there I may not want to go through that trouble. Any advice is welcome. We do bring spices with us on most trips.

In addition, where can we find fresh catch? From what I've heard there's a fish market in Grenville?

Also, how much is a case of Carib there? And rum is cheap no?

Thanks!

In our 3 vacations in Grenada we have always stayed at the Blue Horizons Resort in Grande Anse. We usually do all of our grocery shopping at the nearby (10 minute walk) Spiceland Mall. There is another grocery store nearby at the Grand Anse Plaza but we found it a little more expensive than the Spiceland.

This grocery store has a good variety of meat, chicken and fish on offer. There is a deli counter at the back of the store that has wonderful Jamaican patties and other fresh baked items. While the fruit is reasonably priced some of the vegetables are a little more expensive than at home.

Here is a sample of prices that I had indicated in the last trip report I wrote on Grenada in 09. You will get 2.67EC for 1 US dollar.

26 oz. bottle of Westerhall rum....14.40EC
6 Carib....18.00EC
6 Ting.....15.50
6 Pepsi.....16.00
5 litres of water....8.60
1 litre of milk....3.66.

Reasonable conclusion......drink rum.

I don't know about getting fresh fish in Grenville (on opposite side of island from Grand Anse) but you can certainly get fresh fish at the local market in St. Georges. If you really like fish I have heard/read many reports about Fish Friday in Gouyave. Apparently the various fish on offer is fantastic.

We usually have breakfast in our villa, lunch when were out and about and dinner in the villa. Again, while some food items we find a little costly most items are comparable to home.

We used the grocery store at the Spiceland Mall for most of our grocery needs. We never bought fish, meat, or chicken on the island, though. I also recommend using the roadside stands OR the downtown market for getting your produce taken care of. It will be fresher and less expensive than in the grocery store--but cash only for the transactions. THe spice market can be a little intimidating if you're not inclined to bargain, and sometimes it's hard to choose who to buy from. That's one reason I like the roadside stands. There's collection of produce stands right by the roundabout that leads into LAE (Lanse Aux Epines), or at least there was last year.

Many foods in the grocery stores in Grenada are from the U.S. -- even the milk and some eggs, as I recall. We have purchased frozen meats in these stores, including New Zealand lamb and U.S. steaks, and have found the meat to be good. Freezing is probably wise in a tropical climate.

We also purchased some foods from small grocery stores away from St. Georges. If you drive around the island, you're likely to encounter these stores. Fresh local eggs, fruits, and vegetables. Bought some local chicken at one such store -- found it a bit tough. I think that the local chickens roam around and develop a bit more muscle than U.S. cage-raised chickens, and the Grenada birds seem to be a bit bigger and would be great stewed. Mind you, I'm basing this on very limited experience during 3 visits to Grenada.

>>We thought about packing some frozen steaks/chicken etc<< Have you checked whether importing meat products to Grenada is allowed? Grenada is the spice island so would not bother bringing spices, Grenville does indeed have a great fish market. I bought some cinnamon and cloves from Grenville, cheaper than around St Georges and nutmegs and mace from the processing plant in Gouyave.

You should also ask ahead of time what might be provided in the villa's kitchen so that you don't waste suitcase space bringing your own if it's already there. If you're renting from Nick at Spice Isle Villas, he should be able to answer you pretty well about that. Most villas will have at least salt & pepper on hand, and many may have a full line of spices/herbs to cook with.

And for spices like nutmeg, cinammon, mace, cloves--these are grown on Grenada and you might want to buy those locally as odin suggests. And if you can find any, buy some Grenadian vanilla while you're there 'cause it's excellent!