Europa Plus

Was looking for more drinks like kvas & compot. Maybe I was expecting more Russian/​Ukrainian options, but found more of the German/​Polish stuff

Buckwheat and smoked salmon are pretty good there. They are less expensive than at Safeway

Recently came here with a friend and she showed me the ropes. Europa Plus has SOO much to offer, I couldn’t stop looking and ooh’ing!
Europa Plus is a decent sized Russian grocery store with everything from sunflower seeds and marshmallows to spices, imported coffees, jams, and meats. They even have full fat buttermilk, y’all! I couldn’t believe my eyes (first place I’ve seen in this city that has it).
I picked up a variety of items: cheese, buttermilk, baked style kefir, sour cabbage, Korean carrots, salmon, and the list goes on. Everything was fresh and delicious.
There’s free parking in the parking lot across the street for 30 minutes if you show your receipt.

I spent the weekend doing not much else but reading Tyler Cowen’s An Economist gets Lunch, New rules for Everyday Foodies. So on a late holiday afternoon, after lounging for a good part of the day, we decide to put his theories to test by heading out to an ethnic food store in central Richmond and looking for things that were priced just right for what they are.
The first stop fell short of expectations due to its somewhat sterile and unwelcoming environment, but the second one, this one, was exactly what I was hoping for. For untrained eyes like mine, this seemed very Russian. Everything was written in Russia and English, which allowed us to stroll up and down, from aisle to aisle, and read the labels without having to fire up Google Translate.
Blood and tongue sausage at $ 5.49 /​pound, a fraction of what you’d pay in an American speciality store. Moscow Sausage, at $ 5.99 /​pound, looked more like Kielbasa, but slightly larger in diameter, it also just so happens looks like the same kind of sausage my family grew up on in Haerbin, the capital city in the northeastern part of China that borders Russia. A ton of smoked fish, one particular kind, also sold at $ 5.99 /​lb, was something I’d seen in Zabar’s (in upper west side) and purchased, at $ 24.99 /​lb. There were a number of different kind of smoked fish. I liked mine salmon and collar. Never seen it outside of the ethnic food shops of lower east side until now.
My companion was carrying my increasing large pile of food. I felt bad for he was already manning the backpack that had my scarf, his extra jacket and coffee mug in it (mind you this is winter weather for the rest of you folks as we enters summer here), but we continued marching up and down the aisle in hoping for something else unusual. And then I found it. It was behind a refrigerator, near front, it looked too small for an ice cream bar and too large for a candy. I chose the one with a picture of hazelnuts. The lady at the check out counter says that it’s sweet cheese.
Loaded up on our finds, we walked out of the store 10 lbs heavier than when we arrived. We sampled the sweet cheese treat on our way out, and it was like nothing I’d ever had before. Creamy, sweet and filed with hazelnut flavor. A winner in my book.
Tyler Cowen did an experiment whereby he consumed produce at an ethnic supermarket for a month exclusively, and refrained from buying anything from mainstream supermarkets. He concluded that «when it comes to ethnic markets, most of the shoppers really are very well informed. Most of the shoppers come from cultures — including China — where food preparation receives a lot more attention than in the United States. These shoppers are also largely immigrants or children of immigrants. Either they come from cultures where most food prices are lower than in the Unites States, or the immigrants have lower incomes themselves, or both.» Combining these characteristics, when shopping at ethnic market, one tends to get better quality food at a lower price, his experiment taught him. Tyler then takes a step further and argues that rather than focusing on locally grown food where the cost of growing food (where the climates did not permit) could be significantly higher than the cost (of carbon footprint) of transportation, we should all try to reduce carbon footprint by walking instead of driving wherever possible.
By that account, we did just as well: walking from 7^th to 18^th, stopping at a community garden on our way, then at this Russian store to pick up some ethnic find, back to 7^th and Clement for our next step at Kamei (a Chinese run restaurant supply store, quite popular among the Inner Richmond crowd) before heading back on 7^th, but not before stopping at our regular spot Cinderella Bakery on Balboa.
As a everyday foodie like Tyler Cowen, I would highly recommend you to check out this lovely market for your every day Russian food cravings, at a price an immigrant can afford.

Absolutely love Russian food! Shop at this place all the time because it is cheaper than at other places. But do people who work here have any customer service skills? Just wondering. Owners should provide some sort of trainings for their employees!

Vau my v Moskve?
That’s Google translation for «Whoa — am I in Moscow?» I love visiting supermarkets when I travel and Europa Plus reminded me of a small corner grocer in Moscow. Everything is from Russia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland — you know, goods from the motherland. Everyone was speaking Russian. I totally forgot I was in the US.
They had 8 types of feta cheeses and 7 types of farmer cheese. They also carried my beloved Vegeta seasoning (no — not the Japanese animé character but the delicious garlic spice mix from Croatia). If you haven’t tried this stuff, do yourself a favor and get a small bag from here. You can thank me later as you stir fry your 3^rd batch of chicken and vegetables.
The big buys appear to be the pelmeni, a traditional Siberian dumpling served with sour cream, and piroshki. Big selection of both.
Super easy parking.

Recently bought some russian kids books for me to learn. How about some russian version of puss and boots? I love it. I can’t wait to read it to my kids. I could have bought some when I was in Odessa but I didn’t. Could have would have should have. No regrats! (Not even a single letter!)
I will come back to buy me some of their russian candies. Oh men, diabetes here I come. No produce here but they also have canned products, frozen fish, frozen pelmeni. They have it here. Cost less than elsewhere. I love it. I will definitely come back. I feel sorry for other folks who does not know a single russian. Too bad! More for me!

Europa Plus has a storefront full of edibles from Russia and nearby places. most items labeled in russian and english.
jams, cookies, frozen meats/​entrees, bulk candies, syrups, juices, chocolates, ice cream, beers, canned entrees, spices, pastries. everything one can expect to full in a russian grocery.
buys: «lavada» ice cream (.99)
–from lithuania
–ice cream yummy, cone not, tasted old.
–ingredients usual glucose, sugar, cocca, additives
drips:
–fast checkout
–mosty elderly europeans shop here.

Amazing variety of candies, sausages, and other goodies.
They have my fav cakes there and the prices and service are better than in the store on the other side of the street.

I am Chinese so I am use to Chinese grocery stores. I was walking to the YMCA and stumbled upon this Russian grocery store. I thought it looked so interesting seeing the fish near the windows. I got addicted to those ice cream cones they sell for 1.49 that come in flavors like cherry and caramel. It’s interesting to see a grocery store like this.

russian market in the inner richmond. little russia… a decade of sf life and had no idea… no fancy display or organization… freezers of fish and meats… clutter of cans, bags and boxes of russian goods… picking some bread and salumi… new ingredients to explore cooking with…

Went there after realizing the russian restaurant was closed. It brought memories of sweet goodies that I ate back in Moscow. Ended up picking up some pelmenis and a potato made of fudge. Hmm, so good. The lady wasn’t very friendly, but once I joked with her she lightened up and was all smiles as I was leaving. Lots of things to choose from so bring your appetite

My friend told me about this place and told me to check it out. The candies are pretty cheap for the amount you get. I got this thing called a cheese dessert bar. It was pretty good. tasted like a cheesecake. I’m giving them two stars, because the store didn’t look very clean. Also, as a customer wanting to buy things in a russian import store. i wish some of the flavors of candies on the signs were translated in english so that i know what i’m purchasing rather than having to ask someone what every single flavor is.

they have a very nice variety here, I notice they had several types of chocolate bars, the european chocolate bars I tried had a lighter airy texture and not as sweet as American chocolates. They also had several types of eastern european breads, some with poppy seeds, some with raisens or other kind of dried fruit. One of my favorite items is a sweet confection called «Halva» this is very popular in eastern europe and the middle east
also a nice selection of sausages, smoked fish, canned fish [sprats]
I always find something interesting here

Found this place on Unilocal and came here to
get some Russian gifts for some friends so
this place surely delivered. Wall to wall
shelves of Russian candy, chocolates, you
name it. They even had a Napoleon cake in
the fridge which we grabbed all of. And
guess what? It’s not just all the Russian
stuff in the place that would make any
Russian expatriate sigh with nostalgia —
they even imported the cashier’s attitude
— straight from Soviet times. The only
thing missing from the experience was not
having to stand in another line to pay for
a little slip of paper which you bring to
yet another clerk that gives you what you
actually bought. But no matter. It still
is worth it if you absolutely need some
Russian stuff and don’t wanna fly for hours
just to get it.

Exactly what I was looking for! Any place that sells Vegeta seasoning by the pound is fantastic by me. An aisle full of pickled vegetables. Large selection of cheap chocolate. HERRING!!!

A fairly glorious selection of all things Russian. As the other reviewers pointed out, this is as authentic as it gets — right down to the clearly Russian handwriting on their caviar and sour cream tubs. Not as big as some other Russian stores I’ve been to, but items seem chosen for quality. Awesome.
–1 star for not carrying my favorite chocolate candies (, the ones wrapped in green paper with a squirrel on them), and also not slicing salami (I suppose this is them being soviet-​authentic, but Moscow delis have already moved on).
The jam in buckets with Israeli writing is to die for. Knowledge of Russian definitely a plus for navigating the store.

The only reason not to go here is if you’re on a strict diet! Because all the chocolates and yummy baked goods will ruin your fitday table.
They have a pretty good selection here of imported meats, coffees, chocolates, and canned fish products. Its all reasonably clean and you wont be made to feel like an intruder if you want to take your time and have a look around.

Be ready to be out of your element and gaze at jars upon jars of picked veggies. There was some neat looking items here including tons of candy however not many items were translated. Being veg it’s fairly important for me to know what the food even is and what may be in it. Their frozen perogies looked good but at $ 11 for a bag I had to pass. Come with your Russian friend; some translation would’ve helped and I probably would’ve bought more.

Different kind of store for me.
Interesting deli section, great packages of candies, dried foods, canned items, freezer items. They have cool desserts too. I used to come here like once a week, just to try something different. Yeah, I’m weird. :-P
And of course the Russian magazines, and other Russian materials.
Service…they’re usually friendly.