Capitol Supermarket

Sketchy as fck. The cheap items are really cheap but everything else is expensive and gross looking. Strawberries are rotten and the lines are so long. Everyone smells like. I almost don’t feel safe being there.
They did have some good cheap basics though so I guess a 2 works

Only convenient grocery in the area. Giant is a much better place, just a little bit farther up the street.
I would never buy meat from a hole in the wall like this. Other items were stale or over priced. A hummus was $ 6, which is 2X what you might pay at a regular grocery. The selection was limited.
Some items were cheap. For example, cheaper wine and beer than a liquor store! Produce seemed cheap but spoiled extremely fast. Some was already spoiled on the shelf. Reviews were pretty accurate on this place. An easy run if you just need some quick beer or cereal but don’t plan on doing your weekly grocery visits here!

This place has a great variety of typical American grocery store items and some international finds. There’s also a great selection of produce for a great price. However, I have gotten spoiled tofu here (spoiled on the same day I bought it), so I can’t quite give them 5 stars.

Just went here for the first time and was floored by the selection and affordability. They had everything I needed for my Korean taco dish, from the fresh produce to the tortillas to the gochuchang sauce, and the total was about half of what I’d pay at Whole Foods a few blocks away. I will definitely be coming back.

Firstly, I must inform the public that I believe I have a grocery store curse.
Two Monday’s ago I happened to stop by Capitol Grocery. What did I see in the news the next day? The shop had closed due to flooding.
Two Thursday’s ago I found myself at Harris Teeter. Popville reports the following day that said Harris Teeter has closed due to a fire.
Eery coincidence or terrifying curse?! You tell me. Anyway, back to the Capitol Supermarket review…
I’ve found myself at Capitol Supermarket several times due to the severe drought that is Asian marts in DC and the ease of location. The first instance was to procure some dumpling wrappers which they had informed me over the phone that they stocked. After rushing over to the mart, I discovered that ALAS, they only had wonton wrappers. Although this put quite a large dent in my plans, I found this rather forgivable as there is a fine line between dumpling and wonton wrappers (well not really, but I have high Asian standards and it wouldn’t be fair to apply them to everyone else). The second trek I made to Capitol Supermarket was in search of kimchi. Once again, I made my usual frantic call to ensure they had the product and once again they promised me they did. After making it there… low and behold there is RADISH KIMCHI! Unfortunately, this didn’t quite work for my dish. While both of these instances were perhaps miscommunications that can be overlooked, what can’t be ignored is the state of grocery store and their products. There is an overwhelming smell of something being rotten in the state of Denmark throughout the store and most of the produce looks like they’ve had better days. Scattered baked goods with mysterious immortal shelf lives sit throughout the store, cluttered and unorganized. When buying items from there… I question if they’re ‘safe’, not exactly the feeling that grocery stores want to give off. That statement is even coming from someone who usually eats yogurt past their expiry (it’s all about the smell), so that’s saying something!
If you must find Asian goods here, tread lightly my Unilocal friends… LL&P

Cheap produce. 99 cent avocados. 10 cent limes. Amazing Latino and Asian food. The weird cuts of meat. Love it!!!

The only place in the immediate area that carries both the latin and asian goods you’d normally need to travel to the suburbs/​Mt. Pleasant to get: corn tortillas, pupusas, kimchi, etc. Also cheaper than a national grocery store.
Highly recommended.

Pros: Descent sized international market in the heart of DC. Lower priced than the national supermarket chains.
Cons: No parking.

One of the few Asian markets here in DC! They have all the good Asian stuff you need-​snacks, crackers, sauces, ice cream– and even have a fresh seafood section.
The outside is not very appealing, but its pretty spacious once you get inside. You are allowed to use credit cards, but there is a $ 2 minimum.
I would say that if you wanted to put variety in your cooking, stop by and check it out. Everything here is really affordable!

One of the better grocery stores in the area. Prices can’t be beat in the city. They have a great variety of foods. They have a lot of healthy options as well. If you are trying to make any kind of cuisine, they have you covered. Good to see some local grocery stores survive the big chains!

This place is definitely worth checking out. Looks small (and windowless) from the front, but once you get inside, you realize that it’s pretty big (and windowless). They have a funky (in both the good and bad ways) butcher’s department that serves all sorts of stuff that I like and can’t get elsewhere in the District: whole tilapia, legit chorizos, etc. This is true of all of their departments (Afghan bread in the bakery area is delicious, papayas and things in the produce area are sweet), just make sure whatever you’re picking up is fresh.
Cons: no parking (I know this isn’t a big deal for most, but I’m from SoCal people), and doesn’t stay open all that late.

Can find hard to find Caribbean and South American ingredients here at very reasonable prices.

Not much of a produce selection, but a nice asian store nonetheless. They have a decent wine selection, nice beer selection, lots of sauces, noodles, cookware…
Overall a decent market for the people around the area.

Will you find a ton of fresh, organic produce fresh from the farm? Hellz no, but you WILL find a ridiculously impressive array of foods from every culinary tradition, especially those hailing from Asia and Mexico. I always come here to get dry beans and specialty items like green tea noodles, oyster sauce, and chipotle peppers. They even have injera if I get in the mood for Ethiopian.
THE PRICES ARE EXCELLENT. Seriously can’t be beat. If you’re looking for a specialty of «ethic» item, this is your place. It’s the kind of place that will surprise you. There’s even a British food section. Come in with an open mind and get something interesting for the week without spending yourself into oblivion a la Whole Foods…

Great neighborhood grocery store. They have good prices, decent produce, and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a local grocery store. They also have a great wine and beer selection and surprisingly really good cheese selection.
They also have a redbox!

Make Your Own Taco Night was so successful on Monday night that my boyfriend requested we do it again last night. I was so impressed with the freshness and quality of the ground beef at Capitol Supermarket on Monday night that I eagerly returned to pick up more for MYOTN round two. It did not disappoint.
The ground beef is actually ground so making ground beef tacos is a cinch. Plus, there are so many ethnic products that make seasoning and fixings easy to find at this place.
The avocados, surprisingly, have not been very ripe this week so I couldn’t get my guacamole craving satisfied but that’s ok.
In the evenings, there are usually three cashiers which make check out a breeze unless you’re dealing with super slow customers. Bf and I have found ourselves in and out of the checkout area pretty quickly after we have thoroughly perused the aisles.

Great local grocery store to stock up at. It might not have every baking ingredient you need but for your daily basics it is well stocked. It also has a GREAT selection of beer. And compared to Whole Foods a few blocks away, its a bit cheaper and you never have to worry about the lines.
Selections on many things (bread, lunch meats) are limited but in a pinch it works well. The produce is fine, but as others have said its first come first serve so great one day, not the next. If you are looking for some non-​traditional Latin foods or Asian foods this may have it too (Durian anyone?).
There is also a redbox if you need it.

There are many unanswerable mysteries of the grocery store universe, such as: Why are limes at Safeway 50 cents a piece and 12 for-​a-​dollar here? What do people need so many plantains for? And, why doesn’t every grocery store offer old-​school glass coke bottles?
Capitol Supermarket lives in an otherwise vacant grocery store landscape, half way between over-​priced Whole Foods and the Chinatown/​Mt. Vernon Safeway. The isles are filled with the basic necessities as well as a healthy helping of specialty items (mostly Asian and Hispanic).
Prices are very reasonable, but produce is often first-​come-​first serve for freshness and not consistently available. I’m all for supporting local, so I shop here. Period.

This is one of those places that every neighborhood should have. I like to call it my Salvadoran bodega, except that its actually run by a Korean family with a keen knowledge of the folks that frequent its grimy surprisingly well stocked walls. Nestled between several varieties of Salvadoran corn tortillas, cojita, crema, and sazon, you will find passable kimchi and at least one or two organic varieties of main stream dairy products for the folks gentrifying the area.
The produce section is sparse, but if I want a good $ 0.50 avocado, cheap cilantro, dozens of limes, bins of peeled garlic on the cheap, or ripe plaintains, this is the place to come. Every once in a while, you’ll find a great deal on collard greens and kale. I’ve never ventured to purchase fruit other than limes, and I’m not sure I would touch the meat case, but if you have a hankering, they do stock some of the harder-​to-​find oxtail cuts and offal. I also enjoy their small but specialized kitchen section as I snagged a lovely $ 2 lime squeezer that would have cost me $ 10 at Bed, Bath, & Beyond.
The beer and wine selection is surprisingly not too bad, a few craft beers and a lot of Latin American imports.
I’ve always found the service to be good, the characters colorful, and when I lived in the neighborhood, the Redbox a blessing. Sure, the block isn’t as bright and shiny as the P Street Whole Foods, but the prices aren’t either.

This particular block is somewhat sketchy and grocery stores with bars in place of windows are always questionable. As soon as I stepped through the front door, I told my friend, «Oh my God, I’m back in Brooklyn.» The shelves are packed with international items and the aisles are small.
Ever since the local Giant closed down I’ve been forking over extra money on groceries from Wholefoods. In a desperate search for a cheaper alternative, my friend found Capitol Supermarket using Google Maps so she asked me to check it out with her. She had a feeling «they would carry great ethnic stuff» and she was right. You’ll find all the ingredients here to make Asian and Central American dishes.
The prices are comparable to Giant and less than the closest Safeway. Some of the meat is suspicious so choose carefully. The first chicken my friend picked up had an odd gray tint so she put it back. I bought some ground beef and it was still fresh. They also carry a limited selection of organic items such as milk. They also surprisingly have a large selection of cheese.