Fresh – The Good Food Market

A great place to go for the ingredients you need to cook. They have most of the things you will ever need + a very interesting beer section and wine section. They seem to tailor towards the young professionals living in the area of the Docklands. You can see it on what they are offering and the clientele that is visiting them.

It’s the only supermarket that is in anyway decent around Grand Canal and Pearse Street. Little on the pricey side but decent enough selection. They stock bread from the firehouse bakery which is gorgeous. No self service check outs… be prepared to queue at lunch and evening times. ATM is all the way down the back which of course is supermarket genius as you have to walk through all the food to get to it.

Went here for lunch today and ordered a chicken and pesto pizza twist thing. Somehow the woman behind the counter managed to microwave it for nearly 5 minutes, yet when I got back to my desk and opened it, it was still ice cold in the center.
Deli choice wasn’t that great. There was a member of staff doing a mini cooked-​meats stand at the front of the shop, but it was really expensive for what you got.
Aside from that, offers the sort of best bits from various supermarkets, albeit slightly more expensive. Usual small selection of over-​priced American imported candy too.
Really popular though, being in a crowded work area. Go do your shopping elsewhere and bring a packed lunch to work.

I moved from living near Bachelor’s Walk to the Grand Canal dock area and this seems to be the only place to buy groceries around here. Fresh would be like somewhere halfway between convenience store and supermarket as they don’t have as big of a variety of brands and products as other supermarkets like Tesco and Dunnes, but they still sell the essentials like fruit/​veg, cereals, meat and fish etc. as well as toiletries, stationary and cleaning items albeit much more limited.
The main thing I dislike about shopping here are the prices. Groceries cost a lot more, like € 2 for one Eggplant, € 3 for a broccoli head, € 1.80 for a head of iceburg lettuce etc. Also the variety of vegetables isn’t exactly that great either, so it makes me miss Tesco and Dunnes a lot! The detergents, tissues and washing items are all small sizes, and special offers are rare. The prices for certain branded goods like Kellogg’s, Lyons, John West, Persil etc. are all the same as regular supermarkets though. Also judging from the fact that there are no trollies (only baskets) and the small convenience store– like checkouts, I’d say this shop is aimed at those who buy little and often or at single people/​couples, as it doesn’t seem like the place for a weekly family shop.
Another negative is that the queue for the checkout takes forever, especially as lunch time. Self check outs would be great!
On the plus side, they sell fresh fish and have a butcher and deli, and they also have a good selection of ethnic foods like tofu, hummus, Asian spices and sauces, quinoa etc. Another thing is that they have ready cut vegetables for snacking, a lot of ready meals and a coffee area. I also find the quality of food here to be very good.
The staff seem quite grumpy, but I guess it’s just like any other supermarket really.
Overall, I’d say Fresh is like an M&S x Tesco Express hybrid with a decent selection of items at a slightly higher price.

Spent an hour shopping here. When I went to check out, they told me they didn’t take swipe credit cards and only cards with a 4 pin security code. *womp *womp. Unilocal says they accept credits cards, but apparently they only accept one kind of credit card.

Decent supermarket in the Grand Canal Dock area — best pick if you can’t go to an Aldi, Lidl or Supervalu.
They have a large selection, but frequently run out of products. Above average prices as well.

I cannot add anything that hasn’t already been said before. It’s 5 minutes from my office so I do get lunch here sometimes. It’s not excellent but not bad either although the selection of freshly made sandwiches, salad bar, fresh fruit and pastries is huge. It is pricey, yes but it is also convenient with pretty much everything under one roof and the staff is super-​friendly.

I use to shop there until the day I went there with my co workers and had the nonsense to bring a sambo from outside with me to eat in the café. I bought a drink knowing that it would not be right to not purchase anything and sit in their premises. It was the first time I was doing so in almost 3 months of going there on a daily basis to buy lunch from their shop. Well I was immediately told in a rude way to leave the premises.
I then wrote to them to complain and explain the situation and here is what they came back to me with: «Would you eat a Big Mac in BurgerKing or bring your own drink to a pub? The answer is simply no as you would be asked to leave as you were today.
We are not generally in the business of asking people to leave but we do have a limited amount of tables and chairs which we reserve for our customers who purchase their lunch with us. We also have staff to pay to clean up and sweep floors.
It gives the absolute wrong message to our other customers that sandwiches made at home or bought elsewhere can be consumed in our premises. We are not a canteen.»
One thing is sure I will not be back any time soon there either for lunch or for shopping after work.

Has anybody noticed that the food here isn’t actually all that fresh? Especially the fruit. I’ve taken a bunch of bananas before and put them on the scales, hit the «banana» button and taken the label only to notice that the best before date as per the label had passed a few days previously. That’s not fresh. That’s not cool. I bought a bunch after such an experience anyway a while back and the bananas were fairly manky. I picked up an orange once (in a non-​aggressive manner I might add) and my index finger went straight through the peel into an orange which was black in colour. I decided not to buy the orange.
In fairness, it has quite a few positives. About 72% of the staff are friendly and helpful. It has an ATM, deli counter, butcher counter, a decent selection of wine & beers and an Insomnia Coffee Shop has recently opened in the interior (the lady running this is very efficient and welcoming).
But there are quite a few negatives. I mentioned the fruit. I’d also question the refrigeration of the salads as well and I wouldn’t be too confident that the ingredients are all that fresh at the deli counter either. Circa 28% of the staff appear to be permanently sour-​faced and look offended to be asked or question or heaven forbid have to put through grocery items at the till. Despite the fancy new sign showing that (selected) items match prices in Tesco, you’ll find that costs here are very high by and large. To be honest, I couldn’t be bothered going to a different supermarket to purchase cheaper bog roll, washing powder and dishwasher tablets and it’s things like this where they mark up their prices.
In fact, my own in-​depth research shows that a packet of Wrigley’s Extra Peppermint Sugarfee Gum (the blue packet) is € 0.90 in Fresh compared to € 0.70 in the newly opened Donnybrook Fair next door. And I thought the latter was meant to be expensive. Speaking of which, hopefully the opening of DF will encourage Fresh to up their game. So far they seem to be responding in a unique kind of way by having in-​store music events (carol singing, tenors singing) and late night in-​store food displays for suppliers to flaunt their wares. I think on balance I’d prefer fresher food at more reasonable prices though.
I actually noticed that some of the ex-​Fresh staff are now working in DF. It must have been quite odd for one of them last week when I said, «Oh, I see you’ve moved from next door. Good luck with that.» Instead of wondering aloud who this freak was who had observed their employment pattern, the person replied, «Thanks. Better shop and better people to work with!» Make of that what you will.

Fresh is my nearest «supermarket» but it has more of a convenience store vibe, despite its size and the fact that you’ll easily find everything you need to cook dinner or clean your house here.
It’s quite good for variety and you’ll find a lot of luxury products you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find in a glorified convenience store. There’s a decent butcher counter as well as a deli. The deli food is the same as anything you’d find in a Spar, Centra etc. — not my thing. There’s a salad bar with a decent selection but unfortunately the salads are left out uncovered and not well refrigerated so they are rarely fresh.
There’s a great selection of wines and craft beers, and they sell spirits too behind the counter.
The staff vary from friendly and helpful to grumpy and rude, like any supermarket I suppose. There is an eternally slow queue, no matter how few people are in it. I can never understand this as once you get to the till you’re checked out at a totally normal pace. It’s a mystery…
Although there are decent special offers a lot of the time, and a lot of our prices for staple groceries (Weetabix etc.) are matched to Tesco prices, a basket of very basic groceries will set you back a hell of a lot more here than elsewhere.
So yeah it’s ok!

Fresh is good for wine, bakery stuff, salads, and the deli. It’s in a handy location, where there is nothing of a similar nature. It’s a bit on the pricey side, as other reviews have noted. Not somewhere you’d do a weekly shop, however everything is of good quality.

As a recent arrival in the GCD area, I am a regular shopper in Fresh.
I find their selection, while small in some respects, offers a range of produce that are not normally available in convenience chains or even a lot of larger supermarkets.
Pricing, as has been mentioned by many reviewers, is mixed. For much of their more specialised produce, particularly more artisan type produce, prices are higher, but I would expect that anywhere, and am just glad to be able to buy fresh bread and other gourmet items so locally.
Having had to depend on one of the most expensive and poorly stocked Spars in Dublin for a number of years, Fresh is quite liberating.
One thing I particularly like is the almost bohemian, market atmosphere that I find going in there after work when many people are obviously dinner shopping on their way home. Although the queues can be long, the atmosphere is almost cathartic after a hard day’s work
I have found the staff generally to be pleasant and efficient.
When looking for a new home, one of my criteria was to have a decent convenience store or supermarket nearby. Fresh ticked the boxes for me. Long may it continue to do so

Having recently moved to the area, this is now my local convenience shop.
I’m happy enough with it. A lot of reviews are noting high prices, but I don’t think its too bad. Having used the Spar in Ballsbridge for the past few years, trust me, this places prices are ok. I’ve noticed signs up saying they are matching other supermarkets, maybe they have recently reduced prices?
I’ve not really sampled the premade foods, but the bakery stuff is good, the fruit and veg are in decent shape. They have a few gourmet or imported products which is nice. I like it that I can buy everything to make a proper meal here, and I don’t have to get stuck buying cheap nasty brands.

I really like this market because it’s got a lot of specialty things (ethnic foods) you can’t find elsewhere. A real plus is that they even have Bundaberg Ginger Beer! Good stuff.
Long hours, closes decently late. Cook at home meals have so far been hits and they have a great selection for people too busy to cook themselves.
Great selection of biscuits and sweets and also an amazing selection of beers. Can be on the pricier side but it’s a small price to pay for convenience and options.

I stand by my original review, but at 8AM on a Sunday they are open and have fresh croissants and coffee, and that is A-​OK

Its a big bright shop, with lots of tasty treats on offer, hot dinners, tasty sandwiches or fresh made salads every day.
Its main attraction is the seating outside which gets the sun from first thing in the morning until about two to 3pm,
It gets a little bit crazy at lunch times with the crowds for all the local offices but its well staffed and the there is hardly ever a delay
The pass machine at the back of the shop seems to be the only one in the area.

Aaaaannnd some how it always comes back to a song…
I couldn’t help but sing Kool & the Gang’s «Fresh» as I walked up and down the aisles. Now that I think about it, it probably explains the looks I was getting from the staff and customers. Ah, well.
So when almost nothing is open on New Years Day, we got lucky with Fresh. Starving and tired of eating out all the time, it’s nice to grab some «do it yourself» kind of items. Some fresh baguettes, turkey, cheese, salad, some fruit, and dessert. The selection is pretty good but the prices on most things are a bit high. Though we made it out with more then enough food for two for under 20 Euro. Not much else to say, it’s clean and the staff is manageable. Basically it’s a semi upscale Spar but then again you pay for it.

We decided to purchase our New Years Day dinner here. We bought a Greek salad and fresh fruit and decided on all the makings for a yummy turkey sandwich, along with some chips. The baguettes were extremely fresh, as were the rest of the food choices. We decided on some chocolate bars for dessert too. At the end, we spent roughly 20 euros for a complete meal and then some.
Great store for fresh food when needing a change from eating out all the time!

It’s ok and seeing that is the only grocery store around us we use it. Given the choice would probably go somewhere else.

Hi All.
What can I say about Fresh Hmmmm…(laugh…)
I live in one of the apartments above «FRESH» and I’m ashamed (:-P) to say that sometimes I’ve been there 4 – 5 times in a day! and not for quality, range of prods, or «value» but for laziness!
Can’t explain the experience you can have… you need to live it first hand! :-)
I just give you a tip:
Benecol (x6)
Tesco UK = 3.78£ = 4.34 €
Tesco IRL = 4.99 €
FRESH = over 6 €!
Lasagna Magnetti (not a fun of microwave stuff… but this one is good)
EuroSpar: 3.99
FRESH: 4.99
their website:
— a joke! tell me if you find prices… of the other hand you do find the Fresh History ahaha (I should give 1 more star for making me laugh)
The good things about Fresh are not enough to be mentioned and compared with the negative ones but, having said that, I should waste some good words; after all it helped me in «critical situations» when I was too lazy (as always) and most of all it was late (around 9.40pm).
So if you want to have the FRESH experience, here 1 good thing:
(Good) Prosecco =10 € …but for 6 bottles = 50 € (they keep few cold. look for the fridge) if you like prosecco. go for it without a doubt! of course if you go to some other shops/​markets (or outside the city like Greystone, just an example) you might find it at 6.99 or 7.99 but it’s c… p.
in Summary:
1) the prices are too high compared to the quality.
2) you might find good quality (expensive) food, but quite few things
3) Funny use of the word FRESH in some cases…(i let you think about this one :-P)
Un Bacio
see you
R.