Prior to my visit to Barcelona, I did some research on the best supermarkets for affordable…read moregrocery items. I'd heard about €10 cups of yogurt (something like that) & wanted to make sure I DIDN'T end up at these supermarkets. Our host did warn me that shopping at Mercadona would be "tricky". I wasn't sure what he meant until I went there myself. Prior to Mercadona, every supermarket I'd been to in the Americas & Asia had more or less been the same in terms of structure/system. At Mercadona - at least the 1 I went to, can't remember anymore which 1 it was - I noticed customers queueing up at the cashiers near the entrance with their merchandise, but the merchandise was nowhere to be found. Hehe. So I followed this guy to the elevator, & the elevator took us to the second floor. That's where the merchandise was. As I lined up to pay for my purchases, 1 of the workers asked me something (in Catalan). I said I didn't speak the language, & he asked me if my car was parked in the basement. I said no, & he directed me towards the line where I should be paying for my stuff. So I take it some Mercadonas are structured this way, I guess that's just their own system of organization. Mercadona did happen to have everything I needed, & offered them at good, affordable prices. I'd be happy to do my grocery shopping here again, next time I'm in Barcelona.

I love this place. We got great wine for under 4 euros a bottle (sometimes under 3). Fruit was…read moregreat. Yogurt was delicious. Bread was fresh. I kept butter in our mini fridge so we could pack butter sandwiches when we hiked around and didn't want to stop for food (also made good late night snacks with anchovy stuffed olives.) I bought Marcona almonds here for souvenirs- because they were better than the other Marconas I had tried. I also bought lots of other things to take home. Such fun to bring home food souvenirs! I am also a fan of Vichy Catalan- sparking water- which I could buy here in big bottles. Everything was delicious and was a good price. We used the little green plastic carts. If you want to use a metal grocery cart you must put a euro in to get it "loose"- and when you put it back you get your euro back. We ran into the same system in Utrecht. It must cut down on shopping cart theft. This store also has household cleaning items, makeup- pretty much anything you need. I highly recommend it.

This is just for the supermarket:…read more Yes. Yes and Yes. It is VERY difficult to find quinoa round these parts at prices that aren't outrageous, and this place has it, and what's more it's organic! As with any organic market, some items seem more reasonably priced than others, but overall don't be scared away from this place because it really isn't that much more expensive than places like Dia or el Consum (this coming from a person who knows the price per kilo of 3 different types of tomato of just about every shop in Gracia), and the quality is always great! All of my breakfast grains now come from here. All of them. Also they have a restaurant set up for takeaway, but I haven't tried it.

Very misleading: not everything is organic…read more Woki advertises themselves as an organic shop ("ecologico") with signs outside advertising "100% Bio". It is only when you ask for clarification that you discover that: - The meals (woks, burgers, etc.) is not all organic. Some of the meat and rice is but the vegetables, sauces, etc. are not. This is in very small print on the menu and contradicts the advertising outside the shop. - Most of the pastries/cakes are not organic (this is not written anywhere). I like Woki's concept a lot, am a big fan of organic Todd and smaller shop-cafè setups, but was very disappointed to find Woki misleads customers in this way. :(