I found this spot while looking for pierogies for my husband and was really happy we came across it. It's a great place for Eastern European foods with a nice variety of unique items you don't easily find elsewhere. We tried a few things, the sourkraut pierogies were okay, but the classic potato and cheese pierogies were delicious. We also picked up some Russian wafers and a few other items, which was fun and nostalgic. We tried their in home sour cream, and hands down it's the best sour cream I have ever had (and I am typically not a sour cream person but this I liked). They even carry butter from Turkey, which was interesting to try. Overall, a solid spot with lots of good finds, and we'll definitely be back to grab more goodies. Their service is decent, and they have their own parking lot out front, and have good hours! read more

See all

Extremely expensive but it tastes absolutely delicious. Make sure to always check the expiration date. read more

Samovar Store - Milk - International Grocery Near Me - Mountain View, California

See all

Wonderful experience shopping and browsing and talking to the owner. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. Food is delicious.

Our favorite store. My family goes there when we want to buy something delicious. They always have excellent products, and the service is great read more

Pirozhki and belyashi now have noticeably less filling. I used to buy these products regularly because they were always perfectly delicious... but now they're really cutting back on the meat and the potato with mushrooms! Very disappointing. Also, prices not going lower when expiration date is close! Prices are very high compared to to same kind of products in other European market stores! Sometimes food is not fresh taste when we bring it home and eat. read more

Stepping into Samovar, the first thing I noticed was a beautiful aroma of deliciousness. Such a wonderful experience stopping here and shopping and browsing and talking to the owner. Lots of fun conversation. He loves to describe any food item he has on the shelves. It was like taking a vacation to far away lands right in the Bay Area. What a gem!! read more

I recently visited Samovar and I must say, I was thoroughly impressed! The store had a wide range of European products that I couldn't find anywhere else in the area. From fresh produce to packaged goods, the selection was outstanding. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, and they were happy to assist me with any questions I had. There is a rack with Russian books! We moved from Sacramento where we have been to so many European grocery stores but none of them had books. Also, there is a little pharmaceutical section. Overall, I would highly recommend Samovar to anyone looking for an European products. read more

See all

Great place for European and Eurasian food. Love their hot baked section and good spot to get caviar.

What a delight! This is a densely packed, charming international grocery store offering a mix of middle eastern and European specialty items, especially Eastern European foods. In addition to imported items, they sell a variety of house made items (eg hot Piroshki) and house made frozen dumplings. Compared to similar international markets nearby, Samovar has a wider selection of smoked and pickled fish, as well as a sizable selection of Russian language gifts (eg children's books, toys, etc). This is a fun spot to pursue, and if you point to a few items in the hot case for a post-shopping snack, you will not be disappointed! read more

The home made food is delicious. We love the fact that it's ready to go in containers. The store is quite cozy and packed with a little bit of everything. The service is always wonderful. They are very helpful and nice. Alex and the staff are amazing! If you pay by cash you will receive a discount. Plenty of parking in their lot. A hidden gem in this area. read more

See all

Samovar Store was hidden behind Costco in Mountain View. They had the viral cold, smoked mackerel I've been looking for. I also found lots of goodies such as the Russian cheesecakes and various flavors, candies, caviar, and more. I'll be coming back to try more new foods! The owner was super helpful and friendly. They clearly have a "regular" crowd as everyone in the store was eager to help me and teach me about their culture! Very welcoming. read more

Great store for European and Slavic products! They have a large selection that caters to diverse tastes. Highly recommend!

This is a nice little Eastern European grocery store. I might've passed by this place like a million times but never had a chance to go inside until now. They have a little bit of everything in here starting from meats, cheese, dairy products to pickled veggies, seafood, pastries, bread, candy, ice-cream and even books. They also have meat pies and other homemade food which is awesome. The owner was very nice and offered to help translate ingredients of stuff that we couldn't understand. Very helpful. Lots of good stuff, will definitely come back here. read more

See all

The food is really good here. Also, they have a variety of options. It's definitely a large store with tons of European food. I love going here when I'm in the Silicon Valley. Highly recommended. read more

I was greeted upon entering this European grocery store with deli by a gentleman who offered me a tour of the store.  We started in the far left side of the store with the clearance rack, got a discounted jar of Plum Preserve.  Karums from Latvia - I was told it is chocolate covered cheesecake.  But it is not American cheesecake. It is actually likely sweeten milk curd, love the heavy milk taste, not too sweet, small bites like cheese candy.  Syrniki - frozen pancake puffs filled with fruit preserves - pancake is soft but bit sandy. Medovik - Homemade Russian Honey Cake, many layers of dark and spiced cake, brown color from burned honey and cinnamon and butter.  Frosting is made with burnt honey and condense milk.  I just loved it; moist, dense, frosting not too sweet.  This is what I imagine a Europe cake would be. Farmer Cheese Spread - not much taste, I feel it needs to be accompanied with some fruit preserve. Dadu ice cream cone from Lithuania- perfect small size, very creamy, not too sweet Spicy Beef Tongue - Tender and tasty. Lamb with Rice Pilaf - A great complete meal, comes with tender lamb, carrots, garbanzo beans, and thick rice. Beef Stuffed Crepe - Crepe was very soft, beef was just OK, I would do it again with stuffed cheese instead of beef. Nougat -  Soft, nutty, slightly chewy and sweet.  So much better than American candy Nut filled pastry - slightly sweet pastry filled with nuts and seeds, can't buy this stuff elsewhere.  Next time, I will look for beer, beet salad, and try more desserts and cheeses. read more

Samovar Store - Russian Honey Cake - International Grocery Near Me - Mountain View, California

A fascinating east European grocery store with a wide variety of frozen, pre-packaged and fresh food items and also books ! Take a walk around and see what you like and try it out . I tried a strawberry chocolate cheesecake ice cream from Latvia which was delicious and not too sweet. Also liked the Georgian cheese pastry - a slightly sour soft cheese baked in a flaky puff pastry. The potato pastry (Russian) was also nice and everything was warm and fresh. Some items were halal. Keen to visit again and try other items in this simple, unassuming store. The owners and workers are very friendly and answer any questions you may have. read more

See all

Oh, Samovar, you are a star. Worth a trip from near or far. Find yourself transported east, load up a basket for a Russian feast. A bunch of pelmeni, one from Ukraine. Dozens of sausages, no two the same. Both hot and cold prepared food to-go constantly restocked, so it's fresh you know. Egg noodles in every shape and size jars in Cyrillic, their contents a surprise. Honey cakes, farmers cheese, poppy seed spread. Shelves full of many types of rye bread. read more

See all

One upside to the pandemic is that we're all cooking at home more, and for some reason, I've really been craving pelmeni, the small Russian dumplings. Samovar is a treat - they've got a big selection of frozen pelmeni and also frozen pierogi too! Unfortunately, I have NO CLUE how to pick between the five or six different brands of the same flavor pelmeni, so I tried to quickly look at ingredients and go with the brand with the least additives. I bought some Siberian pelmeni, chicken pelmeni, and a package of mushroom and potato pierogi, and a package of cherry pierogi too. Yum. Friendly Russian ladies at the checkout stand, and oodles of other items throughout the store that tempted me as well. I'll return, with a cooler in my trunk next time I have room in my freezer at home! :D read more

Samovar has a fantastic variety of Eastern European foods. The staff is fantastic and friendly!

Old Soviet-era holdover grocery store that looks like any other building with a standard, plain door, because, you should already know store is there. Why don't you know, we already know all about you. Now, follow us to headquarters. One can almost imagine Sergey Brinn and the guy who's not Sergey Brinn going there for Slavic victuals when at Stanford. Has just about everything slavic (not going to use the 'R' word these days) you need, including locally-made Kvas (think beer that is sold before alcahol forms), more kinds of borscht than you knew existed, mystery fish (learn the Cyrillic alphabet, say it out loud, and you'll figure it out) pemeli, khinkali, R...erp... Snickers bars (!!), frozen cream cheese bars (apparently the slavic version of ice cream) etc.etc.etc... Maybe not all the 99 kinds of sausage or produce or homemade gifilte fish you can find on Geary st, but about 50 miles closer (60 if you include the 10 miles spent circling around looking for parking on Geary). And last but not least, the infamous Soviet era blood candy bar (no joke), Hematogen. And yes, while very sweet, you CAN taste the blood. For those who missed out on the Soviet wonders of Gastronom on Geary St (sign that looked like the Aeroflot logo, stained glass covering the windows because, I don't know), or dont want to schlep up to Geary these days to go to Moscow-Tblisi bakery (or to get one of the 99 kinds of sausage...why so many kinds of sausages?!?!), or for those who just want, I dunno, a blood candy bar... read more

Samovar Store - Hematogen, the infamous Soviet era blood candy bar. No joke. - International Grocery Near Me - Mountain View, California

There are all products, as in my country, especially I liked the showcase with cottage cheese, who miss their products highly recommended. read more

Samovar Store - International Grocery Near Me - Mountain View, California

Solid selection of stuff. I dont have anything else to compare this to, but for someone who knows next to nothing about russian foods, it was a lil overwhelming. I bought a ton of savory pastries like piroshkies, meat pies, and blintz. Didnt love the beef piroshky. The lamb meat pie was good; it had lamb and onions. The blintz was also not really my cup of tea. If you buy any of the pastries def toast it before eating. Each one was about 2.5-3 bux. Overall, this was a cool market, I prob wouldnt come back to try more savory pastries, but Id be back to buy other stuff. read more

The store has a wide range of former Soviet Union countries' products. things are quite strangely placed, but cashiers are very nice, they always help if you ask something. read more

This is one of the few places in the South Bay that sells boureks & piroshkis. The place I used to get piroshkis from sometimes, Kalinka's now only has them available on Sundays. I think its due to the pandemic. The flavors they had out were potato & mushroom, beef, & cheese. They were $4.50 each. They're in the front, the hot ones. The cold which are in the fridge. Those are much larger in the same flavors. This place is small, but there is a decent selection of Eastern European food there. The cookie &'the candy selection is limited. If you like chocolate, try Milka. It's very good. The aisles there are narrow, so watch where you go. There's also children's books there as well. read more

Great experience here! They helped me find what I needed and guided me on some cultural things and comfort foods wide selection of European food/snacks. read more

Yelp dumpling search brought me here. However, they do not steam their piroshkis for you!! Hangry... but love these types of finds. Super friendly staff. Wide range of Russian/Eastern European market goodies. Lots of chocolate, cookies, puff pastry, piroshkis galore! 5% discount for cash transactions. read more

I had one of those days again where I couldn't decide where to have lunch again. Either I drive out somewhere and come back to work without a place to park or satisfy my curiosity and finally try this place out. I chose the latter and I'm glad I did. Not only did I keep my parking space, but I saved gas, spared the environment and had a friendly stroll down the street. Back to my review- I decided to try the cabbage rolls and boy were they delicious. The flavors all blended well together- the rice mended well with the ground meat and juices from the cabbage. The carrots were so sweet!! I'm not sure what kind of bread I had to go with the meal, but it must be the famous grey bread that someone mentioned about. I finished my meal in less than 10 min. The nice and attractive girl that took my order at the register also helped show me where their drinks were and I was curious about the Russian drink in a yellow can that she said was like a popular soda in Russia. I couldn't read the writing on the can because it was all in Russian, but the only thing that was in English said, "Does not contain more than 0.49% alcohol". It was a hoppy drink with pictures of barley on the can. Whatever it was, it was damn gooood!! There are 3 tables to where you can eat at and you pay after your meal is done. I also picked up what looked like chocolate wafers. I'll be having that for a snack later. Their market has lots of imported items- I wished I can read their labels- but for sure I'm coming back again to try the Borscht. I told this to the girl and she smiled. Not sure if that was Alex, the guy in black, but he was busy talking on the phone. Perhaps next time I can chat with him a little. read more

Wow. I've been watching a YouTube channel called Life of Boris and I have fallen more deeply in love with Russian culture...this store sealed the deal! A true gem in Silicon Valley. Thank you for being around!! read more

Samovar Store - the contents of a meal - International Grocery Near Me - Mountain View, California

Here is the big choice of European food and deli.

Don't like to leave a negative review, unfortunately this time I must. I shopped at Shomovar multiple times, my family love pelmemi and a few specialty items. I have bought Vareniki (in Polish Pirogi) multiple times, this once there was a different brand, Sasha assured me that it was the same brand different packaging. I also questioned the fact that the frozen product was not loose as usual, his response to me was, just drop the bag on the floor a few times it will separate. Actually it did not. A blob of a product that apparently was defrosted and re-frozen again. This is NOT what vareniki should look like. Very disappointed. read more

Samovar Store - International Grocery Near Me - Mountain View, California

Wonderful selection of products & great customer service, will go back soon to explore other options

Amazing place and very good customer service. I drive there all the way from Monterey on a regular basis. Today, I bought everything I wanted to buy - they always have wide selection of Russian food... they also have books and souvenirs. I highly recommend this place. Way to go, Samovar owners! Keep it going and please open something closer to Monterey! :-) read more

Samovar Store - Souvenir: Krokodil Gena - International Grocery Near Me - Mountain View, California

I just love this store. Very friendly staff, great products and prices. My number one choice for a Russian store.

Truly AMAZING! We got so many prepared foods: chicken with rice, olivie salad, eggplant salad. Everything was exceptional. We dipped the chicken with rice with the eggplant salad. Homemade and truly delicious. Restaurant worthy but still homemade tasting. I can't wait to try more. They also have great half sour pickles which are hard to find in the bay! And the owner was so NICE! Please support them. Would give more stars if I could. read more

Excellent Russian food. I love their hot bakery items, Russian candies, and Russian ice cream! Highly recommended!

Staff and the owner are always very friendly. Also they have a good variety of Ukrainian products. The food is fresh.

I always get their house made salads - herring under the coat and the Georgian style ones are great. Whenever the business owner is there, he always tries to talk to you and ask if he can help with your choice. You can tell he cares about the business. The house made pelmeni are also tasty! read more

Great store with Eastern European products! The owner is very helpful to help you to find merchandise you're looking for... read more

Hidden gem on the border of Mountain View and Palo Alto. This old-school grocery store is packed with imported, well-priced Russian foods--anything you could think of. They have Cinderella breads and housemade salads and baked goods. I recommend the Georgian eggplant salad--it was delicious. read more

Very good Russian hand-cooked takeout food! Great choice of the ingredients of all kinds. Friendly staff always ready to give a good advice.