Babushka Deli — Local services in Boston

Let me get the good out of the way first. Babushka's is in a great location that is easy to get to. They also have a wide variety of products, and what I really like is they carry certain items that Whole Foods, my main grocery store, doesn't. So when I don't want to spend $15 on a box of kosher organic sea salt, I know I can always turn to Babushka's to have the basic items I need. And most (emphasis on MOST, not all) of their items are much cheaper than Whole Foods, especially because they're basic and not organic/specialty, which I don't always need.

But other than that, this place is...kinda sus. What I really dislike is that the workers like to openly not wear masks, or wear masks with valves that don't actually protect any people around them. When I walked into this store the other day, I was disgusted to see one of the cashiers talking on the phone without a mask. He didn't even think to PRETEND to be safe. That is a huge red flag to me.

Second of all, some of the products they sell here are questionable. I read people complaining about expired food, well that's no lie. I accidentally bought some expired bread the other day. I definitely should have checked the date before buying, but sue me for thinking a store would take any products off the shelves that expired their sell by date. Additionally, the spices definitely look like someone took a big scoop out of them, closed them, and put them back on the shelves trying to sell them at full price. If someone can explain to me why multiple jars of cumin sitting next to each other would have different amounts of the spice in them, then I stand corrected. But I definitely think these products have been opened and used before, which is not only generally disgusting and not COVID-safe, but is a huge rip off to all the customers. I bought some black pepper here and I haven't died yet, so that should be a good sign. But I would not touch another spice here ever.

Finally, the prices here can be absolutely ridiculous. Yes, I get this is a speciality store. Additionally, many items are reasonably priced. But it gets to a point where it would actually be significantly cheaper to just shop at Whole Foods exclusively. Remember that loaf of expired bread? That was $4.30. At Whole Foods, a loaf of organic and non-expired bread is under $3. When you're more expensive than THE most expensive grocery store chain in the country, and you're selling expired and possibly used products, it's time to reevaluate how you're running your business.

Let me be clear: I don't think Babushka's is a bust. I will definitely be back when I need a few items that Whole Foods doesn't carry, or if I really don't feel like standing in a line for 10 minutes just to buy one item. But that's really all this store is good for. I would never ever do my full scope of grocery shopping here, this is a complete last resort when I don't feel like walking to star market or just need a snack. Definitely a super sus store where you need to be on your guard about what you're buying and how much it all costs. In most cases, Whole Foods right down the street is...

When the new owner took over it was a huge improvement. Very clean, stocked well, and had many more options than the previous owners. I've been shopping there for years, supporting small business over chains like 711, etc because I believe it's ok to pay a little more to help support small businesses. Sadly after yesterday I will not be returning and neither will my neighbors and friends. I've bought expired beer here before and now had come to checking the dates before buying so it didn't happen again, it took them 4 visits over a week and a half to remove expired beers that still had Patriots logos on the can from this past season. I told them Everytime I went in. And yesterday my wife bought a bottle of Cabernet and when she opened it, it smelled terrible and tasted like vinegar. I went back with it barely missing anything and was told " sorry they're is nothing I can do, but you can buy another one" also told "your wrong, it's not expired I sell this stuff all the time" I told him to keep.it and you have lost my business moving forward. The simple thing to do would have been too say sorry about that, grab another bottle, and we will see you soon. But no, this guy for really cocky the past couple of years and I'm done with his expired products and you...

I enjoyed my experience at the babushka deli. The staff were very friendly and there was a decent selection of authentic Russian goods actually sold in Russia.

My only complaint would be that the candy section will potentially have some stale items. It is sold at $4 a pound for candy. But you cannot tell if something is out of date because the main package is where the Best buy date is found. Not the individual candies themselves. Although so far I have only found two that were stale. Otherwise it's fine.

Some might say that the food being stale adds to the authenticity lol. I'm not a sissy so this doesn't bother me very much. Although it would be much more enjoyable if it wasn't stale. Really the only items that you have to worry about being stale are any chocolate with wafers inside. Even then. It's not guaranteed to be stale. About half the shop or 1/3 is Russian goods, and the other half or 2/3 is normal American snacks and liquor.

Monday and Tuesday they have 10% off for any Russian...