Tropical Foods (El Platanero)

Tropical is a community grocer that can fulfill ANY basic needs. Almost all nationalities can find familiar items at affordable prices from friendly faces. The attendant were very helpful and the store has always been well stocked with healthy options...

I make a stop there for my bitters. Got to practice good gut health, great item.

To start I will say the most clean market I’ve ever been in wow this place was spotless, every shelve was stock nothing on the floor. Some nice music playing just beautiful I wanted to shop all day. Food from every country if you need something you will find it here. Even had my kid’s favorite boba milk tea I use to have to go to super 88 in Chinatown for that drink( can version really good). Something for Thé people amazing price on meat specially the price of steak, the T-bone steak was less than 6$.

I don't know how they balanced food staples, name brand and unique offerings in such a small space but they did it, and I'm happy they did. I'm often shopping here.

Satisfied with the products and theirs workers you can find any products from all diversity items i remember back on days my children were young and now they are grown adults they love to shopping there . THANKS AGAIN

I love how they revamped the supermarket. It has been a staple in the Black Community Forever. The staff is wonderful and they have amazing customer service. They make everyone feel welcomed.

This place is the worse to be shopping in most of the cashiers are rude they don't know how to speak with customer and most of them they don't speak English at all they are yelling at the customer and argument at the same time, they charge customers extra for the price shows on the shelves I will never recommend this place to anyone plus there is no manager or supervisor there , I'll shop there twice i will never shop there again most of the cashiers disgusted me if there a manager or supervisor there teach your cashiers how to talk with customers, how to be kind teach them a good manners.

Few words, I want to go back the atmosphere, the people, was so relaxing and welcoming meeting people of other states and the convo was unavoidable and enjoyable 😀 make sure to take something to cover up after the water can cold? Don’t bring food they had lots of it, save som scarps for the 🐟 to feed for the kids who are not able to swim too far

Im tired of this place selling me expired and moldy stuff every single time, I've had issues with strawberries, raspberries, milk, and bread several times, ive gone back for refunds but it takes time of my day to go back every time. I literally just ate a sandwich with bread that had mold on it without realizing until the end. I bought it two days ago and i just saw the expiration date that says it expired a week ago. Honestly I gave this place every chance, I spoke to managers, and its sad because I live so close and I'm hispanic so they have everything I need, but I'm done with them selling me food with mold. Someone should send an inspector to check it out

Great place for spices and sauces you can't find elsewhere. Great Boston area market for my barbecue jerk chicken sauces and spices. Excellent grocery place for meats or breads that you don't find in regular supermarkets.

This place is truly a hidden Gem!!!! Best supper-market in the area, hands down!!! They literally have everything you could possibly imagine and more. I've never been to a supermarket with THIS much variety of food. Everything is super fresh and the staff is extremely helpful and friendly. I will never need to go anywhere else, I will most definitely be back!!!

Great place to get all your groceries especially if you're from the Caribbean or looking for food not normally sold at the supermarket like Stop & Shop. The meat selection is vast, but the prices can be high sometimes. But overall it's a good place to shop.

We love Tropical Foods! Live in JP/Egleston and it's our go to for about 60-70% of our grocery needs. Great friendly service even for non-spanish speakers like ourselves. Always way faster in-and-out than the Jackson Square Stop & Shop. It's cheaper too! We're always surprised at how affordable the prices are, but the quality is great. The produce is consistently on point here. The new building does feel a lot more like a conventional grocery store than the old building next-door, which was also great. It's great to see a business with such deep community roots continue to bring such an awesome grocery option to Dudley and the surrounding areas. Last thought: The music played in the store is regularly WAY better than the similarly sized chain stores in the area.

I've always wanted to check out this ethnic grocery store, but never entered until this past weekend. It's a bit smaller than Stop & Shop, and was surprisingly not crowded on a Sunday afternoon. Most importantly, the space was clean! Shelves were well-stocked. Push carts were constantly being returned to the store. No funky smells. I only interacted with the cashier, who was friendly and knew to bag the meats separately from other items (bonus points). What to buy here: * Specialty Produce: fresh sugarcane, fresh lemongrass, tomatillo peppers, exotic root vegetables, etc. For all other produce, I still prefer to shop at Haymarket in the city (best price) or at my local Stop & Shop (same price as Tropical Foods). * Specialty Meats: fresh goat meat, chicken hearts, beef feet, etc. Chicken was also cheaper here. * Spanish & West Indies non-perishable items: GOYA products galore, rice, beans, all kinds of Caribbean spices, plantain chips, etc. * Hot lunch special $5.99 includes rice & beans and choice of two meats: pernil (pork shoulder), chicken wings, or ribs. Portion was huge but the meats were on the dry side (we ate late though, around 1:30PM). PS. When driving, enter the parking lot through Williams St (not Melnea Cass Blvd).

Prices are extremely high. Its like they are ripping off the community. When they were in the old building prices were very good. I guess we are paying for the new, clean building. A 24 pk of Poland Springs water was $6.19 at one time. They are more expensive than Stop & Shop. It's disgusting!

I was in Tropical food store today and it will be my last time. I have lived in Roxbury for about forty years. The heavy-set Hispanic Woman cashier out of uniform accused me of having a problem because I placed my groceries down on the conveyor belt before an employee that was buying an avocado. I was next in line and carrying my things she pre-assumed I was saying something about the employee in front of me. I ask her why would you think there is a problem? She said oh you are throwing things and they want us to be nice to them, but they are nice to us. I explained I was not saying anything about him, and he was in between two lines. After going back and forth with me she walks away tells me I can talk to the manger. I walk over and the White tall Man the owner and a Man of Middle Eastern descent who is a manger and the cashier come over as to explain what happen. The Middle eastern manager then went on to accuse me of going in the store and arguing with someone else a couple of weeks back. This is a lie. I only go in Tropicals for quick things because they are overpriced. He lied and accused me of something I never did. I then pulled down my mask and said check the cameras. The White tall Owner Ronald Garry that is the name attached to the business did nothing. He did attempt to listen to both sides of the story from the cashier. However, he was defending his employees. I walked away and let them know I will make a review for their store. Again, I will never go in Tropical Food Store. I am a community member and I love to shop local, but the level of disrespect and customer service is not worth my time or money. That is do not waste your time at this unprofessional and overpriced grocery store. I have to remember that Foodies is up the street and Stop & Shop is not too far. Lastly, the cashier was conversing with the bagger and some other cashiers or leads. I said isn't it rude to talk to them while I'm waiting to pay for my food when I'm thinking she is done ringing me up. She then says oh you know I going to get a price check, I said how do I know that you were speaking Spanish to the other cahier. She said its common sense. She never said we need a price check. Extremely unprofessional!

I found my happy grocery store! I'm one of the weirdos who enjoys grocery shopping. But, tropical foods was really an enjoyable experience because they had so many products that I struggled to find elsewhere! Being from Miami, there are a lot of staples that I cannot find anywhere in Boston. I was shocked to find a good amount of these at Tropical Foods. One of these is galletas - a Cuban cracker that is a staple in Miami. Not only did they have them, but they had my favorite brand (La Unica)! They had many other great products such as tropical produce (mangoes, guavas, papaya, yuca, and more!), bacalao, less common meats, and snack foods! They also had lots of kitchen tools and tabletop small appliances - things that are, again, commonly found in grocery stores back home! I had high hopes for this store after hearing that the founder is cuban, but it definitely met my expectations! Can't wait to return

A spot where it was easy to find many different brands of Ackee! Felt very welcome and the employees working there were very helpful. I am looking forward to going back whenever I need some Caribbean ingredients!

Great variety here. Could use more organically grown products. Heard from a source that the blueberries sold here are the best in Boston. The best part of coming here is the music. I hope there is a fire dept. close because the playlist is always fuego. nuff said.

What a great store! all kinds of spices, breads, drinks and other groceries not found at your big box stores. Great place to find new varieties of spices and Seasonings from other cultures and ethnicities.

Tropical Foods isn't a frilly grocery store, and the staff probably won't go out of their way to be friendly to you, but they've always been pleasant to me. If they're rude to you, it's probably because you're a rude person. As far as products being expired, just check the expiration date before you buy. Same as any other store. In general, it's clean, far less pretentious than Whole Foods, and an infinitely better experience than Stop and Shop. I used to drive to Wegman's, but over time, I stopped going as often because I could always get what I needed here. Even better, Tropical Foods sells beer and wine, so there's no need to visit two stores if you want wine with dinner. Unlike other stores in the area, I've also never had an issue using an out-of-state ID there. Where Tropical Foods really shines, though, is when you're shopping for less common cuts of meat. I usually buy my ribeyes at Meatland, but when we needed ham hocks and salt pork for New Years dinner, I knew Tropical Foods would have it.

Very clean and organized. Helpful staff and a wide variety of foods. If you are looking for ethnic foods this is the place for you. The prices are also very affordable which is important to the community it serves. I live two mins away and am mad that tonight was the first time I ever went here. I will be going back for sure. Much nicer than Stop and Shop with better music too.

If you're looking for an ethnic food store, this is the place! its not a huge store but I've always found everything I need.

They will rip you off at the register if I wasn't paying attention today. They would of ripped me off for like $6. And the food here is more expensive than stop and shop. Never again

I've had no issues with this grocery store. I'm not sure what people are talking about in terms of expired products. I haven't experienced that. I would recommend shopping here for Caribbean food items (that's what I do). They have a good an affordable variety. For your other grocery needs you should go elsewhere because the prices here are more expensive than other supermarkets.

I was looking for pork shoulder and this place had every single cut of meat you could want at great prices. I didn't check the expiration dates on any food items since I was in a rush, but they carry everything you might need, even liquor.

Tropical Foods was able to build this new store through loans and grants partially funded by tax dollars.... It is billed as a grocery for the community and yet the prices are higher than any other store I've been to in the area. I guess when you pay with food stamps and WIC vouchers you're not entitled to low prices.

My favorite grocery store. Been going there for 20 years. Real community feel. Love the music -- eclectic, blues, reggae, Elvis Presley, Salsa. People are wicked nice.

This is a awesome supermarket. They have all of the hard to find island foods. I saw Breadfruit there. Everything was well stocked. I also had a plate lunch with Salt-fish/ Rice and Beans that was ok.The prices were less expensive than other stores.

I didn't get a smile, a hello, a thank you, nor the total of my groceries. All the cashiers were too busy holding Spanish conversations, so I'll let them support each other and take my business elsewhere. Mind you I came back because I forgot to get bread and both of the cashiers were just as rude.

Best variety of food for an inexpensive price. Fruits and products are found gere from all over the world

Their self items are expired and they don't do refund. So basically go spend your earned money for foul items.

Tropical Foods is my favorite grocery store in the Boston area! They keep their prices affordable and make sure to always stock Latin and African foods. I can always find exactly what I need to cook my favorite Brazilian meals.

We also had the same experience as Lydia G a year ago (review below from May 2017). Yesterday my husband was also ripped off of $6.5 since he did not check the bill immediately after checkout. I saw after he came home that he was billed 6.49$ for an item that he did not have in his shopping cart or did not have in his grocery bags. There was an imaginative item (yampi for $6.49) added to his bill in the "middle" which he did not have in his shopping cart or did not have in his grocery bags. We have no idea what yampi is. He had not picked yam. Note, the item was added in the "middle" of the bill and not at the beginning or end. All the items that he actually bought were less than $5 each (total bill $56) so we were surprised and went through the grocery bags to only find the groceries that he had actually picked. Overall, many common groceries are expensive as compared to Trader Joe's, bfresh etc. Their bananas are very expensive (79 cents /lb). I can say that they have a good collection of West African groceries as we buy those. My husband has been buying from them since 2013 and does not usually check his bill. They should mend their ways.