Golden Key

Frozen Russian Ravioli + dumplings. Cheap fruits and veggies. Pickled fish. Fun individually wrapped Ukrainian candies and chocolates.
These are groceries you should stop by here for, on your way back to Manhattan from Brighton Beach.

You should check the food on sale for expiration date, but you can score on things like cookies and pastries.
One star off for their staff at the register being rude (if you see a lady in he mid 50’s in glasses, go to a different cashier. She is a close relative the owner — therefore she gets to do whatever she want, probably even fire the manager) all other employees are quite nice and patient.
one star off for sanitary apperance on the curb. It always smells and there is a very oily/​dirty sidewalk all around the store, it is on the corner, so that is a very sad picture. Clean up your store front and you will better your neighborhood

This place gives other Russian businesses a bad rap. I used to live on Brighton 12^th and it was the closest deli. I have to say the sales people are incredibly rude. Not only to me. I personally witnessed a cashier scream at an elderly lady for not putting her groceries to be weighed out fast enough. I would think that was an isolated incident had it not been for a manger idly standing by, as nothing happened.
If you can deal with the rudeness, it is very fairly priced and has a fairly good selection. Don’t buy any cold cuts or meats, they tend to be of the less fresh variety. And check dates on all items, especially the ones outside. They tend to be expired.

Polina, again I must agree wholeheartedly with you. What is this milk chocolate stuff that silly Americans are obsessed with??? Have you no idea that you are putting complete garbage into your mouths when such wonderful chocolate is available to you???
The pastries and cheeses here are wonderful also, but yeah… chocolate. Yum.

The name «Golden Key» comes from an old Russian fairy tale. I’ve long forgotten what the fairy tale was about, but the name has always made me think of candy. There was a famous Golden Key candy store in Odessa. Little Odessa has one too.
Russian candy is the best in the world — and this from a person who’ll take sushi, dim sum or biriyani over a borsch any day. I didn’t even know the travesty called milk chocolate existed until I moved to the States. Here, you will find some milk chocolate, more as a consession to Americans and Americanized Russian kids shopping here — but the majority of candy sold in the store is honest-​to-​goodness, real Russian chocolate.
It sells other stuff — sausage, cheese, whatever… but really, who can bother with those things with all that CANDY! It lines the walls, it sits in bins, it’s piled everywhere. Forget Willy Wonka, he didn’t know what he was doing. If you want to know what real candy is supposed to taste like, this is the place for you!