Yasha From Russia

This store has an extensive collection of things I do not want, and none of the things I was hoping for when I came here. What I did end up buying turned out to be the worst version of said item I have ever tasted. There are no freshly made deli foods of any kind. Quite a bummer of a place unless you are looking for something canned, or from a box. Then they have you covered. They also have a pretty good selection of candies.

Great store. But if you’ve never been to eastern Europe, then take note.
This is not an American style store where you walk in, and poke your finger at them nitpicking about anything and complain like «OMG this like so… uh, really?!»
Products are imported from overseas, and we live in the middle of the desert.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Having been to E. Europe many times and her being from there, finding the store entrance actually in the back, in a large parking lot, where you can park however, with rugged concrete — NOSTALGIC AS HECK! Awesome. Adds to the authentic character (though probably not intentional). Anyone whose been to E. Europe or any post-​Soviet country there, will get it.
Inside, you will be treated to some good Russian-​language music on the radio and the overwhelmingly mouth-​watering smell of their meat section. Hard to explain, but it was also very nostalgic, felt like we were back over there again. Very good!
Don’t forget to grab a cart before you go in.
Inside, it’s kept clean and stocked with tons of different items from all over E. Europe.
What to check out? Depends on what you want.
This is a Russian store, so you can’t go in to buy Pringles and Snickers.
NOPE. Instead, most seem to be from Russia, and some from Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Belarus, Georgia, and more.
They have a fine selection of imported beers, wine, sparkling mineral waters, kvass, pickled items, and meats. The minerals waters are especially good, easily beating out anything you’d find an a traditional American store. I recommend researching why they drink sparkling mineral waters so much (mostly for health reasons). In particular, I recommend BORJOMI which comes from Georgia (the country) and Essentuki (in Cyrillic as «ECCENTYKH», they’re numbered, some can be very salty). They’re great for hangovers too.
Try the Kvass! It’s great cold and in the summer. It’s a carbonated, ferminted/​rye-​bread type drink. It’s very unique in taste, kind of bitter, but also sweet, and tends to grow on you. There’s different brands at times, so it can be hard to pick out a good one. Where Kvass Ochakovskiy (Russian) is sweet, it doesn’t hold its carbonation as well as Kvas Monastyrskiy (I believe is Latvian) but that latter isn’t as sweet. Give a couple of a try and see what you think, it’s just a few bucks for a giant bottle.
Buckwheat: no one seems to eat this in America, but they eat it there like Americans eat oatmeal or grits or rice. It’s great with butter.
Crunchy corn-​puffs with a frosty powered sugar coating.
Can never remember the name but she grew up on these and the family loves them.
Usually where they have the cookies and stuff.
About 85% of everything is in Cyrillic, btw.
The staff have always been very friendly so don’t be shy to ask for help.
Beer? I recommend Baltika. They have #7 and #9 at times, the former is lighter, the latter is much darker. Check the expiration dates though.
THE MEATS:
The sliced meats are excellent, high quality. It’s nothing like what you can get in normal stores, people have different tastes. BUT they DO give you free samples, so you can try before you buy. They have a section of canned fish, like sardines, and a section of dried fish (another E. European ex-​USSR staple). The latter go great with beer, BUT WATCH OUT FOR THE BONES.
Good selection of wines from all over.
Try «Soviet Champagne» (). A good classic.
Lastly, the home-​made bread. This is excellent. You can get a giant loaf of the bread. If you go in the morning, you might even get it while it’s still warm. It’s a darker bread (not too dark) and extremely good.
Coffee: pick up some Jacobs instant coffee while you are there. It’s instant but has a smell/​flavor, nostalgic.
Pricing-​wise, you can get in/​out without spending too much, but remember, they have tons of imported items. The deli section has great prices given the unique meats they have.
THE DRAWBACKS:
–you’ll find expired products at times. you need to check the dates on EVERYTHING you get. Some things are not that bad if expired (like alcohol) but still, if you have a sensitive stomach or just don’t want anything expired, then CHECK the dates. REMEMBER, E. Europe, they date differently. The date is not «when it expires» but when it was made, and they will put how many months it’s good for; so if it has US-​style date, and you see the old, that’s just what the manufacturer printed from there.
–Sometimes they will run out of stock on items you like/​get used to, and will have to wait a week or so for a new shipment. That can be a bummer.
Overall, a very special place. A one of a kind!
Keep in mind, it’s not American style food, so don’t go there thinking everything will meet American tastes. There is a wealth of items to try there. Yasha’s is very special, for that reason, and highly recommended.

My wife went shopping there and among various items, it included Napoleon cake and Russian mustard. One just tasted horrible and the other made me sick:
1) Napoleon cake: never ate such dried out, old cake in my life. Way overpriced. Tasted horrible. Worst cake I ever had.
2) Russian mustard: made me sick. Removed the price tag and noticed that it expired in ¹⁰⁄₁₂ and they sold it in ⁹⁄₁₅.
Called AZ department of health and they said unfortunately there is nothing they can do if a supermarket sells expired stuff.
So if you go there, better check if things are fresh or if you get some 3 year expired stuff that has been sitting on the shelf forever and they cover it up with putting the price tag over the expiration date.
Will never go back!

They may have some European import foods you don’t usually see in a store. A larger assortment than a typical family owned little Polish or German butcher /​store. About average prices but you get to have a benefit of buying a lot of stuff in one place.
I buy from them whenever I am in the area. I never had a problem with quality of food.

As original russian I used to love syrniki (cheese pancake) traditional russian food. So today I bought some from this store. What I got was clump of flower doe and few specks of cottage cheese. I just had to take picture of that shame, not even mention outrageous price for them. Is owners even try what they sell? Absolutely disgusting, if u looking for russian food stay away from that place.

Very disappointed by quality of products! No one item had price tag on it, no wonder why, overpriced!
I bought for my grandson honey cookies (pryniki) they are absolutely tasteless!
The meat salad from Deli was worthless, no meat in it, just carrots, potatoes, eggs, peas and pickles, what a shame!
Chocolate bar $ 4.99 are you serious?!
The little pies that was fried in a store did not look very appealing, gray color ! The cold meat cuts looks old !
If you are looking for authentic russian food that would be wrong place to come !
Never again !

Great selection of Eastern European foods. Great selection of wines, cheeses, Deli meats and smoked fish. Lots of homemade pastries, sweets and freshly made rye bread. Gotta go back soon!!!

This is a rather sizable store as ethnic specialty stores go; don’t be deceived by how it looks from the storefront. There is a good selection of sausages and other cured meats, cheeses, refrigerated food items, beverages, dessert items, candies, and other grocery items too varied to mention here — look at the pictures I posted for a sampling of what the store has to offer. While most items here are Russian, there is also a lot of foods and beverages from other European countries such as Poland and the Baltic states. You can also come here for lunch from Monday to Friday to try borscht, dumplings (pelmeni and vareneki), blintzes, and different kinds of sandwiches. I find the prices to be quite good, too, for the quality of the food and other merchandise they offer.

I love this store! It’s very small but they carry an eclectic selection and it’s a bit of a time travel to walk in and find Russian wares from candy to beer to fish to canned goods. The employees are very nice.

* I decided to give 4 ¾ stars instead of 5, simply because I’m Polish, and would have liked a little more of a selection of Polish food items. Then again, I’m from Chicago, and spoiled as far as delis are concerned. However, onto the review!
We usually come here with our little boy, and before Mr Yasha died, he would ALWAYS give him a lollipop or a chocolate or something sweet. He was a very kind man, and no doubt, sorely missed.
Now, his son usually rings us up, and he’s a cool guy as well.
I must stress, that their assortment of meats, smoked fish, and deli items such as salads, is amazing, and always fresh! I have never encountered anything of sub par quality, freshness taste wise here. Sure, there might be a few «strange» items according to the typical American[who will never understand the eastern european obsession with herring], but to a Slav like me, it is heaven. Their herring salad[aka «Sledz pod pierzynka”-herring under a blanket], is JUST like my Grandma’s.OMG so good.
Their breads are the bomb too, as well as their delicately brine flavored, crisp, crunchy, garlicky, dilly new pickles fresh from the bucket.
Now, my mouth is watering-​I foresee a trip to Yasha’s very soon!

This is basically a large specialty market. It mainly carries Russian items but I also saw a lot of Moldavian, Armenian, Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, and Georgian items.
This market has a hell of a lot to offer from boxes of chocolate to specialty beer to dried meats, a variety of cheeses, teas, coffees, honey, jam, cookies, liquors, you name it, I even saw toothpaste and medicine.
I was glad to have found this place. I intend on trying the wide beer selection of dark malts as well as some of the ice cream and chocolates.
In addition to carrying most everything, they have some traditional pieces in the back for your own home. Lovely store! I was even greeted in Russian right when I entered!
Which reminds me of the wonderful service. I always had someone asking if I needed help looking for something or if I was doing okay. :)

If you are from the FSU or FSU Jewish, this is the store for you and your staples. Good selection of food from home for those yearning a taste

The best European market in town huge place they have everything from salami to drinks to plates. Great prices and affordable. I will be back to buy fish soon.

After reading an article in the paper about finding Russian food in Phoenix during the Olympics, I had to visit the place. It turned out to be an excellent decision. 2 of my friends and I made the drive after a round of Disc Golf. We were hoping for a place that might offer sandwiches like many deli, but this is basically a grocery store with a wonderful meat and bakery counter.
We grabbed some 9 and 12 percent Russian beer for $ 2.49 each. WOW! Some Gaiser’s Fine Mother Goose, Pork, Chicken Liver, Veal spread that is out of this world good. A variety of baked cookies that I didn’t share. Landsjager that was good, but had bigger pieces of fat in it that I prefer. It was tasty. I had a hard time walking out without purchasing more items, but decided to come back again in the future and wanted a reason to make the drive north.
If you get the chance to go, you’ll be very happy when you leave.
They could make a killing with a good sandwich maker there!

Not nearly as good as Russian groceries in other cities. Some bakery items are stale depending on turnover. Vegetables are hit or miss, But some items worth the trip. Husband and wife owners could be friendlier. Speaking in Russian helps.

I came here during the end of July while visiting my brother. The cashier was super friendly. He even let me practice my Russian on him. My family and I bought four different cheeses and with some sausage. The old Kiev one was delicious. I’ll be back for Thanksgiving weekend!

This place has such a nice selection of salami that I would go back just for that! My husband enjoys the great prices on the variety of Eastern European beers they have. Be sure to check out the various dumplings they have in the frozen section, we really enjoy these and they taste very fresh.

This is place has various Russian and European products. It is okay. I still miss the Russian/​Eastern European markets in Chicago that I would frequent prior to relocating to Arizona.

I love this place and always stop here when I’m in the area. The smoked fish, sausages, and fresh made breads here are really awesome! Try the small smoked sausages on the deli counter, they are really good. I also love the smoked sturgeon and the excellent selection of salami they have here. The Russian salami is very good, if you like salami you need to try it. If you like pickles try the pickled tomatoes they have here. They also have a nice selection of caviar.

I love love love this store!!! I go there whenever I feel kind of homesick (I grew up in Latvia) or when I want to get some Russian marinaded but not too salty pickles, just like my grandma used to make!
Great selection of all kind of Russian and European beers! I always have something special to bring when I go to an American party ;)
lots of Russian candy, sausages, pelmeni etc.
the only reason I give 4 stars, because it’s hit and miss, sometimes they don’t have some things, or black bread is not very fresh…
but what can one expect, it’s highly specialized grocery store, it’s not like tons of Russians live here and go there every day.
Overall I highly recommend it to anybody, if you are not brave enough to try Russian food, at least you can try Russian beer or some Moldovian or Georgian wine ;)
But semi-​salted pickles are the best! mmmmmm I’m drooling just thinking about them :-p~