Royal Market & Bakery

This place has great food but their customer service is god awful. If you are not Russian don’t even expect to get acknowledged. Sometimes they skip over you and just start chatting away with someone that just walked up to the line. What makes me keep coming back is that there is nothing else that is decent in this neighborhood.

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Definitely raises the bar for Russian/​Armenian/​Eastern European food in SF. Glad this store came to be because frankly the other Stores specializing in the same type of food were getting too comfortable. This place has great service, fairly friendly staff and their selection is great for being mostly speciality. I frequent here for all of my specialty food from the eastern block!

Super selection of high quality, delicious, fresh food at better than fair prices with a very nice working staff.

Great one stop shop for exotic condiments, fresh produce and pantry staples, Royal Market never disappoints.
The deli is excellent. They offer freshly pickled cucumbers and longer cured dills, incredibly smooth, creamy humus and myriad meats and cheeses — many of which have cyrillic font on the label, but all of which are available for sampling.
The Armenian puri bread is always fresh and the bakery is stocked with lots of cakes and desserts that I have yet to try, but look like pastry perfection.
The marinated chicken is a savory shortcut for backyard BBQ’s and there are many other kuftas for carnivores.
Yes, sometimes a few of the staff can come off as brusque, but once they realize you’re a regular, they’ll warm up at least a degree or two.
The store was recently remodeled so it is even cleaner and better laid out than ever.
Oh yeah and they have a wide selection of vodkas and Georgian wines — Nosdovya! (sp?)

By far my favorite place to shop for groceries. Good selection and a great value for the healthiest food you will find anywhere.

When I moved to the Richmond, I was drawn to Royal Market because of their excellent selection of fresh produce that is so reasonably priced. It is one of the closest grocery stores I can walk to and even though I don’t know what half of the items in the store actually are, I have had an amazing time exploring the products and the wonderful deli. I just tried the lamb Lula from the butcher counter and it was delicious.
In regards to other reviews, I am not Russian and do not feel unwelcome there. I also have never found them to charge me a price that wasn’t marked or give me incorrect change, I feel like that is sort of nonsense. I think obviously there is a strong community vibe there and those that speak the language probably have a different experience than those of us who just go in and kind of bumble around (like me). Having said that, I suppose that some of the people in the store might be considered intimidating, but seriously I don’t feel like they are dishonest in anyway, nor do I feel like they’re trying to take advantage of shoppers from outside their community.
The first thing I think, when I walk in that market, is how wonderful it is that the owners take so much pride, that everything is so orderly and clean; honestly Whole Foods and Safeway could take a page out of that book. I feel like their prices are very reasonable, and the selection of certain things like feta and labne is amazing. I’m really sad if anyone felt like anyone felt like had a bad experience there, I have only ever been happy to shop there, and if anything keep telling myself I should learn a little bit of Russian.
I would ask if you’re in the Richmond and you want to have a really interesting cultural experience that results in some tasty treats, go to Royal market get some Armenian bread, some olives, some of their amazing humus, smoked fish, Russian cookies… it’s all good!.

I agree with most of the good reviews of this place but I don’t feel welcome there. The staff there is Russian (I think that’s what they are), and they are very cheery and civil to their fellow country people, but a great deal less so with the rest of us. I can handle that most of the time. I think it’s only natural with any ethnicity, but it’s more than usual at this store.
It’s not my imagination, and it doesn’t seem to be caused by a language difference. The staff does speak English pretty good and the cash register transactions are relatively simple. I’ve done some traveling in non-​English speaking countries, so I know the drill. I was in their country, after all. But, really? On Geary Boulevard in San Francisco, I don’t expect such treatment to such a degree. I’ve experienced the barely disguised, evident reluctance the Royal Market employees have with others.
I have some words of caution for you. As with all purchases at any store, step up to the cashier with an alert mind about two things: the amount per pound for produce that is correct for that particular item, and the amount of change you are due (AKA count your change).
I’ve gotten home a few times from the Royal Market and reviewed my transactions, and figured out that I was probably a dummy who should have counted his change.
I used to go in there a lot because the place is convenient to a restaurant I like and to my barber, but today was the last straw. I stepped up to the cash register and the staff member was looking up the price on a chart for some sweet potatoes I had picked out. I told her, «It’s the $ 1.29 ones.» I had been careful to choose the $ 1.29 potatoes. She nodded in agreement with me, but a man’s gruff Russian (?) voice yelled something at her. I’m still trying to figure out where this officious dude was. I never saw him and the voice didn’t come out of a speaker. I got on the bus and looked at my receipt, and she had charged me $ 1.49 a pound.
OK, I’m a numbskull but I was in a hurry to catch the 38 I noted was coming in 5 minutes. Yes, I knew to stop and check what I was being charged. I didn’t do the right thing today, but I won’t be going all the way out Geary to that place with my receipt and my bag of sweet taters in my sweaty little paw to deal with the gruff man whose voice came out of nowhere.
But I won’t be going back to the Royal Market And Bakery again, arriving 38 or no arriving 38. Markets are like buses. There’s always another one.

For Easter my wife and I decided to have a traditional Russian Easter. We had 23 guests and neither of us are of Russian descent. The meal was an overwhelming success, and frankly, we couldn’t have pulled it off without the assistance of the folks from Royal Market. Every dish was delicious, from the fresh sturgeon, to the wine, to the enchanting Russian soda pop which the kids loved! Thanks again!

My second stop on a hunt for Piroshki’s was Royal Market on Geary. This is not a dedicated bakery but a full Russian market which had a hot food section in the back corner.
I usually get beef and cheese when I order piroshkis but this was not an option here. They did have some interesting options instead which piqued my interest. I ended up buying a lamb piroshki and a feta pastry.
The lamb piroshki was a bit of a let down. The meat was too tough and the pieces were far too large. The filling definitely needed to be ground up more and the meat to onion ratio was just not cutting it. Again, I prefer Anda’s and Cinderella’s to this place. The feta pastry, while simple, was delicious and had a generous filling and flaky crust. I enjoyed this item the most.
Overall, this was another miss on the piroshki front, but it wasn’t a total loss in that it did have a satisfying cheese pastry that makes this place «A-​OK.»

Great place where I finally found Soujuk sausages in America. The deli items are soo good. Looks like they are made fresh on site. The eggplant stuffed with cheese and the ground beef rolls were fantastic. I also give 5 stars for service. Some of the staff might not speak perfect english but those that do go out of their way to help you. I can’t wait to go back!

I’ve had this place bookmarked for a while and its right across from Sharetea so quite frankly not sure why it took me literally forever to go given how much I go to Sharetea. I didn’t buy anything with this visit but wow, they have A LOT of stuff and its all reasonably priced. A lot of fresh items and a variety of turkish groceries to buy. No bulk ability to buy nuts though but variety of chocolates and what not. Fresh meat as well. Will def be back next time I need some turkish goods.

This is a great neighborhood market. Super organized, clean and has what you need: fresh produce, eggs, dairy, jar of goods, cans, pasta, ready– made deli, German and Russian bread and pastries and much more.
items are bit more expensive compared to Chinese markets (since it’s imported) but it’s good and convenient.

I love getting groceries from here, cuz they open late til 9pm that’s better for my work schedule. Fresh and reasonably priced!

Like people who’s working there.
Very friendly and professional. Always fresh meat and bakery. Fresh salads
Give u 5 star

Nonfat Tvorog? lol who knew? Mama Galya would not approve!
Why is Tvorog referred to as «Canadian»? Cuz I don’t think Mama Galya would approve of this, either.
Priyaniki from LA, decent but not the same as from the local bulochnaya– a few assorted jams *but only 1 – 2 types from Russia itself*, an amazing assortment of tortes and chocolates from Russia & the CIS but for chocolates I refer you to Europa Plus across the street (they sell in bulk and you can buy as many as you like, they don’t prepackage for you a la TJs).
btw if you look Asian they may assume you actually speak the language. No worries. Just pay by credit card.
Parking– if it’s a PITA just park at the geary mall ($ 1 for 20 min) and haul your goods up the stairs behind Domino’s pizza.
Then, head to Eurpoa plus (lower prices, slightly) for whatever you couldn’t find here.
Frozen Pelmen! That is what I forgot today. I’ll be back soon.

Really cool store! Their fresh pastries /​kabobs /​meats /​prepared food section looks super delicious. I haven’t tried everything, but what I had was awesome and fairly priced. Their selection looks very intriguing as well! Lots of things I hadn’t seen before. Store staff was helpful and friendly, if a bit curt.
I will definitely be back before long to try more things.

Priviet! Or more like sdrasvutsya! Specibo!
Love this place. I always come here. I think more to practice my Russian more than anything.
Whenever I am in the mood for borche, I come here to buy the ingredients. I remember the first time, I had some pointers from the cashier. She is now more of a good acquaintance rather than just someone who rings me up. She is from Ukraine so her recipe is more Ukrainian. It doesn’t matter because I followed her recipe one time and it was good!
Okay so what really is my favorite here… Let’s see. Russian ice cream, meats are pretty good, variety of Russian food at the deli, shish kabobs, dried nuts and fruits. I think for a foreigner like myself, I think they’re deli are pretty good. It took
me a while to dive in to foods that I don’t know but eventually I let go, and so far, nothing have disappointed me so far. I think they also opened a restaurant next door. One of these days I would like to come. Yay!

I love this place,
Great service, employees are very friendly, fresh food. I love Armenian cuisine.
I’m going tonight to buy groceries and piroshki for the Christmas Eve ;)
d definitely recommend this store.

Truly gives new meaning to «Russian roulette»…the prepared foods look if they could cause serious distress… BUT…they had a paneer cheese substitue.
Amazing booze selection not that I know anything about that. Great location in Richmond.
Sorta three stars comrade!