Groceria Merante

This is a unique spot for Pittsburgh considering the lack of local Italian delis around. The people in there treat you great and the food is great, however it would be nice if they had smaller bread for their sandwiches.

Best place to get well-​priced produce and authentic Italian food! The family that owns it are the sweetest people and make you feel extremely welcomed.

A true diamond in the rough! Living as a college student in Oakland, it can sometimes seem like it’s difficult to find access to cheap, but still good quality produce regularly. Groceria has become an absolute regular weekly trip. I’m never disappointed by their prices, and have a great selection of products. My only complaint is that they are somewhat unreliable with what fresh produce they have available, but this is understandable because of their size and suppliers. Also, they are more than happy to let you know their selection if you call ahead of time. Great for fresh produce, authentic Italian sauces, pastas, breads, cooking staples… and unbeatable prices and customer service. Definitely recommend!

This place is the perfect Italian grocery store. Great local bread and deli meats, wide selection of in season fruit and vegetables that are cheap and a ton of canned and boxed Italian products.
The fresh sandwiches and amazing, as well all of there homemade soups, salads, and meals like meatballs or ravioli. To top it off the ladies that run the place are amazingly friendly and know all about their products. They know what’s in season and what’s good for this or that recipe

Such a great local convenient grocery store for college students. Perfect for the refrigerator basics and amazing specialty Italian products. The frozen pastas they sell are delicious, and their deli sandwiches are even better. For $ 5 dollars you get a hoagie on half of an Italian loaf of bread, definitely worth it! Amazing cheap veggies and fruits as well.

A fantastic tiny corner grocery. I have very modest needs for my shopping – typically just fruit, whole wheat bread, honey, and peanut butter – so it is the only place i need to go to get my weekly groceries. It has fair prices, and the three sisters who run the place are really sweet.

This is one of my favorite places to buy food. It’s so cheap but great quality, and the people are so nice!

An ode to Groceria Merante:
Ohhhhh how I miss that red white and green awning! And if I was still living in da burgh I would no doubt be a regular once again. In college I lived about 4 doors away from this diamond in the rough in South Oakland.
Merante’s nourished me for finals, snow days, my pre– 21^st birthday meal, summer bbqs, graduation, lazy sundays… you get the picture. Basically I existed off of the local produce, sliced deli meat, BOMB pumpkin ravioli, pasta, frozen sausage, and soup they sell here for the 2 glorious years I lived next door and I MISS IT!!!
Without Merante’s I would have frozen on my way back from Giant Eagle, or existed off of Stouffer’s Mac n Cheese from CVS. One time I was so poor I couldn’t even afford to buy a 40 from the O, they let me keep a running tab for a few days until my next pay check so I wouldn’t go hungry, which goes to show you they don’t make em like this place anymore.
You are making a mistake if you don’t stop by if you’re in the area and check out Merante’s.

I just had a dream that i was back in oakland shopping at my favorite Souf oakland store. Ah how I miss shlepping up the street per vedere il merante sorelle. Once they get to know your face they make you feel like family. This is where you can get good bread and the best pre prepped frozen local ravioli if you are so inclined. A great selection of imported products and what ever produce is in season. Get your olives, sun dried, and cheeses here. Ask them about their sandwiches they make at lunch with fried hot and sweet peppers. They make em outta those huge loaves of local bread. The first dinner that I ever prepared for my now husband I made with products purchased from the sisters corner store. Thanks for being there for my college years and beyond. I think I learned a lot about food prep from just hanging around the store on occasion. Miss you guys! ~Blondie now in Portland ORE.

Great variety Italian quality foods, fresh produce, bread and cheeses with personal assistance that makes you feel like you are family!

This place is so convenient, especially for a college student living in South Oakland. They have fresh bread, deli meat and produce. Occasionally there are good deals on the produce. It’s a great place for me to pick up minor grocery items that I need the last minute, like a lemon or eggs. Most importantly though, they have really good bread here! Fresh, straight from a local bakery every morning. Groceria Merante is my go-​to for fresh, quality bread.

Walked in here for some pantry needs, walked out with amazing fresh figs which i stuffed with walnuts and a dollop of soy cream cheese instead of goat cheese. Great dessert.
Also found some wonderful imported olive oils, pastas, canned tomatoes and what is that wonderful smell coming from behind the counter? The deli girl was frying hot peppers in olive oil. I’ll take that entire pan of peppers and a loaf of bread and make a meal of that! Unfortunately she was just making lunch for the staff, after the peppers were cooked she added crumbled hot sausage and about a dozen eggs and made a huge frittata. I wonder how she got my father’s recipe? Oh, wait, all Italians make this.
Sorry, let me get back to the review, It’s so tiny here that i and two other customers were a crowd, but Groceria Merante has the authentic flavors of Italy. Cheeses, charcuterie, oils, vegetables, breads, pastas, and canned items. Wonderful hidden gem on Bates Street.

An awesome Italian grocery and deli. It’s a good place to puck up fresh bread, pasta, and cooking oils amongst other Italians specialties. At the deli counter you can order sandwiches with the special being an Italian sandwich for $ 5 on half a loaf of bread and $ 10 on a whole loaf.

I have heard that it takes great bread to make an excellent sandwich. With places like this around Pittsburgh there is no reason for Subway visits for this guy. Subway has $ 5 footlongs well this joint has $ 5 dollar square foot subs. I swear this is one of the largest and tastiest sandwiches I have had from a deli. I felt like I was playing where’s waldo upon entering this small supermarket because it was packed with food and people. I really enjoyed the roasted peppers that they put on this sandwich. There is no room in here to eat so to complete the experience I pulled up a milk crate out front and ate my lunch there. You have to come and try a sandwich here I think you will be happy with something about it, if not the huge size, than the experience alone is worth the $ 5 dollars.

I second Adam M’s review, and would add that the sandwiches are cheap and delicious. For $ 10, you get an entire loaf of Italian bread split open and filled with toppings.

Groceria Merante’s deli has the best sandwiches in Pittsburgh, at the best prices. $ 10 for a whole sandwich (on a whole loaf of bread) or $ 5 for a half (on a half loaf of bread), these sandwiches should last you the entire day. Plus, the grocery is fantastic, with imported Italian foods.
Finally, the legend of the sandwich is this. One day, a Pitt student wandered out of bed, hungover, and walked down to the local deli. He asked for a sandwich, they pulled out a loaf of bread, and loaded it with meat, cheese, and peppers. The next day, a small sign by the cash register advertised sandwiches for sale. And they’ve been serving them ever since.

I love Merante’s.
The deli is by far the highlight. Huge selection of sandwich meats, both imported and domestic, and a good number of cheeses as well. You can get an Italian sandwich (their most popular) or create your own – my usual is proscuitto, capicola, hot sopressata, mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, and hot fried peppers. The peppers are the best part, definitely get them if you like spicy, but have a glass of water handy! Oh, and did I mention it’s literally served on a freaking LOAF of bread?! I always get a half sandwich and usually can’t get through the whole thing. I can’t imagine anyone could eat a full sandwich, except maybe the dude on Man vs. Food.
Down to the grocery part, the selection isn’t the best but the cramped set-​up is charming and reminds me of the in-​city grocery stores I used to shop at in Florence. They have some interesting imports, but I do wish they had some more unique products, as most of the sauces and pastas they carry can be bought at Market District for much cheaper (I realize they can’t compete with mass merchandiser prices, but I just don’t shop here for those items). I especially wish they had mozzarella di bufala, but you can get bocconcini-​sized fresh mozzarella at the deli counter if you ask for it, and it’s pretty good. It is also the only place in the city I’ve seen that has San Benedetto iced tea (at the risk of sounding like a total alcoholic, the peach is the perfect mixer for peach sweet tea vodka). The frozen ravioli are also good, although I prefer going to Donatelli’s in Bloomfield for this since they have more variety.
So overall, while some of the selection could be improved, I truly love Groceria Merante and am ecstatic to have it right around the corner from me. At times I kind of hate Oakland, but Merante’s is the ray of sunshine that cheers me up when I start second guessing my living arrangements. Amazing little place that more people should really know about.

This is a great little Italian Grocery store… not the biggest selection of produce, but they have a respectable deli. They are best known for their Italian hoagie. I don’t hesitate to call it the best sandwich in Pittsburgh. It consists of a whole loaf of Italian bread, hams, capicola, salami, pepperoni, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and hot or sweet peppers. The meats on sandwich change from day to day.
A whole sandwich is $ 10 and a half sandwich is $ 5… they’ll also make you any kind of hoagie you want, just ask. Get a San Pellegrino Limonata with a half hoagie and you’ve got yourself a great meal for less than $ 7. And no one ever gets a whole hoagie more than once.