Grocery Stores:
There are a 4 main grocery stores in Tunis and the selection of food is mainly localized. All produce in Tunisia is considered as "organic food" and is seasonal. You can find several small "aatar" (small street stores) all over Tunis selling fresh produce and other basic necessities. Imported foods can be found mainly in the large supermarkets, and are generally more expensive than local foods.
If you need any kind of over-the counter medication, or prescription medicine, you will need to go to a pharmacy.
There are four main supermarkets in Tunis:
1) Carrefour, the closest to the school, is a major French supermarket with several imported items and localized items. The shopping center itself has several boutiques, such as clothes and home decorations, that are relatively expensive but of excellent quality.
2) Promogro is on the road to La Marsa. It has some foodstuffs and other household items.
3) Monoprix, the third French supermarket, has several stores all over Tunis. They are smaller stores than Carrefour and hold mainly food/produce.
Please click here to see a map of Carrefour, Tunis City, and Promogro.
Please click here to see a map with all the Monoprix locations.
Patisseries:
There are several patisseries all over Tunis. You can buy several baked goods at all these stores, and they are all very good. Most of the patisseries will have croissants, pain au chocolat, baguettes, and other baked breads, and also Tunisian and French desserts. You can also find baked goods in the larger supermarkets, but they don't have the charm (or smell) of fresh baked goods. The most well known patisserie in Tunis are Ben Yedder and Mde. Zarrouk . Mde. Zarrouk is found at Carrefour, they only have Tunisian desserts, and they have a large variety.
Tunisian food combines Arabic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and French influences. Bread and pastries are a legacy of the French, so you'll find crusty light-as-air baguettes and melt-in-the-mouth croissants and pains au chocolate. Dishes are cooked with olive oil, spiced with aniseed, coriander, cumin, caraway, cinnamon or saffron and flavored with mint, orange blossom or rose water; many are accompanied by harissa, a chili and garlic condiment. Fresh fish and seafood are often splendid, as are roast chicken and baked lamb dishes.
Things to know: Although Tunisia is an Islamic country, alcohol is not prohibited. Tunisia produces a range of palatable table wines, sparkling wines, beers, aperitifs and local liqueurs.
National drinks:
Thé à la menthe (mint tea), often served with pine nuts, Ahwa arbi (Turkish coffee), Boukha (thick aromatic spirit, distilled from figs), Thibarine (herb-based liqueur).
National specialties:
Couscous (ground semolina served with meat, fish or vegetable sauce), Harissa (chilli paste), Salade Mechouia (roasted vegetable salad), Tajine (a kind of omelette, served cold), Brik (tasty filling, usually tuna, egg, onions, capers and parsley, deep-fried in an envelope of pastry).