When it comes to your daily staples, Bónus is the cheapest supermarket in the country. You probably won’t be able to find any of the finer imported goods that Hagkaup has to offer, but if all you’re looking for are some basic goods to stock your cupboards and fridge with, then Bónus is the way to go. The only problem with the Bónus on Laugavegur is how poorly organised it is. This might be due to limited space – we’re not here to pin blame. We just want to help. That’s why we’ve written up this handy guide to Bónus; to make your shopping experience faster and more affordable.
When you walk in, fruits and vegetables are straight ahead. Although you might be tempted to buy two apples enrobed in half a kilo of bubble wrap, you should go for the loose produce – the kind you bag yourself – as it’s a lot cheaper than the pre-packaged stuff.
On leaving the veggie cooler, you’ll walk past the breads, snacks, and a veritable United Nations of Crackers – more brands than I knew existed. Past this, the meat cooler is on the right (which also has eggs and some dairy products like milk and skýr) and to the left are three aisles. The cheapest lunch meats are from Kjarnafæði, and in terms of chicken, pork and beef, the Bónus brand is always the least expensive and often have rebates of twenty to forty percent. While the milk is cheaper than it was a couple of months ago (71ISK per litre), the price of other dairy products remain the same.
Perpendicular to the meat cooler, the first of the three aisles is stocked with soups and canned goods. Look for canned goods from Scandinavian countries; tomatoes, vegetables, tuna and other goods are all generally available for less than 100ISK. In the second aisle you’ll find personal and home cleaning products and, inexplicably, baking goods. We can only guess they’re put in the same aisle because after doing a lot of baking, the first thing you reach for is the cleaning stuff. The third aisle is stocked full of candy. Buy it in bulk for a reduced price.
Past the three aisles you’ll find more dairy across the back wall, like ice cream, butter, margarine and cheese. Icelandic cheese is the cheapest, and butter isn’t that much more expensive per gram than margarine. Perpendicular to the dairy products are two long freezers stocked with frozen meat and vegetables. As with the candy, buying in bulk will cost you less in the long run, provided you have the freezer space for it.
The front end of the store is stocked with what can only be described as “random crap.” DVDs, toilet paper, towels (both paper and cloth), socks, feminine hygiene products and children’s games line shelves and cover tables in no particular order. Naturally, at the register you’ll find your standard impulse buys: newspapers, magazines, and more candy. I’d personally suggest either bringing your own reusable shopping bag, as the Bónus bags cost 15 ISK each, but you can also double-bag the smaller, thinner free bags on rolls.
Bónus, Laugavegur 59, ph#562-8200
(The place with the pink pig getting a coin rammed into its head.)
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