Supermarkets in Split: Chains, Malls and Green Markets

Supermarkets in Split: the short answer

If you are staying in or near the old town, the practical move is a bus or a short walk to Joker Mall for a Tommy Hypermarket shop, or a bus to City Center One for its grocery range. For fresh produce, honey and meat, the Pazar green market near the centre is the place to go. The old town's shopping has largely converted to food places and souvenir shops, so do not expect a full supermarket beside the Riva.

The chain supermarkets you will see in Split

Tommy is the chain most useful to visitors, because its hypermarket is in Joker Mall and is a straightforward one-stop shop. Plodine also appears among Split's supermarket names. Other names you may see on Split shopfronts include Diona, Ducan, Kate, Kaskade, Feniks, Studenak and Sport Marina. Treat the list as a set of names to recognise rather than a ranking, and pick whichever is nearest to where you are staying.

For everyday self-catering, the bigger malls are the reliable choice: City Center One lists around 160 shops and Joker around 115, with grocery and specialty food stores inside both. That concentration is why a single trip out of the centre usually beats hunting for a corner shop. If you only need bread and a few basics, a neighbourhood chain branch will do the job faster.

Where the main supermarkets sit: centre, malls and outskirts

Split's grocery geography follows the malls. In the old town, shopping is limited because most locations have become food places or souvenir shops, and Marmontova Street, once the main shopping street, now holds only a few shops. Joker Mall sits at Put Brodarice 6, about 1.7 km from the Riva, roughly a 15-minute walk, with a bus from the Pazar running frequently if you are carrying bags.

City Center One is at Vukovarska ul. 207, about 5.7 km from the Riva, too far to walk with shopping, so take bus 3, 3A, 18 or 25, which stops next to the entrance, or drive and use the 2,700-space car park. Mall of Split is the city's other big shopping centre, with grocery shopping under one roof. Promet Split's app is the easy way to buy city bus tickets.

Joker Mall: Tommy Hypermarket and other food shops

Joker Mall is a convenient big grocery stop for anyone based near the centre. Tommy Hypermarket is the anchor, and the food and specialty list includes Bio Planet, Bobis, Deliiicije, La Turka, Pjaca, Purex and Veronika. Most of the mall's food places sit on the top floor, where there is also a coffee bar with outside seating.

Use Joker for a proper weekly-style shop: dairy, bread, fruit and the heavier items an apartment kitchen needs. The walk from the Riva is flat enough with a wheeled bag, and the bus from the Pazar is the fallback when you are loaded down. If you want fresh bread from a dedicated bakery instead, a separate morning trip is worth it.

City Center One and Mall of Split: hypermarket stops off the centre

City Center One opened in 2010 and runs to roughly 160 shops with a broad grocery and food-store selection, which makes it a good single stop if you are stocking an apartment for a week. It also has a car wash in the basement, handy if you are driving onward along the coast. The trade-off is the trip out: bus 3, 3A, 18 or 25 from the centre, or a car.

Mall of Split is the other of the city's big shopping centres and works on the same model, with grocery shopping under one roof. For a self-catering stay outside the old town, one of the two malls will usually be closer than Joker. Bring a list and go once rather than making repeated trips.

The Pazar (Gradska tržnica): Split's main green market

The Pazar, formally Gradska tržnica, is Split's main green market and the place to buy local fruit, vegetables, meat, honey and other locally produced goods. It is a different kind of shopping from a chain: you deal with the stallholder directly and come away with what is in season. Go in the morning, when the stalls are fullest and the choice is widest.

Build a picnic or a simple apartment supper around the Pazar: tomatoes, peppers, olive oil, cheese, pršut (dry-cured ham) and a jar of local honey. The market sits close enough to the centre to combine with a walk through the old town. For a proper sit-down meal afterwards, the konobas around the palace are the obvious next stop.

The smaller neighbourhood markets: Pazarić, Sućidar, Matoševa and Skalice

Beyond the Pazar, Split has four other green markets: Tržnica Pazarić, Tržnica Sućidar, Tržnica Matoševa and Tržnica Skalice. They sell the same kind of local fruit, vegetables, meat and honey as the main market, on a smaller scale. If you are staying outside the centre, one of these will almost certainly be nearer than the Pazar.

Use a neighbourhood market for the daily shop and save the Pazar for a bigger browse, picking up fresh produce without crossing town. Morning is still the right time to go.

The fish market and fish shops

Split has one fish market, the place to go for the day's catch, and several good fish shops around town, including some inside the shopping malls. Buy fish the same day you plan to cook it, and ask the stallholder to clean and fillet it if you are cooking in an apartment. Fish is typically sold by the kilo in Croatia, so the price depends on the weight you take.

If you would rather eat fish cooked for you, a konoba will price it by the kilo too, and the waiter should tell you the weight before it goes on the grill. That is the moment to decide whether the whole fish is right for your table. For a quick alternative, the fish shops in the malls are easier to reach than the market.

Self-catering in Split: what to buy for a picnic or apartment meal

A good self-catering shop in Split combines a chain supermarket for staples with the Pazar or a neighbourhood market for produce. From the supermarket, take bread, butter, yoghurt, water and coffee; from the market, tomatoes, stone fruit, cheese, pršut and honey. Add a bag of pastries from a bakery for breakfast — see our guide to breakfast in Split — and you have most meals covered.

For a picnic, keep it simple: bread, cheese, pršut, tomatoes, olives and fruit, with a bottle of water from the supermarket. Croatian pršut is dry-cured ham, sliced thin and eaten as it is. Finish with ice cream from a gelato counter rather than carrying a whole cake to the beach — the best ice cream in Split is worth seeking out.

Supermarket shopping vs eating out: when each makes sense on a Croatia food trip

Split is a food city, and the konobas are the reason to come, so do not let self-catering replace them entirely. Use supermarket and market shopping for breakfast, picnic lunches and the odd quiet dinner in, and spend your budget on the meals out that matter. A week's stay usually works best with a mix of self-catered meals and the rest eaten in restaurants.

For a short break, the balance tips the other way: with only a few meals in the city, every one counts, and a supermarket trip can feel like time lost. If you are staying in an apartment with a kitchen, one big shop at City Center One or Joker plus daily Pazar visits will cover you. If you are in a hotel, treat the market as a picnic stop and eat out.

Which shop for which job

For a full grocery shop, go to Joker Mall for Tommy Hypermarket or to City Center One for the widest range. For produce, honey and meat, the Pazar is the better stop, with the four neighbourhood markets useful if you are staying outside the centre. The old town itself is for eating, not for stocking a kitchen.