Does your country have an equivalent of the US Walmart Rotisserie Chickens, as in ready-to-eat and warm food available in the supermarket for cheap?

18 comments

1. Yes. The majority of our supermarkets have deli/hot food counters. Here you can get things like full chickens, Sausages, goujons and other kinds of pasties. Exceptions would be the likes of Lidl and Aldi who stick to their business model that they run throughout their own network of stores

2. Not premade in plastic like that.

   In some supermarkets they do grill chicken in the store and you get them hot from the meats counter. Usually they’re not very good because they’re kept warm all day.

3. Some supermarket chains here, like Esselunga and Coop, have a gastronomy counter, where you can buy ready-made food by the gram/pound, things like potato croquettes, pre-made complex pasta sauces, vegetable cous-cous, Roman/Florentine tripe, Russian salad and so on, that you can eat pretty much right away. It’s also extra-handy if you want some holiday foods, but you can’t make them yourself for whatever reason.

   Esselunga usually does have roast chicken and roast potatoes “totems” where they sell those two warm, but they are comparatively expensive to other options, so it’s more of a treat than a “emergency dinner” kind of thing. For that, there’s usually their pizzas or the ready-made meats at the deli counter.

4. Kaufland would be the closest.

   A lot of hypermarkets have their own equivalents.

5. I’ve seen this before in asda which I think might be the same as Walmart so it makes sense. I think Ive seen it in other places too but its not that common, at least not near me. Its the kind of thing you wouldnt really be surprised to find but you wouldn’t really expect it going into a supermarket you’re unfamiliar with

6. Yes, our big supermarkets/bakeries usually do. Not only the classic rotisserie chicken but also other cooked foods as well (the biggest chain also has a cafe on premises as well).

   We don’t have to worry whether the food had been sitting all day or not because they go fast.

7. Rotisserie (we just call them grilled) chickens are a mainstay of any store with a deli counter here. I’d say they tend to be about 8-9€ per bird. You can also just get leg quarters grilled, i like having those for lunch at work with potato salad or such.

   Stores usually have also deli meals like salads and meatballs and other warm meals. Those are popular for people to grab as lunch.

   Definitely were my mom’s “can’t be added to cook” dinner and I love it. Rice with butter is what we usually had with it, but I’m sure lot of people have more nutritious sides haha.

8. No, not this kind of food. There are some easy meals you can put in a microwave. But most people here prefer fresh food.

9. Yes, most branches of the UK’s “big four” supermarket chains (Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda & Morrisons) will usually have a hot deli counter in-store. You can get a whole roast chicken there, plus things like chicken wings, chicken nuggets, chips (fries) etc. Also a lot of baked goods like savoury pies (chicken, steak and kidney) and sausage rolls.

10. Yes. I have seen them only in MENY to my knowledge. No other store that’s available nationwide. They not only have chickens, but also mac n cheese, lasagna, spring rolls, all kinds of foods.

11. Yes, a lot of supermarkets have rotisserie chicken and it’s also a very popular item on weekly farmers markets.

    They are usually offered alongside grilled porks ribs, baked meatballs and various chicken dishes like ready to eat vol-au-vent.

12. In Spain you find plenty of rotisserie chicken places. Not even delis, they just sell the chicken, drinks & potatoes. They are delicious and great for, as you said, a lazy lunch

13. Yes In Luxembourg we have hot food counters and also little foodtruck versions that sell o ly rotisserie chickens, often found at farmers’ markets

14. Most supermarkets don’t, some Spar supermarkets in busy areas (usually around large office parks, train stations, etc) do have a hot deli section called “Spar to go” with all sorts of fried food (frozen stuff baked in an oven, not actually deep fried) and rotisserie chicken, and Auchan always has these as well.

    However, Hungary is full of really cheap cafeterias/buffets, also used to be full of cheap restaurants with a daily lunch menu (though more and more are going bankrupt), and there are lunch delivery services by large catering companies, and a variety of microwave meals in every supermarket. And in many towns, you can buy sausages and rotisserie chicken at the local market or butcher shop.

    So, my theory is that in a market like this, it’s not worth for most grocery stores to offer hot food. I guess it’s different in the US, because of the car dependent neighbourhoods with few amenities most of the Walmarts or large grocery stores are located at. Here, it’s not as inconvenient to get your groceries at one place and take out at another.

    Also, Hungary is culturally closer to the Germans: lunch is the hot meal of the day, in the morning and in the evening, most people eat bread with cold cuts (though, leftovers of the lunch are also acceptable for dinner), and since most people do their groceries after work, it doesn’t make sense for stores to offer hot deli all day long.

15. While this and other hot food like a bag of chicken wings or thighs are pretty common in most big super markets (a little less common since covid). I think something else that is also comparable is hot Indian snacks like onion bhajis and samonas would also be comparable. They will be very very cheap and you’ll often find stalls selling them inside of other shops like gardening centres and big hardware stores.

16. I think an important side note about these rotisserie chickens at Costco and probably other chains is that they are usually a loss leader. They lose money on them knowing that it will bring more people in. That’s why they are so cheap. Certainly not complaining.

17. Of course, we have them in France wether at supermarkets (say at Auchan or Carrefour) or at the neighborhood’s butcher. Also at some minimarkets. Butchers and minimarkets won’t have them under plastic but in paper wraps. Never seen them at Lidl though. My local portuguese grocery shop also sells the portuguese version (frango de churrasco ).

18. Turkey has dedicated stores selling rotisserie chickens.