With this modest little greengrocers tucked away right next to the bakery (Greenhalgh's), the…read morefishmonger and butcher (Evans of Didsbury) and the beautiful Cheese Hamlet, Didsbury dwellers have very little reason to venture to Tesco at Parrs Wood. In fact, all they need now is a candlestick maker! The best offers are always on display outside the shop and currently include melons, pineapples and assorted berries, all for at least half the price you would expect to pay in Tesco. If you're looking for a wide range of Indian or African veg then you'd probably be better off heading to Khawarja Brothers in Chorlton or Worldwide Foods in Longsight or Rusholme, but if you're after your two veg to go with your Sunday roast then this is a brilliant and inexpensive alternative to the chain stores. They also have a range of reasonably priced flowers, and although the simple cellophane wrapping may not be as aesthetically pleasing as the bouquets on offer in local florists, the flowers usually look lovely enough, and better than those at the Shell garage across the road!

Freshsave is a totally adorable wee grocery shop that offers lovely fresh produce at fantastic…read morevalue. I could go on and on about the fruit and veg here, but all you need to know is that it's good and it's cheap. As Kirsten says, it's pretty bog standard fare; onions, potatoes, peppers, greens and the like, but it's more than sufficient as a day-to-day grocery stop-off. The fruit is always tasty and usually ripe (I hate getting stuff home from Tesco to find it's still rock hard and will take a week to be edible!) As well as great fresh produce, you can pick up a pretty decent array of Indian curry pastes, chutneys and pickles, and some really fabulous poppadoms (I recommend the red pepper ones) The best curry I ever made was with Madras curry paste bought from here, with Freshsave tomatoes, and beef from Axon's. What with this and all the other great independent places in Didsbury, I have no idea how the Co-Operative stays open!

GOod for frozon food nice staff and a lot of special offers on at the minute the staff are very…read morehappy to help you if you can't find what you want

Iceland is a great supermarket to top up on essentials. They have allot of great offers and great…read moreselection of party foods. I particulary like the frozen tuna loin fillets at only £4 for 4 it is def good value for money. There frozen ready meals are also great tasting quick meals for work .

This is my go to place for when I couldn't be bothered making my dinner before work. It has most of…read morewhat you would need for a quick snack or dinner but just be prepared to pay higher than normal prices and a comprimised selection of food which is to be expected for the size of the store. They have a little pastry section and I often have the croissant in the morning which are usually very nice. The staff all seem to be friendly enough. If you're in a rush for a snack then come here, if you are wanting to do a full shop then look elsewhere.

Standard Sainsburys fare that you've come to expect and love. If you go down the street a bit…read morefurther to Lidl you can find better deals, and Worldwide will have anything exotic they don't have here, but Sainsburys will cover you for all your general needs. Being on campus, they have a huge selection of sandwiches and quick bites for the student on the run. I can't speak for how good these are - I tend to just buy other things here, but I always see people walking out with handfuls of goodies on schooldays.

Yaaawn. My life has become centred on walking to Sainburys as I don't have enough money to treat…read moremyself in town at the moment. As others have said, this is standard Sainsburys fair, BUT one thing must be said for it and that is that good god do they know their demographic. I think that this is a general skill of Sainsburys as, judging by Sainsbo's in FF, they have the same boxed well and truly ticked. Student heaven. Crisps, chocolate, and fizzy drinks are always on offer (I went in today and managed to get a 6 pack of diet coke for £1.70 even though the offer finished a week ago. Their loss but totally my gain.) The baked goods section is actually nicely set for a small store and nothing seems overly touched or hairy. Fruit and veg can be touch overpriced if you compare to Tesco down the road but I wouldn't go as far as to compare it with Lidl as, even as a student, I can't trust their fruit and veggie selection - almost everything is mouldy! Sainbury's own biscuits are some of the best I've tasted, again calling out to my (ex)student heart. I never use the manned till points as the staff are always a bit casual for my liking and the self checkouts have not let me down yet. I always mute the till lady though, she is far too bossy. A touch overpriced for those who are looking to stock up on anything more than bread and milk but great for students needing a meal deal or to fill up their biscuit tins.

Unfortunately I can not count sometimes I buy cassava in this place, perhaps a mistake on my part…read moreto insist because 50% of the time is not good for consumption, and I keep buying from the same place, more this time I decided to complain here, because I have spoken For the clerk and he said it's not normal

Since finding an innovative way to navigate the record-breakingly narrow aisles here, in the words…read moreof REO Speedwagon, I can't fight this feeling anymore. I adore Strawberry Garden. It is indeed as good as it gets. Since spending more time here and actually having a browse rather than doing the whole, "I need this, that and this," I've grown even fonder. I had absolutely no idea that you could get so many exotic fruits and vegetables here. I've picked up plantains for my forthcoming Jerk chicken recipe, I grabbed some 'custard apples' because they were on special offer, and a bag of chestnuts to roast for 79p. Not that they're particularly exotic... but special offers are the name of the game here. Hankering to make a batch of banana bread? They'll sell their overripe bananas at reduced prices to get rid of them rather than waste them. This goes for many fruits. I gathered several soups' worth of ingredients on my last visit, as well as the aforementioned, plus grapes, mango, bananas... the whole thing came to around a measly £11, and I had a ridiculous amount. Like two full bags. I mean, beyond five a day. I asked them to keep the change, because another thing I've noticed is that the staff are ridiculously nice. Offering to double-bag your fruit, chatting away to you - I felt like I ought to do *something*. Occasionally you'll need a late night fix or you might not be able to get to the Arndale, but goodness me, you should always shop here when you can. It's epic.

I reviewed this store back in 2016 but I reviewed the wrong branch - For anyone else who is…read moreconfused like me, this is the store on Whitworth Street West and is opposite Oxford Road Railway Station, in a pretty good location if you're in the Oxford Road / studenty part of town, while also being close enough to the Railway Station to get some essentials, perhaps a beverage or snack before getting on a train. It is probably the largest Sainsbury's Local within the city centre and perhaps the second-largest convenience style store after Tesco Metro on Market Street, the selection is pretty good and I was able to find protein water I had a coupon for which isn't stocked in the other Sainsbury's branches in town. The checkout area is a little messy, they have cameras on some sort of tablet in front of every checkout which makes me feel they have a history of shoplifters and fraud here, it made me feel like a criminal. The screen also had no anti-glare protection meaning I couldn't see the screen as I was scanning due to the reflection of the sun-light, and this was on a day in February where it wasn't even too sunny, I'd hate to imagine how bad it could get in the summer. The staff seemed to get in the way a little, there was one warehouse cage blocking part of the store and they didn't offer to move it which was frustrating. 3* - Pretty good selection despite flaws of the store, in a good location for the southern part of the city centre and the adjacent railway station.

Watching Paul Auster and Wayne Wang's magnificent Smoke and Blue In The Face last night made me…read morewake up wishing I could move to Brooklyn. Realising I didn't have the cash or a Green Card, I thought I'd settle for the next best thing and have Belgian Waffles for breakfast. The gods were obviously with me as Sainsburys Local not only had half a dozen packets of Belgian Waffles but they were on special offer. £2.30 for one packet or £3 for 2 packets. Suffice to say, I opted for the latter and a packet of Union Coffee and left with a big smile on my face. As for the waffles, they tasted pretty darn good. I'm sure they would have tasted even better however, piled with cherry compote and whipped cream and washed down with a cream soda at Junior's.* * Junior's is a legendary diner on the corner of DeKalb and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. It was opened in 1950 and is still run by the Rosen family. The belgian waffles aren't listed on the menu but they serve them everyday to regulars and customers who request them!

It's easy to miss this Morrisons as despite the signage it's surrounded by rows of red brick houses…read morethat look like they'd be occupied by residents of Jimmy McGovern's award-winning drama The Street. For those on a budget and I suspect the majority of people that shop here are, Morrisons offers fresh groceries at a snip of the prices you'd pay at Sainsburys, Tesco or even Asda. There's always special offers with bags of watercress, avacodos and peppers retailing at around a £1 and slightly more for things like pak choi, butternut squash and fennel. Towards the rear of the stuff there's a big deli counter selling fresh cheese, ham, proscuttio, olives, pizza and roast chicken and a bakery selling sweet and savoury pies, loaves of bread and crosissants. I've tried the sour dough and rye bread and didn't like either but I think the in-store butchers and fishmongers are brilliant. They sell incredible smoked salmon fillets, tiger prawns and fish cakes and British beef, pork, lamb and sausages for very competitive prices. If you're looking to stock up and don't mind a bit of a drive from the city centre, Morrisons is well worth the trip. The store is usually quieter than other supermarkets and the staff are usually more chirpy and humerous too. Last time I went the lady who served me even asked if I was having a party with the amount of food, Cava and Prosecco I was buying and if she was invited!

Ahhhh Morrisons, you promise fresh and the best and prime meat.... I took home my mince beef done…read moreby the butcher and had to pour half a pan full of water away?! This honestly put me off eating beef for a while. The pricing is cheap and cheerful, and don't get me wrong, i LOVE a good bargain but i can't help but feel this place feels dull and the shelves, flooring and staff look dull. No one looks as though they enjoy working here. That doesn't make me want to keep visiting... The fresh food I buy goes off in a couple of days and the gluten free section is more or less always at its bare bones. For a supermarket, I'd rather head to Aldi round the corner, which is also cheaper for many things that last longer and just as fresh. If you plan to go, make sure you have a £1 coin available for parking - you can claim it back (it has to be on the same day) but MAN is it annoying when Aldi have a free car park round the corner!

The last time I went to Venus was just after COVID. I used to do all my food and other necessary…read moreshopping and often used to take my family the takeaway for food. I also used to invite friends for some quick food. However my last experience completely changed my opinion about the store. I went with friends and I ordered lamb donor. As soon as it was placed on the table. The smell of off meat was horrendous. I asked the customer service provider who was wearing big thick glasses to replace with something else, he served me with lamb donor again saying that this is different donor. I asked him to give different food such as chicken, veg or salad except lamb donor. However not only he did not serve different food, did not refund me. I raised the issue with management and management and he could refund me and said, don't worry when I come next time, he would sort me out. What a service!!! I have informed many of my friends about this disgraceful service and will continue to do so. Only to make sure that they don't get treated this way. I have always been in support of local community and local shops although sometimes the prices are a bit expensive then chains, but definitely not support of Venus Turkish supermarket anymore.

Yes! Venus Supermarket is really quite great. What Rob has said basically…read more It's a big Turkish cash and carry place, that sells a wonderment of weird and wonderful food in my drab English eyes. There are more olives here than I have ever seen in my life - literally an entire aisle. There's not much fruit and veg here but there is a meat counter at the back and a myriad of lentils, beans, pickles and that kind of thing. It will definitely make your cupboard in the kitchen twice as interesting if you fill it with some of the goodies from Venus Supermarket.