Came in today to get a vape, after paying and receiving my product and opening it I later found out…read moreonly 1 of the 4 in 1 pods actually worked, heading back into the shop not asking for a refund but to have the product I just bought exchanged for one in full working order, wouldn't go here for any of your electronics / vapes - stars

In town before 11am? Call in to Today's Express and you can get a sausage butty for a £1 at the…read moreDeli Counter. You don't get much for a £1 these days so this is an offer not to be sniffed at. This wee convenience store has it all and serves local office workers to perfection. Whether you're looking for a pastry of a paper Today's Express will stock it. Food wise you can also get sandwiches and other breakfast goods. A bacon bap is only £1.20. The staff are great, you always get a wee bit of early morning banter out of them to kick start your day. An awesome wee shop with absolutely no faults - centrally located and serving food from £1 - what's not to like?

For American Information, Tesco is a European convenience store chain. Think QT or 7-Eleven meets…read morea bodega. Founded over a century ago in England, they are in five countries. This express store offers liquors, snack cakes and sundry. Locals shop here, but to an American it would probably seem small for a supermarket. The lines aren't too long, and I run in for the odd pack of gum or sweets. The prices are competitive, and they offer teas and coffee vended drinks.

This is a smaller, 'bitesize' version of the megastore you get dotted around the country. This…read moreparticular Express version isn't that great. Although the prices are the same as their bigger versions, the selection is poor. Even though this is supposed to be the 'essentials', the shelves are often empty and the security man at the door makes you feel like you are shoplifting even though you aren't. Chances are what you want isn't in this shop. It's a mish mash of bits and pieces, but it simply isn't good enough. I'd recommend walking a little further, or driving on down to the Lisburn Road shop and get what you need from there. Disappointing and painfully small

There are loads of Centras in Belfast and Northern Ireland and i have to say the one on Botanic…read moreavenue used to be my favourite. Those days are gone since the discovery of the Centra on the Ormeau road. First of all as is standard they make THE BEST sandwiches I have ever locked my jaw around. My first ever Cajun chicken experience was in a Centra and I will never forget it as I mistakenly called it CA-JOHN chicken to the great giddy pleasure of my friend. Once you've had it you'll never turn back. I had a Cajun and coleslaw baguette today in fact! The ice cream and hot deli counters in the Ormeau branch are fantastic - the ice cream counter is like something you would see along the street in Rome or somewhere else that is famous for its ice creams! All the colours and flavours are a delight to behold. The deli offers your usual sausage rolls and the like. They do have something I have never seen before which is hot pizzas ready to eat in five minutes - obviously not handmade by some gorgeous Italian chef but decent enough for a snack at lunch time. Aye, old Centra is hard to beat! Didn't give five stars because the queues can be very long sometimes - more staff needed perhaps?

I always forget about the Ormeau Road Centra as this stretch of Belfast is packed full of shops…read more However it's a very good store which sells a broad range of groceries and has weekly offers. I'm a fan of Mash Direct products and there's a good selection here. There's a lot packed into this centra - an ice cream counter, large selection of chilled & frozen foods, sweet & savoury snacks, drinks and freshly baked items. Despite holding so much stock it's an easier store to navigate than a lot of others. Very good little grocery outlet.

I appreciated this convenience store. For American reference think Q-T combined with a smaller…read moreALDI. They had a huge variety of prepared sandwiches for a quick bite, soda and bottles of liquor for a wee sip. Hot cups of coffee, lattes and tea on tap from a clean vending area all day. And snacks galore! Any junk food you had a taste for, and new ones to try, you could get it here. The store is bright and the aisle were wide. They didn't have my favorite Volcanic Unflavored Water here, but they had many other items to try.

I've been happy enough with stuff out of Centra on plenty of other occasions and I like the way…read morethat they stock various confectionary items that I wouldn't see elsewhere, which makes it a good place to try different things. My 2-star rating therefore reflects today's 1-star lunch experience. I ordered a "Taco Chip". Now I know not to expect Boojum quality but if would be perfectly reasonable to expect something advertised as a "Taco Chip" to be a chip with salsa or at the very least a salsa-like taco sauce. What is absolutely not acceptable is for it to be a chip slathered in a cloying, creamy, mayonnaise-like substance which just happens to contain some spice.

When I worked in the Ulster Hall, this was my local shop…read more It's not a particularly exciting shop (it is just a corner sop after all), but I always really liked it in there because the staff were so friendly. I used to have to call in in the mornings to pick up the papers and the girls there were always chatty and polite, which makes a change from some shops where you just get grunted at!

I like this shop because it is an independent corner shop in the city centre where you would expect…read moreall the big branders like Spar and Centra to be. I used to use it a lot when I was a student as I would walk here on my way to get the bus back to Derry and pick up the Derry journal so I could catch up on all the happenings before I hit the motherland. It sells all the usual stuff but the prices are slightly hiked up because of its location and I guess just because it can with all the passing trade and the business men and women nipping out for coffee, chocolate, papers and snacks. I don't care that it is a tiny bit more expensive, its convenient on the walk to town, friendly and it has a good feeling about it.

My biggest pet hate ever happened in this Spar today. I went to the counter with a drink costing…read moreunder £1 and they told me they didn't accept card for purchases under £5, even though they had contactless installed, which meant the transaction would have been quicker than paying with cash. So I then had to go outside use the on site ATM and withdraw £20 (they didn't have any tenners) for a 98p drink! Surely it's time to accept card for all sales? The shop itself is actually quite good, it's in the heart of student Belfast so it stocks all the essentials, party snacks, energy drinks, pot noodles, ready made sandwiches. It also has a coffee machine and as mentioned an ATM on site! Losing a few stars for their ridiculous card rule!

As far as convenience stores go this Spar is actually pretty good. It has a great deli counter…read moreselling a range of cooked breakfast items, freshly made sandwiches, wraps and salads. Additionally they have a coffee machine and stock freshly baked croissants, pastries and cakes. There are a lot of other items too - magazines, stationary, prepackaged sandwiches, fruit, ready meals, bread, confectionary, household cleaning products, painkillers, deodorants and shower gels etc. Much better laid out than a lot of similar shops and the prices are reasonable, plus there's an ATM outside. Only one drawback exists - this Spar is located near Queen's University and in a main student residential area, hence it's swamped with customers during uni term time. Can be extremely busy, especially around midday.

If you are up on the Ormeay road working or shopping, or just dandering about you will need to get…read morea bite to eat at some stage. You have plenty of options if you want to call into a trendy café or bistro to pick up a sandwich or have a bit of a lunch date. If you want to pop into one of the parks on the road and eat a sandwich of a bagutette outside you can't really go wrong with popping into this Mace and grabbing a bit to eat. It has a pretty nice wee deli that you can pick up a sandwich to go from at a pretty good price. Its not the cheapest but its certainly an ok budget option. The staff are friendly and the rest of the shop is well stocled and you will be able to pick up most things for the household if you need a pint of milk or a loaf of bread. You probably can't do the weekly shop here but its a pretty good emergency option. There is usually OK parking on the Ormeau road and if you're stuck you can jump on the bus at one of the many stops along this busy road.

This was my closest Mace for some time, while I was waiting for the Sunnyside Street Mace to open…read more(see my other, enraged, review), and although it's the usual run of the mill corner shop it's not too bad to nip into to buy something for tea if I can't be bothered going to Dunnes down the road. It has the faults of other corner stores - it can be overpriced and understocked, but generally it's well enough filled and there are at least Mace own brand items like washing up liquid or kitchen roll if you're a bit stuck for cash. And come on, it's washing up liquid, for pete's sake, how much different can it be? I don't like the way the minimum charge on a debit card is a tenner (again, see my other Mace review), although to be honest the tangoed, false-eyelashed, false-nailed snooty staff member I asked about that could have made it up, she was certainly unimpressed when I asked. I'm quite fond of the newly opened deli in here though and have chatted to the owner a few times while waiting for my piled sandwich to be made up. And his mum is great, knowing that 'A little bit of mayo please' means just that, rather than squeezing a huge dollop out of the bottle for each slice of bread. Deli men, please. Most ladies are on a diet, and even if they're not, err on the side of caution and assume they don't want the fat content of their sandwich doubled just by the dressing. But don't suggest they're fat. Dear god, never suggest they're fat.

One of my favourite little grocery shops opened again, nicer, with more fresh products!…read more The best news; they are doing a promotion day, so if youre walking in or even just past it, they are handing out goodies, like sandwiches, sauces, and fruits for FREE, spiced up with a lovely smile! :D

I couldn't live without Co-Op. The amount of days/nights we had chocolate/cake/biscuit cravings and…read moreTesco seemed just that little bit too far away, we always ahd Co-Op. The staff are lovely and very helpful, especially when one discussed with me at length why I was buying tinned hotdogs... in fairness I haven't bought them since but they were on offer. The shop is late opening which is good if you run out of electric and don't really fancy fumbling your way up the stairs. Great shop, some great offers and great staff!

This place is awesome…read more It's the future of food shops. Great they they have so many food options fresh and packaged. Good to have seating area too. Shop is well laid out. Has massive hot food area. The hot carvery sandwich I had was lush. I used their Facebook offer half price deal so got it for like £1.75. Bargain. It was packed with filling. The meat tasted so good. Need to keep an eye on any other offers they have.

Passing by this new addition in The Cathedral Quarter and stopped by to buy a paper. It's big and…read morelots of good quality goods. Nice dining area next to front window. Deli counter towards the back, it will do well!!

This shop is right at the top of my road, but there is another small supermarket on the way there…read morefor me so I only call in here if the other store doesn't have what I need or I happen to be driving past this Spar. That is not to say that the selection and service in here is in anyway not top drawer. Well, top drawer is maybe a bit of a stretch. The store is always clean and tidy, the staff are always friendly and helpful and you can usually find everything you need in here if you are popping in for a pint or milk or a loaf of bread. There is good parking here and an ATM which is always handy. It is also in a good location, with excellent access to the Belfast and Newtownards roads. There is certainly no real reason not to call in here. You won't be able to do a full weeks shop in here, you will need to go to Tesco or whatever for that but you certainly will be able to get plenty of what you need in this wee shop.