What an odd green grocers! Just sort of exists in a…read moreramshackled old church with holes in the roof to let the rain in almost on purpose it seems. Anyway the stock is plentiful but you do have to watch what you buy as they don't bother with sell buy dates. So we sometimes find things don't last but if like me you like soil on your carrots and don't mind a few bent ones it can be good value.

Visited the store this morning Saturday 3rd January at 09.30 and parked in one of the disabled…read moreparking spaces. When my wife tried to get out of the car she slipped on the ice that was untreated across the whole area. She was fortunate that she was able to stop herself from falling by holding onto the door. I drove from the parking spaces and found a lesser frozen area. We made our way across the pedestrian crossing and into front of the store. The surface of the crossing and surrounding areas was very slippery and untreated with many people nearly falling. When we were leaving at 10.15 I saw a storeman had started to throw salt on the crossing and along the pathway With the car park so frozen at that time why as a matter of duty of care hadn't it occurred to anyone to make the areas clear of ice before the store got busy with customers.

This Tesco store takes a bit of getting to as it's located on a roundabout in between Bangor and…read moreCaernarfon. What's good about this store is that it's the only 24 hour supermarket for miles, but as it's a bit too far for people from Bangor to walk to, it's very quiet of a night. The Tesco store has an excellent cafe which is located above the store floor up an escalator which means customers get to people watch others doing their shopping (and look at the dust on top of the aisles!) whilst they drink their coffee, eat their muffin and read their newspaper. The cafe is quite large and there's always an abundance of free seats and plenty of staff serving which minimises the queueing time. Prices in the cafe are reasonable, for example a cafe latte coffee is around £1.15 whilst a jacket potato with a little pot of tuna is £2.50. The store has a great entertainment section, with a wide range of dvds and cds, and all the latest mobile phones, mp3 players, kettles and other electrical goods. As well as this they have an entire row filled with the yellow deal racks, which include stationary, clothes, tools and home utensils, and some of the special offers are located immediately upon entering the store, which highlights the best offers.

This Marks & Spencer is a 'Simply Food' supermarket, but it has a small clothing/housewares section…read morein the back. Do not do the majority of your grocery shopping here--save that for Morrison's. M&S is kinda expensive, plastic bags are 5p or 9p (but you should be using a tote anyway!), and they don't have much. But it's good for ready-made meals or lunch. They have lots of take-away salads, sushi, fruit, and sandwiches (which, by the way, are still cheaper than the ones on campus!), and it all tastes pretty good. Except for the sushi. The sushi is gross. And then, after 1 or 2 pm, they reduce the lunch food price by half. Everything is still perfectly fresh, it's just the lunch rush is over. Also, they have a decent wine selection (but save that for dinner...). If you DON'T live in upper Bangor, M&S is a godsend when you're tired and have no energy to climb Bitch Hill to Morrison's. Unlike some other places in lower Bangor, it is clean and not creepy. But the best thing about M&S over the other supermarkets is that the staff are ridiculously friendly. They're super thankful when you check out, and basically, just nice to chat with. It's the little things I guess.

Marks and Spencer has been a good addition to Bangor. As is normal, local traders were initially…read morevehemently against the idea, fearing that their business would explode into a puff of thin air over night. Somewhat surprisingly (not!) this didn't happen, and Marks has brought new custom to the area. Of course, it is a little pricey and in my opinion it does not always justify this in terms of quality. However, many people swear by it so who am I to judge? The eco-bags are a great idea; although the inconvenient truth that you may not want to hear is that hardly anyone uses them. Boo!

A large Lidl store which is always well stocked, and has a better atmosphere and layout than Aldi…read more Some good deals to be had, but prices are not always the best, but personally I find some of their own branded goods to be the best out there. Staff are friendly and will always open up a checkout if a long queue is forming. Recently, they've set up a little bakery near the entrance, which produces a few simple goods such as baguettes, doughnuts and pastries.

Did not have my "stalk" avocados in stock asked they refused to even talk to me, the manager is…read moreabusive and used the b word.

This shop made the national papers a while back when Kate Middleton was photographed pushing a…read moretrolley laden with royal groceries across the car park. It seems this is Kate and Will's supermarket of choice when they're in residence on Anglesey. You do wonder in fact if this shop was opened by royal request because I can't understand why Waitrose should open their only branch in North Wales (that I know of at least) on the outskirts of such a quiet backwater as Menai Bridge. I recently visited for the first time, I'd been working on Anglesey and was attracted by a offer I'd half heard on an advert I'd half watched. In the event I couldn't find what I was after, maybe the offer had expired or maybe I'd misheard the ad. It turns out Waitrose is a more expensive version of Sainsburys, not somewhere I'd go for the weekly shop even if I didn't live twenty miles away but possibly somewhere I'd go for the odd treat. On quibble is that the carpark is quite busy and clearly they've tried to maximise the number of cars it can accommodate by minimising the size of the parking bays. The result is very tight parking spaces which isn't convenient given the proportion of elderly drivers, who may not be agile enough to squeeze out of a half open door, and also the number of Chelsea tractors which struggle to squeeze in. Expect the odd dent in your door if you visit often.

I recently spent a week on Anglesey and one of the places we visited was Foel Farm, which has the…read moreChocolate Shop (AKA the Chocolate Farm). Although the chocolates are hand made the prices are excellent and I was able to get a selection of 6 chocolates (like Thornton's but a fraction of the price) for just £2.30, I also picked up a couple of gifts for my nieces back home which was great (chocolate is always a good bet). We also had a coffee in the cafe which was again very reasonably priced. The staff are nice and I got the feeling I was served by the owner.

I used to shop in Farmfoods in Llandudno quite a bit but when it closed down a couple of years ago…read moreI assumed that they had gone out of business. However when I started a short term job in Caernarfon I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are still trading. The sell mainly frozen food at very cheap prices. I'm not always sure about the quality of the produce and I wouldn't want to live entirely on their food but it's a great place to pick up odd bits and pieces from time to time.

This Farmfoods just happens to be round the corner from where I live so I visit regularly. There…read moreare some bargains to be had, such as 12 cans of Pepsi or Pepsi Max for £2.25, which works out at just under 19p a can. There's always a wide variety of biscuits, cakes, frozen goods, cheeses and yogurts, vegetables, bread, crisps and confectionary items, but these change regularly, particularly the crisps, sweets and confectionary. They have the well known brands such as McCains, Weight Watchers, McVities, KP, Walkers and Cadbury, etc and whilst they do have a few items of their own label, they're in the minority by far. One thing to be aware of is the LA range of pizzas and other items - the box looks like Chicago Town but the products are inferior, so I'd avoid these personally. They always have a wide variety of cheaply priced meats, such as lamb, chicken, beef mince and steak mince, and lately they've had a good selection of different types of fish and seafood - including mussels, cockels, prawns and even lobster. The large boxes of biscuits are delicious and very cheap the crisps and confectionary are the cheapest around including Poundstretchers, Netto and Home Bargains. The store seems clean and the staff are friendly. There's also a box to purchase saver stamps.

We stopped a local on the street and asked for a recommendation for breakfast. She suggested Blue…read moreSky Cafe and it was exactly what we were looking for. You might have difficulty finding Blue Sky (no pun intended) as the sign is small and the establishment is set back through a short walkway. There are two floors with the upstairs being the main level so go up there for most tables. Service was immediate and friendly. Today I ordered the waffle. It was delightful but I could have used a few more bites. My partner ordered the avocado toast (Avo Smash) and said it was the best avocado toast she's ever had and she's frequently ordered similar dishes. I have a feeling that we'll be back.

This was the highlight of our stay in Bangor! Don't miss the tunnel off the street that leads to…read morethis wonderful cafe. There is seating on the ground floor, but we preferred the larger space upstairs. The service was friendly and quick and the food, well, I had the best avocado toast I've ever had. A definite must if you're visiting Bangor.