I absolutely love this place. As a vegetarian and lover of healthy and organic foods I was in my…read moreelement. When you first get in there is an abundance of brightly coloured vegetables and potatoes and carrots that are still dirty (always a good sign). I knew I was in my kind of place straight away. I love that they try to keep packaging to a minimum, using paper bags for the fresh vegetables. There is a huge range of vegetarian products (more tofu than you could ever need...if that's even a thing), seitan and tempeh in all different forms. I love how their dried foods are all packaged in simple bags with their label on....gotta love no fuss packaging. There is also a deli counter ranging from olives, onion bhajis and daals. I tried an onion bhaji and it was amazing. Although pricier than most supermarkets, I thought the prices were reasonable (being used to Wholefoods etc. in London) for organic, fresh produce and I love that it is a co-operative. I would definitely rather pay more for local produce that isn't mass-produced. I will definitely be shopping here regularly.

Amazed by this place…read more I haven't seen anywhere like it since my travels to Portland. It has a real community atmosphere. Everyone involved, from the growers to the staff to the people shopping, care and it really shows. It's honest. It's exactly where you want to buy your vegetables. There's soil on the fresh produce. Actual soil. No cellophane, no unnecessary packaging, no nonsense - just tasty, local food. The shelves are clearly labelled and well stocked with interesting offerings. They have your staples - potatoes, all the usual veg, cereals, spices, fruits as well as some more unusual choices when/if it's in season. Prices are reasonable and when you pay you feel like you're contributing - something you never experience in a chain supermarket. There's a play area for kids and free apples to keep them occupied - with a little compost bin for the cores. A big green thumbs up.

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!

A bulb of garlic, a stick of ginger, a couple of onions, a bunch spring onions, a juicy red pepper,…read morea few red and green chillies, a huge bunch of fresh coriander.......£2.36? The first time I went in there and bought a similar amount of fresh veg I found it hard to conceal my delight at the price. So hard in fact that one of the brothers asked me if I had expected it to cost me more! I have never bought my veg from Morrisons since. For a relatively small store they sell a wide range of produce (about 8 different types of mushrooms, 10 different types of potatoes etc) and I have never been disappointed with the quality. OK, so I definitely wouldn't eat any of the veg without giving it a good wash first, as it is often a bit grubby and has been sitting outside on a main road all day, and the shelf life isn't as good as supermarket veg. But give me a grubby misshapen apple over a polished supermarket apple any day! The brothers themselves are friendly and hard-working. My housemates often used to chat to them, and they seem to know their regular customers really well. Inside the shop there is a well-priced selection of herbs and spices, rice, couscous and pulses as well as the not so well-priced English essentials such as boxes of PG Tips and cans of Coke. To every Chorltonite's delight the opening of a brand new Tesco Express opposite the store doesn't seem to have harmed their business in the slightest. Long live Khawaja Brothers! PS - there is even a facebook group for fans of the brothers and their shop.

Have you read this? http://www.yelp.com/weekly?editorial_id=zGMtxe-XYdLx73faQYnikw Well there's one…read morepretty serious omission, and that, my friends, is the Mini Market of the Khawaja Brothers. Whether you're concocting a katsu curry or just seeking out some seasonal salad, you can do no wrong by making a beeline for this little place because it's fresh, it changes with the seasons, it has more ethnic ingredients than you can possibly pile into your plastic bag, and perhaps given the first three the most appealing factor... it's almost obscenely inexpensive. I was introduced to this spot by a good friend who waxed lyrical about Pakistani mangoes, also known as 'honey' mangoes. These are orbs of pure deliciousness, sold in handy boxes of 6 for £4.50. They taste like they should be twice that price. Keep them in your fridge and peel them at breakfast time, you shan't be disappointed. In other bargainous news, a recent offer had me reeling with incredulity - surely they weren't selling entire crate-like boxes of tomatoes on the vine? Check my pictures. Yes indeedy they were. Also, their giant dates are just exquisite. Once inside you can get tons of dry ingredients for any kind of world cooking you can imagine, loads of types of flour, rice, pulses... the list is endless. And on top of all that there are exotic fruit drinks and Halal Haribo. Yes, it exists! I'm more than happy to make the journey to Chorlton to grab some essentials (and indulgences) from here, the service is friendly and the location can't be beaten - right near Unicorn? It's a veritable shop-local bonanza!

For such a small store there is a great selection of fruit and veg. Also the meat and fish offering…read moreis first rate. Prefer to the local Tesco.

I often visit this Aldi to help my boyfriend carry home his fortnightly shop, which rarely comes to…read moremore than £20 despite the fact it takes two of us to lug home. This Aldi is of an average size - a bit smaller than the one on Market Street and a bit larger than the one at Trafford Bar. Stock levels are usually pretty good, except for the 'Aldi super 6'. For anyone that is not familiar with shopping at Aldi these are fruit and veg offers which change every month, e.g. this month there are plums for 49p and onions for 39p. Stocks of these items are often depleted. The past two times I've been here I've been unable to find any courgettes either, but at least there's Freshsave just down the road. Like any other Aldi, the baked beans taste a bit funny, the service is super-efficient and you can buy ski jackets and memory sticks. We picked up a big crossword book as a present for Granny for just £1.49 yesterday. Brill.

I have been a regular customer at the other shop in Mottram St Andrew before they opened this one…read morein Didsbury. I really love their sausages and bacon perhaps even more than a fab dry aged steak. It's a great butchers with great produce you don't pay over the odds for unlike others in the area. You can pick up a hot sandwich while you are there too.

It was a pleasant visit to West Didsbury Makers Market, situated at Withington Community Hospital,…read morea few Sundays ago. The Makers Market can be found at various sport around Manchester on specific days of the month, and on the last Sunday of the month, it can be found here. As well as a variety of stalls selling homemade trinkets, and artwork, it had a couple of food vendors that are regular attendees at many streetfood / food market events across Manchester, such as Wallace and Sons, who sell one of the most delicious Pork Baos I have ever tasted, and What's Your Beef, who do an amazing Fiery Chorizo Burger. It also had a few other food options, so plenty to offer. Other stalls, included cheese vendors, pie sellers, chutney & marmalade makers, so again, plenty of variety, and sure to be something there for everyone. Especially The Weird & Wonderful Cheese Co, who have such a variety of "weird & wonderful" cheeses, from spicy cheese to fruity cheese. I recommend this, and be warned, you will probably walk away with half wheel of cheese when you visit. Definitely worth a stroll around when it is next on in West Didsbury..

I've been coming to Withington community hospital for Physio sessions recenetly but made a trip…read morethere for a very different reason last saturday. West Didsbury makers market captures the essence of all that is West Didsbury. It's the kinda place Northern Quarter folk will probably end up in their late 30's? Think Vegan prams and dogs doing yoga? Kidding aside this is a great little market, a slightly bigger version of the Levenshulme market, with local vendors showing off their produce. It's an eclectic mix of everything from animal charity stands, to hand made basket stalls and ofcourse plenty of foodie offerings. There's also live music and plenty on offer for those with a sweet tooth. Most of all the appeal lay in the sensational weather on offer. If anything it's worth just to come here soak up the sun and atmosphere. That's precisely what we did. To be honest despite all the delicious foodie stuff on offer I actually only bought some cakes. The place was far too busy for a sit down/enjoy your food scenario and our eventual decision to eat at Pomegranate turned out to be the right one. On a sunny day this place is ideal to enjoy an afternoon, followed by a meal at pomegranate and some drinks somehwere on Burton road. So come check it out, you won't regret it :)

A nice enough M&S Simply Food location located on Wilmslow Rd, serving Didsbury Village in…read moreManchester. It is a fairly small store, as common with "Simply Food" branches, but they still had a fine selection of most items you would expect to find from a Marks and Spencer, although it is still minimal compared to their other stores, so if you're looking for something in particular, you might wish to head to nearby branches in either Stretford or Manchester city centre. The staff seemed friendly enough, although they did leave a warehouse cage, blocking part of the aisle, which was difficult to move to due to a lack of space, so it ended up blocking certain items that I wanted to buy. The Marks and Spencer app is available here, so you can scan and pay for items using your mobile device, which is handy, especially if you're looking to get in and out of the store quickly. There didn't appear to be any manned checkouts here - self-service only. This could be difficult for the elderly, so I was surprised that Marks and Spencer which is common with older shoppers did not have a manned checkout. 4* - A fairly good store apart from a couple of major flaws which hopefully will be reviewed.

Whilst evil Yankee behemoth Starbucks gets a lot of (admittedly deserved) flak for being so densely…read morepopulated in Manchester, good old 'British as the Queen' M&S seems to escape similar treatment. Has nobody noticed their growing numbers? Has nobody noticed the Marks and Sparks devil offspring mini stores popping up on every redeveloped corner or every new outlet, public transport station or mall? No? Oh...um...well this is embarrassing...couldn't you have just stopped me a little earlier? Maybe before the whole 'devil offspring' bit?

The quality it's amazing also the service it's the best, they offer to pack the cheese in the best…read moreway to travel, also I bought porc pie and scones, definitely you should try, I am sure they are the best in town.

It's not cheap here but there's a great selection of cheese and friendly staff who will make…read moresuggestions and let you try if not sure. I got a truffle brie which is just as decadent as it sounds - although actually the truffle flavour was subtle rather than overpowering as one might fear (I personally would not fear that as I srsly love truffles). To round out my selection I got some stilton and some premier cru gruyere. When I say selection I obviously ate all the brie myself almost immediately and had the rest late. The colston bassett stilton was outstanding - a creamy stilton that is great for those who can find stilton a bit overpowering. We liked the gruyere although aren't major hard cheese fans so probably didn't fully appreciate it - I would recommend it though if you are. Finally I got some seasonal scotch eggs - featuring some kind of pigs in blankets element and they were outstanding. Slightly runny in the middle, fantastic flavour, I can't remember a better example. Despite the fact they were really busy pre-Christmas and its a tiny space, they had loads of staff so managed to give everyone a lot of time and it's as much an experience as a shopping trip.

Like the nearby Cheese Hamlet, Evans is one shop that I cannot walk past without gazing longingly…read moreinto the window. Unfortunately quite a few people also seem to share my predicament, which often results in a pile-up of buggies and pedestrians attempting to cross Barlow Moor Road, especially on Saturdays. The shop is great, but they need a bigger pavement. Like out of the blue in Chorlton, Evans sells a wide range of fresh fish and is home to friendly and helpful staff. As Angela B. stated they stock pretty much every type of fish you could dream of. And should you have a particular fishy requirement which they are unable to fulfil, then they will order your desired fish in for you. My personal favourite are the fish kebabs which are often on display in the window. Sure, at £1.99 each they are much pricier than Tesco's offerings, but they are a really good treat for a summer barbeque. I've never bought any fruit or veg here - there are cheaper and more diverse offerings down the road at freshsave, but it's worth noting that Evans also sell Christmas trees and turkeys in December.

On the corner of Wilmslow Road & Barlow Moor Road you will find the most amazing fishmongers!…read moreEvan's of Didsbury has been offering it's extraordinary produce since the seventies, so it is safe to say they know a thing or two about about fish. They also sell poultry (including Game) fruit & veg... as Chris has already stated, the prices are above those you would find in a supermarket, but the difference in quality is instantly noticeable, even more so when eaten! The staff will cut your fish or poultry to your liking and they will be more than pleased to help....don't be surprised if they add some free advice on cooking your purchase.

This unassuming little greengrocers on Withington's shabby Copson Street is absolutely bleedin'…read moregreat. Let's face it, for those living in Withington, your immediate choices for fruit are Somerfield (not great), One Stop (really, really, really not great) and Withington Fruit & Veg. Which is actually great. It's a shop of two halves, really. One one hand, it's a straight-up fruit and veg shop. selling all the usuals, loose, by the pound, cheaply. And very fresh. On the other hand, it's an Indian food store, which means you can grab big bags of spices, authentic curry pastes and all the different Rubicon flavours. It also means they stock an alarmingly wide range of fresh chillis, including the scotch bonnet chilli. Beware the scotch bonnet; it looks like a tiny bell pepper, but it is as fiery as all hell! Still, a great addition to a curry, and as everything here is charged by weight, one (more than enough for a hot Madras curry) will set you back about 5p! As well as stunningly fresh fruit and veg, and a great range of Indian foods, there's a good range of Jamaican ingredients such as plantain, dried salted fish and jerk seasonings. Great for if you fancy trying something new. The staff here are ridiculously helpful, and they always have a laugh with the regulars. The shop itself, despite being small and family-run, has its own bag-for-life, which I think is a great way of getting their brand out there, and also much better for fruit and veg than plastic bags. Speaking of, although they offer those polythene bags to put your purchases into for weighing, they're more than happy to weigh your stuff without bags, which cuts down on wastage and sits a little easier on the conscience. OH, and one time I was shopping there and I found a £2 coin in the carrots, and I told the shopkeeper and he smiled at me and said "keep it, it is the Universe's reward for your honesty!"

There are around four things preoccupying ELH these days. One is the amount of travel I'm doing…read morethis year - I'm seeing many different places with lots of quality people, that's rather nice isn't it? Another is putting up shelves and building Ikea desks... household new-home silliness. The third is Robert Sheehan. Enough said. The fourth is shopping local. As I'm a huge advocate - do you know any huge advocates? Okay, that's the 'Big Rug Sale' complex (how big *are* the rugs?), I'm not exactly a huge person - I'm very *into* my independent local businesses when it comes to coffee shops and eateries, I really feel I should carry this attitude through to most of my grocery shopping. At least to the fresh produce bit anyway. Then aren't I just a lucky duck that I live round the corner from this fruit and veg store? But wait, this isn't just a fruit and veg store, and it isn't an M&S fruit and veg store either... As Rebecca D has mentioned, it's also an ethnic food shop. Kind of like a mini Worldwide Foods, you can pick up some awesome ingredients in here, and it happens to have the cheapest halloumi I've ever seen. Seriously, they jack the price up so much in the supermarkets! Just pop here instead (they have the same brand in Worldwide Foods too). Shopping local rocks, and Copson Street is a revelation. I've so much yet to explore here, but in the meantime, sure - get your bits and bobs from the Co-op opposite but please do support this indie and stock up on your fresh ingredients here, you shan't regret it.