Holland and Barrett have recently expanded their Market Street branch, now including some of the…read moreold BHS unit, it's like a whole new store since the refurb, it's now over two floors, it's a very, cool impressive store now. They do have lifts and escalators, making this one of the largest branches I have seen. I was drawn in due to how the branch looked, it was pretty cool and a nice addition to Market Street. H&B is more of a health store, they sell loads of free from stuff, including some things which are harder to source down elsewhere such as Isabel's mixes, Clives Pies, stuffing and cake mixes and all varieties of Ten Acre Crisps and Sweet Mandarin sauces, the prices were quite expensive and high end, but with an offer throughout the store to get another item for half price, which was even reminded to me at the checkout, who saved my place while i went to get something else, that made the price situation slightly better and of course my server saving my items and place in line, while I went to get something was good customer service for me. The store isn't perfect however, as some items do seem expensive which does put me off, especially for items which are more widely avaliable such as some of the biscuits this place stores, which are basically in every major supermarket. The drink selection could also be slightly improved such as making some of them more affordable, and more well known brands such as health drinks, there were a number of items here which were formely on Dragon's Den such as "Secret Sausages" and "Simply Bee Water", the latter I've tried before and strongly disliked as it is too watery. Overall, this is a nice store and does deserve three stars and it has been made so much better since the refurb, where it does stand out now, and isn't just another store in such a large city of Manchester.

Stocking potions and pills and everything under the sun that could be used to cure you of your…read morecreaky joints to thinning hair. Holland and barret is nice enough, they do some good deals on products occasionally. They have a good selection of health foods with plenty of kilogram bags of nuts and dried fruits. Recently Holland and barrets protein section has gone from strength to strength. This thanks to a new generation of blokes who like to buy whey protein and attend the gym two to three times a week, sorry fellas this ain't how it works. I can't count the amount of my mates who seem to neck protein shakes then follow it up with a shocking program of mincing around the gym and doing sets of weights, sorry boys that ain't fitness and your just going to get fat then mistake it for bulk.

Well, it's only fair to give this place a little analysis since I mentioned it while looking at…read moreGNC. This is definitely more within my comfort zone, although some of the supplements rub me up the wrong way ethically when they involve shark cartilage or what-not. However I've never been one for imbibing strange substances and am more than happy to stick to my vegetarian pork pies and flavoured health nuts. There are some sporty powders incorporated in the selection at this Deansgate offering, alongside stuff I'm totally clueless about like the equivalent of Gillian McKeith's ultimately useless yet hilariously titled Horny Goatweed. Do you know, I can't stand her to the extent that in Home Bargain there was some nice-looking cereal at 99p but I refused to buy it because her smirking face was on it. How on earth could I wake up to that every day? Back to H&B, as you can tell I'm selective about what I purchase here. I'm more interested in the health foods than the capsules, things I haven't tried cooking with like quinoa which is meant to be so healthy you actually develop a halo. Also the gargantuan bags of banana chips, dried fruit and nuts are great for stocking up on to add to puddings and porridges. Definitely one for the odd perusal, but you shouldn't live your life in here. I refuse to believe anyone who prefers carob over chocolate.

I love this shop! being someone who believes in eating as healthy as posible and taking…read moresupplements its my heaven being in here! from organic flaxseed to amino acids to almonds i could literally buy almost everything in the shop. when they have the offers of buy one get one half price or buy one get one for a penny then i stock up! althought you are limited to whats on offer? they sell a wide range of other things to like creams and toothpaste without flouride and even pet products. staff are not as knowledgeable as they should be but try to be helpful and are friendly. so know your product before you buy is always best.

Parched Tea Bar- one Tea - Mad Pundit's Impression…read more Well it was a good day for a jaunt to the famous Arndale shopping centre in Manchester and in search of that elusive tea Mecca I came across a quirky Tea bar in the food market area called Parched, and was intrigued, and decided to investigate. I introduced myself as a trainee wannabe pundit interested in sampling some of the goodies especially the teas and was suitable impressed and the tea was good the best in The Arndale, so they tell me explained Marcy Hazell, the proprietor. In the conversation which ensued, I learned a lot about tea and also Parched Tea Bar. England as we know is the home of tea and whenever I am abroad in Germany or Spain and gasping for a cuppa, they just don't seem to have the tea magic that us Brits enjoy. Parched was tea heaven. Marcy explained that she entered the world of exotic teas as the coffee market was saturated and Manchester really did lack any type of specialized tea shop, as she wittily put it, Parched was putting the tea back into the communitea After careful research she now vends over 60 varieties of teas and tisanes (which are herb and flower drinks). I tried some licorice tea which was novel and very refreshing, and as we chatted more I opted for the Fairtrade tea which is the favourite beverage served Japanese green tea was also popular and one of the teas that I found quite interesting was chrysanthemum flower tea But its not just about tea Marcy quipped and went on to explain the diverse range of products on offer, ranging from scones and New Yorker bagels made with gherkin, mayo and pastrami; to Milkshakes made with fresh fruit; carrot cake; to Elvis toasties; to homemade ginger ale all in all a hearty selection of healthy refreshments and snacks. The cream tea/afternoon tea is a customer's favourite and reasonably priced at £3.25. To be honest it's rare to find somewhere that does a cream tea in Manchester, but that's another story. Marcy enjoys a good solid clientele from all walks of life and age groups. The service is personal and friendly and she knows many of her customers by name and tipple, whether they be business men popping out for a tea break, or students testing out the different exotic blends, or OAP's and families who want to sit down and relax after a bit of heavy shopping and chat over a hearty brew. Who said shopping was boring Parched Tea Bar is open from 9-6pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am-5pm on a Sunday

This is a wonderful pace. Great selection, easy to get to and ideal for young, old and families…read morealike! Reasonable prices too!

So glad I discovered 8th day during my last trip to Manchester. It's a co-op grocery store on the…read moreground level with a restaurant underneath. It feels like an old school natural shop in the best possible way. The food in the cafeteria below was amazing--such a homemade like quality to it and the desserts were rich and flavorful. The staff was also helpful and patient with confused ordering. Upstairs, their grocery store has all the essential goods. More importantly, they have deli style cases full of vegan savory pastries and sweets! My partner and I took home an almond croissant, donut, and sausage roll and it was all brilliant.

Thank you Rob for delicious coffee and friendly welcome Downstairs cafe is clean and breakfast…read morewas tasty. Excellent service and prices

I used to visit this health store years ago, and something contrary happened. I was a vegetarian…read morefor around 10 years and often bought items from this shop on Wilmslow Road. However, I was struck by the sheer miserableness of the staff here in contrast to the happy, warm butchers just a few shops down (further enough away so the aroma of meat didn't 'pollute' the soya products et al). This differences in attitude helped me manoeuvre back to a full on carnivorous diet I so clearly craved. I respect the vegetarian diet and learned a great deal from my decade in 'soyatude'; in fact to this day I'll often switch to a vege diet (falafel and hummus is still one of my favourite snack combinations full stop). This health store today however is a much happier place. The staff go out their way to help as all successful shops do. My missus went to buy some jewellery from there last week, but unfortunately the buyer was, well, buying in India. There's such a diverse range of goods in there you struggle to understand how they fit it all in such a small footprint. In the current climate these stores should start picking up a load of business. Unicorn in Chorlton has never been as busier. Withington Health Foods, although not really the same scale enterprise certainly delivers on price. They gave me a top tip of the week a few days back: instead of buying a £1.50 (ish) packets of beans (for sprouting) from Unicorn (small handful at best) then here they sell dried beans which yield (when soaked overnight) a tenfold increase on the pre packeted variety as sold at Unicornand all for about 60p (I estimate this would cost £10-£15 for the relative amount at the Chorlton store). Get bean sprouting folksit's the future and it's really easy to do.

his is an expensive whop, bu does what it says on the ti. Sells healty food. However, if i was to…read moreend up like the staff that work there after eating the overpriced glorified fruit and veg, then i would turn to the aitkins diet and just eat meat!

It's interesting to learn about the evolution of McCall's from other reviews on here - it's now an…read moreorganics specialist, perhaps another sign of how it's evolved and be able to survive when other barrows didn't. Exotic fruit and vegetables are now more catered for in the Arndale Market, while at McCall's you can still get fruit and veg plus dried foods e.g. cacao nibs and goji berries, organic tinned food, environmentally friendly cleaning products, kombucha, organic olive oil and so on. The standout features are (a) the extremely low prices for things like cacao nibs compared to my local (large) Sainsbury's and (b) you can bring your own Tupperware etc and weigh out what you want from the glass jars everything is kept on. So this will vastly reduce the packaging you are using. The bio cleaning products were also surprisingly good value and, brilliantly, you can refill them, at a lower cost, from their big vats! I really hope we're seeing the future of grocery shopping here. Even if you aren't into "health foods" definitely pop by and have a look at the cleaning products and what else is on offer.

McCall's Organics is one of the few shops on Church Street market in Manchester, which is near…read moreenough opposite a similar market in the Manchester Arndale Centre. I was originally put off coming into this store by an action of the member of staff. When clearing away for the evening, a member of staff seemed to drop a box of vegetables on the floor, which I presume to have been celery, the floor was obviously dirty being outside and it had been raining and the floor didn't look like you could eat of it, however I was disgusted that he made no attempt to wash them, he just looked around and put them back, thinking no one was looking. I understand most people wash their vegetables, but surely if they have been dropped heavily on a disease and dirt floor, they should have done something about it rather than trying to hide it and possibly passing on germs to the customer, which I feel is disgraceful and warrants a single one star rating for McCall's Organics, which is a shame too as this is their first review in over 6 years and it is a shame it has to be a negative one due to the unhygienic nature and actions of the staff.