The shop close to, and on the same side as the McDonalds drive through, but the new shop sign makes…read morethe shop harder to find as the shop looks closed, I think a led 'OPEN' sign is needed. The patrons are always friendly, and helpful. The shop provides groceries of English, Indian, East Euro, Turkish quite a mix, and getting a tin of Chickpea Chana Masala, to eat with rice or some naan...just lush. The store is like stepping into Dr Who's Tardis :-)

Nowadays it's very important to back the smaller stores as opposed to the larger, faceless…read moreorganisations (in my opinion anyway) and with the International Food Centre it couldn't be easier. Like the Sweet Mart in Easton this is a store that is all about the customer. They buy in only the best quality fruit and vegetables, for example, and sell it at reasonable and affordable prices. It's all organic and locally sourced where possible - stocked full of love and good energy. The Asian food section is immense with every type of spice and raw bean imaginable. It's a good place too to find adverts and posters for local and ethical happenings. A great store that comes highly recommended.

Being half Finnish I'm quite happy to see the recent emergence of Polish shops springing up all…read moreover Bristol. Finland may not be Eastern Europe but a lot of the smells and types of food are similar. Take the cooked meats for example or the different hams and sausages. In a glance you could see nice looking sausages for a couple of quid, or you could look closer and see memories of barbecues under the eternal Scandinavian sunshine - taste the oak smoked flavours and remember a far off home. The vast piles of beer and wine may also look like a stack of bargain booze to one customer, but to another they are thoughts and memories of times past and old friends. You see, shops like this strive very hard to stock specific products - in this case Polish. For those that don't know, they offer new tastes, smells and ideas. For those that know however, there's a wealth of old tastes, smells that remind you of houses, people and places forgotten, and memories. This is also a good place to find colourful cartons of multi-vegetable and high energy drinks, as well as notices for employment and accommodation with other foreign speakers.

Iranian Foods, Polish Foods, Bulgarian Foods, Slovenian Foods... Eastern European Foods!…read more Now, I have to say, I was a bit sceptical, before setting foot in here I imagined Eastern European food was like our food... excepts maybe a bit warmer! You know, like goulash (is that spelt correctley?)... But no, I was wrong! My eyes were opened to the delights that our country just can't offer. Worth a pop in if you want to top up the old kitchen cupboards with some random tasty delights that your friends can't compete with!

Another shop catering for the Eastern European community has sprung up here and as per I am glad to…read moresee its arrival. These are shops that focus on independent, personal retail. The fruit and vegetables are fresh, as is the meat and the dairy. The sweets and chocolates are unique, different and exciting. The promotions and offers are not sent down by a head office but made by the workers themselves, hand written on chalk boards. This shop is no exception. I pick up fruit here daily and am always treated to some pleasant conversation and a smile. The enormous range of pickled goods does little to whet my appetite but is fascinating nonetheless, as are the gigantic (if thus a little rude?) sausages in the fridge. The beer is mostly Polish as are the spirits. Variety is, as we know, the spice of life. This shop then is very spicy indeed.

Eastern strikes again!…read more Another source of fresh fruit and veg, and a great selection of world foods! Rehans is a great shop on stapleton road, if your a fan of your fresh foods (and good tasting for that matter) it's a great place to come. The massive selection of different cultural foods is also impressive. Although I do have to plead ignorance to much of it as I usually just go in for my bits and bobs of fruit and Veg... but I am sure it all meets to the standards of the fresh food! Rehans a yellow and green becon drawing in all the great and good of Eastern, almost guiding each and everyone to a healthy(er) lifestyle. Right buy Toveys fishmongors as well so your food shoping is pretty much set with these two stores!

Advertising themselves as purveyors of African, Caribbean, Asian and English food Rehan Foodstore…read morehas big boots to fill, but does the job pretty well. Unfortunately for them there are a lot of other shops on Stapleton Rd selling similar foods so they aren't quite as unique as they could be. There's a pretty decent fruit and veg section outside selling the standard stuff plus some extras for the locals such as yucca. The Big Avocado's are the main reason I come here, especially since learning they can be used to replace eggs in cakes and bread! Aside from the usual stacks of White Lightning and Special Brew there are many good dried foods here such as dried lime and bitter. Interestingly you can also get your mits on some beetroot powder - should you necessitate. Quite an intriguing little shop this one.

This is my local newsagent and, as things should be, it plays an important part in the community…read more It's a small store opposite the Shakespeare pub and the offering isn't exceptional. Basically they sell papers and mags plus a small range of groceries, including bread, milk and eggs. What makes it great, though, is the friendly and slightly eccentric guy who runs the place. He's well known in the area for his friendly, flattering greetings. Men will receive, 'Hey, boss man, how's it going?'; while women are greeted with, 'Where's your boyfriend, James Bond?' A really cheery bloke, and he always remembers my regular order, this is what a local shop should be all about.

Just moved to the area and this shop has quickly become a firm favourite of mine. The shop keeper…read moreis friendly and loves to compliment his customers, for example he recently told me I was a very muscular young women, which was really nice. He also told me I had the valentines spirit which absolutely made my day. As someone who is partially deaf it is nice to find a business owner who make the effort to communicate clearly, there are never any misunderstandings between us x

Patco and the Tesco just down the road (express or extra I can't quite remember) provide you with…read morethe main choice in food shopping. Essentially they sell what you would expect most supermarkets to sell, but they take the Aldi/Netto approach more than they do the Tesco/Asda approach, so you can find some odd items, some cheap(ish) items, and some frankley bizzare items! More tinned, and pre-prepared stuff than fresh items, but then that is what the customers in this are want, if they wanted fresh food they could head elsewhere. Friendly and convieniant, Patco will offer a solution to the shopper bored of the supermarket giants but still craving that kind of choice.

This is a rather strange shop that sits up in Totterdown. It's very near my house but I go there on…read morea very infrequent basis. It's ostensibly a grocery store which mainly sells tinned, jarred and frozen foods and a large range of alcohol. There's not much fresh produce on offer, though they do stock a fair selection of ethnic foods. They also diversify in strange ways. They used to rent DVDs though they no longer do, and they offer a key cutting service which I've not seen anyone use. Most bizarrely of all, they claim to have an internet cafe, though this comprises just one shabby looking PC sitting at the back of the store on its own. They may be better off concentrating on doing the grocery part well before they branch out again.

Another fairly recent arrival on the Gloucester Road, Istanbul Mini Market has found and filled a…read morewonderful niche. Stuffed vine leaves and coconut cream vie for the shopper's attention with multi coloured stacks of different coffees and teas. Every herb and spice conceivable share the shelf space with an enormous range of pickled goods and sundried tomatoes. They even stock the multi vitamin, multi fruit drink cartons I haven't seen since I was a kid. Every type of rice, bean and lentil is on offer in what is, I have discovered, a chef's dream shop. This is not any old convenience store or a regular grocer. This is a shop selling a huge array of foods and spice unseen anywhere else nearby - it has definitely earned the title of a mini market.

This shop caught my eye when it first opened its doors on Gloucester Road. I thought how exciting a…read moreTurkish food shop would be, full of authentic goodness. I got a shock when I stepped in. My eyes fell on a drinks fridge - fanta, sprite, lilt, coca-cola, oasis....was this really the crème de la crème of Turkish delights? As I turned the corner and saw rows of chocolate and crisps I was ready to give up, when I looked at the back of the store. This was more like it. Spices, preserves, biscuits, and sweets - all from Istanbul! YAY! My best find was the Turkish beer. Extremely cheap. Please give the Istanbul Mini Market a go, and don't get put off by the very Western drinks at the front.

Rodak is an incredibly new business on Stokes Croft providing the Polish community with traditional…read moreproducts. Open only for a week they're already contemplating increasing their opening hours due to such good business. The service is polite and friendly regardless if you're Polish or not. The stock, however, is entirely Polish. From the packs of freeze dried vegetables to the gherkins, pickles and sauces it is all foreign to me. This is one of the main reasons I like such shops - they're different. I enjoy not being able to understand what something is until I get it home and eat it, and sometimes even then I'm none the wiser! I love being able to sample foods from other countries and cultures without having to leave my home town. It is this variety that really is the spice of life.

I am a big fan of seeing Bristol slowly embracing the diverse communities that are on offer, and…read morewhat they can bring to the City and the people of Bristol. With so many Polish, Vietenamese, Chinese etc shops popping up throughout the City from Bedminster to Clifton means that average Joe's like myself have so many new foods introduced into my life that I otherwise may have never heard of! Bonus! Rodak, although a Polish shop, isn't entirely full fo Polish goods, there are many things that will not be new to you and I such as many pickled goods, but you will find many things your cupboard has never seen in it's lifetime! Worth a look!

I really like this supermarket. It's good quality and not crazily priced…read more They also make incredible Currys that are very good value for money!!!

Bristol Sweet Mart has been on St Marks Rd for quite some time now, having been rated one of the…read morebest businesses in the UK. It was interesting to see if they would expand (and how) or if they would continue to run the same. The Deli is the latest addition to this little empire, delivering a unique taster of some foods you wouldn't find in your standard high street deli. Lamb kebabs for 99p (think traditional not pitta bread and mayo), some truly delicious paneer and a sweet section better than Willy Wonka's front lawn are some examples of this new enterprise. The service is as professional, friendly and polite as the main store and similarly I'd be surprised if it doesn't do very well indeed.