The Lewisham branch of Matalan is tucked away on a small business part, close to the DLR and main railway station. A large store, you can generally find most of what interests you on the Matalan website here, a failing of smaller branches.
I'm particularly impressed by the huge range of womenswear, how different a lot of it is (most other high street retailers seem to use identikit boring as their clothing template), and how well it washes and wears. Whether you need something smart for work, or something more casual and funky for the weekend, you'll find it here.
The homewares section always seems in need of a good sort out and tidy up, but I suspect this is indicative of just how popular and well-used this section is. Bargain buys include sturdy three postcard sized photoframes (which were a fiver each and similar to some in Habitat that were £50), and some berry red fairy lights which look a treat in the kitchen.
But I have to save most of my praise for the staff. I don't know if they're supplied with happy pills along with their wages, or they have a hitherto unpublished graduate training scheme, but I've never come across so many bright, friendly, chatty, helpful, and efficient people. It's as if they've got them all, and the rest of Lewisham's retail businesses can go whistle read more