Despite being a small store, this branch remains to be much better than the nearby store on Quay…read moreStreet, it is located on Deansgate just off Bridge Street. The staff seem friendly enough and they seem to have occasional sampling going on here pre-COVID times including Carabao who had a stall here - a Thai energy drink company which is pretty good. The store is small and in terms of overall selection I do prefer the Co-Op which is a couple of minutes away, but this isn't a bad alternative if you're going down Deansgate through the city centre or searching for some Sainsbury's own-brand products. 3*

In my continuing quest to find Sainsbury's own-brand fruit and fibre cereal in central Manchester…read morefor my girlfriend's breakfast I hit this Sainsbury's Local on Deansgate. I'm getting quite worried now. These Sainsbury's exploits could almost turn into a list, of me basically reviewing the same thing over and over again, all without the feted fruit and fibre ever appearing. Needless to say, this Sainsbury's Local doesn't have the fruit and fibre. It's just packed with city workers buying ready meals on their way home.

There's a Tesco, Sainsbury's, Co-op popping up on every corner of the city centre and it doesn't…read morestop at one branch of the supermarket giants' one stop city centre shops. The domination and battle of the supermarket giants are ever present in the city centre, you can find like four mini Tescos around the vicinity of Deansgate and Piccadilly areas. A lot anyway. So here's to the Xpress on Whitworth Street West, one of a few cornershop types springing up in the city, to balance the equilibrium of the chain store masses and inject a little local to the often impersonable, daunting city centre. Xpress Local has recently opened up on my route to university. I've watched it been transformed from an empty space, learnt what it takes for a cash machine to be installed whilst thinking damn, this is where my late night snacking will take it's higher form. Xpress stocks all your basic groceries, milk, cheese, bread and acts as your off license too. I've used it for the range of bad snacks on offer, which has been bad for the healthy eating regime plus the purse. It annoyingly does not display prices on a lot of things which I thought was because it was opening mid-finish but this isn't the case. Annoyingly so, one late night purge, I watched my tube of pringles being scanned to reveal £1.99. I knew I should have purchased the half price ones in Tesco. Xpress is one of those places you just pop in and get the things you want or crave or when you're under time pressure. There may not be an extensive range of fresh or organic what nots but you can expect a pleasant none lengthy queue if you do find yourself in here.

Shudehill Convenience Store is located on Shudehill, it is basically next to Shudehill, Shudehill /…read moreMayes St (Stop Nm) bus stop and around a minute or two on foot away from Shudehill, one of the main bus stations in the city to get around Greater Manchester. As suggested by the slightly unoriginal name, Shudehill Convenience Store it is a convenience style newsagents store, one of the many stores of its' type in Manchester city centre which includes one of four in the Shudehill area, including a Manchester Souvenirs and News and Spar across the way, and Arden News inside Shudehill Bus Station. Sadly, compared to the trio of extremely nearby neighbours this store ranks the worst. The store seems a bit confusing and hit and miss, and appears to do too many things at once, after entering the store through a step it is kind of cluttered to navigate as there is the main counter which includes MyHermes drop-offs, another counter which appears to be for mobile phones and/or cigarettes and then the rest of the shop floor. The overall look and feel of the store isn't fantastic, and in the case of essentials, the selection is kind of limited. The service didn't seem great, with staff not standing out as friendly. Once again, I'm struggling to see the need for this store with so many similar rivals nearby, on a plus side this is the only MyHermes drop off store in the Shudehill area with the Spar store across the way not offering the service, but this once again is seen as less as a bonus with many other stores nearby who offer the service just a short walk away. Due to a poor, confusing and cheap overall feel and the store not offering something you can't get just a stone's throw away and overall being quite disappointing from selection to staff and everything in-between, I sadly feel a one-star rating is in order here.

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!

AFTABS! What does that mean? Is it a name? Does it stand for something?…read more If I was commissioned to decide what it stood for, I'd say.... A Fine and Timely Auspiciously Beneficial Shop. Its Fine, not so much in the sense of selling finery and beautiful decorative products (for which it is not the place), but in the sense of there being nothing wrong with it. Its got all your basics, from bread and milk to a fine selection of confectionary and crisps. Its Timely, certainly, because there are no other shops in the area, and if you're walking from Deansgate or Trafford to Oxford Road, you'll find the journey bleak and woeful. As you battle through the barren wasteland that is Hulme, AFTABS will come to you as would an oasis in the Sahara, providing a much needed Boost (or Twix) to get you through the remainder of the journey. Auspicious, because auspicious implies success in the future while propitious means favourable conditions in the present; auspicious means promising or of good omen - not just special or memorable. Aftabs have a range of new deals on beers, ciders, wines and spirits, which I think will ensure future prosperity once the students from the surrounding area cotton on. Beneficial, because you will benefit from the products purchased there. The reason for this is that you have purchases the products that you want or need. Shop, because is it a shop. A place where money may be exchanged for goods approximately to the value of the money paid. This money is usually in paper form and until recently was backed up by gold reserves in national banks.

This Co-Op store is a pretty nice, large, modern branch in the Exchange Quay office estate which is…read moreopposite the Metrolink station and a short walk away from Old Trafford Football Stadium. I did visit on a match-day when I presume the store gets rather busy, they did plan for this a little poorly as the fresh sandwich section was notably depleted but other areas of the store including beverages and the small yet sample free from section remained intact. I also liked how the store offered a good number of unique facilities including Amazon Lockers and Costa Coffee machines, which I've only ever seen at Co-op branches in the city centre, obviously, this can be rather useful on matchdays at OT, especially the grab and go coffee machine. The staff weren't great and one employee seemed to ignore me, they were busy I'll give them that and obviously dealing with hundreds of football fans in a short space of time isn't exactly easy, especially on one of the biggest games of the year as Manchester City meets its' closest rivals Manchester United of Salford. I wasn't surprised to find out this was a new store which opened in Summer 2019 either, most of the store still has a good feel to it and feels new and it is a pretty decent store in a good location for Exchange Quay's offices and Old Trafford, but I do think better planning in terms of stock on a matchday and trying to maintain service standards is a must. 3*

went in to get some stuff for dinner, paid at self checkout and left. then get shouted at down the…read morestreet by the security guard whilst loads of people are walking past accusing me of not paying and makes me go back in the store for them to reprint my reciept that says I've paid! bloody joke and so rude

A useful Convenience Store open 24/7 in the city centre on Piccadilly, just a couple minutes away…read morefrom Piccadilly Gardens and Piccadilly Stations, while the prices are high they do have a pretty good selection of essentials which is great if you live in town. The prices, on the other hand, are on the pricey side, there are other stores nearby who offer a similar, or even better range of products at a lower price so if you are visiting during the day (when those stores are open), you would be better off going there. Sadly, there didn't seem to be a gluten-free section. They did have some but limited offers around the store, and while most items were overpriced, some were competitive value. Decent store, useful location if you're in a rush or late at night but there are similar/better stores within 30 seconds on foot away. 3*

This place sucked poor customer service etc I don't have time to waste discussing how bad this…read moreplace was

They are selling fake cigarettes from under the counter, the man took out the cigarettes from…read morethe cabinet behind him, then looks like he swapped it from under the counter, flimzy box and packaging, cigarettes harsh on throat and feels flimsy also, but charged as if selling me originals

This newsagents is on Piccadilly, and sells a few international newspapers outside which I always a…read morefind to be a nice touch. It reminds me of being on holiday in France and trying to find an English newspaper to read up on the football. They have loads and loads of magazines in here, all the major titles as well as seemingly most of the obscure ones as well. And for what we all use newsagents most for, they have a truly excellent selection of sweets, chocolates, crisps and cigarettes.

Tesco's Church Street location might not be the best/largest convenience style store in the area,…read moreand I may prefer the Co-Op across the way, but this particular location isn't too bad, it is accessed through a small staircase and/or a lift which always seems to be out of order. They have a good selection of to-go food and drinks, fruit and vegetables and a small but satisfactory range of essentials, some prices are slightly higher than a regular Tesco store due to the convenience style location. Most of the staff seem friendly enough, there's a small number of self-serve checkouts which are useful if you're in a rush. If you have more time and you're looking for another Tesco nearby, the Tesco Metro location on Market Street is much larger/better, but this store isn't too bad. 3* - OK, not the best convenience store in the area for overall size/selection, it isn't even the best on its' street but it isn't that bad and is located inside a nice building just outside a bus stop.

Remember the nursery rhyme about the count sat in his counting house counting all his money?…read more That's what runs through my mind every time I hear about Tesco opening a new Metro or Express throughout the country. Allegedly, the company now have over 60 branches within a 15 mile radius of Manchester city centre and yet, they still decided to open another earlier this year in the city's independent area; the Northern Quarter. Having lived in the area myself for a couple of years, I know it was difficult to get everyday essentials like bin bags, toilet rolls and washing up liquid without a long walk. Personally, I'd still rather go for a long walk than put money in Tesco's pocket though. It's not just that they're prepared to stamp out independent retailers and farmers across the world in exchange for profit and market place domination, it's that their fresh vegetables, salad and bread don't taste that good either.