If I need a lot of vegetables (and I have time on a Saturday) I come here. That's all you really…read moreneed to know. Just outside Selby's on the Holloway Road is this beautiful fruit and veg stall where good quality fresh food can be had at consistently high value. If you look in the picture everything that you see is a single pound per bowl and their offers are pretty consistent depending on season. Today I bought an entire box of mangos for £1.50 where the equivalent in Waitrose is £4-5. Amazing! The only downsides are that like any smaller seller the occasional fruit may be bad (though I did get a mouldy pepper from Tesco yesterday), the stock a little variable, and that they shut on most days before I get home meaning I have to go at the weekend.

This fruit stall is the best thing about Kingsway. The fruit is good quality and so much cheaper…read morethan the not-as-fresh produce at the nearby Sainsburys. An amazing stall to have on my way home from work!

I don't know what they do with their flowers, but whenever I buy a bouquet from here it seems to…read morelast for 14 days minimum. They usually have a nice selection of plants/flowers, although I am ashamed to admit I haven't bought fruit and veg from there yet! This place is also great for an impulse purchase when you're popping out for a weekend stroll - my boyfriend picked up a bonsai tree from there for just £20!

The best grocer in the area, we go here for all our fruit and veg. Really friendly, if you have any…read morespecific requests they get it in for you (we wanted Kale once, and a few days later it was there for sale). My top tip is the huge bunches of fresh parsley for sale. Perfect for making a big parsley salad.

One of my favourite places to procure fresh fruits and veggies. Not only do they have a…read moremarvelously varied selection - everything from your most exotic veg to your more mundane staples - it is also *cheap.* I dare you to find a chain grocery store that comes close to underselling these folks. Yet, unlike some inexpensive fruit and veg stands.. where you feel like you'd have to scrub the skin off your produce before you'd be convinced it was sanitary enough to eat... Ali's, wonderfully, doesn't feel cheap... there's nothing dingy or unclean about the place... everything is kept tidy and orgnanised and beautifully stacked. The other thing that keeps me coming back here is the shop's proprietor. He is always smiling and courteous - and well, one of those kindly sort of people that you just *want* to buy from... again, try finding someone like that at Tesco's HQ!

Hat tip to Lizzie G for first introducing me to this place!…read more Newington Green Fruit and Veg by the numbers: 1 - hunk of ginger root 1 - garlic bulb 3 - grapefruits 4 - onions 5 - carrots 10 - stalks of celery (in a bag) 3.83 - Total cost in £s for all the above. No partridge. No pear tree. I'm a cheap yellow bastard that likes quality products, so it's no wonder I'm a regular here even though it's a 20+ minute trip on the 341 for me.

"I've got a lovely pair of coconuts..." "Come Mister Tally…read moreMan, tally me banana..." "Strawberry fields forever..." It once was one shop, it's now two. One is just storage and the other is a beautiful array of fruit, herbs, spices and veg for locals to come down to browse and buy. For a few quid you can walk out with a bag of produce bigger than my leg. It's fantastic quality and loads of it is British grown. I don't bother going anywhere else now, it's my one stop fresh fruit stop!

A great greengrocer, market style, beautiful fresh vegetables and fruitread more

This is my favourite grocers in the world! The variety of fresh fruit and veg is incredible. They…read morehave everything* and I always end up coming out with something intriguing that I don't normally buy (fennels, dragon fruit, Chinese pears, round corguettes and many more). Compared to the supermarkets it is so much cheaper. The price of cherry tomatoes and grapes are about a third or 50% less here than in Sainsburys down the road. Plus the quality of the produce is fantastic: those cherry tomatoes have never looked or tasted so good. There is the occasionally something bad, but this is a minor thing, and preferable generally to the tasteless stuff you get from the supermarkets. *except bean sprouts. This is the ONLY vegetable they haven't had.

This is my local greengrocer, and I always try to pop in here before heading to any of the chain…read morestores overpopulating our area (I'm looking at you Sainsbury's Local) They have pretty much any fresh fruit, vegetable or salad you could need, and at incredibly reasonable prices. Whenever I have made the very impressive decision to actually cook a meal, I will always come here and stock up. I love it, and I love the cheeky staff behind the till; they're always up for a laugh and a joke ;) Occasionally some of the produce is not as fresh as it could be, so -1 star, but I really wouldn't consider going anywhere else.

Coffee sweet unroasted coffee, this is the only high street store I've seen that sells it this side…read moreof soho and although the selection is only one type it's a whopper. It so good this Ethiopian run store only have it behind the counter, though ask and he shall receive. We have become all hipster at chez Samir S and started to roast a few weeks worth of coffee in a go (using a thick wok , a spice grinder, a few tries and YouTube instructions). This bean produces an amazing rich taste all for £5.50/kg where one kg bag lasts us two to three months; amazing daily coffee for two for the monthly price of a fancy pants coffee house. This is a pretty average little grocery store otherwise but the other main selling point is that it sells injera (Ethiopian traditional roti). It sold fresh, again hard to find outside a restaurant and great with dal.

I am so happy I found this store! I was so tired of the supermarket fish I was actually thinking…read moreabout going to the Billingsgate Fish Market myself. But now I dont have to because the guys of Holloway Fisheries bring you a lot of fresh fish, straight from the ocean (via Billingsate Fish Market ;-) ) for a reasonable price. No posh counter, just the fish in styrofoam boxes and ice. Happy to sell you just one fish or a whole lot and happy to clean the fish as you like it (pan ready). What they have on offer changes daily and depends on what they expect to sell. So for sushi quality tuna you better try on Thursday or Friday early in the day because these are the days they sell this the most (to restaurants). Cash only, but there is a cash machine on the opposite side of the road. They are the first shop at the entrance of the market.

Holloway fisheries is probably the best fishmonger in the immediate area. We found this place to be…read morequite the surprise as they serve fresh fish, octopus, squid and shellfish at a far better quality that the local supermarkets (which its next to). I've been here a few times and always bought the seafood for the paella I always cook for the annual BBQ (and yes it's always a hit!). I can buy enough to feed 15 for around £15 (squid, king prawn, mussels) with a typical largish fish at about £3-4 though these are more much bigger than their supermarket equivalents. If you ask them they will also happily clean and prepare the fish for you. They even have fish heads if you want to make a stock. Apart from the paella ingredients I've also bought red snapper and scallops without any complaints. The great service and a decent range means that I will always come here and it certainly beats an early morning trek to Billingsgate.

If you're into cooking Indian/Bangladeshi/Pakistani dishes at home, this store has a full selection…read moreof ingredients for you. When I first moved to this area, I bought a great Indian cookbook and I stocked my spice cabinet with purchases from here. I keep coming back. The staff there provide "no nonsense" service. A nice benefit is that while you're shopping, they're playing slamming music sometimes. One time I liked the tune so much I dared ask for the name of the CD. The checkout clerk unsmilingly wrote it down for me, told me where to buy it (further down the street on Brick Lane); he definitely hooked me up! (another time I ended up buying a car here too, but that's a story for another time and place!)

If you are looking for Indian / Pakistani / Bangladeshi Groceries in Central London, Taj Stores is…read morea great place to pick them up. They sell spices in bags ranging in size from 100gms to 5 kilos and the price is way lower than even Tesco. For those who know what these are: Taj stocks Maggi hot & sour masala chilli sauce, Roohafza & fresh curry leaves (almost impossible to find anywhere in central London) Its a sprawling store with huge variety & great prices. They have fresh fruits & vegetables too. Plenty of namkin, spice pastes, pickles, variety of dhal & rice. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.