You have two choices in this immediate area for quick market essential needs: Sainsbury's Local or…read moreTesco Express located just nearly across the street. Personally, I'm a much bigger fan of the latter option, and here's why: 1. Because it's so high trafficked, this store is pretty dirty 2. The shelves always seem like they need to be stocked 3. It's a bizarre layout because it's such a small space 4. The queue here - as others have mentioned - is frustrating and confusing; who's actually in line?! It's hard to tell when it snakes down into the aisles Really, you'll find similar things at both places, so it's really just a matter of preference!

Bath Spa is normally associated with the better things in life; fine dining, independent shops and…read morea city steeped in history. It's not exactly the first place you'd look for a Primark, a Lidl or a Wilkinsons (sadly, as I absolutely love a good Primark). But what should the less wealthy of us need a supermarket which isn't as elusive as Marks and Spencer and not as pricey as Waitrose? Sainsbury's local on Marmouth Street is a tiny supermarket which is an ideal one-stop shop for your basic essentials. The range of items on sale here is pretty limited, but when you're looking for reasonably priced goods like tea, coffee, bread and milk - this is the first place I head. And, because it's a Sainsbury's LOCAL the service is quick so there's no frustrating queues in sight.

Whyyyyyy are the reviews for this Waitrose so negative (... granted I left a three star many years…read moreago, but the general global grocery experience has changed dramatically since then). I actually love this Waitrose! It really is my go to every time I'm in the city. Yes, it's ALWAYS busy. But, it's also extremely conveniently located, has free bathrooms (which, admittedly, there is often a queue for), and has - in my experience - been pretty well stocked despite the crowds. Maybe not so much an hour before closing, but I can get all the essentials I need: fresh fruit! bags of ice! basic medicines! many delicious alcoholic beverages! an impressive variety of Free From products! ceramic mugs to drink Cava from in the park! I wish their triangle sandwich selection was as impressive as M&S, but overall this is a near daily stop for me when in Bath.

In a city like Bath (posh and a bit pretentious) you won't be surprised to hear that Waitrose is…read morethe supermarket of choice. This branch can be found in The Podium shopping centre and is extremely popular, so be prepared to queue for your goods! Even though the store itself is relatively big, the isles are quite narrow and difficult to navigate, especially if you have a trolley. The varieties of foods they sell aren't quite as extensive as other Waitrose shops which can be disappointing. But the staff are always polite and willing to help if you can't find a particular item. For a similar price, I prefer to shop at Marks and Spencer's on the high street where the queues are shorter and the food is more interesting.

I just needed a few Hotel room snacks on the way back. Actually a bit disorganized in every aisle…read morebut I found my 3 items, no line to pay and under 5 lbs out the door. I'll be back.

Small but good location and great variety. The staffs are friendly too. Love their meal deal £3.40…read morefor sandwich, fruit and drink. Best deal if you're in a hurry.

Oh, I love this shop!!!! It's a little gem to me…read more I needed two things: Oishi green tea (cold, bottled Japanese sencha made in Thailand and very popular there) and Nestea cha yen Thai milk tea. Both incredibly hard to come by in Europe, and both in stock here. Apart from that they are probably like any other shop with oriental food. Small, nice, clean. Staff doesn't smile (not Thai? strange ;).

Nice little deli that sells food for sit-in and take-away, as well as other packed products. Lots…read moreof organic and local ingredients, unfortunately no organic meet. I had a sandwich that was very good. For those who want a responsibly produced lunch, this is the place to go to.

Hooray! I was seriously in trouble with my allergies this morning and because it's Easter Sunday,…read morenothing was open. Not a Boots or a Superdrug or even a Schuh was available. Figuring I would have to suffer, I managed to spot this shiny new Sainsbury's through my inflamed and tearing eyes. Holding out hope they would have something to cure my ills, I was cheerfully pleased to see a blister pack of 7 Claritin pills on the shelf. Yes, they had a whole bunch more for sale - drinks, candies, magazines, lager, wine, sandwiches, heat-and-eat meals and all sorts of other probably great stuff - but all I needed was relief from the histamine attack going on. I was able to operate the self-checkout and got Nectar points too! Hooray! Three cheers for Sainsbury's! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

I know it's a Sainsbury's Local and not a full grocery store, but this location is still quite…read morecramped and poorly stocked. Perhaps due to all the tourists, but inside it's culinary mayhem. May the Gods forgive any lone fool who wanders in without a plan nor the foreknowledge of where his target products lie.

Prior to visiting UK, I had searched what souvenirs to bring back, of which proposed tea. Many…read morearticles, however, suggested brands - such as Yorkshire Tea and Tetley - that I can simply buy from local grocery stores. So I came to Whittard of Chelsea, easily found in many cities across England. The staff at this location was hospitable and gave helpful recommendations as it was difficult to narrow down from the abundant choices. You are free to request a brewing of any tea to sample the flavor before purchasing. I settled on the Goji Acai tea, a loose leaf blend inspired by the "superfood" reputation of goji berries, açaí and green tea. It smelled fruity and fragrant, and I liked that clear pieces of the berries were visible in the mixture. I chose to have 50g of the tea (£6.50) packaged in one of their reusable, shiny metal tins (£5.50) instead of a paper pouch. Out of the three available colors, I picked the blue caddy. Because it was inconvenient for me to drink in the store, the employee was kind enough to provide an additional small package for me to try back at the hotel along with a complimentary bag of Dreamtime tea. To me the tea had a nice overall light flavor without being too strong in any particular taste. Their website lists the specific ingredients along with the percentages.

While trying to find some good Earl Grey to bring home to my friends from the UK I was pointed to…read moreWhittard. According to Yelp it was closed so I was pretty bummed because I had walked all around trying to find it using my data roaming - but I walked there anyway and when I finally found it I found they actually closed 30 minutes later than Yelp said so I had about 25 minutes to shop! The gal inside was friendly and didn't try to rush me at all despite the fact that they were closing soon. She pointed me in the direction of a few of their products and told me to take my time. Which I did. It was hard to decide what I wanted to buy because they had tons of options and some cute packaging.

This supermarket is basically the best Bath has on offer, along with the Morrison's on the other…read moreside of town, that is. It's nice and big, with a fairly decent sized car park (for the centre of Bath, anyway), so it's the best place around to get your weekly shop. There's a pretty good selection of fresh fruit and veg and a few deli/bakery counters if you're after more fresh stuff. I've always found that the place has suited my needs adequately, but be warned, if you decided to do your shopping on a Saturday or Sunday morning then expect massive queues and a lot of stress.

Bath's largest Sainsbury's. Ample parking makes this an easy store shop at. The store is well laid…read moreout but product choice is very limited compared to other Sainsbury's stores I've visited. Sainsbury's also always seems ready to replace popular brands with their own, reducing choice even further. Recently this store has installed many more self-service checkouts reducing the number of staffed checkouts. This means there are often bottlenecks during busier times which can be very frustrating.