This shop is unfriendly, sparse, and even a little depressing. I only popped in for a newspaper,…read moreand the woman behind the counter couldn't even bring herself to make eye contact with me, let alone say "hello" or "thank you". Perhaps I just went in on a bad day. The store has an ugly exterior (who on earth decided that bright yellow and purple would be a good combination for a shop front?), an ugly interior (dark, all spread out), and, in Cotham, which is full of unique, lovely businesses and charity shops, it sticks out, in a bad way. It's just a convenience store, of course, so you shouldn't expect much anyway. If you're desperate, live nearby and can't be bothered to walk the extra few steps to another store, this will do. It sells all the basics, and is open late, but just operates with absolutely no flair or enjoyment. The name is somewhat ironic here: "Premier" this shop certainly is not.

Too big for a news agents, too small for a mini supermarket. Premier, sells the bare minimum of…read morewhat you might need. I would not get over excited about it, it does not have the prices of Tesco Metro (or the range), and it has too much to fell like your local newsagent. That being said it is service with a smile, the business has invariably been open when i needed something last minute, and the lady that works there is sweet.

To people not from these parts some place names are legendary about Bristol: The Tobacco Factory…read moreand the Docks for example. Once you live here there are others: The Bear Pit, Cribbs etc. Another place you don't really know about until you live here is The Best. The (self titled) Best Supermarket is legendary. The shop is open 24/7 every day of the year. Even in the harshest of blizzards I have never seen the door closed. They sell crisps, chocolate bars and various other things you would expect of such a convenience store. It is after hours however when they really become something else. This is the only shop that will sell all types of alcohol at all hours. The staff are hardened as you'd expect; their clientele the late drinkers: poets after another bottle of inspiration, students after more beers and all the rest of it. The Best Supermarket is, well, what it is.

Yes it has all your desied goods!…read more Yes it is 24 hours! And yes you can satisfy pretty much any food or drink craving at any time of the day by getting something from here. But 'the best supermarket'?, i'll give them a little le-way for artistic license but I think they should perhaps pre-fix the name with 'Arguabley' then it will give them some margin for error! But seriousley, this place is pretty good, great to have a place of convieniance and open all hours, reliable and plentiful, not bad...

Very close to several large student housing blocks this is a shop with one clientele in mind. For…read moreone thing these dedicated guys are open every day from 7am till midnight. A quick walk around the shop reveals all the student essentials you can imagine. They have tights, fruit juice, a wide range of male and female toiletries, a stationary section and the largest selection of biscuits I have ever seen. This is not an exaggeration; think Hobnobs, Digestives, Crunch biscuits, ones I'd forgotten about, one's I've never even heard about! A whole wall of biscuits - extraordinary. As all students necessitate the stuff there's obviously a wide choice of beers and wine with regular deals and discounts. Ready meals, soups, pre made sandwiches and for those on a budget the morning after, miniature boxes of cereal. A well thought out shop keeping Bristol's students satiated.

If temp bar and waiter work is your thing (or catering / hospitality in general), then West One…read moreRecruitment should be on your hit list. The staff are really personable - you can register immediately and they give you a crash course / refresher in how to lay a table and carry multiple plates. They aren't one of those agents that never get in touch - quite literally you could have work the next day. They often have to send a few staff at a time to certain venues - so if any of the other temps has a car, they organise drop-off and pick-up from the office, which is a great help.

A funny little convenience store, very dark inside. Unlike many convenience stores which add and…read moreextra 3 pounds on the bottle for the convenience, the wine here is pretty good value. It sells some sandwiches and convenience food at the back of the store, has some basics and a freezer with things like pizza's and an ice-cream freezer. Unlike many small convenience stores, the ice-cream doesn't look like it has melted and frozen about 3 times before you've bought it. It also sells milka chocolate - hurrah! The staff here are very friendly, although I'm afraid I can never understand what the young guy is saying to me.

This particular Costcutter takes the irony of its name to whole new levels. It is certainly the…read moremost expensive pasta sauce and fusili that I have ever bought, and not the nicest. The staff are friendly enough, but I wonder how they can charge so much for these basics. The cash point outside is very necessary! They do stay open late, and if you can't make it to the supermarkets then their range means they'll probably have that specific something you need, just be prepared to pay a large mark up on everything from pot noodles to peanuts!

This Key Store is probably the friendliest '7-Eleven' style shop I have ever been to. You can…read morealways be guaranteed a warm welcome and a funny chat with either the manager or his staff. They were even rocking out to Rage one Friday night, obviously that forced me to stay a little longer than I'd planned. It's not the biggest shop in the world, but they have packed in stock, so there's a lot there. It's good for an emergency bottle of red to take to a friends' for dinner. Or those late night snacks when you've rented a film and got the munchies. They have so many different types of sweets and chocolate, and loads of magazines. A great place to stock up on fuel (biscuits, tobacco, tea, bread etc.) if you're a student (probably living in the flats above) before staying up all night to get your work done for a deadline the next day. They even have parking just outside, which ok this being Bristol is not the promise of a space, but it's much better than most.

A nice little convieniance store that will supply all of your daily goods…read more You would have to pay a little bit more then you would at say a supermarket or a larger mini-mart type of shop, but the service is much more personal and you somehow always feel better buying food from here than you would from a larger shop. Definatley more snack food than anything else, ideal to stop in for a quick sugar or carbohydrate fix, not so good if you are just after healthy snacks (if they do indeed exist!)

With park street, and indeed alot of the top of town, you will somewhat surprisingly find that…read morethere are not that many places to pick up a paper or get some chewing gum (or even some sweets if you need to satisfy your sugary craving!) Lexie's gives you the option to get those everyday desirable things, without having to walk all the way down to the tesco's at college green. Unless you live near the bottom then it would make more sense for you to go to tesco unless you want a bit more excersize! A nice clean shop, and stock's everything you would expect it to, very friendly inside.

Paint the picture - It's a warm day, you have spent most of the afternoon shopping and your hands…read moreare raw from carrying so many bags. The sun is beaming down as you face the dreaded walk up Park Street. You are nearly at the top. The Will's Memorial building is shading the sun from you, yet you are starting to feel faint from all this exercise. No worries, Lexi's is here! Pick up a sweet treat, a cheap and cheerful sandwich or a ice cold drink all for a fraction of the price that any other shop would sell. Fantastic.

The humble corner shop. I had always assumed they had…read moreincurred the name for straddling the corner of two streets. Now I have realised (or rather, decided) it is because they are the corner stone of city living. As frequently as I discover the need for crisps and chocolate bars at 3am, a new corner shop appears. Something gives me the feeling, however, that No 1 - the new off license on Gloucester Rd is here to last. Having only been here for six or seven months I am already close friends with shop owner, Prem. One of my favourite features is the impressive array of sausages and cold meats. Where else can one buy a whole mackerel in a vacuum wrapped bag for just £1.79? And what better to wash down said cold meat than with fine local ale. The selection of beers and ales from England and Europe is extraordinary and reason enough to visit. Herein lies the defining feature of the shop - the off license. The shop is absolutely packed with every rum, whiskey, vodka and cheap wine you can imagine. Open until 2am on the weekends this shop is always busy and for good reason.

No. 1 Off License? ... Really? Maybe No 1 on Gloucester road... well the south part of it anyway!…read more The choice is pretty varied, and you are not restricted to just finding alcohol as their name suggests, it is more of a news agents, or a convieniance store if you will, with some meats, cheese, milk, newspaper and magazines available. It would probably serve itself better being called the no.1 convieniance store within the local vicinity of south gloucester road... not so catchy though is it? Friendly inside, and a highyl practicle shop... just not no 1...

Ashley Stores is the epitome of the phrase 'service with a smile'. They may not be the best…read morenewsagents in Bristol (in fact they're quite far off) but they do maintain wonderful smiles all day and night. It's a pretty sparse store this one, with a lot of space not used all that well. One side is rammed full of all the tinned and canned food you could imagine, packets of noodles, sauces and spices. Then there's a sort of no-man's land with a few packs of dog food and some cleaning products. If you're feeling quite cramped over here rest assured the other side of this deceptively ample store is unpleasantly sparse. A huge chest freezer homes some ready meals, frozen veg and a hoard of ice cream. A little beyond this is quite a good selection of DVDs for rent and not much more. The saving grace is putting the films next to the Ben and Jerry's but that's about it. It's a newsagent. They sell what you'd expect and their very nice about it. It's just very much about the end, and not so much about the means.

With its friendly staff always up for a chat, Ashley Stores always makes you feel local no matter…read morehow far away you live. It's probably got the widest selection of any store in this part of town, given that the nearest Tescos is still pretty far away. Prices are a little steeper than chain supermarkets but that's always the way so Ashley Stores is no different. It's got just about everything you could urgently need, albeit not in a massive wide selection. Perhaps not the best place to do your weekly grocery shop, but in the immediate area it's undoubtedly the best place to stop by and pick up a carton of milk and chat to the staff if you live in the area.

Next door to the Star and Garter sits this untidy little place - Ali's General Store…read more With the Organic Supermarket a hundred yards away and many other smaller grocers dotted about within a mile radius - there's very little reason to come here. A constant musty smell of rotting vegetables should give some indication as to the quality of the fruit and veg section. The dairy section (which in itself is a glorified expression for a small fridge) is equally poorly kept and one I like to stay clear of. You can pick up all the items you need here such as basic toiletries and canned goods but that's about it. It's a frankly seedy environment where many of my friends feel intimidated and Bristol could really do without. If I do have to shop here my general rule is to buy only things contained within at least one layer of unbroken packaging - and even then wash it once I get home.