Love this place and it's on my way home from work so I stop in a couple of times a week for…read moreallsorts of culinary bits and bobs. My main stay items are frozen edameme for £1 or so a bag, udon noodles for 40p, various marinades/spice mixes for pennies, soup noodles galore and the bargains in the freezers.... £2 for 50 frozen spring rolls!! The staff are freindly, place is clean, well organised and modern. One of my favourite places for asian ingredients.

A hidden gem on the South side of Edinburgh. Part of me hates to give it away in fact but this is a…read moresuperb supermarket for all your Asian food needs. I am never without a packet of their dim sum in my freezer and I always end up finding a new ingredient to try out. They have a monstrous selection of noodles, every Asian sauce or spice you could ever want, heaps of frozen dim dum and some weird but wonderful delicacies for the adventurous.

Conveniently convenient. This Tesco larger on the inside with multiple aisles containing items…read moreranging from produce to biscuits.

Was a last chance for me to grab some favorite UK snacks - like Ribena and Twirl and marmite before…read moreheading home. Also love the self-check out so prevalent in most UK grocery shops.

The is a handy and ubiquitous convenience store chain we saw throughout Scotland. The best thing…read moreto me is that their ATM's had the best rates for ATM cash. Their rate was the current 1.35 USD/GBP exchange rate plus only a 3.95 GBP charge. Other ATM's I tried at the airport and at a bank wanted about a 1.55 USD/GBP exchange rate which equates to a ridiculous 15% fee! Otherwise, we like convenience stores like this during our travels for items like bottled water and such.

Sainsbury's on West Port, not too far from Chalmers Centre, in Edinburgh was the first grocery…read morestore I went to in Scotland. On my second day, first morning, in Scotland (6 July 2019), I was looking to get a few food items for the day before picking up my rental car and was aware of this store as I passed it the evening before on foot when going to get dinner. The store was bigger on the inside than it looked like on the outside. Sections were well set up and easy to navigate and peruse. I was particularly impressed with a bakery/fresh-baked breads section at the back of the store. In the United States of America, the stores of an equivalent nature might have hot dogs or donuts available, but not fresh-made bread. I got a few items and went through self check out. It took me a couple tries to get the payment right, but everything worked. Worker(s) were friendly.

If variety is the spice of life then this shop will really spice your life up. There is an…read moreunbelievable amount of high quality fruit and veg on offer here. One of the things I like about this shop is also that it doesn't feel as cramped as other shops so it's easier to look around which is great considering how much range there is to look at here. Indeed it will be a challenge just to decide what it is you want. There are a lot of fruit and veg shops in this area, but this one really does hold its own and is a place I would recommend.

This is one of the shops that catches me on my hungry way home from the library. I know it's time…read morefor me to leave the library when I'm so hungry I start looking up recipes, and minutely going through the contents of my fridge and how I could put them together to make something delicious. Alhaj, which, honestly, I've always called the big expensive shop on Argyle Place, tends to cater to my every needs. But, oh boy, does it make a dent in my pocket. Calling all veggies out there: they have an amazing selection of tofu. Marinated tofu, smoked tofu, olive tofu... For some reason, once upon a time, I used to get tofu cravings when I was hungover. So this is where I went to indulge. One thing I will warn you about is that their sale section is generally really past the sell-by date. Though, this is handy to know: where the sell fruit and vegetables outside, they normally have an unmarked box full of goods all the way on the far right end of the stalls: if it's unmarked, it probably means they'll sell you the whole contents of the box for a pound or two. I mean, it may be expensive, but to be able to save in Edinburgh, you have to know how to shop.

As far as city centre convenience supermarkets go (of which I'm starting to prove myself somewhat…read moreof a specialist...) this here is the Daddy. Big enough to stock practically everything you could need on short notice but small enough not to include all the junk that would clutter up the store otherwise; this Tesco is perfect for those living close by who need to pick up drink/pizza/cigarettes on short notice without wanting to pay the usual "convenience tax" for doing so, as it's one of the few places nearby that won't charge you for the privilege of shopping there.. This Tesco Express should be made first port of call for anyone living equidistant or less from this one and the one over in Tolcross - that is unless of course Farmfoods has whatever you need in stock...

Although a small Tesco (Express) they do stock good offers and meal deals, handy for the office…read moreguys close by. Two self service machines help with the queues. Staff have been good and fast in helping you around. Cash machine located just on the outside for the people that do not like paying with cards!

Good quick convenient store in a prime spot on a cold autumn evening! We needed a few things before…read morecalling it a night so we walked over here as it was closer than Sainsbury's and Tesco Express. We were pleased with the selections of everything from cheeses to ales and every snack in between. Upon checkout we were curious about the irn-bru in the bin next to the counter so we asked the lady who was checking folks out. She was sweet and explained that it was just something we had to try but it was too hard to explain. Enough said - we brought one home to try! They had lots of clearanced out items near the checkout as well so we grabbed a bag of crisps to go with our new local finds. Great shop - and good customer service!

I'm in two minds about this place…read more Scotmids in general have decent stock, including plenty of GF and lactose free items and they give discount vouchers every now and then which often give £2 off if you spend over £10 (not too shabby!). There's a decent range of cheeses, often including some which are locally made. I also like their own brand stuff, which is decent quality. This particular Scotmid has recently had a revamp and now includes an area with fresh baked bread, a vegetable rack with your 'not your usuals' next to all the 'normal' vegetables, a pastry/pie counter next to the tills and a self-service check out area. All these things make me think that Scotmid wants to be more 'Waitrose' than 'Tesco Express'. However, they are pricier than Tesco, likely because most of what they sell is sourced locally. It sometimes surprises me how quickly the price goes from a few quid to the average £13-17 I spend here. I can live with the price, I don't have to shop here after all, but one thing that kind of makes me lose patience is the staff. On the tills that staff are wonderful, they ask you about your day and are always lovely, fostering a sense of community in the local shop. In the aisles however the staff have a habit of having personal conversations (not 'guess what I found my husband doing last night?' but more 'I was watching Breaking Bad and I couldn't believe the bit where the thing happened!') and you occasionally feel you are intruding if you need to reach between them to grab your milk. This is probably a consequence of the friendly atmosphere and general friendliness about the place but it has tried my patience more than once! Overall though I like this Scotmid and I'm glad it's my local!

This place scares me…read more I don't often shop at big stores like this. No, it's not a hipster thing (ok... it's kind of a hipster thing) but ever since moving into Stockbridge, my favourite Sunday activity is visiting all the little local spots to grab groceries for the week. There's something charming about swinging into the butchers and then down to the bakery for tonight's dinner. But not everything can be found at a little haunt and sometimes, my bank account gets mad at me and I have to venture into a big spot like this. The thing I will point out (as many before me have) is that the quality of their store brand here is excellent. Much better than the Tesco stuff I found my first few weeks (that's the extent of my big box groceries though, so take this with a grain of salt I suppose). From the produce, to the pre-made salads (the beetroot and quinoa is excellent! Oh gosh, I AM a hipster!), to the interesting pre-made meal finds - it's a nice step up from your normal big box selection. Plus, they stock three different kinds of Yamazaki whisky. Coming from Canada where you can't find this in the MOST exclusive shops - this tickles me. So I would be a huge fan of this place, if it didn't give me complete and utter anxiety every time I set foot in the place. It is SO DAMN BUSY. ALL THE TIME! I don't know if it's because there's a online pick up area right at the front (which is handy), or because i'm too used to my Sunday shop strolls, but this place seems like a bit of a zoo every time i've been in. Which would be ok I suppose if the lines moved a bit quicker at check out and there were more people to lead this lost Canadian to the right aisle, but as it stands - though useful, it's a rather unpleasant shopping experience. I'll keep coming here for big ticket items and when I get my arse in gear to do a big shop, but I doubt it will make it on the regular rotation any time soon.

When I moved from Surrey to Scotland one of the very few things I missed was Waitrose. Living in…read moreFalkirk, we didn't even have a Sainsbury's but my Waitrose withdrawal ended when we moved to Edinburgh - where there is not only one - but TWO Waitroses to meet the foodie needs of North and South. I would never consider Waitrose to be my regular grocery store - I suppose that's where the missing star goes. It's more of a treat - like going to a food hall of a posh department store. The cleaning supplies and toiletries are a bit more than at other shops and the selection isn't as good - but they are there in case of emergency. The true delight comes in the more interesting selection of fresh fruit and veg - far more greens that any other supermarket - and even most independent grocers. Bok Choi, kales (whole not shredded), chard.... perfect for green juices! Great cheeses, meats, fresh baked breads and the amazing dessert aisle!! The salted caramel brownies from Maison Blanc are incredible!! The Strockbridge/Comely Bank location is ideal for when you have other things to do in town and the free parking garage is a great bonus. Another bonus - free tea and coffee if you have a 'My Waitrose' card. Ah, Waitrose - you do spoil us!!

This is the biggest super market you will find around Haymarket and West End, I would say. It has a…read moregood selection of products, but you pay slightly more compared to bigger branches from competitors. The bakery part is always worth a visit, along with the hot food section for lunches. Weekly offers are also worth a visit! Amazon has placed a locker area, where you can pick up your order from there rather than wondering if it will fit through your door at home or having to pick it up from a post office another day.

Was vselectionisiting Edinburgh for a few days and drove past this on our way in. Stocked up on…read morefresh fruits ( Bannans,Blue Berries and Strawberries) and the prices were reasonable. Visited during the virus outbreak so there was no bread or toilet paper. They do have a bakery that sells baked goods. Love the alchohol selection and the staff were really nice.