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...

In essence, what puts this place above any other newsagents in the immediate area is one simple…read morefact... it's an off-license! granted you will be paying a bit more for your beer than if you went to a generic supermarket, but if you can't be bothered to make the journey then it's ideal. The opening hours are pretty helpful as well, as I think they need to compete as muchas they can so they do open relatively late. You see a few people heading in here for some last minute ingrediants, or simply to stock up for a house party that is running near to dry!

I'm not a regular to Stockwell Food & WIne, well in actuality I've only ever quickly popped in here…read moreonce to grab a bottle of coke for my friend when his car decided to give us a bit of bother on a sunday afternoon drive around the area. However, from this briefest of brief visits I did get a good vibe about the shop: the guys working here were very lovely, the shop was well presented, there was a good variety of products and the prices weren't at all that bad - my pocket didn't feel as light as it has sometimes after buying a bottle of pop in this city. I imagine that alot of the local residents use this shop quite a bit, it was quite busy when I popped in here and they all seemed quite happy(ish).

This shop is good for day to day things and for a few bargains. They are quite friendly and there…read moreshelfs are quite well stocked.

The shop kiper lady very nice deling with customerread more

Even if this shop sold nothing but lumps of old metal and broken calculators I'd skip in every day…read morewith glee and find something to buy. This is a Happy Shopper, a flagship in my miss-spent youth and one worth supporting. To be fair I thought at one stage they'd slipped under with Wimpy's, Woolworths and all the others who helped me through my acne stages. Clinging on like English forts in Wallace's Scotland however the occasional Happy Shopper can still be sought. Ice pops, cheap sweets, kids magazines and more; cheap lager, wine, soft drinks and pop corn. They're not going to be winning any prizes for healthy eating but come on - it's Saturday morning, you're 14, you've got a whole pound to spend on whatever you like... Happy Shopper!!

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.