Tesco Express at Trinity Gardens is in a good location, it's off a side street from Quayside and a…read moreshort walk away from many of the city's hotels - including the Hilton, Inside by Melia and The Vermont, this makes it a good location for tourists to head to grab some essentials to take back to their room, while also being close enough to the city, locals and commuters can also find it handy. It is a little hidden on a side street, although I had no problem finding the store with Apple Maps on my phone. It's pretty much your typical Tesco Express - the layout felt familiar even though I have never visited this store before, I instantly knew where everything was. I could find the small number of items I came in for. There is also a Costa Express coffee machine at the front of the store. The staff seemed friendly enough, and the store was clear of clutter making it easy to get around. Prices are a little inflated - but again it's what you pay for in a "convenience" store. 4*

Aah my local Tesco express-feeding my late night cravings and denting my bank balance! Slightly…read moremore expensive than the bigger stores but you are paying for the convenience and I love the fact it is open until 11pm every night. All the usual selections you would expect from a local convenience store. The fruit and veg took a hit when they shuffled things around last year so there seems to be a focus on less healthy options including ready meals,sweets and chocolates. Not somewhere where you would do a full weekly shop but for those items you've forgotten or last minute grabs it's ideal. The layout of the store isn't great with narrow aisles and often there are cages to be unloaded blocking the way. Similarly there are only two self service tills with the main tills not often manned until a massive queue forms. Staff are hit and miss....some are polite but others see it as a huge hassle that you might not want to use self service! Overall it does the job!!

This Sainsbury's store is my local supermarket and it is a godsend. Before this I was forced to buy…read moremy shopping from overprices places such as Marks and Spencer or the Waitrose in Eldon Square. Although the store is relatively small it stocks all the essentials needed for living at very cheap prices. The newly initiated 'Sainsbury's basics' line is ideal for penny pinching students such as myself. The staff are always friendly and although it can get quite busy at peak times (such as the evening) they always have a smile. All in all an excellent supermarket in an ideal location.

Nice handy supermarket to pick up any bits and pieces you may have forgotten during your weekly…read moreshop. Staff are friendly and helpful. Not in centre of town but not too far out of it!

This Co-op Food Store is located on Market Street in Newcastle Upon Tyne city center, It is quite a…read moresmall store of the chain, yet in some parts, it is modern when compared to other branches of Co-op Food I have seen across the country, which is only a few branches but still enough to know this has had some form of modernisation or refurbishment compared to other branches of the chain. I called in here to take a look at the selection of drinks, the selection overall was below average in terms of drinks to chose from, but above average in terms of stock of the drinks they did have, the fridges were quite uncomfortable and slightly hard to reach the drinks, often requiring further stretching due to how they were set out. The staff at this store were amongst the rudest I've seen in a Co-op store and were nowhere near friendly or helpful which was a shame. The pricing was competitive yet slightly expensive in a few items. The location being in Newcastle city centre was good, but the location overall wasn't the most central with the likes of Superdrug and WHSmith having locations in better central locations such as on Northumberland Street close to intu Eldon Square. Due to reasons discussed, I feel this branch of Co-op Food deserves a slightly generous two-star rating.

My personal favourite place to buy meat, veggies and bread…read more Big barn type market in the centre of Newcastle. Numerous stalls that offer all types of different services. Numerous award winning butchers that offer prime cuts of meat, fantastic mince and healthy plump chickens and eggs! Wonderful bakery that makes the best breads and pastry I have tried. Wonderful vegetables and fruit stands where you get can a serious deal on great vegetables. Cheapest and most authentic pick and mix selection I have ever seen Fish monger, show repair, tea shop, cafes, clothing and boot sale, cd shops, home repair, clothing alterations ... Even a room with a scale in it! Grainger Market is magical. A must see, I consider the market a tourist attraction because of how traditional it is. The people in the booths all seem very authentic and very helpful.

It took me far too long to actually go to Grainger market. I love places with lots of little…read moreindividual businesses. I was used to markets being places with cheap tat and someone with a thick Black Country accent yelling from a van about sausages, and it's just definitely not like that here. There are still veggies, butchers (and decent cheeses to boot), but there are some seriously talented craftspeople too. It's good for a look around even if you don't feel like buying anyth8ng, odds are you probably will end up doing so.

My FAVORITE little supermarket in Newcastle! They usually have everything I need for my Asian…read morecooking adventures and when I'm missing Asian comfort food/cravings. They are usually stocked with trending products such as the Brown Sugar Bubble Tea ice cream bars or the world renowned HaiDiLao hotpot soup based. Other products range from Korean foods to Vietnamese noodles, and a multitude of sauces/seasonings. The one thing they don't have that I can't complain about is the live seafood section such as live lobsters, fish or clams in running water tanks. I grew up a little spoiled by the 99 Ranch Markets in LA. Come find everything you need to stock an Asian pantry here!

HiYou is appropriately named. It's a welcoming, brightly lit Chinese supermarket and bakery. It…read moresucks a great deal of my small savings every month or so. This supermarket is great for the newbie as the staff are actually quite friendly (unlike most typical Chinese supermarkets) and will get an English speaking colleague for you if you are not well versed in Cantonese. HiYou stock a wide range of fresh, frozen and dry goods imported from China, Singapore, Japan, Korean etc... You will definitely find things here you can't find in your regular supermarket so great for the natives and adventurous newbie types or you cool hipster kids finally realising how great Asian snacks are. As you enter, to the right, you are met with a choice: a basket or a trolley? Go for the trolley so you don;t have to carry the basket as the trolley is made from you placing a basket in it anyway. The fresh selection is small but you can find some Asian vegetables and fruits that are cheaper (sometimes), larger and in better stock than your regular supermarket. Beyond that is the bakery counters where you can see the baking assistants, busily making more baked goodies. The bakery goods are, passable. Not the greatest tasting but definitely fresh. They can take Chinese cake orders too. The fridge section is quite limited too (I guess shipping all the way from South East Asia, you don't have much choice...) but you can find yourself some fresh kimchi (YAS), fresh fish balls (the best kind), a range of fresh tofu (hard to find in regular supermarkets), fresh noodles (also, the best type) and things such as lap chung (Chinese sausage). The freezer bit is a bit bigger with lots of frozen goodies such as dumpling (BEST THINGS EVER), frozen sweet rolls and desserts, ready to cook goodies such as fish balls, spring rolls etc..., hot pot ingredients, frozen vegetables such as edamame, frozen spring roll pastry, frozen seafood and meat. At the back of the store is a typical mish-mash that you can find at any Chinese market stall from cheap pens, Chinese style crockery and other household items. The whole middle of the store is dedicated to aisles of noodles, sauces and snacks. For the more sophisticated palettes, fear not, you will find all your sushi making needs here (minus the sashimi). On the far left is all the rice and big, full box of packets of noodles (for those of you who want to buy noodles in the bulk). A note for those of who are hooked on Pot Noodles. Please, first of all, what is wrong with you. Second of all, get yourself down and check out the Asian range of noodles: real noodles. Trust me, you will never go back. I highly recommend Korean Shin ramyum aka the best instant noodles ever for the all occasion, spice loving, hungry poor person friendly noodle. Finally, back around to the front of the store are the small tills where you place the basket on them. The cashier will scan and pack for you so all you need to do is put the trolley away and wait to pay whilst not being tempted with all the candy imported from America and Japan (Herseys and Hi-Chews anyone?).

This branch of Sainsbury's is located in Newcastle Central Railway Station, the location being…read moreclassed as Neville Street, it is a fairly small branch and it isn't the most modern of stores either, mainly down to the railway station is an old building, so old in fact it has listed status. I called in here to pick up a drink ahead of my return trip back to Manchester via York that day and the selection was quite poor, there was a member of staff who seemed quite rude, slowly loading the drinks but obviously appearing to take her time, the selection of drinks was quite poor and only included one flavour of Lipton Iced Tea and no coca cola of any variety which was quite shocking and poor at the same time. The pricing was a tad more expensive, but so is every other store in the station mainly down to it being a railway station and people are often forced to buy drinks from here if they need one mainly down to convenience. In the end, due to the rude staff and poor selection, I decided to buy my drinks from WHSmith, albeit it was a poor store, the selection was much improved. This store needs to focus on travel items such as pre-prepared food and drink, rather than acting like more of a convenience store, while improving the service too but sadly until then this store is failing, and a fairly poor one to visit hence warranting a single one-star.

I called in this branch of Waitrose after dining at Nando's nearby, both are part of the intu Eldon…read moreSquare shopping mall, due to Waitrose and John Lewis sharing the same ownership, this branch of Waitrose is located next to a giant John Lewis store. This store was a little small and the product range in a way lacked especially compared to other stores, such as my favourite branch of Waitrose at Stratford City, near the London Stadium, now owned by West Ham United FC, and ir also in a sense struggles to compare to other stand-alone stores, in town centres and not inside malls such as Sheffield, Alderley Edge and Wilmslow. I didn't notice as many staff around the store as I'd expect from Waitrose, they didn't seem overly helpful either. The store basically seemed to follow a typical Waitrose layout, in a way the layout seemed like one would associate with a Little Waitrose store, just larger as their was so many similarities between this branch here and one of my "local" Little Waitrose stores, located at Manchester Spinningfields. This branch does use scan as you shop, but through the mobile app and not the scanners, I prefer this, but the QR code can be barely seen and is not in a great location overall. This store is okay, below average and doesn't compare to other branches of other supermarkets nearby such as Tesco Extra, which I have also reviewed today, giving their Gateshead Trinity Square branch a four star rating, sadly this Waitrose store here I only find to be worthy of a two star rating.

Who doesn't want a cuppa? A a free one at that?!…read more This is always my number one stop off when I'm in town. You'll definitely find me loitering around the hot beverages machine as I'm getting my daily freebie. You can get your free drink too by getting hold of a myWaitrose card (which is like any other supermarket loyalty card but grants you FREE drinks once a day). Located in Eldon Sqaure, this is a handy little Waitrose to shop at for your essentials that you have forgotten or want to grab on your way home (or like me, when you are waiting for you S.O. whilst he's in the loo which is right next door). Although it is quite pricey compared to other supermarkets, they have lush food on offer and things you may not easily find elsewhere (Okra anyone?), plus they are constantly reducing products that are going out-of-date. The store is simply laid out and has a deli counter located in he middle where there is always a smiling member of staff. Following the store around,you can pay by using the automated paying machines (accepts cards only though) or line-up for the numerous small tills. This store is really quite small and you can even shop with mini trolleys that can be taken from the left of the store. It's small but makes do, just don't expect to find everything.