To say that Abu Bakar is well-stocked is a gross understatement! The shelves are absolutley…read morechoc-a-block with row upon row upon row of immaculately presented groceries of endless variety and flavour! Wow! If, like me, you ever struggle to choose between about three sandwhich options then you may be liable to be frozen in cant-decide panic at the endless choices presented to you by Abu Bakar! Even the halva section appears to be never ending! They sell a wide selection of vegetables, a broad variety of juices, endless rows of pulses, spices, herbs, cakes, bread, jars of pickled items, huge sacks of rice and flour - possibly aimed at businesses but may be handy if you live in a big house, loads of condiments (including some very mysterious and tantalising items such as a pot of chololate and cherry something...spread?...whose ingredients list was in Polish only). Homeware-wise they have pots, pans, crockery and kitchen utensils. There is also a halal meat counter. As Susan mentions, Abu Bakar is aimed at the Aisian community, but for anyone like me with boringly British culinary habits it is a fascinating and exciting place of endless possibilities and obscure and intriguing ingredients.

Sitting somewhere between supermarket and corner shop, Abubakar is aimed mostly at the Asian…read morecommunity, with a large selection of Halal meats and more exotic fruits and spices, but it's also a popular spot with local residents and students looking to stock up. They often have good deals on fresh fruit like mangoes, and you can pick up all the ingredients you could possibly need to cook a decent curry from scratch. The staff are really helpful, and the nearby parking means it's ideal if you need to do a large shop but don't want to do the supermarket run. Worth stopping by to check out the huge range of exotic fruit juices - hangover heaven.

made a complaint to assistant manager in store. he was very rude and dismissiv. Then made a…read morecomplaint through the Aldi website. After 2 weeks no response at all. I deplore poor customer service so I will now not be spending another penny in Aldi. Lidl will now be getting my custom.

Have to say, in spite of the random factor, I become more enamoured of Aldi each time I visit. Is…read moreit the random gingerbread man houses, in for Christmas? Is it the strange array of intriguing biscuits? The alternative brand booze? The magic inner aisle of crazy toys, canoes, hard drives and other assorted oddities? Yes. Yes it is. It's a cheap, magic, slapdash place. I still won't be shopping for all my regular bits there, as it doesn't quite work for a whole shop in one, but I will be going in for cheap surprises. The queues are a bit of a hassle; I agree with Chris in that there's quite a pressure to get your goods packed up and out of the way in Superman-like speeds (which I always fail) but other than that it's grand. Staff have plenty of banter too, which is always a boon. P.s. Debit card only.

This branch of Sainsbury's is a fairly decent size store, although it isn't the size of a large…read moresupermarket you can do a weekly shop, it is okay while you are in the Leeds city center, being on The Headrow next to the St John's centre. Inside it is a typical Sainsbury's, albeit a little old fashioned and in a way their is so much empty space, especially at the self-service and manned checkouts, where there is so much space wasted, so the range could be much improved. There was a decent yet small selection of most things, so if you are looking for some essentials odds are you probably are going to have to settle, for example you might not be able to get your favorite flavor or brand of crisps, drinks or chocolate bar for example. The staff didn't seem too helpful, they did come to the checkout when I needed them to approve my transaction, the checkouts could have been kept tidier, to keep rubbish such as receipts away, rather than cluttering the space. Overall, this is a decent place to call in while in Leeds center looking for essentials, but could be much improved and without a huge amount of similar competition nearby, it doesn't seem to be eager to compete, with the nearest alternative supermarket being a large Morrisons store which is a place to do your weekly shop, rather than call in to get essentials, which works out a hassle in a way, while comparing this store and considering its' location I feel two stars is fair.

I was actually really giddy when Sainsbury's appeared smack bang in the centre. I'm not really a…read moresupermarket snob, but sometimes, Sainsbury's just produces stuff that really hits the spot and tastes just lovely. It's a rarity when you prefer the home brand stuff to the actual branded products. And for me the Sainsbury's brand seems to do this rather nicely, especially the Taste the Difference range...can anyone say quad chocolate cookies? yum!! The central location makes it nice and easy for those folk out there who don't and can't drive to access all their groceries and get on to public transport route home, without too much hassle. Technically it's a supermarket, but to me it's more the size of a large Sainsbury's Local. That's not to say there isn't plenty of good ole Sainsbury's merch going on in there. There's even a coffee baked pastries section, along with the cigarette and newspaper kiosk, fresh meats and breads/bakery, crisps, chocolate, food in jars aisles too. But my new favourite novelty has to be the self serving tills. They still excite me. But aside from being super fun, they're incredibly practical, as the queues often get quite large in here, but they don't last too long due to the many self checkouts. The only thing I can find fault with this Sainsbury's is that the staff always seem harrassed, and maybe they are, but suck it up dudes, put a smile on your face, they always look shocked or put out when you ask them where something is, and there's a look of 'how am I supposed to know' about their chops. Aside from that little blip, it's grand.

The store is situated in a very large building that looks like a department store towering over the…read morestreet. I suspect it is most frequently visited by restaurant/cafe owners or those with massive families who stock up on huge bags of rice, pulses and other products available in 'bulk buy'. They do, however, sell single portions of things for the lone shopper who enters anyway despite the huge 'cash and carry' exterior, such as myself. I managed to find cans of Coconut milk for only 59p each which is almost half the price of other retailers. My whole basket came to less than a fiver, which would have been more around the £8 - £10 mark in most other shops. They sell vegetables, breads, and meats fresh or frozen. Biscuits, sweet goods, kitchen wear such as baking trays and other handy bits and bobs, and various cosmetics such as bath/shower gel etc. Susan is right about the name being somewhat confusing as it is mainly foods from Asia and Africa and not the common British conception of 'continental food' (deli style West European). If you are after the latter (Italian, French, Spanish etc) you are probably better off going to a deli in town or a chain supermarket.

Great shop on the former Fforde Grene site. Good access and…read moreplenty of parking- even open until 10 most nights! Specialises on pulses/spices/grain/meat/breads/veg and sauces I would associate with West Indian/Pakistani/Asian and possibly even Greek cooking. I'm a regular here to stock up on spices/chick peas and even black peppercorns as they're so cheap! I also frequent the butchery for Mutton or Goat to do in a curry. Prices are fantastic, packages have a variety of sizes to suit your needs and it's like an Aladdin's Cave. Go have a snoop around, I bet they stock something you'll want to buy at a great price!

Oh Waitrose. My…read moreolder brother seems to think that I've got my priorities wrong as a relatively new graduate who is a little bit unemployed shopping in Waitrose. But he is missing the finer supermarket shopping experiences in life. It is often accused as the middle class, overpriced spot to shop. Whilst there are your fair share of fancy cars in the car park and mummy's debating which brand of gourmet baby food to buy it is one of the gooduns'. As supermarkets go Waitrose seem to treat their staff well, support local community, have a wider range of products available and all in all appear a friendlier place to shop. Split your shopping between here and some local places for fresh produce and I don't mind spending a few extra pennies for some happier faces.

We haven't been in the store, but we order online from this store. If you order a shop of at least…read more£50 you get free delivery. With your first order you get a free bottle of wine and a welcome pack. They also send you money off coupons for your next three orders. They do substitute your items if they don't have what you want in stock, but when the driver arrives he goes over them with you - they allow you to inspect it and if you don't like it they will take it back and give you a refund. I think you can select not to receive substitutions though. The Waitrose own brand is of good quality so it's not an issue. I don't think it's all that snooty or expensive. I think it depends on the choices you make when you shop. Alot of grocery stores are doing price matching these days so I think aside from shopping at Asda its comparable to shopping at Marks or Sainsburys.

This is a medium sized branch of Morrisons and one of the better options for a super market in…read moreLeeds city centre. Most of the facilities you'd expect from a supermarket of this size are available, including butchers, bakers, fishmongers, deli counter, and so on. The branch is large enough to house a certain amount of home ware and some clothing as well as a section for magazines, books, DVDs and games. Perhaps because of the slightly strange shape of the store, the alcohol section is accessed separately with its own entrance and set of checkouts. I suspect this probably makes things slightly more efficient. Staff are generally helpful and friendly, although the store is well enough laid out that I haven't often needed help to find things. The only thing the store is really lacking is a cafe, but given that it's located in the city centre and within a shopping centre this isn't really much of a loss.

This branch of Morrisons is located in Leeds, in the Merrion Centre shopping centre…read more It is a nice branch, and does stock a great gluten free frozen range compared to some of my local stores to the Manchester area. They stock the Toad in the hole for £1.99 which I have found hard to source down. It follows the traditional Morrisons layout As far as I am aware it does not have a cafe. Although, my review can not be very detailed as I have not had a proper look round and done my weekly shop round the store, obviously with frozen goods being defrosted by Manchester and who would want to carry goods, around Leeds, then to the train station, then to Manchester and then to get home? This branch seemed to me smaller than some of my local branches but still it is funny as i had a better range. From what I seen, this is quite a nice Morrisons store however it does have quite a few disadvantages - Located inside a shopping centre, so you can't just park and run in for a weekly shop, it is more of a store for a top up shop while in the city centre. - It did not have a cafe, please correct me if I'm wrong but it just didn't have a cafe. To be fair, Morrisons cafes are extremely poor and do not cater for gluten free but still I like them being their to collect a drink, however to be fair, with it being located in a city centre it isn't really needed but still it could be a good idea to have a drinks machine at least. I would of gave 3 stars if it had easy parking and wasn't in a shopping centre, however when you consider this, I feel 2 is alot more fairer.

I have twice witnessed staff at this branch be racially biased against a young man who was simply…read moredoing his shopping. It was clear the security guard was racially profiling him and followed him throughout the store, when the young man challenged the guard, another member of staff came across and defended the security guard, giving no thought to what the young man was saying. Both member of staff was rude and unprofessional. They spoke with no respect to the young man. It was a clear case of racial discrimination and I was disgusted! I expect staff to be trained in diversity and certainly would not recommend this store to any other person alive! Made me ashamed to be British! I had to put a rating, that's why they got 1 star, but if I could, I would have put minus 10000000000 stars!

Handy, and much better now it's a Sainsbury's (I like the orangey sign much better than the…read morehorrible turquoisey one). The queues are ENORMOUS though between 4pm and 8pm (student/professional on their way home time), and there's been the same homeless man begging out front for about six years, and I can't afford to keep him in pennies anymore, so I tend to go to Maumoniat instead because it's more exciting and nobody begs me for monies.

Staff here are excellent. They really get to knew their regular customers, security staff are…read morewelcoming and greet you when you come in. Range is medium. They don't have everything but they have enough for a normal shop.

As I used to live only 2 streets down from this Hyde Park treasure, my shopping trips often ended…read moreup here. I can see why those who don't dare cook outside the realms of beans on toast would avoid this shop as it is full of the weird and wonderful, stacked high with ingredients most would not know how to cook or what to cook it with. But where is your adventurous side?! I am a huge fan of curry, whether it is Indian or Thai in origin (or an English equivalent) and Maumoniat's sells everything you will need to rustle up either. They stock the usual brand name curry culprits such as Pataks Originals for Indian cooking, Blue Dragon for Thai and Chinese and many other untranslatable brands from many different origins. They also stock all of the ingredients you would need to cook up a homemade bowl of world cuisine from scratch with various roots and shoots, fish sauce and the like. A true delight for experimental cookers or fans of foreign cuisine. They also sell a wide selection of cooking oils, various breads, health foods, cheeses (mozzarella, halumi, feta..), sausages, fruits and vegetables. If you are looking for ingredients for a special meal you are unlikely to find elsewhere, it is a your most likely outlet, however, if you are just looking for some fruit and veg or the usual shop, you are likely to find a cheaper place elsewhere.

This place, for someone like me, is totally random and yet totally fun. I think that's why it's so…read morevery popular to be honest. It's the supermarket with a difference, that difference being it's an international supermarket. As well as any of the staple items you might require, this place has the best and most interesting ingredients for any curry/asian cuisine fan. They have spices that I've not even heard of, all kinds of rice, naans and other such accompaniments - generally spicy heaven. They have a large frozen section too with plenty of goodies and loads of random strange foreign delights. The sweets are the most crazy! The last time I came here I bought a turkish delight selection box which had some really random flavours, I loved it! For adventurous purchases in the edible arena, this is the place to try. Yum!