I like sweets. In fact I have something of an addiction. They're one of my few vices. I don't…read moresmoke, I'm fairly anti-drugs and I do try and take care with alcohol, although this doesn't always go so well. But sweets are something that I turn to when stressed. You won't like going to the cinema with me, I spend far too long with the pick n' mix. So imagine my horror when I discovered how badly designed this place is. A Tesco Metro, sure, they're useful to have on every other corner, but not one whose sweet aisle is impossible to stand in. They have banished the sweets to the narrow corridor through which you travel once you've completed your purchases. After being brushed past by ten people with bags I gave up my hunt for Rowntree's Randoms. It just wasn't worth the hassle. Refrigerated wine, nice, good offers, lots of varieties of sandwiches, all great. But I'm still focussed on that ridiculous sweet aisle. Are you in cahoots with that stupid Change 4 Life programme, Tesco? Is this your way of getting people to avoid sugar? Come here and receive a well-deserved slap around the chops, you traitors. I'm not having any of it.

Marks and Spencer on Chester Road is a "Food Hall" location, located in White City Retail Park,…read moreclose to Old Trafford Football Stadium. On the Marks and Spencer website, this is listed as their "Stretford Food Hall" location, likely to avoid confusion with their store at Westfield London which is also known as White City. I came here looking to grab a few specific items and was able to find two of the three items that I was looking for. The store was well staffed including staff members on the shop floor who seemed helpful; I originally had to ask a staff member to help me find some hot chocolate sachets, but sadly they did not appear to stock them at this location. Despite being unable to find the hot chocolate sachets, the selection in the store was good for most areas including dairy, meat and fresh produce. The store is easy to find what you're looking for, and it's also fairly easy to get in and out quickly using the Marks and Spencer app. You're able to scan and bag items as you're walking around the store, before paying using your mobile device and leaving the store, which saves so much time queuing. I did have to end up going to a staffed checkout anyway due to purchasing an item with a security tag, but it took no time at all to get this sorted, again with a friendly staff member. Due to the size of the store, it doesn't have a Cafe or Toilets as you'd expect from the larger Marks and Spencer locations, if you're looking for a toilet you may find one in a nearby restaurant such as Nando's. 4* - Pretty good Marks and Spencer overall, clean, easy to follow with a good quality of service and selection.

When Chris M and I ducked in here on the way back to his in need of some milk, who'd have thought…read morewe'd be grabbing amazing bargains by the armful. Our first introduction to Lakeland Groceries involved giant bags of Barbecue Doritos for less than a quid, and huge quantities of eggs at criminally low prices (free range before you start finger-wagging!). Wow, where had this place been all our lives? Situated right near Castlefield Gallery, it seems to be operated by one or two friendly staff, and it's a lovely hotch-potch corner-shop-like offering with a surprising range of products. Anything from a stonkingly generous variety of cheeses to pretty much a whole deli counter, snacks and store cupboard essentials and bits and bobs. You can even buy a bit of booze here if you've had a hard day at the office. So, The Southern Gateway eh. Sarah-Anne M's right, this residential area doesn't have a single recognisable retail outlet less than a ten minute walk away. Well forget hopping all the way to Whitworth Street West's Sainsbury's and Oxford Road's Tesco for your essentials and forgottens, if you're in need of a bit of milk, juice or even some cold cuts and nibbles to lay out for guests, here's your spot!

This little grocery store is genuinely worth a visit. I went in today for primarily yelping…read morepurposes and for the first time I was delighted with a convenience store. Not only do they have a really impressive range of everything you could expect, from chocolate and crisps to newspapers to necessities such as ketchup and tobasco, but they also have a cold meat and cheese counter! It's a little mini version of the Cheese Hamlet in Didsbury, with a great selection of different cheeses and cold meats that are much much cheaper than your usual cheese shop prices. A really nice little surprise find. Check it out!

Since when can cheap like Aldi hit the high street and be successful. Because we thrifty lot can…read moresometimes make do with some cheap tin of beans and tomato sauce. Aldi is huge. Not just about the food items, there's cameras and biking gear going for really cheap. I once went to a packed out house party. Aldi alcohol and snacks and they were proud. It all tasted and did the same thing. We even did a taste test between Strongbow and Aldi cider. Similar, very similar. Although it is undoubtedly super cheap, there's just some things I can't buy cheap. Like eggs, 99p for ten eggs, but caged harmful chicken eggs. The fruit and vegetable is supposed to be fresh daily but there are not dates on them, so that's a no no for me too. Meat, I'm just too fussy. But having said that, I will often find some mozarella, some munchy snacks, some tinned tomatoes and herbs. Aldi saves me half the money for those items.

Aldi is very convenient to where I work, so I can easily go and do my shopping before I go to work…read moreor even get milk for work which is good. As you walk in there have a selection of magazines not a big selection but they have magazines and papers. The store is reasonably sized meaning I seem to get everything I need from the store. If you are driving here the car park is a very big carpark as well.

A bulb of garlic, a stick of ginger, a couple of onions, a bunch spring onions, a juicy red pepper,…read morea few red and green chillies, a huge bunch of fresh coriander.......£2.36? The first time I went in there and bought a similar amount of fresh veg I found it hard to conceal my delight at the price. So hard in fact that one of the brothers asked me if I had expected it to cost me more! I have never bought my veg from Morrisons since. For a relatively small store they sell a wide range of produce (about 8 different types of mushrooms, 10 different types of potatoes etc) and I have never been disappointed with the quality. OK, so I definitely wouldn't eat any of the veg without giving it a good wash first, as it is often a bit grubby and has been sitting outside on a main road all day, and the shelf life isn't as good as supermarket veg. But give me a grubby misshapen apple over a polished supermarket apple any day! The brothers themselves are friendly and hard-working. My housemates often used to chat to them, and they seem to know their regular customers really well. Inside the shop there is a well-priced selection of herbs and spices, rice, couscous and pulses as well as the not so well-priced English essentials such as boxes of PG Tips and cans of Coke. To every Chorltonite's delight the opening of a brand new Tesco Express opposite the store doesn't seem to have harmed their business in the slightest. Long live Khawaja Brothers! PS - there is even a facebook group for fans of the brothers and their shop.

Have you read this? http://www.yelp.com/weekly?editorial_id=zGMtxe-XYdLx73faQYnikw Well there's one…read morepretty serious omission, and that, my friends, is the Mini Market of the Khawaja Brothers. Whether you're concocting a katsu curry or just seeking out some seasonal salad, you can do no wrong by making a beeline for this little place because it's fresh, it changes with the seasons, it has more ethnic ingredients than you can possibly pile into your plastic bag, and perhaps given the first three the most appealing factor... it's almost obscenely inexpensive. I was introduced to this spot by a good friend who waxed lyrical about Pakistani mangoes, also known as 'honey' mangoes. These are orbs of pure deliciousness, sold in handy boxes of 6 for £4.50. They taste like they should be twice that price. Keep them in your fridge and peel them at breakfast time, you shan't be disappointed. In other bargainous news, a recent offer had me reeling with incredulity - surely they weren't selling entire crate-like boxes of tomatoes on the vine? Check my pictures. Yes indeedy they were. Also, their giant dates are just exquisite. Once inside you can get tons of dry ingredients for any kind of world cooking you can imagine, loads of types of flour, rice, pulses... the list is endless. And on top of all that there are exotic fruit drinks and Halal Haribo. Yes, it exists! I'm more than happy to make the journey to Chorlton to grab some essentials (and indulgences) from here, the service is friendly and the location can't be beaten - right near Unicorn? It's a veritable shop-local bonanza!

Sainsbury's in Salford is a pretty large location, it is in a good on Regent Road, it is probably…read morethe closest large supermarket to Manchester city centre in terms of walking, but public transportation links getting here aren't great, I actually found it just as quick to come here on foot compared to getting a bus/train. In terms of groceries the store is excellent, they had a great selection of food items, including Free From products which I haven't seen in other stores, even other locations of Sainsbury's, so this was exciting for me to see that they had an extended selection of Free-From foods, compared to the boring, tasteless trash you see in 99% of other supermarkets. They also had a good selection of bottled drinks, including my favourite Mango Lipton iced tea, a small selection of my favourite desserts, Pots and Co, and a good selection of crisps including the only brand I'd eat - Pipers (They seem to only be sold in Booths, Waitrose and some Sainsbury's stores on the high-street!) I did find the selection in non-grocery areas such as alcohol and home to be a little lacking, for example, they didn't seem to sell the little double 5cl bottles they sell at other Sainsbury's locations, which is generally how I like to buy my vodka/rum. The home section again was much poorer than other locations. They did have some staff members on the shop floor, making it easier to grab assistance when required and they do offer SmartShop here, including dedicated Smartshop tills, rather than going to the regular self-scan, I like this separate area better, less queuing! 4* - Pretty good Sainsbury's store overall, excellent for groceries, just OK for everything else, the floor did appear dreary and could have been cleaned up to make it more modern/nicer compared to other stores again, but overall a nice Sainsbury's store.

Don't ask me why but early this morning my better half had a craving for caneloni and sent me to…read moreSainsburys to source the ingredients. Being one of the biggest supermarkets on the fringes of the city centre I imagined it would be easy enough to pick everything up and make it home with plenty of time to whip it up for New Year's Eve. What I didn't account for was the long queue to get into Sainsbury's car park, the hundreds of frantic shoppers desperately scanning the store for any left over bottles of sparkling and the mass of empty shelves. Yup. There was - wait for this - no buffalo mozzarella, no ricotta, no eggs and no spinach left. I asked an assistant if there was a pasta making contest taking place anywhere and he laughingly remarked that there hadn't been any of the ingredients since 9am. He did however, find me two bottles of good Prosecco and offer to phone a local branch to check if they had the other ingredients.

So Iceland are trying to run a Costco? The idea is sound, except when you realise it's just an…read moreIceland. The chilled section was large, but nothing was in any bulk - albeit some of the prices were lower than a normal store. The only time I saw anything in bulk was the drinks and crisps - although you could still get a single 2 litre bottle as I did (a quid for two litres of Pepsi - bargain, cheaper than the can of coke in my hotel minibar). I did like the setup for the sweets aisle, and if I had't been travelling with already full bags then I certainly would have bought some jars of sweets to take back home. It's fine, it just didn't sell me on the concept. If it was just labelled as a regular Iceland then I would have been more impressed - although my curiosity wouldn't have brought me in and I'd have gone to M&S instead.

Sadly, I've never got the hype about Aldi, they might be associated with "bargains" and "low…read moreprices" however I don't really agree, I always find that in ALDI you are paying less for a decreased level of quality, service and in-store experience and this branch here in the Manchester Arndale sums up my scepticism completely. This branch is in quite an unusual condition, it is located on the upper floor of the Manchester Arndale, with enterences from street level from Market Street and from Shopping centre level, where the actual only floor of the store is. The store just didn't feel nice, and it felt like a Pound shop in certain areas, it just felt cheap with the poor level of shelving etc, it just wasn't very nice at all. ALDI and LIDL are very similar in this approach across most of their branches, which are two very similar "discount" brands however another problem with the brand that this branch is a prime example of is the queuing, the queuing system was really badly handled, there are no self service tills, customer service desks or anything like that here, there is just a very low number of tills which don't cope well with queues, I eventually decided to leave and buy my products from somewhere else because of this. I did notice the store manager too who basically stared at me at a comment I made about the poor quality feel of the store and the cheap shelving and layout, he basically rudely stared at me before walking off, he didn't even acknowledge me or try to speak about the problem. Sadly this ALDI branch at the Manchester Arndale is a prime example of all things wrong with the brand especially with the poor, cheap layout and the awful queuing which isn't handled very well at all, so sadly deserves a single one star. which is a shame to start off on a negative foot as this is my first review for an ALDI store.

I'm not prone to depression but spending five minutes in this Aldi definitely made me feel like I…read morewas sliding down a long and bleak hillside. For starters, this store is about ten times bigger than any Aldi I've seen before and looks and feels like a gigantic Iceland. There's no attempt at seducing customers or displaying goods in an attractive manner - everything is just stacked up as easily as possible with horrible signage. The lights look like interrogation strip-lights and there's no music or ambience. In short, the whole focus is on the products and what a mixed bunch they are! One minute you're walking past an aisle of cheap biscuits, crackers and crisps, the next cheap cheap DVD players, walkmans and sat navigation systems. At the back of the store there's an even cheaper fresh and frozen section with perfect looking fruit and veg, meat, fish, cheese, butter, pizzas, puddings and ready meals. Strangely, Aldi seem to sell odd bits and bobs of clothing too from cheap fishing gloves and hats to wool scarves. I'm sure you could pick up some good things if you looked hard enough but frankly, I can't imagine having the time or the inclination to return.

I've shopped at sofresh on a number of occasions. My most recent purchase was a bag of plums -…read moreprobably 10 or 12 juicy purple plums for £1. The only problem was that this purchase was something of a contradiction. They were so unfresh. On the day of purchase most of them were already past their best and were brown on the inside. On this occasion I also bought three large sweet potatoes for £1. Only they didn't turn out to be the sweet potatoes that I know and love. They were white inside. I think they were yams. However, they do have a lot going for them. Firstly they always have free samples of the fresh fruit outside the front of the store including delicious pineapple and sweet honeydew melon. Secondly they try to source locally grown produce when possible. Thirdly sofresh is bloody good value, and even if you have to chuck a couple of squishy brown avocadoes away out of a bag of 5, it's still much cheaper than Morrisons.

I absolutely love this place. As a vegetarian and lover of healthy and organic foods I was in my…read moreelement. When you first get in there is an abundance of brightly coloured vegetables and potatoes and carrots that are still dirty (always a good sign). I knew I was in my kind of place straight away. I love that they try to keep packaging to a minimum, using paper bags for the fresh vegetables. There is a huge range of vegetarian products (more tofu than you could ever need...if that's even a thing), seitan and tempeh in all different forms. I love how their dried foods are all packaged in simple bags with their label on....gotta love no fuss packaging. There is also a deli counter ranging from olives, onion bhajis and daals. I tried an onion bhaji and it was amazing. Although pricier than most supermarkets, I thought the prices were reasonable (being used to Wholefoods etc. in London) for organic, fresh produce and I love that it is a co-operative. I would definitely rather pay more for local produce that isn't mass-produced. I will definitely be shopping here regularly.

Amazed by this place…read more I haven't seen anywhere like it since my travels to Portland. It has a real community atmosphere. Everyone involved, from the growers to the staff to the people shopping, care and it really shows. It's honest. It's exactly where you want to buy your vegetables. There's soil on the fresh produce. Actual soil. No cellophane, no unnecessary packaging, no nonsense - just tasty, local food. The shelves are clearly labelled and well stocked with interesting offerings. They have your staples - potatoes, all the usual veg, cereals, spices, fruits as well as some more unusual choices when/if it's in season. Prices are reasonable and when you pay you feel like you're contributing - something you never experience in a chain supermarket. There's a play area for kids and free apples to keep them occupied - with a little compost bin for the cores. A big green thumbs up.