For American Information, Tesco is a European convenience store chain. Think QT or 7-Eleven meets…read morea bodega. Founded over a century ago in England, they are in five countries. This express store offers liquors, snack cakes and sundry. Locals shop here, but to an American it would probably seem small for a supermarket. The lines aren't too long, and I run in for the odd pack of gum or sweets. The prices are competitive, and they offer teas and coffee vended drinks.

This is a smaller, 'bitesize' version of the megastore you get dotted around the country. This…read moreparticular Express version isn't that great. Although the prices are the same as their bigger versions, the selection is poor. Even though this is supposed to be the 'essentials', the shelves are often empty and the security man at the door makes you feel like you are shoplifting even though you aren't. Chances are what you want isn't in this shop. It's a mish mash of bits and pieces, but it simply isn't good enough. I'd recommend walking a little further, or driving on down to the Lisburn Road shop and get what you need from there. Disappointing and painfully small

Not the biggest of tescos I've been in, but it does the trick. It has all the essentials needed and…read moreit also has parking outside (if your lucky to get a spare that is) the parking isn't free during the day but is after 6pm. This store Opens until 11pm Monday to Sunday which is good to.

Yeah, I've visited your shop a few times now. The first time I visited, I thought I'd landed in…read moreheaven. It's not a massive supermarket, but I must've spent over an hour in there, I had to look at everything, I was completely mesmerised. The staff are pleasant and very helpful too. If anyone wants to do Chinese cookery, you won't have to go anywhere else, whatever you need, this shop has the lot. OK, you may think I'm being a bit over the top here, but trust me, and you don't have to take my word for it, you will be overjoyed when you visit, so much so, you won't use anyone else. It's just a pity they don't have a page like Tesco (That I know of), I'd be forever getting deliveries. A massive thank you for your service and well done on a fantastic shop.

Lee Foods! Whilst it's safe to say that I love this place, I'm generally scared to go in during the…read moreweeks either side of pay day. I'll either be spending money I don't have, or blowing a sizeable chunk of my paycheck in one go. If you like to cook, chances are you'll have those wee cylinders of herbs and spices bought for a couple of quid each in your larder. Lee Foods do bags of spices at a fraction of the cost. Did you know that chillis freeze really well? I bought a big bag of bird's eye chillis for a quid or thereabouts, I take them out of the cooler to thaw when I need some. Do you have an awesome looking recipe for a Thai salad, or a curry paste, or want to make tamales but you don't know where to get fresh papaya, real turmeric or banana leaves? Lee Foods will have it. It outperforms the major supermarkets in many different ways. More choice, better prices, weird and wonderful stuff you might not have heard of before. There's nowhere else like it in town.

My biggest pet hate ever happened in this Spar today. I went to the counter with a drink costing…read moreunder £1 and they told me they didn't accept card for purchases under £5, even though they had contactless installed, which meant the transaction would have been quicker than paying with cash. So I then had to go outside use the on site ATM and withdraw £20 (they didn't have any tenners) for a 98p drink! Surely it's time to accept card for all sales? The shop itself is actually quite good, it's in the heart of student Belfast so it stocks all the essentials, party snacks, energy drinks, pot noodles, ready made sandwiches. It also has a coffee machine and as mentioned an ATM on site! Losing a few stars for their ridiculous card rule!

As far as convenience stores go this Spar is actually pretty good. It has a great deli counter…read moreselling a range of cooked breakfast items, freshly made sandwiches, wraps and salads. Additionally they have a coffee machine and stock freshly baked croissants, pastries and cakes. There are a lot of other items too - magazines, stationary, prepackaged sandwiches, fruit, ready meals, bread, confectionary, household cleaning products, painkillers, deodorants and shower gels etc. Much better laid out than a lot of similar shops and the prices are reasonable, plus there's an ATM outside. Only one drawback exists - this Spar is located near Queen's University and in a main student residential area, hence it's swamped with customers during uni term time. Can be extremely busy, especially around midday.

I started to use Lidl simply because it was closer to my house than Tesco. Shorter distance to…read morecarry loads of heavy, fresh veg and big bottles of fizzy water! It was only then that I realised it was actually quite good. Fruit and veg arrives daily with nice additions like papaya, watermelons, kumquats and persimmons. The little bakery has fresh baked bread made on site along with pastries, buns, donuts, cookies and scones. All really well priced. There is a big selection of regular bagged breads, pancakes and wraps etc. Also gluten free ranges of bread, rolls and rice/corn cakes. Irish, grass fed beef is pretty good. Reasonably big range of fresh meat and already cooked. The beef pastrami is very good! The constant rotation of different county produce each month is a great addition. Things like lovely Greek yogurt, olives, spreads and very good pittas from Greece, baklava, hummus and beans from Turkey or flavoured oils, vinegars and cured meats from Spain. The have 10 pack of Belgium caramel waffles at £1.50 that taste exactly like Starbucks 2 pack that cost about 62 quid There is a forever changing middle section with homeware, kitchenware, gardening, tools, school stuff and fitness etc. The alcohol section has some super cheap beer and cider deals. Most of the spirits are cheaper brands(the ones that give killer hangovers) Some things to avoid: The herbs/spices, they are pretty wick apart from the white pepper. Baresa olives! The black ones are awful. Dentalux toothpaste. The staff are mostly friendly.

The prices here are so cheap! You can buy good chocolate for well under $1. Check out is quick as…read morewell.

"People who love to eat are always the best people." -Julia Child (1912-2004)…read more One of the stops on our Belfast food tour, Sawers was a tremendous hit. Crowded at lunchtime on a weekday, we managed to nab a table when another couple finished their meal. It's super busy and inside, it's full of gourmet delights. Anyone who thinks Northern Ireland doesn't have good good needs to come here. Smoked salmon on toasted bread, hard Irish cheese, crunchy baguette, sliced turkey, even chilli sauce and something called "black butter." Oh, and wine. You can't have a midday snack without wine, right? Much/most of the food here is quite local (the wine is Spanish) and the staff are helpful. Check the "sandwich board" out front for specials. The Spanish Board for £25 would be my choice! [Review 1893 of 2024 - 871 in United Kingdom - 22915 overall]

Found this gem while strolling the streets of downtown Belfast. This place has it all! A great…read moreselection of various packaged food, a deli that makes fresh sandwiches, pastries, fresh cheeses to cut and an olive bar. Browsing the store, I saw that it's separated into sections. An Italian section with lots of varieties of pastas and sauces. Cookies from Italy and limoncello! There is a very small Mexican section, which in my opinion was pretty darn good for being in Ireland! They had tortillas, various dry chilies and hot sauces. Lots of cookies, candies, jams and jelly's and a very large tea selection. The cheese case and deli were loaded with so many choices, it was hard to choose! You can order food and eat at tables that are just outside the front of the store. A definite recommend but if you're a foodie, be prepared to be dazzled!

I've been meaning to try to recreate the dumplings from Wagamama for ages, and having been…read moredisappointed with my search for ingredients in Tesco, where else would I try but Asia Supermarket. Looking drab from the outside, inside is a bustle of colour and noise, busy with people and packets with labels I couldn't read. After dandering up and down the aisles I finally asked a really lovely girl about the dumpling wrappers. She laughed in a nice way at the idea of me making my own and showed me what she used to make hers (from scratch, the show off) but then took me to the wrappers. Thank goodness she did, I would have been there for weeks. The selection of dried, pickled, canned and fresh goods is astounding. The fruit and veg section puts the big supermarkets to shame in quality and price. This shopping experience was a roaring success. Lets hope my dumplings are too!

I love wandering around stores like these and checking all the exoctic looking foods they have on…read moreoffer. I used to shop a bit in the Chinese emporium on George Street in Dublin, because the vegetables were cheaper, fresher and came in bigger portions than in crappy supermarkets. The Asia supermarket looks more like a factory than a place that sells food. The layout, as other reviewers have mentioned is vast and scatty, but if you have your wits about you, you may just come out with something weird and wonderful, and tasty too hopefully! I would recommend getting some seaweed, a big block of Tofu (really good value) or some yummy miso soup. There are also big bags of spices, bags of rice so huge they could kill a man and some great traditional chinese vegetables. A little haven.

If this store is anything to go by then Belfast mums definitely love Iceland! Passing by today I…read morehad a wee peek in and it was, as they say in these parts, bunged! So packed in fact that they were operating some sort trolley one way system. I think this particular branch is so popular because of its proximity to some of Belfast's most populated areas. It also helps that there is a black taxi rank right outside and a huge multistory car park right next door. Despite how busy this store was there was no queue at the checkout which is quite staggering. The concept of Iceland is pretty simple and it's sort of given away in the name so I'm not going to bother explaining it. All you really need to know is it's one of the cheapest super markets around and always has good deals on.