Sainsbury’s

Meh. Not a bad Sainsbury’s but not an amazing one either. You can get most of your essentials here but not the usual adventurous fare I’ve come to expect from this bastion of the middle classes (it never stocks my favourite cheesecake, cereal or steak pie for instance). I actually preferred this place more when it was a Somerfield for some reason. The staff here are pretty nice and move you swiftly through checkout, though I tend to stick to self-​checkout because I take ages bagging my stuff up!

I’m not a huge advocator of the multinational supermarket but the change from Somerfield to Sainsburys is — relatively — a welcome one in Headingly. The store appears to be the same size yet I’m sure it sells more than it used to in its old guise. Maybe it had a kind of Dr Who tardis make-​over on the inside as well as a sign change from the outside? The aisles seem wider and there is no longer an awkward tiny space between the booze aisle and last till at the back that caused human traffic at busy times. I’m amazed that as well as a larger range of vegetables and a bakery they manage to find space to sell sandwich toasters and a boxes of 16 piece crockery sets.
At the moment they have pretty good buy-​one-​get-​one-​free deals on things you would normally buy. This is far better than the usual supermarket deals on totally obscure things that you would never consider buying but for some unknown psychological phenomenon do buy as soon as it is on special offer. I love the fact that they have a Sainsburys own ‘free from’ section that is larger than the one in the city centre branch, where you can find dairy-​free and gluten-​free food cheaper than in the health food shops.
I am not a fan of the incredibly annoying self-​paying mechanisms they have introduced that constantly ask you if you have swiped your nectar card but begrudgingly admit that it makes the ques shorter. I reluctantly give a thumbs up to this super-​market but remain annoyed that they are doing nothing to reduce their plastic bag usage amongst customers, whilst other supermarkets are.

I find that Sainsburys is one of the better quality places to shop, albeit the higher price — you get what you pay for.
The shop just oozes of Jamie Oliver due to him being the face of it and the name that pops into my head several times whilst shopping there.
What I like here is the way they strategically place recipe cards around the store to ‘inspire.‘
Sainsburys offer lovely selections of fresh fruit and seem to give the impression and taste of a higher quality.

Having now lived in Headingley for a few years I used to visit Sainsburys for my weekly shop, even before it was a Sainsburys — when it was Somerfield. Essentially, there isn’t a great deal of difference between the two companies in terms of my weekly shop. There are a few items that were most definitely cheaper when it was a Somerfield — smoked mackerel, some of the fruit and veg items etc — but there are some Sainsburys features that were not there and are quite good.
One of those is the ‘feed your family for a fiver’ leaflets, which are really quite useful! I picked up one for lamb pitas, which is really good. It’s cheap, tasty, different and of course I’ve embellished the recipe in my own way to make it suit me.
The staff seem to be the same staff as before, which is great, as they have always been patient and helpful. They have new ‘self service’ counters, which can be useful if you only have a couple of things and don’t wish to queue. They can also give you the rage of Zeus when they accuse you of an «unexpected item in the bagging area!» so use with caution.
All in all, I’ll always shop here as it is most convenient for me to access. But it’s not an unpleasant place to shop for your goods so I’m happy.