Sainsbury’s

Not my favourite… Visited before going to work and found many of the selfs empty :-(Considering this is the time most commuters shop I would have expected better!

A mini-Sainsbury’s in an area with few supermarkets.
Low-​light — it’s always packed!
Highlight — it’s right next to the fabulous Café VN and ideally placed to pop in after my Monday phở for some sweeties!
3 packs of strawberry laces for £1? Winning!

Every time I come to this Sainsbury’s, I’m always astounded to discover something new that I didn’t realize they carried.
The first time, it was Tabasco sauce. The real stuff. With the Tabasco brand label in the little red cardboard box and everything. Then it was tomato juice. Because… what good is Tabasco unless you have a decently boozy Bloody Mary to put it in? More recently, it was disinfectant wipes — even Robert Dyas doesn’t sell those!
Next thing you know, they’ll be stocking things like peanut butter and Ziploc bags. Wishful thinking? Or future amazingness?

Come here on Sunday and prepare to be depressed. 59p for nearly expired sushi? It’s rampantly available should you fancy it.
Or if you’re an eternal optimist perhaps this shop will cheer you up and remind you that your life is not that bad by comparison.
But really what shopping here has taught me: go instead to the Waitrose on St John or the Marks & Spencer Simply Food stores on either Cowcross or High Holborn. If you live in the area, it’s best to heed this advice.

Oh my little Sainsburys Local, I haven’t seen you in ages and now you’re all grown up!
They must have recently gave this shop an internal makeover, because gone are the sad rickety old shelves and in come the hot food takeout counter and a winding new floorplan. I can see how they tried to optimize space while creating that new hot deli takeout thing, but in doing so, they had to move all the readymeals and things to cook which are now in a long aisle in the middle of the store that has about 2 inches of room for you to stand in front of… needless to say, I can imagine that would be awkward if it was busy and you’re trying to peruse the items for a meal in at night.
I can see how they’re trying to cater more to the daytime work-​crowd and they’ve installed some self-​checkouts to speed things up. I like most of the changes, this store certainly needed a facelift, though I’m dubious about having to fend off other shoppers that live in the area and need to use the tiny walking space in front of the actual food that needs to be cooked!