Waitrose

I have a small obsession with grocery stores and school supplies. When most people return to England, they probably have their own personal favourite spots to visit first. The first thing I wanted to do after arriving at Heathrow — grabbing a hot coffee from Waitrose (free for MyWaitrose card holders) and a pack dark chocolate digestives and enjoy a stroll through a lovely green park (England is full of open green spaces). So when I say I was thinking about going to Waitrose during my flight across the pond, I’m actually not exaggerating.
Okay, so here is the low down. Waitrose is not cheap but it is quality. If you follow the deals though, you can buy wisely and buy value. For about £2 or £3 you can get a whole raw chicken and a £1 avocado during their half-​price sale (on now) which actually seem on par or even cheaper than home. I recently grabbed an über delicious crispy salad, mince for a delicious braised mince and nice crusty bread for under £5.
I am from Los Angeles, where I am spoiled with abundant fresh veg and really great value food prices. When it comes to groceries, if quality matters you shop here. And if you are on a student budget with champagne tastes (like me) go for the deals and always keep an eye out for the exceptional deals running close to closing hours.
My favourite items at Waitrose are most often the veg, always crisp and very tasty. I have to admit, I don’t always get a tomato that taste like a tomato at the other grocery chains like I do at Waitrose. Here at Henleaze, you can enjoy a free car park, self-​serve coffee, wide and well-​stocked selections, and friendly staff. The essential line is Waitrose’s own label and you will find prices comparative to other big shops.

Waitrose is not for the faint-​hearted! The price will be a shock to the system if you’re not used to it. Only the wealthy or the careless will shop here and right from the start you will notice the calibre of homeowners ehat the shop is catering for. I could only justify a shop to Waitrose for things like fresh fruit and veg, bread and meat where i need good quality ingredients for a dinner party. That’s where the quality is worth it. For everyday, mundane things then the price is not worth paying.

Over in Westbury Park/​Henleaze, Waitrose is an über high class supermarket. I grew up in the next neighbourhood, and I cannot come in here without seeing someone from my old school, their parents or my parents friends. This isn’t going to detract from anyone else’s experience, so the actual shop is well laid out, with the fruit and veg section along the first aisle, with many friendly young henleaze/​westbury park workers to assist you to find anything that you need. The deli counter at the back of the shop is really good — you can find some delicious items here, so it’s well worth a look. Freshly baked bread from here is also a real gem if you manage to get it at the right time of day. The prices, though, are all generally inflated to posh Waitrose prices.

This is the only Waitrose I’ve ever been into in my life. Mostly because it’s right next door to the highly unusual but awesome Orpheus cinema and even at the ridiculously high Waitrose prices, it’s still cheaper than buying drinks and sweets in the cinema itself.
On my way out of the cinema, I have on occasion done a moderate sized shop here in the past, which I think a lot of people do. For to be able to shop here for your weekly groceries, you would need to be on a slightly higher pay scale than myself. The only people who can afford this place are the same people who buy all of their furniture from John Lewis. And the fact that the two chains are connected is no coincidence.
This is high end, quality food for the filthy rich. Everything about this place screams upper middle class, but not in a bad way. The fish is fresher than other supermarkets, the yokes of the eggs are more yellow, the breads are softer. It is quality food and in this life you get what you pay for I guess.

Standard fare for Waitrose. Great food with a particularly good deli.
The fresh chicken is always excellent quality, but at prices very comparative of factory chicken in other major supermarkets. We come here for the chicken.

Lovely food. I particularly like the bakery counter! The deli counter is also second to none. You know you are always getting good quality produce, I just wish I could afford to shop there more often. It is definatley the price that puts me off this store.

Lovely food, lovey cakes, lovely snacks. Can’t afford a lot of the time. Staff are lovely, it’s some of the customers I am offended by!

Looking for fresh fish, then this is the place. A wide range of fish is available and best of all, its not bad pricewise.
Its not as large as the giants like asda and tesco, but still has alot of great foods.

The only supermarket in Bristol to have a decent fresh fish counter. It would be nicer if it was more local to me though as traipsing across Bristol isn’t really that economical.
They sell a wide range of grocery goods from brand names to Waitrose own and have a good food intolerance section.
One of the best draws is their cake counter, get a box of their 79p fondant cupcakes. You can only eat one in a sitting unless you have an exceptionally sweet tooth.
Visit the wine section to get some quality recommendations to suit all budgets and there’s always someone on hand to advise.
I’ve taken a star away because they aren’t local but prices aren’t as extortionate as people think.

This little supermarket isn’t really the equivalent of ASDA, Tesco or any of those places it’s more like shopping for food in John Lewis (given that they’re partners it makes sense).
They have a lot of tasty stuff in there, though not all the familiar brands you’ll recognise so you take a while choosing different things. It’s well placed in Henleaze because it probably appeals to the right end of the market, I can only afford to go in and grab a few things if I happen to be in the area.