It might have been before the hour of 9am that I first ventured into this Sainsbury's Local, a…read morerecent addition to Withington's little village, but good lord, even if I was totally compus mentus I'd have been baffled upon entry. A fierce competitor of Copson Street's Co-Op and the nearby One Stop, this little mini market has the thankless task of appealing to a mix of students, young professionals who just want to be on the cusp of Didsbury, locals and OAPs. Fair play. But it's so confusing! The space they've used is pretty, for sure (the above apartments look like they could be stunning), and the car park's kept clean as a whistle, but they've tried to ram as much as poss into one tiny box. Thus the aisles are incredibly narrow, and for some reason the charcoal-coloured flooring makes it feel really unusual and disorientating. I think this is merely years of associating supermarkets with pale patterned floors. Nevertheless I managed to find my three boxes of fresh juice for £4 and that saw me right. Given its size there's not the greatest variety; however if you're in need of something simple last minute it's certainly a contender. It's unlikely that I'd go out of my way to hit this Sainsbury's as opposed to the conscience-friendly Co-Op round the corner, but on a sleepy post-swim morning and being right on my bus route, I'll sure find it handy from time to time.

A small Tesco Express store opposite Subway and next to The Upper Room in Cheadle Village…read more The store wasn't very clean, there was rubbish on the floor which had been swept to the side and the staff hadn't done anything with it and didn't appear to be doing anything with it, it was just rather messy. The selection was okay for a store of its' size, I was disappointed to find there were no Nespresso Starbucks capsules, they only had one option/brand, which was poorer than other Tesco Express stores. 3* - A-OK, useful if you're in a rush nearby and can't get to a bigger supermarket but selection and cleanliness can, of course, be improved.

Lovely specialized craft beer bar & shop in the centre of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. I just visited…read morelast Monday - there were a dozen keg beers, a couple of handpumped ales and many more national & international bottled and canned craft beers available - something for everyone! The friendly staff recommended several cans and a keg beer to me (American style PAs and a Porter), and they were all excellent. Prices are moderate, and you can buy a keg or handpumped ale in 1/3, 1/2, 3/4 or full pint. There aren't very many craft beer bars in this town - this seems to be the best of them. It's just a short walk e.g. from the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke's only real tourist attraction. Highly recommended!

A pretty strange location to find a Starbucks in a supermarket, I do think they'd be better located…read morewithin the main shopping area of Altrincham as this store is limited due to its' size and location, but it does have the benefit of parking right outside and the fact you can get a drink during your supermarket shop if your supermarket of choice is Sainsbury's. I've had a few bad experiences here over the years, from poor service to being given the wrong beverage, but this store has improved of late, it has been refurbished since my last visit and it now supports Mobile Ordering, which at the moment is more useful than ever given the current situation, in regards to the pandemic. At the time of writing (February 2021), Starbucks is not letting people into their stores at most locations which includes this one, meaning they have a table at the door, I found this to be really awkward and uncomfortable especially here, as not only was I forced to wait outside in the cold, there wasn't a designated queuing area, it just seemed a mess. The barista who was dealing with customers seemed friendly, but he was obviously struggling with the demand of going back and forth to the till to put orders through, make payments etc. This meant there was a delay in placing my order and even asking questions. I was pleased the store still accepted reusable cups, for ease I placed the order via the app and handed the cup to the barista, service was pretty slow and I did have to wait a while for my beverage, again I don't understand why they can't have a table to serve customers at the other entrance, which would be inside and sheltered from the cold/rain, as customers are allowed in Sainsbury's, my guess is they don't want people crowding inside Sainsbury's, but surely if they're crowding outside, right by the supermarket entrance, it doesn't make a huge difference? I was pleased with the quality of my drink, I ordered one of the current specials, a Venti iced Double Chocolatey Macchiato, it was fine, although I did prefer their previous macchiato range which includes hazelnut and vanilla varieties, sadly in 2021 they only brought a honeycomb and the double chocolate variety. There isn't much of a seating area, even when allowed by the government, again down to it being a small kiosk-style location within Sainsbury's. 3* - OK, slow service and would be better located within a more central location within the main shopping area of Altrincham town centre, but not too bad.

This is the only Starbucks near me, a little concession in Sainsburys, Altrincham. It's nice…read morebecause it's small and convenient if you're shopping. You know what to expect and what ! you're going to get...it's a Starbucks

I only made a fleeting visit to The Beer Shop in order to buy some brews to drink at home. The shop…read moreitself is not much to look at from the outside, not having similar levels of styling as some local rivals such as Bottle or Heaton Hops, but as the old saying goes "You can't judge a book by its cover" so I strode on in anyway. Inside there are a few tables where you can sit and partake of one of the beers they have on tap, or presumably crack open any one of the numerous bottles they have on the shelves - once you've paid for it, of course. In terms of range, there didn't seem to be too many available on the taps but that wasn't an issue as I was after booze to go. That, though, was a tough decision. There was a good range of beer here. Whilst the other bottle shops in the area tend to have quite a good range of local beers, I can't recall ever seeing them stock some of what I consider the classics and which I "cut my teeth" drinking at uni - Trappist ales like the Rochefort 12 etc. That was a good hit of nostalgia for me, but in the end I went for a couple of cans of Beavertown (Neck Oil and 8 Ball) as well as a FlyingDog IPA and a Weird Beard Excel Spreadsheet Ninja, which at £11 for the four came in at a bargain price. The gent behind the counter who served me was polite and friendly, and also seemed to really know his stuff despite looking as though he'd spent the day both serving patrons and sampling the goods himself. (Though, be honest, if you owned a bottle shop could you resist the odd one or two?) The only downside to The Beer Shop is that it's kinda not really near anything else; it's off the beaten track, as they say. If you're wandering past and fancy a swift pint, then it's definitely worth a pit stop, but I'm not sure I'd set out specifically to visit. (Aside from having to go back and get a couple in whilst seated. For Yelp. You understand.)

The range is endless. Craft beer, ales, cider n more. Just leave it to Dean. He'll sort yr taste…read moreout!

Quaint little place with concessions like the trader's outlet. Lots of jewellery and sparkles...I…read morewas drawn in like a magpie. Lovely little tea room at the back too, they do GF afternoon tea, I'll be trying it at some point. Worth a look for something a bit different and if you're bored of chains

There's usually some good offers on in bargain booze and prices are usually cheap. Probably the…read morebest shop to buy alcohol from if your wanting to save a couple of quid but not the best for variety.

Bargain booze is exactly what the name is, they have really cheap beer and spirits, usually alot…read morecheaper than tescos or morrisons but on the off chance they have a good offer on their its cheaper there but there are alot of bargain boozes dotted around stoke, its good as uni students clear the shelves. There are 2 unis here Staffordshire and keele and they are really friendly inside. However they are very tigh on selling to underage even if they know you and you look underage they wont sell anything to you and they have a log book they will put it in infront of you. They offer cheap products and have a good company policy.