Ugly. Is the word that will undoubtedly spring to your mind when you first clap eyes on this…read moremonstrosity of a building. And you'd be right, although you shouldn't let that put you off as it houses some useful high street names. The main reason I come here is to go to Sainsbury's, as it's the biggest supermarket anywhere near to the city centre that you can get to by public transport easily. But aside from that, there's also a handful of banks, travel agents, clothes shops like New Look and Peacocks, as well as random one-off shops like GimmeGizmo and Paperbox. You'll never find anything designer or massively upmarket in here, but it's good for all the day-to-day boring things that nobody likes shopping for but everybody needs. There's also free parking, which is another definite bonus.

Cameron Toll is a shopping centre outside of the city centre. It's main interest will be its…read moreproximity to King's Buildings making it useful for students based in the area, though it may be of interest to those further afield due to its ample parking. The centre is dominated by a Sainsbury's (no restaurant though the Sainsbury's on the other side of town at Blackhall has one). For food on the go, among others the food court boasts a baked potato shop and a Burger King. There is also a Costa Coffee on the ground floor. Of the shops on offer the highlights are: BHS, some phone stores, Peacocks, Shoe Zone (cheap but low quality shoes) and a WH Smith. For those based in King's Buildings its ideal if you wish to grab a lunch or pick up some shopping the only warning is a visit there and back will take about an hour unless you're very quick.

The long (very long) and eagerly awaited M&S is finally here! 'Was it worth the wait?' I hear you…read morecry. The answer is a resounding yes! It may be small but they have still managed to squeeze in a large lunch selection, lots of tasty options to take home and cook for your dinner, fruit, biscuits, cakes, pasta sauces, they even have an instore bakery. It is a perfect one stop shop for patients, visitors and especially staff at the Royal Infirmary and it's neighbouring buildings. The service is happy, polite and quick and they seem to have really got the staff numbers correct at busy times, so you are rarely kept waiting even at peak times. My work lunch has suddenly become oh so delicious!

Although most branches of Sainsbury's are pretty much exactly the same as the next one, this one…read morestands out due to its sheer size. Unless you have a car, then the big Tesco in New Town or the big Asda over by the Corn Exchange are a pain to get to, which means that this is where you'll head when you need a big shop. As well as all the usual food and grocery-related stuff this branch also offers a pharmacy, a household section, clothing, a bakery, a cheese counter as well as a butcher/fishmonger counter. It just so happens to be housed within the world's ugliest shopping centre, Cameron Toll. But don't let that put you off; with free parking and good bus links this is a pretty handy one as far as supermarkets go. Just avoid it at the beginning of all the uni terms, as it's packed to the rafters with students accompanied by their doting mums buying them enough food to last them until the next holidays and then some.

This is an absolutely massive Sainsbury's and is the best thing about the Cameron Toll centre by…read morequite a way. It is in a great location for students as well as it is near the Kings Buildings and therefore many people get flats in the area. Sainsbury's therefore get a good amount of younger customers. The store really does allow you to save a lot of money because if you go to the smaller branches of supermarkets such as Tesco Metro or Sainsbury's local, they tend to concentrate on stocking branded items rather than the cheaper Sainsbury's brands. I mean I really can't tell that much difference between Sainsnury's own baked beans than Heinz beans, and this shop would allow you to get these cheaper options. The shop also has a great range of clothes items and home items and would sure to be of great use at picking up some bargains for the house.

This is a lovely place to eat. Have warm or cold meal or snacks. Very friendly atmosphere, located…read morewithin Faith Mission College and bookshop. Daughter and I lovel browsing through the bookshop then relaxing with a snack in coffee shop. Very friendly staff. Cafe very clean and relaxing atmosphere

If anyone wonders why Tesco's fortunes have taken a dip in the last few years, they need look no…read morefurther than this shining example (in Tesco's case it is possible to polish a turd). Average size Tesco store, however they have an uncanny ability to be out of stock of what you are actually looking for. Customer 'service' in store is laughable. Staff at the customer service desk are abrasive, and frequently rude, the staff at the express checkouts appear to look down at you, and chide you at every opportunity. The staff throughout the store can be heard swearing and 'having a laugh' while they are stocking the shelves, which is very unprofessional. Finding a tin without a bash in it, or a packet of unbroken biscuits is also an interesting challenge. Finally, to top it all off, the toilets are a disgrace. Filthy, broken seats, and smell like a tramp's trousers. This store is an absolute disgrace. It's easy to see why Tesco is in so much trouble, they need to seriously invest in their staff and customer service values.

This Tesco is massive! I know some are even bigger, but this store is plenty big enough for most…read moreneeds. Their clothing range is cheap and cheerful and in plentiful supply. The grocery aisles are well laid out and easy to navigate with plenty of choice on offer. The staff are pleasant and happy to help with any issues or queries, the staff on dedicated 'butcher', 'deli' etc counters are knowledgable and friendly. The store is bright, warm and nice to wander round.

this is a nice iceland to shop in helpful staff very friendly u always find its stocked up fullyread more

Maybe it's because I'm married to a Glaswegian, but I like this Lidl…read more In Lidl in the city centre, I seem to recall it was mostly frozen meals, ice cream, and other frozen desserts. There wasn't much in terms of fresh food. In this Lidl, there's loads of cheap fresh veg, good quality meats, and lots of stuff that we would ordinarily buy in other supermarkets where we would pay more. It's my understanding that their produce and meat are Red Tractor rated which means that they're high quality, and sourced whenever possible from Scotland. Not bad for a cheap-o bargain store! The only problem is that when we first started coming here it was kind of like going to Costco "ooh, that's cheap,let's buy it!" "ooh, I might be able to use that at some point but more importantly it's so cheap that I want it right now!" and impulse bought a lot of crap. The Man bought some sort of pneumatic drill (whatever that is) without some air pressure thing that you need to make it work. D'oh. He also bought a mitre saw which was apparently a great deal but also means that he attempts to mitre every bit of wood in the house. So, we learned to take our shopping list with us and try to only buy what's on it, topping up anything that couldn't be found with a Tesco/Sainsbury's shop during the week. I'll put Lidl's main benefit into perspective - there are two of us in the household, I cook dinner every night and cook meals to bring for lunches as well. S0, that's 20 meals a week. Our weekly shop last week was £37 and opposed to an average of £50 when we shop at a bigger name store. That's me sold.

A bit out of town... Not pedestrian friendly…read more.. A big box jungle.

All in all, a little bit manky but has a decent variety of shops…read more There is a big Sainsburys and a more recent addition of a big Asda. They are both nice supermarkets and I have no complaints there. Sandwiched between them in IKEA which is an absolute delight and necessity for Edinburgh. Further down from Sainsburys there are many more shops and LOTS of terrible potholes in the road. There is a lovely big Next home store, a few bargain stores and a Homebase. Overall, if you need something, I am sure Straiton will have a shop where you can find it.