For American Information, Tesco is a European convenience store chain. Think QT or 7-Eleven meets…read morea bodega. Founded over a century ago in England, they are in five countries. This express store offers liquors, snack cakes and sundry. Locals shop here, but to an American it would probably seem small for a supermarket. The lines aren't too long, and I run in for the odd pack of gum or sweets. The prices are competitive, and they offer teas and coffee vended drinks.

This is a smaller, 'bitesize' version of the megastore you get dotted around the country. This…read moreparticular Express version isn't that great. Although the prices are the same as their bigger versions, the selection is poor. Even though this is supposed to be the 'essentials', the shelves are often empty and the security man at the door makes you feel like you are shoplifting even though you aren't. Chances are what you want isn't in this shop. It's a mish mash of bits and pieces, but it simply isn't good enough. I'd recommend walking a little further, or driving on down to the Lisburn Road shop and get what you need from there. Disappointing and painfully small

Came in today to get a vape, after paying and receiving my product and opening it I later found out…read moreonly 1 of the 4 in 1 pods actually worked, heading back into the shop not asking for a refund but to have the product I just bought exchanged for one in full working order, wouldn't go here for any of your electronics / vapes - stars

In town before 11am? Call in to Today's Express and you can get a sausage butty for a £1 at the…read moreDeli Counter. You don't get much for a £1 these days so this is an offer not to be sniffed at. This wee convenience store has it all and serves local office workers to perfection. Whether you're looking for a pastry of a paper Today's Express will stock it. Food wise you can also get sandwiches and other breakfast goods. A bacon bap is only £1.20. The staff are great, you always get a wee bit of early morning banter out of them to kick start your day. An awesome wee shop with absolutely no faults - centrally located and serving food from £1 - what's not to like?

I appreciated this convenience store. For American reference think Q-T combined with a smaller…read moreALDI. They had a huge variety of prepared sandwiches for a quick bite, soda and bottles of liquor for a wee sip. Hot cups of coffee, lattes and tea on tap from a clean vending area all day. And snacks galore! Any junk food you had a taste for, and new ones to try, you could get it here. The store is bright and the aisle were wide. They didn't have my favorite Volcanic Unflavored Water here, but they had many other items to try.

The best and also busiest Centra in town, in my humble opinion. This may be due to it's proximity…read moreto City Hall and local offices. It is definitely king of convenience offering a full deli, a new Mexican burrito counter (Called Spice - Inventive), baked good, snacks, drinks and a wall of sandwiches and salads. Be aware - at lunchtime you can expect to queue here for 10 minutes for the deli and for the normal checkouts. There's an ATM on site and they take card at the cash register so don't worry if your pockets aren't jingling. There's a nice wee seated area out the front but it's not enclosed so I wouldn't be eating your lunch here - perfect for a smoke break and a snack.

When I worked in the Ulster Hall, this was my local shop…read more It's not a particularly exciting shop (it is just a corner sop after all), but I always really liked it in there because the staff were so friendly. I used to have to call in in the mornings to pick up the papers and the girls there were always chatty and polite, which makes a change from some shops where you just get grunted at!

I like this shop because it is an independent corner shop in the city centre where you would expect…read moreall the big branders like Spar and Centra to be. I used to use it a lot when I was a student as I would walk here on my way to get the bus back to Derry and pick up the Derry journal so I could catch up on all the happenings before I hit the motherland. It sells all the usual stuff but the prices are slightly hiked up because of its location and I guess just because it can with all the passing trade and the business men and women nipping out for coffee, chocolate, papers and snacks. I don't care that it is a tiny bit more expensive, its convenient on the walk to town, friendly and it has a good feeling about it.

This place is awesome…read more It's the future of food shops. Great they they have so many food options fresh and packaged. Good to have seating area too. Shop is well laid out. Has massive hot food area. The hot carvery sandwich I had was lush. I used their Facebook offer half price deal so got it for like £1.75. Bargain. It was packed with filling. The meat tasted so good. Need to keep an eye on any other offers they have.

Really cool new look Centra near the Art College. Operated by the same team that run Centras at…read moreStranmillis and Malone, you can be sure that the food from the deli is of a reliably high standard. They have added some great new features like a wing bar where you can fill a bag with delicious chicken wings in various flavour combinations. There is also a proper barista coffee shop with a lovely seating area overlooking the Buoy Park and St Anne's along with some very fancy looking self service coffee machines. It's a great space too, a far cry from the typical Centra or Spar with very funky design features, high ceilings and great graphics and colours which make it a pleasure to visit. Really great addition to the area and a sign of things to come for this rapidly changing part of Belfast.

I really don't like this Spar, and it's all to do with the deli…read more The hot food looks OK, and including stirfry noodles and the like, is at least a bit more varied than the usual assortment of sausage rolls and curled up pasties you get at most places. But the sandwich section is really bad. Trust me, I'm not fussy. As long as it's edible and has some sort of flavour, I'm usually happy. And I'm not going to go to a supermarket sandwich counter and expect magic. But I do expect the food to be covered when not being served, and to be topped up occasionally so the staff aren't scraping the last remnants out of the tub. The last sandwich I got here was actually inedible, and that's saying something. And most of all - the sour-faced young woman behind the counter who is either outright rude or so unengaging I've wondered if there is actually something wrong with her. She refused to make me a sandwich once at 445pm even though the deli is meant to be open til 5, as she was 'leaving early'. The last time I went there, she took about three minutes asking me what I wanted, as she was wiping the counters down with a dishcloth in a very dreamy way. (I was the only customer there, btw.) Then, when I ordered the ill-fated sandwich, she just as dreamily put a tiny amount of mayo on the bread and dreamily spent about thirty seconds sloooooooowly sprrrrrrrrreading it around. Em, could I have a bit more on there? I said, Oliver Twist like, but I don't think she even heard me. This Spar needs to overhaul its deli asap.

Late night, I stopped in here for some drinks and snacks for the hotel room. I'm staying next door…read moreso this is certainly convenient. It is a huge convenience store with grab-and-go sandwiches and snacks, candy, salty snacks, lots of drink options including beer and wine. A bakery section (nothing in it at 10pm though) and a deli counter (closed this late). The store was clean and the self-checkout worked well. [Review 1874 of 2024 - 857 in United Kingdom - 22896 overall]

This Centra is the future of convenience stores. It has everything you could ever want and more!…read more There's a hot deli, with a pick your own meat session serving wings (of three varieties) and ribs. There's also a salad bar with all sorts of delights you can put together yourself. I actually purchased a pre made Ceaser salad and it was every bit as fresh as the food at the pick your own stations and relatively cheap at £4. They also have a dedicated barista serving coffee. There's four contactless tills in action meaning you can pop in for a quick bite and be on your way. But if you don't want to buy and run you can also sit in and take advantage of the free wifi and comfortable seating. Location wise it's great, just at the edge of The Cathedral Quarter and within walking distance to Belfast Met. Top marks from me.

This shop is right at the top of my road, but there is another small supermarket on the way there…read morefor me so I only call in here if the other store doesn't have what I need or I happen to be driving past this Spar. That is not to say that the selection and service in here is in anyway not top drawer. Well, top drawer is maybe a bit of a stretch. The store is always clean and tidy, the staff are always friendly and helpful and you can usually find everything you need in here if you are popping in for a pint or milk or a loaf of bread. There is good parking here and an ATM which is always handy. It is also in a good location, with excellent access to the Belfast and Newtownards roads. There is certainly no real reason not to call in here. You won't be able to do a full weeks shop in here, you will need to go to Tesco or whatever for that but you certainly will be able to get plenty of what you need in this wee shop.

Mace are a franchise of Irish corner shops that frequent many streets across the city, this is one…read moreof them and has often served me well when I need a coke or the paper. Situated in the Ascot House building in Shaftesbury Square this little shop really does the job for your every basic need, little else, but it's there with the usual range of essentials. Aside from magazines, papers, drinks etc they also stock a modest range of locally made sandwiches at predictably city centre prices. Most drinks (500ml) are in excessive of £1.10 per bottles so it is encroaching into the expensive local shop. That said, it does what it says on the tin. It;s not open particularly late but it's usually open at around 7am when I'm out on and about.

My biggest pet hate ever happened in this Spar today. I went to the counter with a drink costing…read moreunder £1 and they told me they didn't accept card for purchases under £5, even though they had contactless installed, which meant the transaction would have been quicker than paying with cash. So I then had to go outside use the on site ATM and withdraw £20 (they didn't have any tenners) for a 98p drink! Surely it's time to accept card for all sales? The shop itself is actually quite good, it's in the heart of student Belfast so it stocks all the essentials, party snacks, energy drinks, pot noodles, ready made sandwiches. It also has a coffee machine and as mentioned an ATM on site! Losing a few stars for their ridiculous card rule!

As far as convenience stores go this Spar is actually pretty good. It has a great deli counter…read moreselling a range of cooked breakfast items, freshly made sandwiches, wraps and salads. Additionally they have a coffee machine and stock freshly baked croissants, pastries and cakes. There are a lot of other items too - magazines, stationary, prepackaged sandwiches, fruit, ready meals, bread, confectionary, household cleaning products, painkillers, deodorants and shower gels etc. Much better laid out than a lot of similar shops and the prices are reasonable, plus there's an ATM outside. Only one drawback exists - this Spar is located near Queen's University and in a main student residential area, hence it's swamped with customers during uni term time. Can be extremely busy, especially around midday.