Forum Topic

Best supermarket in Ealing?

Which supermarket is currently the best in Ealing? Not necessarily the cheapest but offers the best value, convenience and cleanliness?

Gerry Tan ● 4426d64 Comments

Actually, I like all kinds of sauce with m'bangers, HP, HeinZ tomato, all kinds of mustard and even mayonnaise sometimes(a la the Dutch and Belgians!).

Gerry Tan ● 4409d

I don't mind German sausages for a change but those and Polish sausages I find a little too hard in texture and have a processed aura about them. Also very heavy on the salt and fat sometimes.The 'e' number issue btw way is a bit of a misnomer in that e numbers are just numbers given by the EU to standard preservatives and food additives used in all kinds of foods, including German bangers.Give me a good quality British banger any day with Colman's mustard or brown sauce( must be HP, Daddie's or Branston fruity tho')

Keith Iddon ● 4409d

Mustard! Mustard! You want brown sauce with a sausage sandwich.

Susan Kelly ● 4409d

Very wise Tom, one should always read the contents list and compare price for price and you can't go wrong.  With us it is habit - we've always bought Richardson's or the soecial ones from Waitrose and habits are hard to break.  I love a good tasty sausage - also with German mustard in a fresh hard roll...bliss!

Gerry Tan ● 4409d

Incidentally, Tesco carry a great range of sausages, it's just you need to dare to look beyond the standard British fare, and at the Continental ones instead. Try the imported Polish sausages, I recommend the Hunters Sausage and the Garlic Sausage. Both are as great tasting as the famous German wurst, but at a very reasonable price, seeing as you buying a product made with over 90% meat and no E-numbers, which is how it should be made.

Tom Carroll ● 4409d

It needn't worry you too much in a quality banger Nigel.  Herbs,spices, salt, a little cereal binder sometimes. A little bit not too often will do you no harm.

Keith Iddon ● 4410d

It's the 'other 15%' that worries me Keith.

Nigel Brooks ● 4410d

I agree with Keith's sentiments on sausages and other products as well generally, one gets quality for what you pay.

Gerry Tan ● 4411d

You don't have to eat sausages with all the rubbish in, just don't buy the cheap ones that have meat slurry in them. Spend a little more on the 85%+ meat ones and eat them less often. You get what you pay for.

Keith Iddon ● 4411d

I like sausages but when I think of what goes into them I do doubt my sanity.

Nigel Brooks ● 4411d

Nigel's (accurate) description is starting to put me off what I generally regard as a very tasty start to the day.

Philip Coe ● 4411d

Best bangers imo :Stenton's in Hammersmith.1stHook and Cleaver a close 2ndThe Ginger Pig on Askew Rd a close 3rd .I usually go for plain pork as I am not keen of the added fruits etc. but all of the above do great ranges of bangers.

Keith Iddon ● 4411d

They are also, considering that it is offcuts, fat and filler, ludicrously expensive for what they are.

Nigel Brooks ● 4411d

That's useful to know about Tesco sausages Nigel. We don't know much about sausages, but we get Richardson's own made ones - they make a whole range and are superb.

Gerry Tan ● 4411d

Are there not Tesco Finest sausages? I'm sure I had some quite recently.

Susan Kelly ● 4411d

Nope, their 'own brand' sausages are among the worst examples of 'emulsified high-fat offal tubes' (a la Yes Minister)that it is possible to buy.Thankfully they also sell Westaway Foods sausages which are excellent and a match for most butcher's offerings.

Nigel Brooks ● 4411d

Yes, but are their sausages any good?

Gerry Tan ● 4411d

I'm rather surprised no one has mentioned Tesco Hoover in Perivale yet. How many suburban supermarkets you can think of that occupy such an outstanding architectural example of an Art Deco, Grade 1 listed building ?

Tom Carroll ● 4411d

When does the new Morrison's open?

Susan Kelly ● 4411d

We prize Cudi supermart for their fresh veg and fruit. The International Stores across the road from Cudi is great for fresh baklavas of numerous varieties all dripping with fresh honey. Big Ben fishmongers nearby is great for super fresh fish and their newly boiled crab and lobsters are divine. We like West Ealing shops a lot.

Gerry Tan ● 4411d

I use West Ealing. Lidl (staples), Cudi (Veg - high turnover so usually fresh) and Sainsbury's for the stuff I can't get at the other two.I nip up on the bike every few days from Northfields with an occasional big shop by car.Treats from the Cheddar deli every so often and meat from Richardson's.

Sam Salisbury ● 4411d

A shop sign which amuses me is "FREE CASH HERE" - there's one on the pavement of the newsagents/mini grocery shop next to Angela Malik's new corner deli on The Green W5.

Gerry Tan ● 4412d

Can't remember, Keith. It's on the south side of the high street -- one of those corner shop or newsagent type places. This was a couple of years ago so maybe they've taken it out.

Susan Kelly ● 4412d

which shop is that Susan as a matter of interest?

Keith Iddon ● 4412d

Free cash machines are not exactly in short supply. In fact, you wonder how daft anyone has to be to use one that makes a charge! There's a shop in Brentford High Street that charges; it's literally five yards from a bank with a free one in the wall.

Susan Kelly ● 4412d

The staff at the new Morrisons in West Ealing are the most friendly and helpful I have found. I always leave feeling good. Plus they have a free cash machine.

Andy Williams ● 4412d

That's really interesting.I don't mind that so much - it's the fact that almost everything I do requires a member of staff to come over, swipe a card, type a code into the keypad and slope off without saying a word, making eye contact or sticking around for 5 seconds to see if the problem has been resolved.As I don't shop at Waitrose regularly, it may be that they are better than most in this regard.Shopping there yesterday though, I noted that their peppers (capsicums) were, at £3.50 per kilo, exactly twice the price of those on sale at The Stall in Greenford Broadway.  No discernible difference in quality.Friends tell me that Waitrose are much more competitive than they used to be.

Phil Kay ● 4414d

What I hate most about self-service tills is the (to me) offensively loud volume at which most of the loudspeakers are set. "Unknown object in the bagging area" etc. bellowing in my ears from a machine three down from the one I am using is a definite turn-off as far as I am concerned, and the primary reason I won't use them.

Sue Rowe ● 4414d

Yeah right Tony good luck with that if it ever happens...I sometimes think we show how cossetted and complacent we have become by complaining that a supermarket does not have every little item that we want. It is surely a first world, borgeouis problem when half the world has no choice.

Keith Iddon ● 4414d

Nigel, well done on taking that Tesco supervisor to task. If you look on your receipt, you'll find a feedback website labelled something like 'how did we do today?'. I've used this a few times to make complaints about staff rudeness (and once or twice to compliment them on something) and always had a reply saying it would be passed on to the store manager. Whether they actually do anything about it is another matter but it's worth reporting.Your point about Waitrose staff having an interest in the business is a good one; many businesses have schemes to give staff shares in the company. This seems like very good practice. Wonder if Tesco is one of them.

Susan Kelly ● 4414d

If  I only had a choice between Tesco or lidl I would go to a forest and hunt my own food

Tony Maxey ● 4414d

At Waitrose I am treated like a customer by people who have an interest in their business - and it shows. from the random 'Good morning' to the checkout operator who, unerringly, wants to assist you I feel that my business is valued.Compare this to the normal Tesco (now not any cheaper) visit where the staff seem under so much pressure** and the checkout operators, with few exceptions, treat it like they are doing you a favour to scan your goods.** Have to admit that I 'chastised' a supervisor at Tesco last week for belittling a member of staff who was too slow opening a checkout by shouting at him in front of a store full of customers. I took her to one side and told her, in no uncertain terms, that her bullying and unprofessionalism impressed no-one and had probably lost Tesco more custom than she could possible appreciate. She seemed unbothered, which says it all.

Nigel Brooks ● 4414d

If Waitrose remove the self help tills their 'self scan' service will continue. Register, they give you nice green bags, you swipe for a scanner and scan as you go round and just pay at the end without all the packing and unpacking.

Katharine Lang ● 4414d

We particularly like the wide aisles in Waitrose and the clear signage under items and the very clean and usually tidy shelves. We don't think the prices are higher in Waitrose - maybe very slightly, but if one selects items carefully, prices seem much the same as other large supermarkets. Staff are more knowledgable and go out of their way to show you where certain goods are located.

Gerry Tan ● 4416d

I'm not clear why people who dislike self-service tills are always clamouring for them to be removed. If you don't like them, don't use them, but don't penalise the rest of us!

Susan Kelly ● 4416d

Your choice.

Nigel Brooks ● 4416d

Then I shall stop going again, Nigel, as these tills speed things up no end, as far as I'm concerned. I don't see the logic in taking them out just because some customers refuse to use them: there are refuseniks at all supermarkets which means no queueing for the rest of us.

Susan Kelly ● 4416d

Nigel, the delivery we have is not the one when you order the groceries on internet. Its the one which you actually pick the items you fancy, load the trolley and take it to the pay counter and they then pack all the items and deliver it at the time-slot you select, usually later on that day. We would never order online 'cos we want to select each item.

Gerry Tan ● 4416d

Hi Keith does lidi have organic? Sorry if I missed thatI'm a wait rose fan.

Edward Rountree ● 4416d

Rush to do it, rumour has it they are coming out (or being reduced)soon as those who shop there (me included) prefer to be served and they have not proven to be popular.

Nigel Brooks ● 4417d

I observed on a rare visit this week that Waitrose has finally heaved itself into the 21st century and got some self-service tills. I shall probably shop there more often as a result.

Susan Kelly ● 4417d

They are indeed Keith.I have become a supermarket 'whore' with no loyalty to any one of the supermarkets. Last week I shopped at Morisson's (had a voucher), this week was Sainsbury's (had a big voucher) next week will be Waitrose (have two vouchers) the week after will be Morrison's again as my first shop gave me another voucher which I shall use unless one of the others comes with something better.Tesco - must try harder!

Nigel Brooks ● 4423d

Used to make trip every two weeks to stock up at tesco in osterly. Now I do small but regular shops in West Ealing using Lidl, iceland and smaller shops. I use a local bakery in Northfields avenue and I can find everything I want and prices on the whole beat tesco.Still sometimes use tesco in Ealing Broadway but mainly when I have a coupon !Shopping habits are changing

Keith Mason ● 4423d

The difference is that Waitrose normally have it while Tesco whose 'butcher' is only as good as his ability to read the vacuum pack that the meat arrives in  does not.

Nigel Brooks ● 4424d

Superb range of own-brand Waitrose wines for under a fiver - especially the Australian Red, which has so little shelf space allocated to it that it is almost permanently out of stock - leading to the need, after numerous fruitless visits to the store, to order it online.  In fact, it is so good that I should probably not let on to you lot so that I at least stand a chance of getting any in the future.The Waitrose Claret @ a fiver a go is pretty good as well.OTOH, the beer in Waitrose is massively overpriced.Off to Lidl for that - though the stock situation there is pretty pot luck as well but for different reasons.Waitrose really do know how to charge for some things though - last time I checked I think I'm right in saying that the Waitrose deli counter Ox Tongue was almost twice the cost of the same product in Tesco's Isleworth.

Tony Colliver ● 4424d

Oh, and I should add that the Tesco website manipulates your search queries so that it is very difficult to see the value products in its range - type in "value" on its website and you will get a list of about five per cent of the products that have the word "value" in their name that Tesco supplies, so you cannot just list all its value products range and pick from them. So if you are of the Mrs Beeton school of Household Management where you are encouraged to get the best value products, and the best price on the type of product that you are purchasing (instead of going for the most advertised, most seasoned [that's highest salt content], most prettified through additives and flavour enhancers and most marketed) then the Tesco website is not for you.

Peter Mcleod ● 4424d

Many times. Two things:1) I don't like giving big companies information that opens me up to further junk marketing or targeted sales based on what I bought before.2) I don't like using banks anymore as any money they have of mine is invested in things I have no control over while it is my bank account therefore I pay cash and like going to LIDL. It is simple and effective and good value (and I pay cash).

Peter Mcleod ● 4424d

Some of Waitrose wine offers are a bit rough and 'ordinaire', but they do have some truly splendid offers from time to time, like two months ago they had a red Bordeaux called Croix St Martin(blended merlot/cab sauvignon) and a really good Chilean white(forgotten its name). By buying a case one gets an extra 5% off plus the original discounted offer. Must say, Waitrose' wines are good.

Gerry Tan ● 4424d

"  discounted wines availabble each week "  . . . . but is it drinkabbble?  Any side effects?

Fred Bray ● 4424d

My wife and I no longer have cars to do large grocery shopping, so we walk to Waitrose and ask them to deliver, after having selected what we require. Their delivery service is superb although it costs £3, but by the time one gets some 'offers' and extra discount for cases of wine, the fee is worth every penny. And there are many discounted wines availabble each week.

Gerry Tan ● 4424d

Thanks Penny, I'm sad but not surprised.

Nigel Brooks ● 4425d

Have you considered online shopping?

Susan Kelly ● 4425d

I used to do a lot of shopping in the Osterley Tesco, however, things have changed there - for example the cafe franchise owner changed upstairs a couple of years ago and I much preferred the old cafe management. The budget and lower-priced electronic products are always out of stock upstairs with re-order/re-stock dates on the price labels by empty spaces which exemplifies the psychological manipulation that is going on there - if you need something, the product you want is not there then you may buy a more exensive one which of course is in stock. Downstairs among the food the psychological manipulation is even worse - the long aisles, ambiguous signage and constant re-arrangement of products means that you have a long trek to fill the trolley as you try and find what you want rather than what Tesco wants you to buy. And then when you are tired out by this process (or simply tired out by the day before you get to the store) you snatch-buy what is at eye-level because that is what you do when you are tired as you no longer have the energy to look at the top or the bottom shelves where the better value items are, or because you no longer have the energy to choose between thirty different variations on "cheddar". So you buy what Tesco wants you to buy, carefully positioned at the premium eye level rather than what is the best value. When you go into LIDL you have piles of boxes and shelves with four or five different products (e.g. coffee) as opposed to forty or fifty like at Tesco) so you just pick the one that meets your functional requirement from "coffee" rather being subjected to brand marketing. Oh, and as it is mainly un-branded it is generally cheaper than Tescos stuff.

Peter Mcleod ● 4425d

No, no better. I work there !

Penny Crocker ● 4425d

"    There's something I rather detest in supermarkets and that is music. Supermarkets used to use constant background music and few of them do so now.  "Nowadys, Gerry, they prefer to squirt a chemical mixture of fragrances into the air conditioning unit, to evoke the smell of freshly baked bread.  Shoppers fall for it every time.  Cheaper too.Happy customers,  and no invoices from the PRS.  PRS undercover inspectors simply return to the office with nothing to report, and some Hovis.

Fred Bray ● 4425d

Not going to 'the badlands' just for a supermarket.Had my bike stolen in Feltham some years ago, had a car broken into and remember vividly the constant delays on the 'Brentford loop' due to 'passenger incidents' (always a fight) at Feltham station. Has the place got any better.

Nigel Brooks ● 4425d

Few miles further west there is a bigger Aldi in Feltham.

Keith Iddon ● 4425d

The Aldi in Hounslow is a small 'pale' copy of a proper one like they have 'sur la Continent'.Better yet, a chain of Albert Heijn stores from the Netherlands, wonderful local fresh food at great prices.

Nigel Brooks ● 4425d

I agree, Peter, that too much choice is stressful and counter-productive. I seem to remember some research showing that one reason so many people fail to make pension provision is that there are just too many options and they give up in despair.That said, I find the big Tesco in Osterley okay. I guess you never made it to the upper level where they keep clothes and household goods?

Susan Kelly ● 4425d

Went into Tesco at Osterley and left immediately without buying anything after walking seemingly miles to try and find something and then went to LIDL in Hanwell. Much more compact range of products though. Got everything I needed and left in half the time and with half the stress at a lower price than at the said Tesco. Choice sometimes causes stress!

Peter Mcleod ● 4425d

Agreed about the Aldi.Also a LIDL closer to W5 with a full range.

Peter Mcleod ● 4426d

There's something I rather detest in supermarkets and that is music. Supermarkets used to use constant background music and few of them do so now.

Gerry Tan ● 4426d

Waitrose is a little more for most things but only they sell real black puddings. Free newspapers and tea/coffee too. Great range of wine. It's worth a trip to Lidl in Hanwell for fresh veg, some good tinned and jarred staples,cereals, washing liq/ powder and their wine and fruit juice range is good too.

Keith Iddon ● 4426d

Waitrose.Not as expensive as many believe it to be, lovely staff and spotless.I just wish that we had a nice big Aldi in Ealing.

Nigel Brooks ● 4426d