TFC Supermarket

So, if like me you are a fan of Mr Ottolenghi’s recipes in various cookbooks and newspapers, you may find yourself struggling to find some of the staple ingredients required for his recipes in your local Sainsbury’s. Today, I couldn’t get bulgar in Sainsbo’s so decided to try here and there it is in 3 sizes even (fine, coarse and extra coarse) right by the check outs. Result!
Actually, this is a pretty great supermarket in it’s own right with a great fruit and veg section (in season figs from here are fantastic and you get 20 for price of 4 from any other supermarket) and much more. Definitely worth a visit if you live in the area.

will be delivering traditional Turkish food online to your door step.

The first of a chain now all over London, this place maintains a consistently high standard. There is always a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables and it’s usually good. The tomatoes and cucumbers, for example, taste of something, unlike the watery stuff often sold. There is a wide range of fresh herbs (heavenly coriander), spices, dairy and just about anything else you’d expect in a supermarket. Much of it is Turkish, of course. You can buy honeycomb there, lots of different kinds of halva, fabulous Lava houmous, a delicious aubergine dip…
And then there’s the bakery. At the back of the shop there’s usually a rack of trays of flat bread cooling from the oven. They do large round loaves and the bobbly ones with sesame seeds too.
There’s also an extensive meat counter but as a vegetarian I shall pass over that.
Every now and again I go in to find that the layout of the shop has substantially changed. When I first went there about twenty years ago they had a small part of a disused clothing factory. Now they have all of it. They have invested to improve the shop and increase their range without sacrificing quality. Mr Tesco please note.
The downside: the olives from their deli counter are disappointing and there’s often produce that is out of season and from the other side of the world. I don’t have to buy it, though.

TFC (which I belatedly found out stands for Turkish Food Centre) is a place I discovered as a result of being just too late back from climbing to do my weekly food shopping stint at Ridley road market. As someone who has consistently lived within parts of London with high Turkish populations, I’m very adept at navigating the local mini-​markets, with aisles displaying thousands (OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a little there) different types of beans or choosing between ranges of green leaves that kinda look like spinach but aren’t without getting confused, giving up and going to Tesco.
This place is just as reasonably priced as the nearby market, without what some would consider the false economy of getting 8 spotty bananas for a quid. It’s great for puy lentils, every form of curry powder you could imagine, avocadoes, and herbs. The Saturday queues are a bit rage-​inducing though

A slice of instant Istanbul in a supermarket… As mentioned before it’s a chain store but don’t let that put you off…
It’s much bigger and better than it looks from the outside… I always go to the produce counter to purchase vegetables like globe artichokes or broad beans which are hard to find elsewhere… The bakery offers delicious baklava which is freshly made and taste like it. Iranian pide is always available along with khoubez…
There is a good range of chilled products like halloumi and stuff like cacik, taramasalata and various dips and stuff. This place is good for sourcing White mulberries and dried fruit/​nuts ideal for muesli.

A fantastic Turkish supermarket hidden away at the end of Ridley Road. Fruit and vegetables are great (and similarly priced to the market but often significantly superior — try the oranges which are usually fantastic). Plus, there’s a LOT more. THis is a big place which will not disappoint you — apart from Turkish specialties, Baklava (sp.?), fresh feta, halloumi etc, this place also bakes fantastic bread — and does so several times a day. Hot pide is a dream — and really cheap. If you’re a meat-​eater, get some of their best lamb chops — consistently excellent (not cheap). Oh, yes. And olives! Forget paying £2.50/100g at Borough. Try TFC where the best of their olives is 50p/​100g!
A real gem — always on my list when in Dalston — and I’m sure there are branches elsewhere.

I know, I know, TFC is a chain and we’re not supposed to review chains. But first things first, my local Turkish Food Centre was the very first in the chain, established back in 1980 as a market stall here on Ridley Road. Also, its not exactly competing with Tesco or Wal-​Mart for world domination: TFC has about a dozen medium-​size shops mostly north of the river. Lastly, this branch is sort of hidden away, and looks smaller than it really is, so I’m not sure that even locals will know about its many charms.
It offers fruit and veg at similar prices to the market traders vocally advertising their wares outside. There is a bakery at the back where you can buy deliciously warm and fresh Turkish flatbreads, sesame-​covered loaves or layered borek pastries. There’s a massive meat section if thats your thang. They also do a nifty line in barbecue equipment — I assume this is because the many local ocakbasi restaurants source their tongs and charcoal here.
This is all for wholesale prices. OK it might lack some popular brands or a Finest range, as in other more familiar supermarkets, but what you miss in reassuring familiarity you gain in the chance to try new things and a guaranteed saving at the tills.

Huge and fabulous shop. They don’t just do feta, they do loads of different types of feta plus all sorts of halva, hummus, biscuits, drinks most of the stuff you’d get in a ‘normal’ supermarket, but with a whole different slant. And not just confined to Turkish either. They have a sweets counter, and shelves of Greek and Turkish breads (unwrapped, you can choose a plastic bag or a paper wrap). In the back there’s a wonderful fruit and veg section. Lovely fresh, quality stuff, at very competitive prices. I’m always especially drawn to the green celery (can’t see the point in blanching myself) and big bunches of flat leaf parsley.