The only place I have ever seen(4) packs of Corona beer from Mexico. 4 Pounds a pack($ 8) so $ 2 per beer. Imported glass bottles from Mexico. $ 1 each in Texas. Seems the UK has a much higher rate of tax on gas, and alcohol. Corona is not a great beer and it’s shocking to see that C-Stores in the UK bother with it, with so much good British brew.
Lucy H.
Place rating: 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
This little Tesco is my nearest shop. It’s got all that I want and yes it Tesco may be a big giant taking over the world, sometimes catching taxis just to pick up some bread and eggs isn’t quite feasible. This Tesco often has many sale food stuffs so you can pick up a very good bargain which is handy for me when I’m not very good at planning my meals ahead and often quite the impulsive meal maker. Faced with Sainsbury’s next door, I often opt to go there, just as it’s a little big bigger. Another Tesco in a long chain of other Tescos. Sometimes you have to succumb to the City centre living and the grab and go ethos.
Emma Louise M.
Place rating: 2 Manchester, United Kingdom
After reading Sarah-Jane’s excellent reviews I’m trying to avoid Tesco at all costs these days, preferring instead to source local produce in the markets or small fruit and veg outlets(insider’s tip for you — Aldi offers a fair bit of stuff from nearby farms too). So I remember with a pang of guilt the fact that I would occasionally visit this dreadful branch of the evil conglomerate, needs must with the working in Spinningfields and the dang thing being conveniently located on my route home. And I never had a pleasant experience in here. It’s ludicrously small, hence horribly limited. The corridors are so narrow that the words ‘excuse me’ start to grate on you like nails on a blackboard, squeaking cutlery on a plate. Additionally I will one hundred percent back up what SJ said about the overzealous security guard. What the fricken-frack is wrong with these people? It doesn’t matter whether you’re power-dressing or looking can’t-be-arsed indie(both of which I’ve employed with aplomb), they’ll still make you feel like you’re about to steal the Crown Jewels. Bizarrely, however, I managed to look at all the pictures in Heat magazine and the dude never batted an eyelid. Go figure. You’d think they’d give you hell for even opening a magazine. Everything is so badly designed. It took me probably an hour to find soy milk as an entire section of an aisle was hidden by a large pointless pillar which one had to reach around as if doing one of those Halloween dares where you put your hand in a hole and there’s slime to greet you. Thankfully there wasn’t slime for me, just a bunch of health products, which some might say equate to the same thing. Why didn’t I ask someone where it was? Well, because I hate doing that. Tesco employees aren’t the most pleasant of people to talk to, and if you become engaged in conversation with a cashier at this branch, like I did once, you get creeped out. Some weirdo flirted with me, asking what was piping through my headphones and discussing my purchases when I wanted to just get the hell out of there. This is what happens when you get ID’d. Like I’ve said, it’s a needs must thing. I would not recommend this for anyone’s weekly shop as ninety percent of what’s on your list won’t be there. A plus is that I’ve bought some great, ready-to-use avocados from here. That’s IT. Avocados. That’s its only plus point, and even they weren’t there last time I went in. Go in for the occasional good wine offers, too, but otherwise, stick to other grocery sources.
Sarah-Jane B.
Place rating: 1 Brighton, United Kingdom
A word of advice to the manager of Tesco Express: A good security guard should be able to tell the difference between shop lifters and customers. I reluctantly wandered in to buy a bottle of wine and some chocolate for a friend the other night — what the hell, it was raining and I was running late! — and was followed around the entire store by the hulk of a security guard. As I was trying to debate which wine to take, I could see him standing to my left, arms folded, chest puffed out, looking me up and down. Ditto when I was stood on the chocolate aisle trying to decide which Green & Blacks bar to buy. Having watched The Wrestler the night before, I could have challenged him to a fight with a staple gun. In the end however, I decided I didn’t need the aggro or unwanted attention and high-tailed it to a rival supermarket instead.