Sainsbury's

“Can we go to Big Sainsbury’s?” <- me whenever I want two hours to inexplicably pass by, because entering Big Sainsbury’s is like entering the twilight zone where time no longer exists in the same realm. Big Sainsbury’s has everything - well, nearly. It has an extensive clothing section, and has fitting rooms (though note these have limited hours and close most days at 6). They carry brands other than Tu Clothing, including Sosander, Thought, Finery London and Simply Be. Generally sizes 8-20 are available across brands and they often have a cheeky sale rail or two. Behind clothing is toys, stationary, and a kitchen/homeware section. It is truly Lego sets and nibble bowl heaven. You’ll go in thinking you’ll just look and won’t buy anything, and you’ll emerge, stunned, twenty minutes later with a new pair of silicon-tipped tongs and a cosy mug with dogs on. I am definitely not speaking from experience. If they haven’t quite got what you want in the homeware/toy section then no problem, you can have an angry coffee in the cafe upstairs, or you can head to Argos and spend 30 minutes scrolling through the catalogue and reminisce about the days you’d go through and circle items in that heavyweight book to add to your christmas list. The rest of the shop is food aisles as far as the eye can see. Highlights: the aisle with the little Lindt ball pick-and-mix section at the end. There’s a good selection of health and beauty bits and an extensive free from section with a great variety of sweet and savoury. The reason Big Sainsbury’s only gets 4 stars from me: the chilled free from section is smaller and there’s a lot less gluten free that there has been. There also isn’t a lot of unusual offerings that might match the size and scale of a Big Sainsbury’s; you’d have thought with all that space they’d have more to offer, but somehow it feels like a limited selection across the board. That said, it’s still perfect for a Big Shop, and has all the basics. Who wants a kumquat anyway. I love the clothing and homeware bits here and honestly it’s nice if you want to spend less time rushing around and more time mooching. If you’re looking for a quick shop, this Big Sainsbury’s is totally wasted on you and you should try the M&S down the road. If you want to enjoy a leisurely shop, this is the one for you.

Used the upstairs cafe/restaurant. Ordered two all-day breakfasts, which were delicious when they arrived, but it took 40-minutes to arrive (after reminding them at the counter 30-minutes from ordering). Not ideal, as we stopped en route, travelling up to Yorkshire. Cleanliness could have been better, too. Tables were cleared, but not cleaned afterwards. The window blinds had seen better days. Odd used mugs left here & there. Such a shame, as Sainsburys should be raising their standards - there are much better supermarket cafes around.