The closest supermarkets to urbanest King’s Cross

2nd February 2015 Chris Clark Accommodation Basics, Careers and Finance, London Life

This is a guest post by Lisa Herms from Florida, USA, currently a resident at urbanest King’s Cross London. She is studying International Health Policy (Health Economics) Masters course at London School of Economics.

Interesting fact: I actually enjoy reading Shakespeare…and all types of classic literature!

“What I love most about London are the people, the shopping, the history, the atmosphere!”

The closest supermarkets to urbanest King’s Cross

One of the first things I always do whenever I’m new somewhere is scout out where the closest supermarkets are. For some reason, knowing exactly where I can buy my milk and my toast and the scarce ingredients that I need for my cooking always makes me feel right at home. When you’re new to a country, finding out which supermarkets you prefer, which ones fit your budget and which ones have opening times and locations convenient for you is always a bit of an adventure. Yet, over these past few months, I’ve done quite a bit of walking about the area around urbanest King’s Cross, and just in case you have not quite found “your” store, I want to share some of the places I discovered with you. Below you will find some of the most well known supermarket chains.

Tesco Metro

Location: 22 Caledonian Road

The Tesco on Caledonian Road is probably my most popular go-to supermarket. It is the closest of its kind near Urbanest and has a basic supply of everything you can need. I especially like the price promise they offer, and I have found them to be comparatively cheap. Hence, I just use it for my weekly grocery and basic supply shopping, though if I am searching for higher quality or unusual ingredients, I do go elsewhere.

Mark & Spencer

Both within King’s Cross and St. Pancras Stations, there is an M&S Simply Food store. The size is as expected from a rail station store, but most of the basics are there. It’s especially a good place to go if you are not much of a cook, since they have a very nice selection of ready sandwiches, salads and other microwaveable or easy cooking dishes. Of the main supermarkets in London, I would argue that M&S offers some of the best quality. Though this comes with a certain price, of course…

Waitrose & Little Waitrose

Yet another popular supermarket, Waitrose just recently opened a tiny branch – a Little Waitrose – right inside King’s Cross Station. This little store of course does not have a big selection, but like Marks & Spencer, it has all the basics. If you are up for doing a bit of walking, there is also a bigger Waitrose in The Brunswick, about a 25-minute walk from Urbanest. This is the biggest supermarket I have been able to find within convenient walking distance to Urbanest, and I highly recommend it, if you just have a few things to buy, like big selection, and perhaps want some more unusual or higher quality products. If you become a regular, I also highly recommend the myWaitrose card, as it will help you save money on special offers and give you access to a free coffee during your shopping.

Sainsbury’s Local

Location: Euston Station

Many people are big fans of Sainsbury’s Local. Others have an innate aversion to it, and I’ve heard it being called a “glorified convenience store”. Nevertheless, I quite like it and, they do in fact have many convenience foods. There is always a huge selection of microwave and ready-to eat or quick and easy cooking foods, often with many sales as well. Personally, I quite like it and it is a nice alternative to my weekly Tesco shopping trip. Unfortunately though, there is not one within easy walking distance to Urbanest King’s Cross (at least if you’re carrying groceries). That is to say, it is still relatively close considering that we are in London, but if you’re feeling a bit lazy, the 390 bus that has a stop right at urbanest also goes to Euston Station, dropping you off almost in front of the Sainsbury’s.

Iceland

Location: 259A Caledonian Road

If you are primarily interested in frozen packaged food and cheap dry groceries, Iceland is probably a good stop. Though the selection of “standard” groceries is not so great as with other supermarkets, it is very cheap. It is also one of the closest stores you can find.

The Co-operative Food

Location: 303 Caledonian Road

Just a few houses past Iceland, you will find a Co-operative food store. Priding itself on offering “local convenience, great value food, and ethical trading” this may also be a nice option. The selection of groceries is good and prices are adequate. Its location near Urbanest is also a great plus.

As a final thought, my personal advice to you is not to ignore the little kiosks and off-license stores you can find everywhere. There’s one store right on York Way on the way to King’s Cross, next to a kebab place and a coin laundry. It may not be appealing from the outside – they rarely are, in my opinion – but it is very cheap and should have all of the basic necessities if you’re running late and facing an empty fridge back at your student accommodation. Other places like it can be found aplenty on Caledonian Road. Though of course, on that topic, if you walk down Caledonian Road, you may just as well stop by one of the many chicken, kebab, pizza or Asian take-away places, if in the evening you decide that you’re not in the mood for cooking after all…