Ahmeds Fruit & Veg

As my local (and sadly one of very few in the East End) fresh fruit and vegetable shop Ahmed’s is my favourite.
Always greeted with a smile and ‘Hello’ and his wife always compliments me on my dresses/​hair ~ so nice! Certainly service with a smile.
I usually pop in for the more ‘exotic’ vegetables/​spices/​herbs (no, not those type of ‘exotic herbs’, tut-​tut!) and the odd packet of noodles or chilli sauce. I love their more exotic and Asian variety of produce as let’s face it, you can pretty much get apples/​potatoes/​etc. anywhere but West Indian Hot Sauce or some quality spices are a wee bit harder to track down.
The only reason it’s not 5 stars is because sometimes their produce isn’t the freshest I’ve seen; it’s edible but if like me you don’t eat a dinosaur (herbivore of course) load of fruit/​veggies a day then it’d not last long in your hoose before you have to toss it.
I’m all for supporting the small shop/​business owners over the mega giants (Te*co to name but one) so shopping in these smaller, local and (most usually) friendlier shops is always good for the soul and your local area.

Ahmeds is exactly why we should support the local shop owner, here you get service from a kindly man who is keyed up on his shops produce.
Its convenient to buy everything all in one at the supermarket, but Ahemd’s brings back that feeling of community and the shop owner asking you how your dog is as you go in. The feeling is mutual and this is all about building relationships and taking things back to basics.
Ahmed’s is a bit different and I like to save the pounds so I am keen to go to avoid the corporate empire that is the supermarket to go to this pleasant shop. You get my vote!

Since the East End isn’t quite so blessed with vegetable shops as the southside, Ahmed’s is very important. It has plenty of veg and fruit– not always the freshest, compared to the big chains, but usually good quality and at a good price. It also has the advantage of a friendly, chatty owner who knows his onions and can point out the product that I can’t see (even if it is right in front of me), making this a pleasant place to shop and a local hub.

For a small shop, Ahmed’s really squeezes in a lot of fruit and veg, as well as a small selection of snacky nuts and things.
They have Lay’s crisps, which I love purely because they remind me of holidays. Lying on the beach eating a giant bag of these cos I can’t be bothered getting anything else.
Anyway, their seasonal stuff is cheaper than Tesco etc, and it’s much better to be supporting somewhere local.