Marks & Spencer

I have dreams about the Marks & Sparks sandwiches. From a million miles away in my house in Australia the taste of their chicken and stuffing sandwiches plague my dreams.
It shouldn’t be that hard to make a chicken and stuffing sandwich that tastes the same right? Wrong! I have tried.

The best M&S I know for undies! Yes, that’s right — they’re always fully stocked with pants!
Now, we all know M&S aren’t half bad for undies anyway, being that handy middle ground of basics and pretty stuff, well made and reasonably priced, but I always hit the issue of them having every other size but mine or every colour but the one that I’m looking for.
Enter the Richmond branch — now either I’m just always very lucky here or they are the best stocked branch ever. Perhaps the people of Richmond are simply too posh for M&S knickers, who knows! Either way it’s my go-​to for emergency bras (you’d be surprised how many bra emergencies a girl can get herself into, believe me).
It has the added bonus of having a lovely café (although I have never actually used it, it’s nice to know it’s there!) and a loo, and the store isn’t so huge that you have to walk miles to find things.
I’ll be honest, I don’t really shop in M&S for much more than underwear sets and occasionally food so I’ve only ever powered straight through the store and up to the lingerie section, however, I can highly recommend this branch — especially if you’re having a bra-​mergency!

Surprisingly, after searching for the best FILTER coffee in London, and trying countless specialty coffee shops, I actually like M&S’s upstairs café’s filter coffee best. It is organic, smooth, velvety, rich but not bitter. They will serve you cream instead of milk, and always include a little ginger snap on the side. Nice plush window seats overlooking Richmond. love this place! Such a refreshing change from the espresso culture bitter coffee served in so many places. They have a free loyalty card too and every 10^th coffee is free. A large selection of hot and cold food and snacks too, as well as a few papers/​magazines.

A medium-​sized M&S set-​out on two levels; usefully (in addition to the main doors on George Street) there is also an entrance on Red Lion Street — opposite the Police Station. This is where you’ll need to come if you’re planning on using the collect-​by-​car service; it’s worth mentioning that you’ll need to keep your wits about you, when on foot, as access is at a very popular and constantly busy traffic intersection (the local bus garage is mere yards away).
Once inside the store you’ll discover ladieswear on the ground floor, by the main entrance; the food hall is located towards the back. Although most of their fashion collections are stocked here, there’s only a fairly small selection within each range so, if clothes are the main purpose of your visit, you may be disappointed with the slightly limited choice.
Go upstairs if you’re after lingerie, menswear, childrenswear, shoes, accessories or to make returns. Useful to know that the loos are up here too, adjacent to the decent-​sized comfortable Café Revive — a good place to relax and watch the shopping bustle go by in George Street, below.