Taj the Grocer, Brighton

Absolute ACE of a shop. Worth going in just for the colours and wonderful smell!! Prices are comparable, probably lower, than other shops. Vast range of goods that always look fresh. It’ll do for me…

Great shop with a huge variety but overpriced! You can get the same products at othe grocers for much less. I have tried the indian food counter and unfortunately, I didn’t like it. There is someone called LilliChilli in Hove, who cooks yummy indian vege food at home and works like a takeaway but you have to collect it. Have bought things from here as can;t find anywhere else but always love to browse here.

Love everything about this place! It's such a shame that the St James Street branch has now closed, I think Kemp Town has lost a real asset, especially with the encroaching chains (Starbucks etc).

If you're adventurous about your cooking this really is the place to go, where else would you be able to choose from around 20 different types of sweet chilli sauce!

I have not had any direct contact with the staff (except at the till) so I can't comment on the employees of this store. However I do occasionally shop at the other Taj (which is far less impressive) and find the staff there less than friendly.

I am not sure why as I have met some incredibly nice Asian people in this town who have absolutely no problems with LGBT folk, so why some people have to look down on their customers as if they were some kind of annoyance is unclear to me. I have a large interest in Asian culture (and am even studying the Devanagari script used for Hindi and other languages) so it would be nice to know that the willingness to try to understand or at least accept other cultures is something mutual.

On the other hand this is the only place where you can get such a huge range of oriental foods. The choice is pretty amazing and I could wander around in there for ages. Luckily I have only been there with other people who have urged me on, or maybe unluckily as it means that I probably haven't seen half the range of what they have on offer.

I would give it 5 stars if the staff were more friendly. However customer service is very important to me and while I am writing I am still struggling to give it 4 instead of 3. On further consideration I will make that 4 as the choice is fantastic and some of the female staff in their other shop have been friendly in the past, unlike their male colleagues.

I've always found Taj to be a treasure trove of unusual and delicious foods. Most food is inexpensive (for Brighton anyway), although things like pots and pans are quite pricey. My favourite feature of the Western Road shop is the olive bar, where you can try the olives before you buy - a thoughful gesture indeed! The baklava and actually anything from the deli counter has always been excellent. Their bakery does lovely fresh bread too, but you have to get in there quick as there is little left by the end of the day.

Quite a few people have mentioned stand-offish staff but in my experience the staff have always been helpful and no moodier than the checkout/customer service staff in Tescos or any other supermarket.

Situated opposite Waitrose on Western Road, this is an interesting supermarket, focusing on Asian cuisine, with the emphasis on natural, organic and fairly-traded produce.

The array of exotic fresh herbs and spices is impressive, but they also do a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables and dairy products, which are as locally sourced as possible. They also have an extensive range of special diet products - for example, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian products, and organic baby food.

Prices vary hugely, though: pittas are very good value, for example, but some other items are more expensive. But with such a wide range it is unlikely you won't be able to find what you want.

The main downer - as others have said - is the staff, who vary from friendly to downright dismissive. The other particular gripe is the awkward queuing system, that means that on every visit, someone who has arrived later has ended up getting served before me.

I think there's some confusion here between Taj (opposite Waitrose on Western Road, with a sister store at the bottom of James St), which has another entry on Qype and Taj Mahal International Foods which is on a side street further up Western Road, towards Hove. Not helped by the picture and address above being of Taj #1!

I suspect the reviews talking about rotting fruit are for the second version, which is not as impressive in terms of range and quality as Taj #1.

Taj is a very unhealthy place. Next time you're in there, have a look around the edges of vegetable displays and see what's crawling there. Once you're done there, have a peep at the gate down the side of the store at the piles of rotting fruit, creepy crawlies and clouds of flies. Then cross over the street, perch yourself on the wall and watch as the staff nip out to dump rotting food wrapped in Waitrose bags in public bins. Belive me, you won't go in there again.

This is a great greengrocers and exotic food deli that I always go to. It’s dead cheap and amazing quality, and you can always get fairtrade. I love it.

This is located in part of the old Debenhams store which has moved to Churchill Square. It is also opposite Waitrose and add to that a convenient bustop thoughfully added by the local bus company a few years ago, it is easy to do most of your weeks shopping in an envionmentally friendly way.
It also opens late so that is handy. There is also a great display of colourful fruit at the doorway and all sorts of ethnic and international food that is difficult to find in other places. There are utensils and cooking pots and large cans of olive oil. They also have a large organic section. The service at the checkout is quick and efficient. I like the atmosphere here. When the old Job Centre in St James Street shut they expanded there. too.

This is my favorite food shop in all Brighton. You can buy fantastic fruit and veg as well as those vital ingredients for an authentic curry or a chinese. It’s affordable and totally beats the clinical experience of a supermarket.

I had to shop at the Taj because I had promised friends a special Indian meal. My sister (her with the passion for prawns - see Jade review) was with me. We both found the place overpriced compared to other Asian stores, and yes, the staff were stand-offish and curt. We being Asian ourselves, felt we were treated discourteously, they took someone behind us in the queue first and served them, even though we pointed out that we had been waiting before that person. Still it is very different being passed over in a queue to being accused of trying to diddle the store out of money Perhaps they counted on the desire to avoid a scene, to short change ReedSue. I am sorry about this experience, specially since these are people from my country of origin.

This is a great store where you can get a massive range of different ingredients. It is not particularly cheap, but still worth it. Good range of organic too.

There are two Taj shops in Brighton that is within walking distance of the city centre and via bus routes. The food is very different and unique which you probably won’t find in supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsburys etc. The prices are also competitively lower than the supermarkets if your buying fresh vegetables and fruit, so I would definately recommend you pop in and have a look around for exotic and quality foods. The only bad point is their customer service may not be as high as other supermarkets

Taj is great! The food here smells and looks like real food should, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Taj is perfect for all thoes ingredients and items that you won’t find anywhere else. They even have some american imported food which is rather nifty. Overall it’s a refreshing change from another supermarket clone.

Need a weird ingredient for a new recipe? head for Taj, and you’ll find it eventually.

World-class purveyors of herbs and spices of every possibly variety and the cheapest veg this side of the Open Market. AND it’s open till 9pm and on Christmas Day, too!

Also a bit of a haven for coeliacs (lots of yummy biscuits, as well as pasta - and good old Thai rice noodles - though their gf bread selection appears to have dwindled).

They often have great deals on catering-sized canisters of olive oil and a good selection of vinegars, not to mention an entire counter devoted to baklava (great if you’re not allergic to the stuff). The sweet section is full of halva and dark chocolate, as well as Hersheys chocs, Reece’s pieces and Panda liquorice.

If the staff weren’t so grumpy, I’d probably move in.

An excellent store, with a huge range of authentic ingredients for world cooking, many of which are from Fair Trade or organic sources. It is a lovely shop just to wander around in, and the displays of fruit and veg are excellent (and beats the average supermarket hands down).

I have not found any problems with staff as others have, but the till arrangement is a bit irritating - you queue up as if to a counter, which is pain if you have a lot of stuff. But it’s nice to have a supermarket which is a bit different.

As many Brightonians will know just a few years ago Taj was one of those tucked away gems that not that many people knew about, now they have their supermarket on Western Road and have recently opened up another at the bottom of St James street.
The stores are both a pleasure to be in and have obviously had alot of thought put in to them. They have a fantastic range of organic and fair trade products and also a good range of fresh food from the deli counter.
Their staff have always been incredibly efficient and helpfull and I've always felt since they first expanded that few people deserve to do well as much as these guys did.