{"id":524194,"date":"2026-03-09T08:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T08:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/524194\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T08:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T08:36:15","slug":"im-a-brit-living-in-canada-and-my-favourite-tourist-attraction-is-loblaws-hear-me-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/524194\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m a Brit living in Canada and my favourite tourist attraction is Loblaws (hear me out)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aritzia, Roots and HomeSense were just a few of the stores I was excited to shop at ahead of my move from London, U.K., to Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I certainly wasn’t expecting my most exciting shopping trip to take place in a grocery store. And yet, when I first set foot in Loblaws<\/a>, I knew there was something special about it.<\/p>\n

You have to understand that in the U.K.<\/a>, our supermarkets are no-nonsense, functional, and about as thrilling as a dentist’s waiting room. No one is wandering the aisles for fun.<\/p>\n

Loblaws, meanwhile, is an experience in itself. It’s the kind of place you pop into to get some milk and emerge 45 minutes later with five different types of hummus and a celebration cake you don’t need. <\/p>\n

My favourite place in my new home of Toronto might genuinely be my local grocery store<\/a> \u2014 here’s why.<\/p>\n

Fresh food<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Loblaws sushi.<\/p>\n

Ellie Hutchings | Narcity<\/a><\/p>\n

If you go into any especially large supermarket in the UK, you might find a small counter selling sushi or a meagre-looking salad bar tucked away in the corner.<\/p>\n

My local Loblaws, however, not only has an impressive sushi selection and an inviting salad bar, but it also has a hot bar, fresh sandwiches, a pizza counter and a poutine station. <\/p>\n

I could honestly eat there for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it’s yet another reason to look forward to the warmer weather \u2014 I’m already planning a Loblaws-supplied picnic on the beach.<\/p>\n

Cakes on display<\/p>\n

\"Cakes.\"\/<\/p>\n

Loblaws Canada cakes.<\/p>\n

Ellie Hutchings | Narcity<\/a><\/p>\n

That brings me on to the cake counter. I\u2019ve hardly seen such a decadent display of baked goods outside of a French patisserie.<\/p>\n

From carrot cake to raspberry and white chocolate, vanilla layer cake to cookies and cream, the delicious offerings are endless.<\/p>\n

At my closest Loblaws, the patisserie is right in front of the entrance. Every time I go in, I have to spend a minute or two admiring it before moving on.<\/p>\n

Sure, we’ve got delicious cake in the UK supermarkets too, but they\u2019re usually already tucked up in a cardboard box \u2014 where’s the fun in that?<\/p>\n

Free samples<\/p>\n

I mean, first of all, who doesn’t love a freebie? If there’s one thing that can curb the pain of parting with $100 at the till, it’s getting a delicious sample on your way around the store.<\/p>\n

We do occasionally have free samples in UK supermarkets, but I’ve rarely come across them. Plus, when I have, they’re usually pretty measly. I’m talking a sliver of cupcake, or a few pieces of cereal, perhaps.<\/p>\n

The first time I went into Loblaws, however, I was offered an entire glazed doughnut. A few aisles further along, there were chocolate-covered orange segments up for grabs. How decadent! <\/p>\n

Misting the fruit and veg<\/p>\n

\"Vegetables.\"\/<\/p>\n

The vegetable row at Loblaws.<\/p>\n

Ellie Hutchings | Narcity<\/a><\/p>\n

This is possibly my most bizarre take, but it’s a hill I’ll die on. I\u2019m obsessed with the misting of the fruit and veg.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something I\u2018ve never seen done in the UK, and it feels kind of luxurious, like I’m picking the produce myself from a freshly watered greenhouse in the English countryside.<\/p>\n

Are there any benefits to misting veg? Are there any drawbacks? I have no idea, but it looks pretty cool.<\/p>\n

Grocery store glamour at what cost?<\/p>\n

\"\\u200bA<\/p>\n

Loblaws Canada snack aisle.<\/p>\n

Ellie Hutchings | Narcity<\/a><\/p>\n

Don’t think that while I was sailing up and down the snack aisle, I didn’t notice the prices. If there’s anything moving overseas teaches you, it’s how to be frugal \u2014 and Loblaws prices<\/a> are pretty steep when compared to my usual No Frills haul.<\/p>\n

Many Canadians consider Loblaws to be one of the most expensive grocery stores in the country<\/a>. To put that into perspective, Canada was recently revealed<\/a> to have the highest food inflation rate<\/a> in the G7.<\/p>\n

So yes, I might be uniquely obsessed with Loblaws, but I\u2019m not going to be doing my weekly shop there any time soon.<\/p>\n

But can’t a girl indulge in a tray of grocery store sushi every so often?<\/p>\n

The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aritzia, Roots and HomeSense were just a few of the stores I was excited to shop at ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,36217,206410,36216,48910,199964,199965,66],"class_list":["post-524194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-grocery-stores-in-canada","tag-loblaws","tag-loblaws-canada","tag-moving-to-canada","tag-moving-to-canada-from-uk","tag-newcomer-to-canada","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}