I bought lunch at UK’s weirdest supermarket where meal deal set me back £30

A-LISTERS like Hugh Jackman and David Beckham do their weekly shop at the UK’s weirdest supermarket – so I bought my lunch there to see what the fuss was about.

The Supermarket of Dreams – yes that is its actual name – sells extortionate lunches – but I managed to nab myself a £3 bargain.

Just round the corner from Millionaire’s Row in London, there lies a colourful shop dubbed the UK’s weirdest – and if you go there you might catch a glimpse of famous faces such as Lily Allen and Hugh Jackman.

Even local David Beckham reportedly pops in on a Friday for an end of week shop.

As resident Barney said: “He is the one guy I have seen in here, I was taken back by his good looks.”

It’s gone TikTok viral for being “the craziest dining experience ever”, hosting the best produce in London and even an in-house restaurant.

“Absolute wizards in the kitchen,” declared Nibble.scribbles on TikTok.

“This is without a doubt the craziest dining experience I’ve ever witnessed,” said TikToker Love Peace & Chicken.

Every Saturday evening the shop transforms into a “Tuna Fight Club” dining experience where a 300KG Atlantic bluefin tuna is flown in from Spain and butchered by the chef with a sword.

Tickets cost £250 which includes various sushi along with the chance to taste raw tuna meat straight from the ribs. 

I’ve got to admit from the off point, I love a supermarket trip. When I go abroad, the first thing I do is head to the shops to check out the weird crisps and obscure scran – but even I was impressed by the selection in The Supermarket of Dreams.

As I walked towards the shop I was met by pink neon signage and spotless glass window panels complete with a chirpy pink hippo/ undercover litter bin sitting outside on the pavement.

This sums up the joint pretty well. It’s hip and down with the kids. Think bougie but cool, the kind of place where you could get all your weekend’s supplies whilst feeling like an influencer. 

Walking into the shop felt like a main character moment as I sang along under my breath to various 2010 pop anthems. The LED lit fridges looked space age and the sparkling automatic sliding doors felt like the entrance to a space ship.

There was a cold fresh smell of produce in the air wafting from stacks of perfectly wrapped sandwiches and every vegetable or fruit you could imagine.

The shop, in Holland Park, opened in 2020, born from Australian entrepreneur Chris D’Slyva’s wish to bring together London’s best foods that customers missed out on during the Covid-19 lockdown.

So when his fish shop was forced to close during the pandemic, he re-registered it as a supermarket to keep doors open and began inviting businesses to set up pop-up stalls in the shop.

It’s a confusing shop with top notch products beautifully arranged in random places, complete with a coffee machine plastered in fridge magnets and a huge wine fridge mounted above it.

Most supermarkets lay out stock in a rigid order, but Supermarket of Dreams has a more blended approach to allow all the stock to fit in the small space. You’ll find bagels with the fruit, soup with the muffins and tacos with pasta.

As I looked around I noticed one big difference to a normal supermarket. There were no big brand names. Other than a few pots of Philadelphia, almost all the items were in brandless packets with just their name as a label or entirely unwrapped.

Where you’d normally find sandwiches in plastic boxes or doughnuts in paper bags, Supermarket of Dreams opts for a natural look and arranges them in wooden baskets.

I was most taken back by the vacuum sealed plastic bags of soup.

It’s next level fancy but disguised in neon and trendy decor, as though a millennial TikToker was handed creative control.

It didn’t take long for me to be dragged into the supermarket fever dream – even the shopping baskets were quirky oval spheres.

But here lies the catch…

The ever so Instagrammable experience comes with a hefty price tag. I spotted £8.90 Brickell’s Ice Cream, £8 Minestrone soup and a ‘special fatty tuna set’ (posh sushi) that’ll set you back almost £25.

Most disturbing was the price of a 4 pack of Estrella Lager priced at £9.80! You’d have to be loaded to be tipsy off those.

With little idea what I had purchased, I opted for a butternut squash and pistachio focaccia, strawberries and Koox white Omega-3 Breakfast Bowl.

The trio set me back an eye-watering £29.45!

Having never heard of a so-called ‘Koox Breakfast Bowl’ and slightly distraught with the price tag I was excited to give my celeb lunch a go.

I’m a meal deal veteran. Nothing beats the classic £3.85 Tesco meal I know and love. It’s functional, convenient and doesn’t break the bank, so I was a hard customer to please.

As I tucked into the fancy sandwich I was quickly impressed. The bread was soft and chewy, the strawberries were bright red and the Breakfast Bowl was outrageously blue.

The saving grace to my finances was the bargain priced coffee at £3.20.

Across London you’ll find a cuppa for upwards of £5! Worse still, the city’s baristas often ‘burnt the bean’ as Tiktoker Gymskin puts it.

So I was very chuffed to get hold of a coffee that was drinkable for so cheap.

Local resident Noor, 27, shops there exclusively for coffee because it’s so cheap in a city that charges at least a fiver for a caffeine boost

“I’ve only had their coffee, but it’s been really good. They have a lot of interesting snacks, cool sauces and we had juice from there that was fantastic.” 

Barney, 39, buys coffee and a Manuka ginger shot from them every day. 

He told The Sun: “The locality and the produce is pretty good. They make amazing cookies that are fantastic. The sushi is also very good.”

It’s a millionaire’s corner shop that pulls together the best of London food. 

I was particularly amazed to see Brick Lane Bagels and Hackney’s own John’s of Dalston pizza on the shelves. 

Most shockingly were the £9.95 Kent grown mangos. Who on earth is growing mangos in Kent?

At this point I started to see creator and entrepreneur Chris D’Sylva’s vision “to create the most f***ing ridiculous version of Tesco Express”.

“I think the people that live around here can afford to shop in supermarkets like this. I don’t think you could compare it to a Tesco.” Said 29-year-old Louis Breaks.

“I go quite a few times, it’s good for a coffee and it’s nice to sit outside here in the sun.”

Overall it was tasty and outshone any supermarket food I’ve ever come across. But I just couldn’t shake the feeling that each bite was setting me back at least a quid.

But if you’ve got the bucks for it, Supermarket of Dreams will change your shopping experience and you may spot a celeb in the process.