Taj the Grocer in Brighton and Hove

Ordering online from them is a SCAM. They are happy to take your money with no guarantee you'll ever get your order. My online order never arrived. I emailed repeatedly but received no response. I called the store, and they said they only deal with order issues via email. That's obviously not true, because no one is responding to my emails. I used their live chat on their website, and the only response I got was that they'll email me, which they have not done. I wish I had read the other reviews before ordering — do NOT order online from them!

NEVER ORDER FROM THEIR WEBSITE. This is a SCAM! We never received our order although we paid around £50 of meat 9 days ago. They promise next day delivery but never delivered. Numbers to call them are not working and they don't answer on social media or by email. Very very bad!!!!

Bought two items. The naan bread was moldy and out of date. The ras malai had gone off when I opened it. Took it back the next morning. No refund or exchange as I hadn't kept a receipt. Obviously weren't prepared to use the CCTV to prove I'd bought the items. Was a regular customer. Not now.

Ordered a few bits on line Its been over a week now I have emailed them twice no answer telephoned no answer chatted online 24 hours no reply Don't use there on line shopping

I place an online order. Some items were substituted which was a bit annoying. More importantly several items were missing. I emailed but got no response. Tried phoning and no-one answers the phone. Tried the online chat but no response there either. This was for an order originally placed two weeks ago. They've taken my money and not provided the goods. I will never use this firm again and I'd advise everyone else to avoid.

Read the Hygiene inspection ‘0 stars’ rating before you even think shopping here for a three day lasting diarrhoea. Or spending on overpriced fruit to find out they are rotten inside once you cut it open. Disgusting.

Worst service ever… I ordered my groceries on Saturday… where it says 48 hours services…on Monday I called at least 4 times.. where I was told some girl called Ayesha takes care of online groceries… she was always on break and never available… Tuesday I called … I was told Ayesha was off and so no one’s available,.. but then I managed to talk to the manager and said ur delivery has been despatch and will receive it by Wednesday.. I had to stay at home because of the delivery..,,now it’s Friday now still has not received anything… and not a single update.,, I asked to cancel my order .. still waiting for my refund.. this is a crook company

Such a good choice of food from all over the world. The fruit and vegetables are always fresh. Good takeaway Falafals too.

Ricco di delizie e prodotti medio orientali frutta e verdura stupenda personale squisito. Un angolo perfetto in un bel quartiere

What a wonderful inventory of fruits and veggies from all over as well as a variety of nuts and other vegetarian delights. Great place to shop for one night or stock up for a whole month. Very fair prices.

I bought 1kg of chicken breast. It tastes like cardboard and or plastic. It was a medium size breast. The taste was as it was filled by chemicals. Happy to return it Please don’t buy from this people again

Taj has an amazing range off food from all over the world and is our new favourite shop. Cheap prices and nice staff. Definitely coming back. Check out the hot sauce selection and flour amazing!

I ordered some green coconuts for a traditional wedding ceremony online on a Tuesday so the order should have came by Thursday as stated on their website "delivered within 48 hours". We didn't get the delivery until the day of the ceremony which was Saturday! It was a pain trying to contact anyone to speak to but I came across a mobile number on their instagram. I only managed to speak to this guy twice and it was just him confirming that the order will come on Friday. Friday went and order never came so I chased up again but all my calls, voicemail and emails were ignored. Don't bother with online orders because they really do not stick to their "delivered within 48 hours" promise. Probably the only company have ever come across where their customer service is non-existent, and to also top it off, our fruits were delivered wrapped in mouldy brown paper!

Very unwelcoming place which just seems to get worse Overpriced , rude staff especially in fruit and veg but the worst by a mile is the African gentleman serving on the Deli counter, he is so rude to everyone the gentleman before us asked for a napkin he was rudely directed to the tills with a shrug he then proceeded to serve us in an arrogant rude manner I really could not believe this guys attitude !! Isn’t he monitored by his seniors ?? Although all staff members seem to have this attitude. The Deli itself has become very unappealing the food left open on the side was just one thing we saw, the shop is almost always empty so I think people are realising I will only visit again if I absolutely have to

Only 1 staff member, out of many, wearing a mask despite it being mandatory. The man who seems to be in charge of the veg section is rude & arrogant. Only shop here very rarely now (for things difficult to get locally elsewhere) since the man at veg section was very rude to my elderly mum who had the temerity to politely ask a question. Just buy jars, packets etc. Would not touch the counter stuff with bargepole. Also cannot see how the large amounts of fruit & veg piled up can all be kept fresh. Doubt the allegations of racism in couple of other reviews as have seen that man be rude to Asian customers too. He is just an obnoxious person full stop who should not be working with the public. A real pity as this could be a great shop with regular, happy customers.

The yellow stickers with reduced prices are ignored. This is because the barcode is left uncovered and the staff scan it at the till. You pay full price. This has happened more times than I can count - and I wonder if it is intentional??

Went to this supermarket yesterday and while the Omicron variant is soaring and masks have become mandatory in all shops 9 out of 10 members of staff in this place we're not wearing a mask. Totally unacceptable. I turned around and walked out.

Happy to have Taz in my area, lots of options, especially from the Mediterranean cuisine and plethora of greek products!

Staff are horribly rude to customers and they have no desire to improve it. Vegetables are often rotten but instead of getting rid of them, they mix them with fresher batches and tell customers off for picking and choosing. Absolutely the worst shop for customer service in Brighton.

This is a grocery shop with Deli counters, not a restaurant.They sell lots of subcontinental items including fresh vegetables - exported items are not that fresh always considering you pay fortune! Green papaya is £6.99/kg !** This is important - every time I've bought "baby chicken" I have experienced horrendous diarrhoea, abdominal pain and stomach problem - I was on the floor a few times. I have noticed other customer complaining the same to the meat counter - obviously was not paid much attention. Taj shop manager - please change your supplier of baby chicken - it can kill people.** Always ask for receipt - you may be chased down the road to show it, if you do not have receipt you may have to come back to the till and hope the person at counter will recognise you.

Similar experience. I used to love shopping here. Twice now I have brought walnuts in shells and every one I open has some sort of infestation and live maggots have been found. I have tried calling. No pick up and I have tried the chat line....no luck recording my experience.We are in lockdown but somehow I am determined to be reimbursed for being sold a product that was not fit for consumption. Trust has gone out of the window.

Si realmente desea ver una tienda de comestibles que no respeta ninguna regla, puede hacer un recorrido por el interior de Taj.Algunos miembros del personal no usan máscara y recogen alimentos sin guantes.El hombre que maneja el área de verduras es probablemente el hombre más rudo y arrogante del mundo.Invito a todos a echar un vistazo al suelo y a echar un vistazo detrás de los estantes o las cajas de verduras. La cantidad de telarañas y polvo es más apropiada para una casa embrujada que para una tienda donde se supone que debes comprar comida.

¡Fue una experiencia horrible que te trataran como suciedad en sus zapatos! Simplemente le pregunté a uno de los miembros del personal de manera amable y positiva dónde estaba ubicado algo, a lo que el hombre ni siquiera me miró ni me miró, y respondí 'allí', luego le di las gracias y él siguió ni siquiera enfréntame y mucho menos mírame, seguía haciendo lo que estaba haciendo y tenía la cara puesta como si le estuviera pidiendo que moviera una maldita montaña. . . . ! El personal es tan miserable y sentí que algunos de ellos me miraban de manera despectiva cuando pasé con mi vestido de verano. Tampoco llevaban máscaras o guantes en la tienda y tampoco el personal del mostrador de delicatessen manipulando la comida, ¡estamos en medio de una pandemia por el amor de Dios! !

I used to love shopping there but had a delivery a couple of weeks ago and surprise surprise a bag of mixed nuts had spiderweb and maggots inside!! Absolutely disgusting !! Still didn’t receive my refund !! Very poor customer service !! AVOID !!

Fui al mostrador a comprar pollo. Inicialmente pedí 1 kg, pero le pedí al hombre que me diera 3 kg en su lugar, ya que iba a dar algunos a mis vecinos en el encierro. El señor fue tan grosero, "por qué no lo dijiste antes, ya hice el 1 Kg" mi respuesta fue "¿por qué esto es un problema? basta con añadir otros 2 Kg. Lo hizo a regañadientes después de que dije "No lo quiero de nuevo" y me di la vuelta para irme. Comportamiento impactante considerando que tenía un carrito lleno de comestibles. La actitud hacia las clientas es muy mala. Sé que se trata de un problema cultural, pero no debería tenerse en cuenta al tratar con clientes. Tuve la tentación de dejar todo, pero como profesional del NHS, no tengo tiempo para regresar o ir a otro lugar por mis verduras.Ciertamente no volveré.Taj enseñe a su personal algunos modales básicos de primera línea.

Por lo general, me gusta comprar en este lugar, ¡incluso si creo que deberían limpiar el piso al menos 1 vez cada 5 años!De todas formas. . ayer por la tarde fui a hacer la compra y sucedió algo loco. uno de los cajeros comenzó a discutir con otra persona del personal gritando como loco! !Pregunta. . ¿Puedes conseguir contratar gente que sepa comportarse?Segundo punto. El mundo se enfrenta a Covid 19. . ¿Cómo es posible que los carniceros y parte del personal no usen mascarilla y guantes?

One of Brighton’s finest. Great selection of products and moreso with the expansion. Friendly staff and service. Bit more pricey, but well worth it

Take a wander around this shop. So much to see and buy. Fruit and vegetables you probably have never seen before. Spices, tea of every kind and so much veggie and vegan!!! Wish we had one in my home town!!!

One of the best places in Brighton. So much choice of fresh organic fruit and vegetables and other amazing foods. Amazing selection of everything you could want.

With a specialist and vegan facade it hides it's expanded butchery - open your eyes and just SEE the meat section ! This is NO vegan -friendly!!!

Hate going shopping there, the staff is rude and doesn't know how to handle customers, I went to buy an Indian loose tea and realized that on the pack the expiry date was next day. Also had a bad experiance with the fresh cut chicken they sell, the chicken had a bad fungus on it so I had to throw away, and once I bought a Pineapple from them which was also in a really bad condition from Inside. I hate hate hate them.

I found them helpful, and curries are delicious very big choice of vegetables and fruits, I will be ordering a take away tomorrow

I noticed that there was a huge mould growing on the cabbage which I had picked up out of a container containing about a dozen cabbages. I asked one of the staff to cut off the half of the cabbage containing the mould. They didn't show any surprise at seeing this mould but did cut off about a third of the cabbage and handed it back to me without a word. At this point I pulled off another leaf which was also mouldy. The store manager aggressively told me told me not to tear off any more and his assistant told me this is because it would make the cabbage lighter, At this point i said that i would just forget it. Both men now aggressively insisted that i buy the cabbage since they had cut it for me. Never mind that I had actually helped them by removing the mouldy article which no doubt was affecting the rest of the batch. I did buy the cabbage as i became rather anxious - but I will not be back. I've used this place for several years (mostly the counter staff are very offhand but I now understand the example they are getting) I also have noted the large turnover of staff - I guess the staff get even more aggression thrown at them than do the customers.

Myself and my partner have been trying to be more sustainable - stop buying single use plastic and think more about how the choices we make can effect our planet. We live very close to Taj and have been shopping here for well over six months, I looked back at our bank statements to see we have spent A LOT of money during this time ( over £100 a month). Today we went into the establishment to pick up and few bits (avo, lime, lemons and olives). Now the olive section is brilliant because you can try before you buy, or so we thought. I had tried one olive and so had my partner when a male member of staff came over and said very loudly ‘you only try the olives you are going to buy’...’ right ok then? How does that work? Surely you taste the olives to check they are the ones you want to purchase?’ He responded ‘NO YOU ONLY TRY OLIVES YOU ARE GOING YOU BUY YOU DO NOT TRY EVERY OLIVE’. At this point my partner looks at the man completely mind boggled and said ‘but we have tried one olive each! we where trying two different types to decide which to buy, what you’re saying makes absolutely no sense and I have never been spoken to like this before by anyone, I certainly do not expect this when I am a loyal customer who uses Taj 2/3 times a week’. At this point we had been made to feel so embarrassed we still filled a pot of olives and walked to the till (I couldn’t help thinking if we had been two men this would never have happened). No apology nothing from the man conserned. We then get to the till and the older lady who serves in there was also incredibly rude, she spoke to another gentleman whilst serving us and didn’t look me once - just blurted the price and stuck her hand out. This is not the first time we have received terrible customer service in here - but because we where desperately trying to reduce waste we have continued to shop here. Well never again. The food sometimes is amazing and I think it can be reasonably priced but other times we have bought fresh fruit and veg which has gone off extremely quickly. Basically, I will be steering clear from now on. Ps, the olives weren’t worth it anyway ha!

This was the last straw.....after a few months of shopping in this establishment to try and be more environmentally friendly I have finally had enough. There is an olive section of the store where in the past I have been encouraged to try the olives by a younger female member of staff; I mean they supply tooth picks to do this for goodness sake, yet today on trying one olive, an older plain dressed gentleman approaches me and says 'YOU BUY THE ONE YOU TRY' I replied saying 'excuse me..how does that work then, what is the point of trying them then', in which he replied 'YOU BUY THE ONE YOU TRY - YOU CAN NOT TRY ALL'. By this time just a reminder I had had one olive! I said I was choosing between two sets of olives and all of sudden he says okay you can try two, to which I said 'so there is now a maximum try of two!' He was loud and embarrassing and it was clear if I was a man he wouldn't dare speak to me the way he did. There are no signs saying how many olives you can bloody taste and after spending a lot of money in there in the past few months I felt like an utter mug for doing so. It was totally uncalled for - treating me like I am a bloody olive thief. I mean I was holding other items so it was clear I was buying products from the store and you can't spare a blooming olive but instead decide to embarrass me over nothing - to assert your olive boss authority! (I would perhaps understand more if I had try more then ONE olive but even then who cares if you are going to make a sale out of it).. That was the final straw - that aside in general Customer service has always been poor and when I say poor the staff practically ignore you when putting your items through, throwing delicate items into a bag damaging them and looking at you like you are a piece of s**t but then suddenly smiling with a personality to talk across you in a different language to someone they recognise. I'l be fair actually it is not all staff - mainly the male staff and one old lady who serves. I have witnessed the male staff treat and speak to the younger women like crap and have now experienced it directly. The produce quality has also decreased over time - old moulding produce when touched flies coming from it and many times what I have gone in for I have not picked up because of those reasons. I would have to agree with others who have left reviews the experience in this shop is a misogynistic, racist, sexist, rude environment and I would not waste another penny in this store.

I have been shopping at Taj Mahal for over 30 years, and weekly at Taj the Grocer since they opened in Western Road, Brighton around 16 years ago. I have noticed these past few months that when Taj's customer till screens are not working (ie. so customer's cannot see what prices are being typed into the cashtill keypad) I have been charged for items which I have not purchased or over-charged for item which I have (this is regularly only been between £1 & £2 each visit ... which I don't notice until I get home & check my receipts against my actual shopping)! However, I was absolutely appalled last week when I checked my shopping receipt (by way of a change) whilst in store at Taj to find I had been over-charged by over £19 on a £10 shopping bill! When I complained about it, the person who had served me blankly denied that he had over-charged me. I asked to see one of the owners in order to make an official complaint (as this should not happen to anyone let alone those recognised as regular customer who can afford to shop there). There then followed a heated argument/scene which was only calmed down when their long-serving 'fruit-man' intervened and told me that the person who had served me was the actual 'Supervisor' and suggested that he refund me what he had over-charged me. At this point, and only after checking my shopping bags & the receipt he had issued to me, the 'Supervisor' refunded over £19 to me in cash (I had paid by debit-card), verbally apologising for his error but smiling cheekily at me. I sensed no genuine remorse whatsoever in his apology ... it looked more like frustration at being caught out! It has taken me a whole week to find the courage to write this review as I very much like shopping at Taj but do not want to be taken advantage of with such regularity. Incidentally, I have told that 'Supervisor' off on more than one occasion in the past for 'dumping' the delicate fresh produce I have just bought from Taj into the bottom of my shopping bag & then putting strong-scented incense sticks & heavier shopping on top. This is not good customer service, especially in view of the inflated cost of shopping there for world groceries!

A fabulous resource for Those living in Brighton, who enjoy exotic (Indian/ Mediterranean/ East Asian/ Caribbean/African/Middle Eastern foods and ingredients. Taj is unique in the quality and range of its products, and also strongly organic with many vegan options. The shop is huge and expanding. Hopefully they will add a fishmonger, although their frozen fish section is pretty good. Unlike some others who have posted, I find the staff charming and helpful. Wish they would go online and do delivery, as parking isnt easy.

I was charged for an item I did not purchase. I did not realise until I got home, so doubt I will be able to get my money back. Not the first time this has happened here, so I would suggest always checking your receipt.

It is a shopping experience coming to Taj's. Such interesting and wonderful products for sale here. Fresh fruit superb

Excellent, friendly shop. Fresh veg & fruit -good variety & price. Excellent, large vegan range of food.

Brought a vegetable curry to take home from the shop, full of runny ghee, the man didn’t help at the till placing it up side down in the bag!!

Di solito non scrivo recensioni, solo quando un posto veramente merita. Spesso sono a Brighton per visitare amici. Il Taj è uno dei miei posti favoriti per trovare spezie molto particolari e il negozio è veramente ben fornito di ogni genere. Ringrazio tutti veramente, ma in particolare il ragazzo al banco della gastronomia che parla anche italiano e che mi è stato di buon aiuto, Cordiali saluti !

Taj has so many different items ranging from exotic fruits and veg to take away curries and other dishes, If you can't find it here I would be suprised.

The best selection in Brighton for international food. Open until late. Staff not especially friendly. Always busy. Located in Hove. Highly recommenddd.

I live close by so I've been shopping here for over a year, not very often but often enough to have been treated bad multiple times. This shop is expensive, too expensive especially for the quality they provide, which is extremely bad. Fruit and products look nice but they are actually very poor quality. Customer service is pretty absent, since staff and management are extremely rude all the time; they laugh at customers and mock them, plus they bully staff at the same time. I witness managers and supervisors treat female staff very badly, so there is also a power imbalance. Falafel taste 3 days old, bad. In short: do not shop here, unless you really have too. I will not enter here anymore, tired of being treated like that when I'm spending money, plus I do not want to put money in a racist and bully place.

Visited Brighton for the weekend and came across this lovely Chinese supermarket. It has such a large variety of foods including Asian and Indian. I found so many things there that I’ve never seen before and couldn’t resist so bought a lot of items. The shop is open until I think 9pm which is very convenient. They have everything from fresh meat and vegetables to tinned soup and dry noodles. Me and my fiancé love Chinese foods and this was an amazing opportunity to buy some hidden gems that we’ve never seen. I’m only disappointed that I couldn’t bring home fresh items as we live far away and they wouldn’t be good keeping in a very hot car.

Went for a cooked curry to take away and ended up comimg out with 4 beautiful t-bone steaks and some chicken swarma and all very good it was too x x

Well dine Taj, your rude staff who laugh at customers and slag them off hasn't gone unnoticed. It's what I'd call racist,sexist behaviour. Really put me and family and friends off. That's 3 of us now who used to spend quite a bit of money in there won't be doing so again. Plus the owner himself gets involved I had 3 men laughing at me calling me names as I walked in the door was humiliating experience. It makes me worry about the curries and olives and what they put in them...

Excellent for buying 'far away' food to stock in your kitchen cupboard. You pay a bit more but they open long hours every day and have food and Indian toiletries and Ayurveda health pills you won't find elsewhere. Not so good on Indian take away! Good for browsing too. Best in Brighton for choice. Fresh exotic expensive fruit. Not catering to the British palette!!

Don't bother getting the takeaway food as it's really bad. Bought the chicken jalfrezi and saag bhaji. Beware of the chicken dish as it was mostly bones and the spinach is the frozen kind so really disgusting. Can't comment on the grocery side of things yet but will do as I've bought some. Won't be getting the takeaway ever again.