Now that's a Nisa meatball!

The new Nisa supermarket on Mantle Road officially opens tomorrow. It's been open irregularly over the last few days, while they've been stocking up and testing their systems and we had a chance to try it out yesterday.

It appears primarily to be aimed at the convenience shopper and impulse buys, with a special offer on advent calendars greeting our arrival and chocolate, beer and crisps all pretty prominently displayed when you walk in.

Closer in feel to the Tesco Express on Lewisham Way than to the Costcutter on Brockley Road, its aisles are wide and bright. It feels like it has a narrower range than Costcutter, but on the other hand, its fresh fruit and vegetables (although overpackaged) look a bit more appetising and Brockley Central wasn't filled with the same sense of doubt when examining the meat.

The staff were nice and unnecessarily apologetic for the fact that they were still stocking up. Prices seemed pretty reasonable, although we lost our receipt so can't give you any examples, except that two litres of semi skimmed milk cost 93p (or something like that).

We don't expect the differences between Nisa and Costcutter will be significant enough to tempt many across the bridge on a regular basis, but if you live on the west side of the station, you now have a nice little supermarket to hand and one that will brighten up a previously dark stretch of street.