Cool shop the products are good quality but it's slightly more expensive then it should be would…read morerecommend asian supermarkets for the japanese snacks it's much cheaper

KENJI is a gift store specialising in Japanese style culture and items, they have beverages and…read moreother items associated with Japan, it is a pretty new store to the mall. I was drawn in by a post which claimed they sold hand sanitisers and due to the current situation regarding Coronavirus (CONVID-19) it seems every pharmacy, drug-store or anywhere which would sell hand gels have been sold out however - They were advertising a product they did not sell - They were overpricing them heavily at £2.50 for a small one, which although isn't as bad as merchants on online giants such as eBay it still is around double the price it would be usually, which Boots and Superdrug still charge nearby if you're lucky enough to get your hands on one. The store also is so narrow, they've crammed so much stuff in a small place meaning it's so hard to walk around the store or find a specific product or even stop to look at something, the store did look good but even if the store is quiet, it isn't really made with the customer experience and ease of getting around the store in mind. Looking good and delivering a good customer-experience should go hand in hand, not one or another. Strangely, they had a drink selection with writing in Japanese I struggled to read allergen information and they didn't seem ready to drink they were lukewarm, being in a hot mall location without refrigerating them which is a bad idea. A Japanese themed gift-shop is a really exciting concept and it's a shame this store is more dire than exciting and fails to live up to its' great potential. 1*

Only allows introductory games in store, meaning you pay for the miniatures, the paints & the rules…read moreonly to find out the tables that should be part of the service they provide are off limits. Considering the prices of warhammer in 2024 have far outstripped wage increase its unbelievable they have the gall to tell people to find a other venues to play games. How are you meant to meet other people that play the hobby if there's no common place to meet up?

This shop as really gone down hill for me being a gaming fan…read morenot so long ago you could get a wide range of games for each console now stocks are small and limited and very pricey fifa 2015 for my nephew was around £45 so i didnt get it as i still have time to look around for it some were else.

To say I received poor service is the understatement of a lifetime! I have returned a package for a…read morerefund that I have still not received a month later, despite the tracking of the return showing that it was delivered back to lego 3 weeks ago. I have emailed and rang, and at first they just told me that it was taking longer than expected. Now they are just ignoring my emails. I cannot believe a company as big and as popular as Lego can give such poor service. I shall not buy from them again or recommend them to anyone.

I spent far too long in the Lego store today creating mini figures of my family from the shop's big…read morepots of Lego heads, bodies, legs and mini accessories. You can make 3 figures for a fiver, which makes a very unique and fun gift! I was making mini versions of my family to give to my dad for his birthday. So he can always have us near! I loved every minute of my visit to the Lego store (and it was probably heading towards the 70 minute mark too!) Even though towards the end I was getting a bit frustrated that they had a limited choice for female outfits and loads of stuff for the men. Shocking sexism Lego, sort it out! ;) It was great to see all the young kids running about the shop getting really excited about all the amazing Lego kits; it's so brightly coloured and the staff are VERY enthusiastic and helpful even if you're a big kid. So if you're like me and you grew up annoying your parents by littering the front room with Lego then you've definitely got to visit the Lego store.

Harvey Nichols is a chain of department stores, founded in 1831 in London, home of their flagship…read morebranch, they now have 16 stores around the country, including this rather nice branch on New Cathedral Street, alongside many other high end stores such as Hugo Boss, it is easy to find from Manchester City centre, being fairly close to Exchange Square and Manchester's other high end department store - Selfridge and Co. The store is really nice, with a big tall cylinder on the end of the actual store, which I presume to be the restaurant, alongside the food hall they have a really nice, posh restaurant which can be found as soon as you get out the lift on the second floor. This store is really nice and high end, as you walk in from New Cathedral Street, they is a very small level and then a staircase onto the main shop floor, or a lift available which is quite hidden, located near one of the other exits and a small staircase. This branch of Harvey Nichols does something not many stores do, even the lifts are really cool, with shiny silver plates around the lift, to make it quite a cool place and not your typical old fashioned lift, most stores already have. I've been stuck in lifts before, and had so much trouble with them, being stuck in 6 lifts for around the hour, but this lift is actually nice and I was amazed, walking into it for the first time. On the second floor, there is a Bar and Brassere, which is located right after you come out of the lift, and is your typical high-end place with Afternoon Tea available, or you can just come in for drinks. Also on the second floor is a menswear section and a Foodmarket. All the food here seems very nice and high end, with a large amount of posh coffees, with Monin flavouring syrups, and other, less well known brands and other types of coffee and drinks. They even had a small piece of chocolate which was latte macchiato flavour, which looked pretty cool, although through looking at it and the packaging, it was hard to tell what it was. The staff here seemed quite friendly, and they did greet me to make sure I was okay, they seemed to know the brand very well and told me, they didn't stock the Pots & Co, a high-end, premium, moose-like dessert, and he told me, they'd probably only stock it in their flagship Knightsbridge branch, which is a similar situation to nearby Selfridges who also only stock it in their flagship London branch, which is a little frustrating. This store had a nice feel to it, with some really nice products and the store was a nice place to walk around and have a look, although the food market was slightly smaller than Selfridges at the Trafford Centre and Bullring, I still feel it is quite a nice, more modern place and overall a nicer department store, to most other department stores I have visited across the country, including nearby stores such as Marks and Spencer, House Of Fraser and Selfridges and due to this, I feel Harvey Nichols deserves a strong 4 stars as it is a nice place to shop, and with only few locations in the UK, and then around the world, it is well worth taking a look in, if you're a tourist in Manchester, or even a local. UPDATE: The store just feels to me to have declined a bit in terms of Food Hall selection and I feel originally I was amazed as the store was all new to me, but now the novelty seems to have faded and now I feel this store is barely average and instead warrants around a two star rating rather than two.

Staying on the subject of decadence, I decided to do a bit of role playing on Saturday and wander…read morearound Harvey Nicks imagining I was one of the cast of Desperate Housewives. Getting into the part I picked out the following: Christopher Kane high volume dress Mary Katrantzou silk whisky dress Matthew Williamson silk party dress Richard Nicoll panelled wool dress Erdem embroidered alvita dress Vivienne Westwood cowl neck dress & Alexander McQueen dogtooth skirt and jacket Alas, when I looked at the price tags and noticed that they were all between £350-£3,000 I gasped with horror and politely handed them back to a member of staff. Imagine if I'd ripped one whilst trying them on? The only way to have avoided a hefty bill and damaged dress would have been if I'd had Eva Longoria's face and body!

Let's get one thing straight first. I love stationery. I enjoy stationery I don't even need. If I…read morehave to do a lot of writing, I prefer tipped pens as opposed to ballpoint, in as vast a variety of colours as possible. Now, we all know we can get multipacks of these at the local supermarket or pound shop, but it just doesn't feel quite the same as purchasing something from the bevy of office supply loveliness that is Paperchase. One thing you'll always notice when standing outside this humongous, triple-floor branch in the centre of Manchester is not the Big Issue seller, although that might make you feel a little guilty for overspending on that eraser shaped like a flower or that Dalmatian print stapler. No, the biggest wow factor is the window display. They darn well make the most of it. And it's seasonal too, whether it's that phrase that strikes fear and depression into the hearts of children between the ages of five and sixteen and teachers everywhere, 'Back to School', or Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day... Paperchase will always via the medium of magical window dressing find a reason for you to buy stationery. I'd seriously recommend this branch over any of the weeny little concessions in Kendal's or Selfridges. You've got way more choice. But this isn't just a place for quirky little diaries, fluorescent pink post-its, pencils in every colour of the rainbow, stickers, iPod covers, damask wrapping paper, furry pencil cases and heart-shaped calculators. There's so much more. It has one of the biggest and best greeting card selections I've ever seen. There are gifts aplenty for the friend who has everything. There are home storage solutions. Pretty boxes. Lunchboxes. Tupperware. You can even buy pet supplies. Little random toys for stocking fillers. Toddle on up the stairs and find an entire floor dedicated to art supplies. There's even furniture, clocks, mirrors... I could go on. But I won't. Go see for yourself. I'm telling you, you'll walk in with the aim of buying a simple mobile phone cradle for your office desk and you'll come away with five different photo frames in five different shapes. You have been warned...

Now January has started it's only a matter of days before retailers swap their discounted Christmas…read morecards for Valentine's Day cards! One of the best places to go looking for cool cards and wrapping paper is Paperchase. They stock sweet, witty, playful and kitsch cards from a variety of designers and a brilliant array of notebooks, journals, address books, recipe cards, pens and stationary. This being their biggest store in the North West, there's also good quality paints, pastels, paper, card and brushes for artists upstairs. Before you get too carried away and fill your basket full of goodies - check out the prices as some of the Japanese papers and pastels are pretty steep.

I haven't got enough fingers to count the number of times I've been dragged around The Works by my…read moremum. As an avid card maker, she can't resist popping in everytime she's in town to check out if they have any new stock. Alongside a large section of arts and crafts material from plain cards, envelopes and stickers to paper flowers and jewels, The Works sells a varied collection of hardback and paperback books at big discounts. Some are 75% cheaper than the RRP, others are 3 for £5. Over my many trips I've picked up some books I'd genuinely buy at full price from Waterstones or my local independent bookshop. Most of the time however, I find myself thinking that nobody in their right mind would pay full price for some of the books on offer! We're talking celebrity biographies, sports biographies, horrible true crime stories, extensive gardening manuals, large military and history books with tiny print, travel books with terrible photos and irritating joke and puzzle books for people with too much time on their hands. The one salvation is the Food and Drink section where they regularly get a dozen copies of mainstream cookbooks by celebrity and non-celebrity chefs.

Fun game for you all- take a trip to your nearest Waterstones and find yourself a book then leave…read morewithout buying it. Head straight to the Works and laugh as you save a small fortune on the very same book. Fun game number 2- take a trip to your nearest arts and crafts centre and find yourself a some artistic media then leave without buying it. Head straight to the Works and laugh as you save a small fortune on the very same equipment. Hurrah for the Works!

Yes the store is VERY nice and very upmarket. The Selfridges store (huge!) in London's Oxford St is…read moreIconic in many ways - it was the FIRST department store in the UK and founded by an American who wasn't able to do his thing in the US - there is a TV series about it. It was the first store where women of the day felt comfortable and safe shopping alone.... Growing up in the UK my parents would take me there at least once a year (almost every time we visited London actually - so maybe 3-4 times a year. Yes there were upmarket things, and recently we were there and sure there are many expensive brands with absurd prices. But there are also more "normal" goods for sale. Not so much in Manchester - all Louis Vuitton and simile booths all around. A good friend who knows London very well explained that the smaller Selfridges don't have the room for affordable goods and it is all for the very affluent. So come prepared to go home broke or enjoy a window shop! Even the restaurant upstairs seemed very toffee nosed to be honest- not fun :( Review #4 2020

This is a large Selfridges store, although I do prefer their Birmingham location and their flagship…read moreLondon Oxford Street location (this location appears to be much more basic and laid back than those two, which are both in stunning buildings which stand out massively). I do think this is a good department store, it is one of the largest and more high-end department stores in the city centre, which is a fading game with Debenhams on Market Street closing and House of Fraser on Deansgate soon to follow. The store looks pretty good and is opposite Marks and Spencer in the Manchester Arndale, sadly Selfridges doesn't have a Food Hall similar to their other branches, at this location, this is a real shame - perhaps that is due to the Basement level of Marks and Spencer (a different business) having a large food section? There are two different San Carlo restaurants in terms of eating or drinking inside, I would have loved to see at least a different brand to add something a little more different, similar to what you see in other department stores such as Harrods etc. They do have some unique experiences here occasionally, Manchester City did bring the Premier League and Carabao Cup trophies here a couple of years ago which was super exciting for me as a big City fan. It can be pretty difficult to navigate at first, but they do have a store plan which is somewhat helpful, the store remains modern and clean. Some of the staff seemed a little snobbish and unhelpful, this was mixed as other staff members seemed great and happy to help. 4*

I must confess I go weak at the knees when I pass this store. Its creator knows a thing or two…read moreabout how much cute sells, and how much business you can generate from putting a smile on a child's face. That, coupled with weak-willed parents (well, not that weak-willed, they've always wanted an excuse to come in here too) make this a winning formula. So it works like this: your child chooses their new best friend, they've got everything from traditional bears, dogs and cats to Christmas polar bears and moose. Next, they can add their own sound, or a pre-recorded one. Then their friend is taken to be stuffed and stitched, with a hug test to make sure it's just right. Finally, the bit that really makes the bear seem like a real, the children get to give their furry friend a spa treatment, a birth certificate and their very own outfit. The total cost is around £20-28 depending on the bear chosen but considering the overall experience, a fun day for the kids (and you!), and a friend for life, it's a pretty good deal. Just try and go when it's quiet.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek I love this shop! It's awesome!…read more The ultimate place to take a child to if you want to spoil them...a great gift to buy your girlfriend as long as you let her come and decide what she wants. I love the way you choose everything from the animal to the amount of stuffing (very important, you don't want him too squishy) to the outfits to the voice! Everything! It's great when you see the children's faces all giddy when they see their little friend coming to life! A great present, buy a gift card for Christmas but make sure you wait a little while before you hit the shop, immensely popular and one to avoid for the first couple of days! Quite expensive but well worth it! Something they will keep which will remind them of you forever!