Good all-round food reasonable price. Excellent service friendly staffread more

Now just called The Tea House (I guess after all these years here, they're no longer a mystery?…read more:)). Cozy spot with an extensive tea menu! I was impressed to see Chinese teas I don't typically find in tea houses (outside of China). Food menu is also impressive as well. I went with a group of five and we couldn't have ordered more different items. Seemed like everyone enjoyed their meal. They have both a cafe menu (salads, sandwiches, etc). They also have a traditional polish menu. I tried the golabki (stuffed cabbage with rice and pork in a tomato sauce) which came with a choice of potato (I chose dumplings) and salads/slaws. Very nice! Huge portion and could easily feed 2. Tasty hot stuffed cabbage paired nicely with the bright crunchy herbaceous slaws.

Really can't say enough good things about this place. I sorely miss it since moving away from…read morePreston. The range of teas is astounding and the quality (of the many I tried on my many visits) is amazing. Each tea is served in it's proper manner in beautiful teapots and cups. If you're not into weird and wonderful teas, they also have coffee and 'regular' tea on the menu aswell as juices, smoothies and other soft drinks. There is no need for you to be afraid of a new tea drinking experience though, as the staff are extremely knowledgeable (seriously, they know EVERYTHING about tea!) pleasant and very accomodating. They agreed to host my vegan society meetings and even made an effort to make the menu a little more vegan. I only tried one of the food items on the menu, this was tomato stew/soup with vegetables. I forget the name but recall it was Hungarian. Either way, it was delicious, just as I hear that all their food is from my friends. This ranges from toasties and sandwiches to more substantial dishes hailing from the owner's native Poland and other places around Europe. Other than the great drinks, food and service the place is nicely decorated and makes you feel a million miles away from the Preston high street. There is always some background music on but you would only really notice it if you listened out for it. All in all it makes for a very relaxing atmosphere, especially if you get some Yerba maté! If you're local to Preston and haven't sampled the delights of the Mystery Tea House then you ought to, right now. You'll soon be a regular. If you're just in Preston for a short time, you need to check it out before you leave.

When I arrived at this lovely little sunny spot in Lancaster (sunny in disposition, sunny side of…read morethe street), I knew I was in for a treat. It looked quirky, independent, homegrown, interesting, fresh, colourful... Wait a blimmin' minute. How exactly do you pronounce the name? Joo-saffay? J...Oh goodness - well as it happened, when I arrived here to wait for my lovely friend and went up to order the smoothie, I had a lovely chat with the fellow working there. He was in the arduous process of renewing his domain name online and as he read the address out to me, I learned it was indeed... Joooo-kafé. It isn't exclusively for... It's for anyone and everyone, and in the times I've been there thus far, I've seen kids as young as 7 months and folks as old as 70, alongside disgruntled teenagers, all slurping up their smoothies. Ah, Lancaster. The price is right here, and I've enjoyed all my visits. The other half even spotted their quality when he realised they had one of the most expensive kinds of blender you can buy... in duplicate. Perhaps even triplicate. This place is as family friendly as it gets, from the big squishy beanbags in the corner to the chalkboard kids can draw on, to free WiFi and even a laptop to play on if you haven't your own, to a funky soundtrack, colourful environment and massive variety of beverages. You can get everything here - healthy smoothies, indulgent milkshakes and everything in between. I had a fruity pulpy beverage thickened with fat-free froyo upon my first visit, and Alexa had tea and toast, proving they cater to any mood. Yup, there's food here too. Another time I brought the Betrothed, and he had a Crunchy Nut milkshake. Nope, not a Crunchie milkshake. A Crunchy Nut Cornflake milkshake. I can only liken it to what I'd imagine Momofoku Milk Bar's cereal milk to taste like, but it was as close to a breakfast shake as you could imagine. Drinks you can chew. Now if Lancaster gets itself a Bubble Tea joint, my world will be complete!

Juicafe have the most AMAZING drinks selection, it is taking me a while to get through them but I…read moream never let down !! Terry's Orange Hot Choc, Crunchie Milkshake, a Smooth Sweet Espresso Blend, Muffin Shakes & Awesome Smoothies. They have comfy seats and free wifi, and board games when i dont feel like working !! This place blows everything out of the water! Fantastic!

Absolutely amazing tiffin cake-bars, just what you need after a brisk hike along the Ingleton…read moreWaterfalls walk. Amazing selection of cakes and other baked goods. Friendly owner is very helpful and chatty.

The yummiest cakes ever and we love Frumenty & Fluffin. Fantastic to have the ladies in the…read morevillage. Thanks for everything http://www.go2tanzania.co.uk

I love this place and go out of my way to go there. An…read moreAlladdins cave of treasures from shoes to fabrics..kitchen ware to religious icons..suits to saris.Balti trays and cooking utensils are very reasonably priced compared to any cook shop. This store is massive! It packs a lot of stuff all under one roof! Lovely sari fabrics from around £15.99. I often buy the plain white silk ones for £15 and cut into smaller pieces and dye for other things.Ornate saris make wonderful furnishing fabrics too. A great selection of haberdashery..lovely ribbons and trims. A bargain bin with short pieces of amazing fabrics at about 8 pieces a £1. Some stunning jewellery as well and indian cosmetics and hennabindis, henna tattoos and I also stock up on incense. The huge emporium is a gleaming bazaar with rolls of silks in every possible shade. Racks of spangled shoes and sandals seem to come straight from Bollywood. Yet there are also racks of little girls' organdie dresses like those worn by Shirley Temple in the 1930s. Indeed, something about Bombay Stores is very comforting for English people: it is as if time has stood still. For the Asian community is a taste of home. There is order and calm, no pressure selling and plenty of space to wander from the boutique, selling Bollywood pop hits and videos, to the cafe, en route to the fabrics, suits and shoes. I always keep carrying armfuls of stuff to the checkout but now they have also devised a new idea. In fact there's so much that the only way to shop for larger goods is to browse the store and pick up tickets for each item that you want to purchase, and when you're done you go to the checkout, give in your tickets and all your items will be ready to pay for and collect. I bought a huge, thick fleecy throw for about £20 and everyone wants to steal itit is so soft and luxurious! The brains behind Bombay Stores is 68-year-old Abdul Kader, who came to Britain in 1957. He knew nobody, and started with nothing, but there were jobs. He worked on the London buses and in the Bradford mills. By 1963 he had bought his first business, a former fish and chip shop. His capital was only £100 and his wife, Maryam, worked long hours in the shop making dresses while he drove buses on a double shift to pay for the enterprise. He expanded to the present premises in Shearbridge Road in 1983. Today, annual turnover is £10m and he employs 70 workers. Very efficient and helpful service. They have a cafe for wonderful samosas, coffee and good western style kids meals too. Bombay Stores in Bradford not only sells fabrics that attract customers from all over the world, it also brings together a multicultural community. It is the UK's largest Asian department store. They have a web site with a small online catalogue and various department goods. Opening times: Mon to Fri 10:00am till 07:30pm Sat 10:00am till 08:00pm Sun 12:00pm till 06:00pm

A great place to find interesting and colourful fabric/trims, Bombay stores has stacks of the…read morestuff. The wide range offers everything from simple plain white cotton to the most heavily embellished and luxurious satins perfect for wedding dresses. They have a dedicated bridal section and I believe they do custom made wedding dresses these do not come cheap but you get what you pay for. The extensive trims section offers glittering diamantes and a fantastic selection of buttons. They really do have everything you need at Bombay stores. The only thing that does start to get irritating after a while is the music as Bollywood tunes really aren't my thing but it's an INdian store so it fits well with the shop.

Gabbots farm in a butchers based in the guild hall arcade in Preston. The meats are always top…read morequality and they have a wide selection to choose from. The food always look really fresh and the staff are very polite and helpful. They also offer a range of hot food dishes and cooked meats. Such as chinese ribs, beef chilli and wedges, bbq chicken and chips. Perfect for getting a hot hearty meal at lunch time. Very cheap prices too.

My first encounter with this vegetarian cafe was whilst sitting in a traffic jam on a sunny…read moreafternoon, the window wide open and the car stopped right outside the cafe. As we were in Ilkley we decided to sing the old folk song 'On Ilkley moor bar tat' and a Yorkshire family (mostly a loud old lady) joined in with the verses we didn't quite remember! We had a nice chat about how good her food was and I had a long time to get a good look of the cafe inside. I decided to come back and try it out for myself on a later date and I'm very glad I did too. Vegetarian food, especially in this instance, is so much more imaginative than the meat-based meal. Where else could you find koftas with almond and tomato sauce? Or celeriac, split pea and thyme soup? All the food is fresh and organic and you can certainly taste the difference. There are also vegan options and I noticed one of the deserts is gluten free! On Friday nights they have a special menu where you can get 2 courses for £15 and bring your own wine. There is a selection of organic and fair trade things for sale such as tea and chocolates. By YUM! This is by far the cutest cafe in Ilkley.

This body of mine is fast falling apart. I'm in need of an MOT and some wholesome living. I'm…read morethinking five hours at the gym is unlikely so it is time for some cleansing inside out. On colonic irrigation for me, it's a stop at the Veggie. Now I know the name kind of gives this away but it's a vegetarian café. I know what a shocker. That doesn't mean meat eaters will be shot on entrance. Well not on my visit anyway. What you'll find is really tasty food and no Swampy in sight. If you want a lunch time snack then no problem. Personally I'd go for the tapas though. It is a selection of home made dips served with a warm pita and various salads. Delicious. You can also get vegan food and the hummus is excellent. To wash it down the freshly extracted juices are beautiful and I'm already feeling like a new woman. It's also the place to go for a Sunday breakfast to fight away any hangover. Check out the full veggie English for size. It is stuff of legends. You'll get two vegetarian sausages, fried egg, tomato, mushrooms, vegetarian black pudding, baked beans and two slices of buttered wholemeal toast served with freshly brewed filter coffee or tea. Wow. Now if that doesn't cure you, nothing will. On Friday nights they also open so if you fancy a tangy curry or something a little bit different then it is the place to go. Great find this and not a dead cow in sight.

Tootsie's comprises of three ice cream parlours around the North West, but the one I visited was in…read moreBotany Bay, and is on the ground floor, in what is now known as the food hall. It's a fresh and bright place, with a display of varying ice cream flavours depending on when you go. They also regularly run competitions to create a new flavour as the owner tells us, and when we were there she mentioned that the current competition flavour has a theme of "Sweet Shop Classics", in which the winner wins a tub of their own creation. Fab idea! * Although they also offer some incredibly tempting looking pies, scones, and freshly made pancakes, we were in an ice cream mood, and so had a look at some of the lovely flavours available, which on the day we visited included Creme Egg, Jam Roly Poly, Daim Bar, and Parma Violet. We were also invited to try some of the flavours before we decided what we'd like, and frankly that cemented the Parma Violet for me! We could've gone for a cone or a tub, but we decided to look at the very tempting sundae menu, and both chose "Mr Toots" which was two flavours of ice cream of our choice, with some crunchy bits, cream, a cone, and a fab little sparkler. I had Creme Egg and Parma Violet, and Phil R had Daim Bar and Jam Roly Poly. We loved the presentation, and agreed that they were delicious, and went down very well! They were also pretty good value compared to many other of the new boutique ice cream parlours that have popped up in recent times. The owner and staff when we were there were very friendly and welcoming, and as I enjoyed a pot of tea with a delicious home-made biscuit, I was able to watch another member of staff making fresh pancakes. There's something very pleasant about seeing it done fresh just for you! Coupling this with the value and quality of the offerings, and its location in Botany Bay with its free car park, I can guarantee that we'll be visiting again. I've got my eye on one of those colossal sized scones for next time! .... or that toffee fudge sundae... or maybe some pancakes. Oh god I don't know now! *The winner this time round was Wham! bar! Yum!