I spent just over five hours recently at Monks Cross retail park, with two friends, and between us…read morewe spent hundreds of pounds in the various retail outlets. I have just received £100 parking charge from the car park owner. It's my own fault, of course, as I failed to see the 4 hour maximum stay sign! It definitely won't happen again though, because I will shop elsewhere in future. What else do these GREEDY car park owners think we are doing in retail parks like this, other than spending money!!

Monks Cross is quite a good way to pass the afternoon if you can find a parking space - despite a…read morelarge number of parking spaces, it's generally packed to bursting point at the weekends. Shops include Next, BHS, Monsoon, HMV and Marks & Spencer. Supermarkets are Asda, Sainsbury and now Aldi. Food is available from Pizza Hut, McDonalds & Starbucks amongst others. Sainsbury and Asda also operate petrol stations. If you're after a bargain, check out TK Maxx or The Range just up Jockey Lane. There's also Polar Ford, Waterworld and a karting track in the vicinity.

**June 2022: Weekday Afternoon Visit**…read more What a wonderful shop with tons of Harry Potter Merch! There were many items from collaborations that I had not seen in the states so this was quite a treat to see so many products that I had not seen before. I purchased a canvas tote bag (it's a reprint of Harry Potter's "undesireable #1" feature in the paper) that I used daily on my UK adventures and had gotten compliments on it. There's also tons of stationery, books, jewelry, key chains etc and of course many items to represent all four houses. They play HP music and the decor is definitely on theme. Recommend you checking them out!

A magical shop in a true Muggle Diagon Alley in the middle of the Shambles in York…read more Because the shop is small, there is usually a queue that wraps around to get in. Fear not Harry Potter fans, it moves rather quickly. Inside you can find all Harry Potter gadgets and souvenirs of different sizes and kinds. Having just gone to the Warner Bros Studio Tours in London, I can attest to the variety of items sold in this inspired shop - many of which I didn't even see at the official store! This is a truly wicked must-stop shop!

Asda! my favourite supermarket of them all, and Asda Monks Cross is HUGE!!…read more Asda is probably the cheapest of the 'big' supermarkets, I'm going to start by telling you about the clothes! To get to the clothes you have to journey up the 'travelator', my daughter thinks this is the best bit! it's like a slanting walkway that takes you up to the mezzanine floor where the clothes are. The best part of Asda clothes is the value, t shirts and jeans, jumpers etc. Wardrobe essentials at great prices, typically you can get a pair of jeans from as little as £3! The childrens clothes are fantastic, hard wearing and value for money whilst still very much on trend! Back down the travelator to the dvd's, cd's, compter games as well as mobile phones, tv's dvd players and sometimes even computers and laptops! There's always a brilliant selection of electrical items at good prices and they even have a 'budget' range! Great for students (toaster for £3 anyone)? Asda's own range of food is great, worth a try. Definitely give the Tiger bread a try .. YUMMY

This place is an absolutely MASSIVE Asda!…read more This is a really big Asda store at Monks Cross York, including a huge clothing and jewellery range upstairs and everything else under the sun downstairs, including all the usual Asda counters such as hot food, fish, freshly made pizzas, delicatessan, indian & chinese take aways, meat and bakery. Asda is usually great for offers as well and the Welcomer at the front of the store usually announces what offers they currently have over the tannoy at regular intervals. There is a massive car park, petrol station (usually the cheapest in York), car wash, Pharmacy, Opticians and cafe. Also it is surrounded by a wide range of other shops on the Monks Cross shopping park.

York Designer Outlet McDonald's Indoor York…read more The York Designer Outlet is a large outlet mall, it's operated by McArthurGlen which is a familiar brand across Europe. It's set a couple of miles out of York City centre, it's served by multiple buses including the 415 Sapphire although on this occasion I travelled via car. The mall is fully indoors, it is over two floors with the upper level mainly consisting of places to eat including McDonald's, Five Guys, Wagamama and Pizza Express. For coffee, there is a Starbucks downstairs and a Pret upstairs, amongst a few other options. There is a good number of stores here, and few empty units. Brands with stores here include Adidas, Hugo Boss, Levi's, Nike, Marks and Spencer, Puma, Superdry, The Body Shop, UGG and others. The brands in question mainly sell out-of-season/fashion gear, I did find the prices still to be a little expensive for what should be an Outlet. I did find it a little confusing to get around the mall, especially with multiple entrances and exits, the construction of the mall is designed to force you to walk all the way around, and getting from one entrance or store to another looked so much easier on the map than it was in principle. I notice this has also been mentioned in other reviews, even going back 10 years, so it seems they haven't bothered to do anything to improve the experience in a while. There weren't any employees for the centre dotted around to ask for help either which made things worse. Good selection of brands to shop and dine at, although dining options here is predominantly fast food and coffee.

Excellent shopping experience- I would recommend it wholeheartedly- I visit (usually) once a week.read more

Yorks best department store as far as I'm concerned!…read more I don't know if it's just me but wondering around the store, I can't help but get the feel that this place is a little old fashioned and I think that that is part of it's charm. The staff on each department are extreemly attentive and are quick to ask if you need any assistance whilst browsing! something that I would usually find quite irritating, but not in Browns as the approach isn't hard sell, it's just good old fashioned customer service. The make up counters are fantastic, and if you're looking to re stock your make up bag, then have a word with one of the cosmetic assistance as they are fully trained and can advise you of which products are for you

its a small department store, been going for as long as i've lived in york (15yr) so it can't be…read moredoing that baddly. fashion wise not much of interest for me, i would say its more for the mature generation. but i like a wonder through, and its not bad during the sales. and layout of the store is easy to navigate through. and the aisles are not narrow and cramped. oh if your looking for bra extenders etc there underwear section has all usefull little gadets (clothing related) that you might not find in other fashion stores in center of york the beauty counters are good though and the sisley and clarins counters staff are always pleasent and ready to help and advise on products, they also have a lancome, dior chanel, clinique and elizabeth arden can find some of the counter staff a little snooty, but thats fine by me as i just take my hard earned cash else where!

Bought some jeans here the other day and they are lovely fit and quality. They were about £45 but I…read morewould say the quality of them warrants the price and I think £45 for decent jeans is good anyway. The shop itself was tidy and well laid out too, and staff were friendly.

This place is absolutely amazing! The staff are super friendly, everything is eco friendly, and the…read moreatmosphere of the store is so peaceful. Great place to get gifts or buy stuff for yourself.

Shared Earth is a great place to buy gifts, although if I'm honest they don't stock much for your…read moreaverage guy. Everthing in the shop is ethical and environmentally friendly. They stock things like notebooks, photo albumns, cushions, throws, money boxes and re-useable shopping bags. They do a great range of jewellery and some fantastic wine glasses made from recycled glass bottles. Buy your gifts here and shop with a clear conscience. The staff are friendly and the shop has a relaxed, laid back atmosphere; they're used to people just browsing. It's not cheap, but not too dear either and you're paying for ethical goods.

This branch of John Lewis is a large department store in York, it is around 20 minutes from the…read morecity centre via bus into the Monks Cross Park and Ride Station, from there it is only a few minutes on foot to the Vangerde Shopping Park, in which it is located. This branch of John Lewis is towards the right end of the retail park, and it is a decent sized store, being over 2 large floors with a Filmore and Union on the bottom floor, and John Lewis' own brand cafe "The Place to Eat" on the upper floor. Inside, the branch is quite modern and in most areas from suits to technology they do have a good selection of products, but despite this, some products I did find to be overpriced such as a standard male shirt, a smart shirt which would often go with a suit or waistcoat costing between £40 per shit for John Lewis' own brand to £65+ for a designer brand, considering other stores even similar department stores including Marks and Spencer sell these for a fraction of the cost, I think the pricing is ridiculous, meanwhile the pricing remains competitive on branded goods such as Apple, probably down to their "Never Knowingly Undersold" price-match policy. The staff around the store did seem quite friendly, and they did help measure me for a shirt, the service gives off a slightly high-end feel to try and justify the price-tag of certain products which are a little pricey. The toilets appeared to be clean as well, and this can be pretty hit and miss in shops. The store overall did seem modern and clean, it has a good feel to it, unlike some department stores such as Fenwick which is in the centre of York, a store I found to be cramped and old-fashioned earlier that day. A decent modern store but without its drawbacks such as pricing, perhaps adding a food section which I've seen in other John Lewis stores would also be a big improvement, as not only could this be possible for John Lewis as they also own the Waitrose supermarket brand and do it at other branches, such as those in London but this would compete with other department stores too, such as Marks and Spencer who have a Food section next store. A three-star rating is warranted as this is a decent department store but product range for a variety of budgets to try and match the feel of "value" which John Lewis is trying to advertise throughout the store would be a start at improving the store.