Being a veteran and lover of the Christmas german market beer hall that graces Millenium Square…read moreevery year, I was caught in two minds about going to Bierkeller. My first thought was YESSS!!!! It'll be like the amazing nights I get to have every Christmas, but I can have them any time I want! But then I stopped and thought - would this ruin the novelty of singing along to many an anthem played by the wonderful Manny and his oompah band? Would it actually take some of the joy out of one of my highlights of the year? I chose to give it a go eventually, and have now been twice. I've taken in the experience after work on a weeknight when it's a little quieter, and also on a full on weekend evening when you get the full experience. The weekday evening came first, and left me wanting. The drinks are expensive - around £8 for the cheapest stein I think they were, and I had to wait for my drink for way too long considering there were only a couple of people in the queue, and the bar staff weren't very nice when I eventually did get served. They weren't rude or anything, but there were no smiles and didn't seem to care how long it took for anyone to get their drinks. Fortunately the place itself looks wonderful - almost like a proper beer hall but smaller. This saved it from being a bit of a nightmare first trip! Anyway, after being really quite unimpressed I nearly gave up on the place for good, but decided I should try it out at the weekend before I do. Fortunately, this was MUCH more like it! First of all, the staff were far more on the ball, and seemed to be enjoying themselves a little more. The drinks were no better, but the novelty of the stein was still there. But most importantly, the atmosphere was completely changed. Once this place gets packed out, everyone is clearly up for a big silly night of singing and glass clinking (although the latter is discouraged!). Once the oompah band came out I was back to loving the experience again. So, if you were to head into the Bierkeller at any other time than a Friday or Saturday night, I'd knock a star off my score. BUT if you do go on a Friday or Saturday, add one on. Once the atmosphere kicks in it's a joy to be there, but bear in mind you'll probably have to book seats in advance as we did.

I had heard good things about this place, so one rainy afternoon I popped in with a couple of…read morefriends for the full German experience. It was mid-afternoon so I knew it was unlikely that we'd see the full musical show or get the full atmosphere, so we were just expecting a pleasant pub experience. What we had didn't come close. The venue itself looks like a lot of fun - long wooden benches, ceiling beams, brick archways, It's theatrical rather than authentic, but I think it works - I'm pretty sure it's designed to poke a little bit of fun at itself. And I can imagine it's a memorable experience to glug a tankard or two, cosily squeezed between your friends in a corner. We sat down where we could fit on a bench, shimmied off our soaking raincoats and muscled in between two guys who'd clearly been there a while (indicated by the empties around them) and a few girls who were surrounded by shopping bags. Being underneath the Sports Bar, I imagined it being a little male-orientated so it was nice to see some post-shopping ladies grabbing a beverage next to us! However, then I laid eyes on the waiting staff. All the men were dressed smartly in black shirts and black trousers and they were all a wide range of ages. All the female waiting staff, however, were basically teenage girls trundling around in poor-quality skimpy leaves-nothing-to-the-imagination leiderhosen. Talk about your double standards! And I know it probably sounds prudish - buxom barmaids are quite the stereotype and I appreciate it can be seen as "part of the experience", but it was just plain tacky. Really tacky. More than anything, not a single waitress could muster a smile the entire time we were there. They just mooched about by one corner of the bar looking fed up and miserable. ...which then leads on to the terrible service! We couldn't actually get anyone's attention to come up and serve us for a start. We tried to make eye contact, we waved, we shouted when the waitresses passed us, but each time they had their eyes down and strode right past us. Eventually we did manage to order drinks and food and we found that being able to pay for a round of drinks at the table is a really nice touch. And the menu itself was exactly what you'd expect, bursting with bratwurst and schnitzels and pretzels. However, the food really wasn't anything special. I had fries and a frankfurter and they arrived lukewarm and pretty average. For average pub food prices, I knew it wasn't going to be gourmet, but I expected more for my money. The place was only half full and it was late afternoon, so it wasn't like they were struggling to get orders out to a busy restaurant. Overall, I would never go back there. It's tacky, the beer is overpriced, the service is appalling and there are too many wonderful bars/pubs/more-appealing rainy street corners in Leeds to bother going back to the Leeds Bierkeller.

Only came here for drinks and had a blast. It's a happening place on Friday evening. We started at…read morethe martini bar a few doors down then hopped over here and stayed. The ambience is fun and hip. Then randomly there were people painted and dressed as fairies dancing on tables and singing to live music. From other reviews it sounds like the food is fantastic so I would definitely return.

The service was good. Nice selection of drinks and a variety of food. We sat near the open window…read moreto view the street. The bites we had were good. A clean place. We did not dive deep into the menu.

The Christkindelmarkt in Millennium Square now has a 'proper' restaurant! You can book it by email…read morethough you must do it at least two days in advance. We didn't, we went on spec as part of our Wednesday jaunt. The décor has gone a bit overkill on the beer garden look! The furniture is very new, untreated pine, looks lovely. There are some red and white gingham covered cushions but not enough to go round and the benched are very hard on the bum after a while. The tables are shared, so it's not a very romantic set up, but then it's not the place to go for romance. Our table held four groups so if the people on the inside want to get out, their neighbours have to get up; the benches have backs so you can't just step over. Not a place for conversation either as the Oompah Band were very very loud; ambiance is fine but you can have too much of it. It might have been better if they'd known some German tunes instead of Oomaphing versions of really bad 70s stuff. The service dispels the myth of German efficiency; I can't imagine what would happen if you booked, because it's a place where you find your own seats. What if you've booked and there aren't any? Or the only ones are mid row? Anyway, I'm going off track, when we arrived they weren't at all busy so we got a seat near the door; bad idea as I got a howling gale every time someone came or went. it was about half full but it still took a while to catch our waitresses eye and asked her for a menu, this seemed to surprise her. It took a while to catch her again so we could order. Only the people across the aisle were eating and we couldn't decide if everyone was waiting for food, everyone had finished eating (they were terrifically good at clearing dirty plates) or if most people were just drinking. I was beginning to worry that we were in another Tong Palace situation, when the food arrived. The food is very similar to the food in the Frankfurter Scheune (shares a website), but more expensive, apart from the drinks. I had the gluhwein and because they don't do any juice, my beloved had a fanta. I had the boiled ox-breast and he had the crispy knuckle of pork, at £8.50 and £8, these were just about the cheapest main courses. I had the better meal, it came swimming in a creamy sauce with a nice dollop of strong horseradish sauce on top, the salt potatoes looked pretty much like boiled potatoes but tasted slightly different and very good, while the creamed savoy cabbage was enough to make me reconsider brassicas in general! Beloved fared less well; his crispy pork could have been crisper, but the meat was good and it was huge, the bacon coleslaw, though nice (I tried some) contained no bacon at all, the gravy and dumplings were fine but nothing special. The people across the aisle seen to have the Traditional German Snack Plate to share; it looked very good and they seemed to enjoy it.

We found friendly staff serving good German beer and good curry sausage. I imagine it gets a bit…read moreuncomfortable when it gets full, but we found it just half full and really enjoyed ourselves!

Came to the Corn Exchange for a weekday dinner and decided to try Doner Haus as the other…read morerestaurants such as Zizzi's and Mowgli's were ones that you see more often throughout the UK. I ordered the Mixed Chili Doner and the best way I can describe the dish is a pizza with kebab toppings on it. The chicken and doner mix on top was very delicious even though it was a bit salty. I'm glad that they had the pickled vegetables on top along with the arugula to cut through the fattiness of the dish. I also appreciate that the flatbread had a bit of tomato sauce on it. Overall, not a bad place to eat at Corn Exchange at all. Would definitely come back when in the area.

Great food with so much flavour which felt light and healthy…read more The staff were lovely and very attentive. Lovely spot in the corn exchange with nice views if inside.

GEM, GEM, GEM !!!!!…read more The absolute most amazing casual joint concept I ever heard of; and I live in USA. It's absolutely and undoubtedly DELICIOUS!

We loved it here! Decor was really cool. They had some good music playing also. The guy who…read morewelcomed us in was AWESOME. Really chill bloke. He gave us some recommendations which we took and really enjoyed. We also chatted for a bit about why we're there and it really made the experience even better. Our actual waitress though, was really slow to check on us and see if we needed anything. Probably just busy. Anyway, food was delicious! Definitely needed more salt though.

I really like the Manchester European Christmas Market. It's the first Christmas Market I ever…read moreexperienced, so maybe it's also a bit nostalgia for me since the first time I went I was enamored. However, now that I have been to Europe many times in the winter and I've experienced the Christmas markets in various cities in different countries, I still do enjoy the Manchester Christmas Market though. It has a very warm, inviting atmosphere. It's not big and not too small either. As an American, I love the idea of public drinking outdoors, so I loved sipping warm mulled wine outdoors in a festive setting. There's even double decker, two levels bars here. So you have your choice. You can cozy up indoors, you can head upstairs to the second level to overlook the entire market, or you can take your mug and wander around the festival. I also really like the layout of the cute wooden huts. They're not in just a long straight row like some markets. The Christmas Market in Manchester takes over an entire square, and the stalls are laid out in a grid, so it's easy to wander and check out all of the stalls. The layout invites you to linger, sipping and eating as you go versus some markets you kind of just market straight through and they have a separate area for sitting and eating. However, the downside of this, is this market is incredibly crowded. I mean I quite like a crowded, festive atmosphere, but it's just a bit too crowded. The market has expanded outside the main square now, and does carry on throughout the city to a few other squares which are less crowded and the prices for food seem to be cheaper too. Also, one of my favorite things at the market are to sample different foods and I particularly like the variety of food options at this market. There's lots of interestings things to try. This year, we had the Yorkshire Pudding Wrap which was awesome. We also shared some cheesy garlic potatoes which were decadently delicious. I always have a good time at this market and I like the big Santa on top of the building, and all the decor that just make this market so fun to wander through.

It was alright. The market has interesting stalls, and if you're searching for Christmas ornaments…read more This would be the place to find them. Great place to buy some handcrafted, and homemade chocolates and edible things. Not really a fan of sweets, but indeed the place to buy them if you are looking for that sort of thing.

Really enjoyed the vegan Sunday event here. I was surprised to find it fairly warm inside (was…read moreprepared for the arctic conditions of its former home, Alphabet Brewery) and the space is beautiful, especially the giant arched window letting on gorgeous yellowy light as the sun set in the late afternoon. Food-wise, the offerings were impressive. Oh Mei Dumpling was great, the only bummer was they vastly under-budgeted and ran out while they still had a large queue some hours before closing. Luckily I got in there quickly! Ottomen was very popular too but had a very lengthy queue, apparently they take a long time explaining the offerings to each customer to make sure they get the ideal combo which is nice customer service except for the fact that customer has had to spend 30 minutes in a queue while their friends drink elsewhere - maybe some sort of explanatory blackboard or better labelling could speed things up. Macdaddies also did an impressive vegan offering - you def wouldn't know it's not cheese. Vendor wise, the vegan pies and arancini were both great, would definitely recommend those to take away for some tasty lunches post your Sunday come down. Drinks options include a decent variety of local beers, of course local doesn't necessarily mean good and it's mostly keg here but you'll find something drinkable. They also have some fancy soft drinks of varying quality, at least they are a bit different though!

TL;DR - New venue, still the same great food, drink and vibes…read more After a few years of moving back and forth between Mayfield in summer and Fairfield Street in winter, GRUB finally has a new year round home on Redbank. This should be their permanent home for the forseeable future, all year round. The new place has a bit of a different layout, since it's based in a two storey building - downstairs has an enlarged bar and seating area, a children's play area and the toilets; upstairs is a much larger seating area plus when we were there a wine bar, cakes and a DJ. Street food vendors are located outside, in the yard at the rear. Go out back and get some food, then head back inside to get some drinks and a seat. Other than the new venue though, this is still the same GRUB we know and love. Fantastic street food from an ever changing list of vendors, great local beers, great music and a relaxed vibe - and the whole place is family and dog friendly. Oh, and I nearly forgot - everything on Sundays is vegan!

It's only a food stand on the edge of Chorley Market but it's very good, with lots of fresh and…read moreorganic foodie options, and lots of home made fresh options too. Definitely one to visit if you're hungry for more than the standard pies and chips options around the area.