Seller charged me £7 for 198g packet of jolly ranchers, she was also mumbling answers to my…read morequestions at the till and did not disclose the price properly.

I was a bit dubious as to why Belfast needed an American sweet shop in the first place, and having…read morevisited I still am. Having peanut butter Twixs' is a pretty flimsy premise for a shop in my book, but they are going for it. While they do have probably the best selection of M&Ms in town, and you can get bags of boiled sweets decanted from jars, it is no McKays in Queens Arcade. A wall of cheap plastic gums just isn't my bag of sweets.

With supermarkets these days thinking we cannot be trusted to have sweets beside the till, McKays…read moreis a sweet tasting trip back to yesteryear. The walls are jam packed with bottles and jars, bags and packets of any sweet treat you could wish for, just waiting to be weighed out and enjoyed. It is amazing how such a tiny place can fit so much in, also selling a good variety of tobaccos for those that way inclined. Yes, it is aged, dark and tiny, but regardless it is rockin.

Until I decided to Yelp about it, I didn't actually know the name of McKays, I only knew it as…read more'that wee shop at the end of the Arcade that does the lovely sweets', and that's probably what I will always call it, to be fair. Really centrally located, McKays does a roaring trade from people out shopping, or others on their lunch hour who work in the town and want to pop in for their newspaper, magazine, cigarettes, or just some of the lovely old fashioned sweets, bon bons, gums and treats that you can get in here. It's really small inside, so you're better looking at what's on offer through their window, which bulges with goodies - if you have a sweet tooth beware, you will do yourself some damage here...

Really poor customer service. Waited more than two months for my delivery to be shipped and never…read morereceived anything. Despite two phone calls, three emails and multiple messages with the owners... I never got my order. Lots of empty promises and ridiculous excuses. I'm sure there's a decent business here, but I did not experience it. I was never even got a refund and had to complete a chargeback request through PayPal myself.

When I accidentally stumbled across this fab wee sweet shop a few months ago, I wondered how on…read moreearth it had been kept secret for so long (from me anyway). Where there's a sweet shop, I'm honestly not far behind, and Curious Candy was no exception I'm horrified to say I'd almost forgotten about it, but I remembered just in time, and made a mental note to pop in the next time I was down in Bangor. Which just so happened to be today. Yippeeee. Located off the top of Main Street, Curious Candy is your typical old-school, walls-lined-with-an-enormous-amount-of -sugary-delights sweet shop. It is indeed 'wee' as we say in these parts, and with the customers in front of us consisting of a lady, a buggy and a child, it was a squeeze. Especially when they tried to get out, as you can imagine. Thankfully, said lady with buggy took quite an age selecting her choice of confectionery (I think she bought at least six bags), so I had a chance to scour the walls. I'd suddenly gotten a notion for Millions, and was slightly gutted not to have discovered any. Surely every good sweet shop does Millions? As I searched for a backup sweetie choice, lady and buggy moved, uncovering seven jars of Millions of the bottom shelf. Phew. I chose Bubblegum (always satisfies the sis...she seems to have a fancy for blue sweets), Blackcurrant (my fave flavour of any kind of sweet) and Raspberry (second fave), plus some Jellybeans for my dad. 100g of each of the above came to £3.16, which wasn't bad at all. Happy days. Pay the lovely people at Curious Candy a visit. You know you want to...

BEST EVER! Anyone…read morewho remembers Carrick from years ago will remember that we used to have an old sweet shop at the top of North Street called the Pipe Shop. Unfortunately that closed years ago, and there's been nothing like it since, until now. They have over 250 different types of sweets in here, and the sweets are weighed out for you in the old style scales. It genuinely is like stepping back in time, really lovely. My favourites are the Chocolate Toffee Rolls and Army & Navy!

The Candy Box is Millisle's lifeline, because it is one of those wee shops that are totally taken…read morefor granted until we run out of something at the last minute. It is an aladdins cave inside , no matter what it is that you need this we shop will have it from sweeties to dog food and washing powder to gift bags , it really has an amazing stock of everything. What is also very commendable is that the prices are not over the top they match that of the high street stores. So this may not be the biggest store in town but it does have everything thar is needed including very pleasant staff who are more than helpful. They also have everyone's favourite for summer the good old ice cream cone with trimmings!

Sometimes I say to my dog, "I'm going to take you to The Candy Box, would you like a walk?"…read more Of course I am referring to a Newsagents, Tobacconist and sweet shop located on Millisle Main street. This wee shop is a jack of all trades, Milk is 99p for 2 litres and you would be hard pushed to beat or meet that price anywhere. It also doubles as ice cream seller, sometimes the dog and I sneak a cheeky Ice cream on our way home from getting the Sunday papers. This leaves both of us with a bit of a brain freeze but the ice cream is so good it would be hard not to rush it. The Candy Box is a favourite with people visiting the seaside, Millisle must be the only seaside town on the Ards peninsula without a dedicated Ice cream parlour, so The Candy Shop makes a bit of a killing with its cones. Whether it is a paper, a packet of cigarettes or North Downs famous Poor Bear ice cream you should pop into The Candy Box if you are passing. Also try the Fresh Dulce and yellow man, these are specialities of the region.

Well that was a nice surprise!! Me, my mum and my 3 year old son headed here on a Saturday morning…read morefor the candy workshop (purchased on a whim from a well known voucher site) not expecting too much apart from maybe some free sweets! The man who was taking the workshop-one of Aunt Sandra's nephews, calling himself Willy Wonka's cousin, was hilarious! The workshop was bunged but he took the time to speak to every group individually and made everyone feel involved. I'd highly recommend this to anybody who like sweets, history and a good laugh. It's suitable for all ages and interests. Along with us were family groups, older couples and a hen party (which I thought was fab!) So sad to hear Aunt Sandra has passed away.

Great customer service in here…read more Loved the wee story I got about the crisps chocolate on my last visit. I like being able to see the sweet making in action through their work room window. Had a toffee apple today. Was nice and fresh and packaging wasn't all sticky. Also good stick didn't fall out. Toffee was a bit think so took a good strong bite. Perhaps would have been better smashed against a table first. Lol

This is a great wee place! If you're a cookie fan and love a bit of variety you will love it! They…read moreoffer a wide variety of cookies and they're priced at a moderate £1.19 each. Or you can buy 5 fro £4.95 or toe for £8.95. Tempting! They also offer a huge range of over 100 milkshake flavours from the traditional such as chocolate or strawberry to the wacky such as cookies and milk! So far any I've had have been great! The place itself is aptly named as it really is just a box with no seating so definitely a eat on the go kinda place. But worth a visit for the cookies which are fab and big! Its situated on the door of the new Victoria Square so really is at the heart of the hustle and bustle and favoured by shoppers galore! I love popping in and getting a bag of cookies to take home for later...always eating at least one on the way!!

There are some places in the world that guarantee you will want to visit them at some point in your…read morelives. Sydney Opera House. Eiffel Tower. London. The Cookie Box. You just have to. It's got cookies, and milkshakes, and coffee, and tea, and milkshakes, and cookies, and milkshakes. Ok so the selection isn't huge. And if you are mad after a slice of pizza or a forkful of lasagne then you won't get it here. However, if you want the finest milkshake in Belfast, this would be a good start. I remember making them with a blender back in my day and there began my craving for milkshakes. As I was on like a year detox, I came across this place and thought "you know what? I can do this". I had one. And another one. And now I want more. I'm not quite going to go on a rampage, but I'm not far off it. The cookies are nice, soft and there is a massive selection. There is an even bigger selection of milkshakes. And if it becomes my goal in life, I will try to finish this entire menu. Despite it's hideous location down a side-street, it is fantastic.

Thorntons in one word rocks! They do the most amazing chocolate! And something I never knew, until…read moreI received one, is that they will inscribe names or messages onto things made out of chocolate, to give them that personal touch! I received a chocolate campaign bottle with 'Happy Birthday Magz!' written on it-so thoughtful! They do chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs too during that time of year! The newest thing which makes Thorntons even more amazing is their chocolate fountain! Oh Yes! You can have it poured over strawberries and ice cream or have marshmallows dipped into it! It is too good!

Thorntons is a cracking shop. This one in Castlecourt is probably the first one I ever went to and…read morestill is my regular stop when it comes to gifts that don't really need much thought! It's a deceptively big shop, as it stretches far back into the walls of the shopping complex. The best thing about this store is its chocolate fountain. For a small amount of your hard earned cashed you can get a box of choc covered strawberries which are always welcome in the part of the world known as my belly. The prepacked selections are a perfect gift if your in a rush.

"People who love to eat are always the best people." -Julia Child (1912-2004)…read more One of the stops on our Belfast food tour, Sawers was a tremendous hit. Crowded at lunchtime on a weekday, we managed to nab a table when another couple finished their meal. It's super busy and inside, it's full of gourmet delights. Anyone who thinks Northern Ireland doesn't have good good needs to come here. Smoked salmon on toasted bread, hard Irish cheese, crunchy baguette, sliced turkey, even chilli sauce and something called "black butter." Oh, and wine. You can't have a midday snack without wine, right? Much/most of the food here is quite local (the wine is Spanish) and the staff are helpful. Check the "sandwich board" out front for specials. The Spanish Board for £25 would be my choice! [Review 1893 of 2024 - 871 in United Kingdom - 22915 overall]

Found this gem while strolling the streets of downtown Belfast. This place has it all! A great…read moreselection of various packaged food, a deli that makes fresh sandwiches, pastries, fresh cheeses to cut and an olive bar. Browsing the store, I saw that it's separated into sections. An Italian section with lots of varieties of pastas and sauces. Cookies from Italy and limoncello! There is a very small Mexican section, which in my opinion was pretty darn good for being in Ireland! They had tortillas, various dry chilies and hot sauces. Lots of cookies, candies, jams and jelly's and a very large tea selection. The cheese case and deli were loaded with so many choices, it was hard to choose! You can order food and eat at tables that are just outside the front of the store. A definite recommend but if you're a foodie, be prepared to be dazzled!