Profil von IanMmmm

A great place to eat! Slightly unusual in that the evening menu is a six to nine course fixed price menu. When we went the theme was Tuscany and all the dishes were typical of the food from the region.

The food was really excellent, with diligent service from the waiting staff complimenting it. The chef made my pregnant fiance special versions of several of the courses to remove items that she couldn’t eat.

Highly highly recommended.

They used to be located in Headingley in Leeds, which meant easy access at lunchtime for me (and lots of impulse purchases!). Now they've moved to Summerbridge near Harrogate, which is about a 45 minute drive from Leeds. This has pros- such as the fact that there is now room in the store for more than a hand full of bikes. And cons - the fact that it's miles from anywhere.

Still a really excellent place to buy bikes, components and other mountain biking kit - they stock some top brands including Santa Cruz, Niner, Orange, Scott, Trek and Ibis and they have a lot of built up bikes in the store, which is pretty unusual for someone that stocks so much top-end equipment.

The only place that compares is North West Mountain bike centre, but that's in Cheshire and it's not as easy to find stuff in that store as it's split across a few rooms, a bit like Stif used to be before it moved.

If you've got the time and transportation or you're in the the area for some other reason - there is a lot of riding out near Patley Bridge so that's a good reason in itself - then go and have a look.

Centrally located at the top of Briggate this is a chilled out place to browse for books, movies and games - now that they have Game on the first floor.

There are also Paperchase and Starbucks concessions in the store, which means you can pick up a book and read it while you have a coffee - or get some wrapping paper if you're buying presents for someone :-) Excellent children's selection downstairs at the back of the store!

The only down side is the somewhat limited selection of titles, which isn't that great. It's OK, but it's light in some areas - such as sports, which I recently noticed when I went in to try to buy some books about cycling. I guess if you want a larger selection, you can use their website, or Amazon, but this is good place if you want browse around.

Closed down in December 2009, like all other branches of Borders. Probably killed off by the fact that most people came in and read the books and magazines whilst drinking a coffee and then left again - the business model seems to work in US, but they couldn't sustain it in the UK.

I'd say the best shop in West Yorkshire for performance mountain bike components. Quite limited on the built up bikes front, but hey - they sell Santa Cruz frames and will build them up for you, so what more can you ask for?

Don't be fooled by the sign outside - THEY DON'T OPEN ON SUNDAYS at the moment.

Good website for online sales too!

They have now moved to Summerbridge near Harrogate. I will be writing a new review for the new location after the 'Grand Opening', which is on the 6/Feb/2010.

5 out of 5 if you want to buy a bike, any bike you like, as long as it's manufactured by Specialized.

Personally I don't like them because I had one once, admittedly a long time ago, but it was badly assembled and the bottom bracket made a terrible noise after a month or so.

Actually a pretty good shop, but the single brand choice of hardware didn't really excite me. They have a better range of clothing and other accessories.

The shop is actually run by the same people that own another cycle shop in Harrogate - Boneshaker Performance Cycles - this one is more up my street and stocks mass produced trail bike maker extraordinaire Lapierre, which is an altogether better proposition than Specialized, at least as far as I'm concerned it is.

Visit on a day of that isn't Sunday or Monday and both stores will be open and you can see the full range of product in the two shops.

A boutique for food!

Worth a trip to Harrogate (from Leeds) just for breakfast in the little deli-cafe at the back of the store.

Also stocks a fantastic array of top quality produce and prepared foods. Highlights include the array of olives in different oil and with different added treat, the biscuits and the freshly baked bread.

Just writing this review is making my mouth water.

If it's warm you can sit of on the pavement and look out over the Stray while you drink your coffee.

Sells the finest chocolates I have ever tasted. They are so good that you are left with a delicious chocolate after-taste in your mouth for about an hour after you eat one.

It is very expensive, but as always you get what you pay for and quality costs.

Fabulous and worth buying if you have some spare cash and you want to spoil yourself or someone else, of course!

My favourite Indian restaurant in Leeds by far. I recommend the Lamb Hyderabadi and the Vegetable Makhani both of which are absolutely wonderful. They also have some unusual stuff - such as a good selection of fish dishes and tandoori meat dishes. Fantastic!

Their breads are also delicious - the best I have ever tasted.

Recommended.

I have mixed views about shopping at Habitat.

On one hand - this store is one of the best Habitat stores that I have been in. There’s plenty of daylight, which I think is essential for buying homewares - especially fabrics as some things can look totally different under natural light when compared to how they look under artificial lights in a store (John Lewis take note!)

On the other hand - why are some items here so unbelievably expensive? 400 quid for a hardwood garden bench with the same amount of material as one you can buy for £60 at Ikea is a bit steep. I know there’s a design premium, but I do feel that they push it a little too much at Habitat.

Also, the delivery costs can be very high.

Having said all this - they do have some fantastic items in store and plenty of it that’s very good value. I especially like the seasonal outdoor stuff, like the pinicware and the garden furniture.

Recommended, but prepare to for a shock when you look at the pricing on the premium items!

Trail-side at Dalby Forest.

This is a good place to pick up the last minute essentials for your ride at what’s probably the north of England’s most extensive trail centre. I bought some tubes from there and they had the size and valve fitting that I needed to hand, so no problems there.

They also do bike hire for individuals and groups and I think they sell bikes too, although why you’d go to Dalby Forest without a bike is a bit beyond me… Maybe if you break yours and you need an urgent replacement you could buy one here :-)