Renza's Qype profile

Had amazing hydrotherm massage at this place. You lay down on a heated water bed thingy and you are massaged from head to toe. The best part was the neck, face and head. Loved it! Would thoroughly recommend it. I bought a massage for my mum’s Christmas too and she loved it as well.

My family and I were looking for a place to get a kebab and, eager to get out of the rain, we spotted this place. I got some chicken pakora and a chicken tikka starter as my meal which was fairly average. The rest of my family got kebabs which were pretty rubbish for what you were paying. Very small, very little meat and nothing short of what you could get at the supermarket. To add insult to injury, they had asked for the kebab with nan bread but the guy behind the till did not realize that (we think his English wasn’t so great). I can only say we’ve had better kebabs in Edinburgh for much less money. It’s a shame we didn’t just go for the set meals for 2 (which we only noticed half way into the meal) as that would probably have been better.

A disappointing and frustrating experience sadly and I tried so hard to enjoy it.

My friends and I are huge fans of this restaurant to the point we were going so often we were almost regulars (at least one of us would end up there at least every 1-2 months in the first half of this year alone).

I fell in love with this place back in the summer of 2010, when we went here for my birthday. The food is downright delicious. Each table gets a portion of mildly spiced popcorn which in itself is yummy. It is little touches like this which make this place unique.

As for the food, the portions are generous and whilst you feel your stomach expanding, you feel like you are getting a balanced meal because the vegetables are as delicious as the meat. I generally always end up ordering the same thing because I know my favourites, but I have tried other meals and I haven’t tasted anything I don’t like. I would highly recommend the following, however:

Starter: Nachos Grande – If you’re bringing a friend or two, the Nachos Grande is laden with deliciousness. Lots of salsa, guacamole, soured cream, refried beans, cheese and vegetables,

Main Course: Shredded Beef Chimichangas – This is shredded beef and veg in a golden tortilla casing. Very tasty but incredibly filling so make sure you have the appetite for this one. I have the tendency to ask for the special homemade Tex Mex hot sauce with mine, and I tend to drown it in this particular sauce. It’s amazing stuff.

Desserts: If you can actually manage a dessert after all of this then you must be hungry! And one a couple of occasions we have been indulgent enough to have one of their Brownies with icecream. The Brownies are delicious but what makes them even better is the taste of the vanilla icecream – it has a beautiful milky vanilla taste that I haven’t tasted in other icecreams. Lovely!

The Tex Mex Hot Sauce: As I said – Amazing stuff – But you can buy a bottle of this stuff to bring home with you for £2.95. I keep meaning to pick up a bottle.

All in all, the food is delicious and the prices are affordable. The atmosphere is cheerful and low key. I love the purple and green colour scheme. It is a very small place so it can get very busy and you do need to book in advance for a weekend. The other disadvantage is that if you are sitting next to a particularly obnoxious group of people you are in rather close proximity to this obnoxious group of people. We once had to suffer a group of Pilton neds, one of whom came in with a bleeding head after going for a smoke (after slipping on the ice in winter) and who I’m sure Tex Mex were glad to see the back of as I noticed they didn’t even leave a tip.

When I first went to Tex Mex I adored the staff. Weirdly all the waiters are men, which I don’t mind because they are usually rather attractive stubbly individuals. One waiter even had Johnny Cash on for us one night when we were the last ones there. I was a bit disappointed when I went there for my last birthday as I felt the new waiter there (or quite possibly one I hadn’t seen before) could have been friendlier and more engaging. It really adds to the charm of the place.

Nevertheless, I love Tex Mex and would recommend it to anyone. Whether you are there for their great lunch deal or evening a la carte menu.

Definitely one of the best chippies I have come across in Edinburgh. It has a mouth-watering selection on food – general fish and chips fare, pasta, pizza, pakora and much more. I am a big fan of their chicken pakora with chilli sauce. It’s ridiculously bad for you but you get a hearty portion and the chilli sauce is beautiful. They also do fantastic calzones (sort of like folded over pizzas they trap in flavour). On top of this they have cakes and other sweet treats should you look for something other than savoury.

This is the perfect pit stop for any junk food/drunken late night cravings! The prices are reasonable and the food is delicious!

This place is certainly not cheap. Between my friend and I, it cost us around £35 for nibbles, two starters, a side, a dessert platter and a rum and coke. This probably sounds like quite a lot. But was it worth it?

The food was delicious. We ordered garlic and herb bread with West Country cheddar. The bread was crusty and the cheese was full of flavour. My starter, tiger prawns with roasted red peppers in chilli and garlic was beautiful. The peppers were roasted to the perfect point. The chilli sauce was pretty spicy but tasty. As a side we had some potato gratin which was surprisingly the best part of the meal but ridiculously more-ish and so I felt cheated by the small size of the serving. To finish our meal, we ordered a sharing board of desserts. I think this was the part of the night where I died and went to heaven. We started off with our rhubarb compote and blackberries with a sabayon cream. I don’t have a scooby about sabayon cream but I can say that the little serving was warm and homely and satisfied my penchant for rhubarb. We then moved on to our chocolate brownies, eton mess, strawberries and chocolate fondue. The brownies were very rich so I was glad I had the eton mess and a raspberry compote to balance the flavour. However, nothing quite beats the sugar rush of when you pour the chocolate fondue on top of the brownie. It’s also particularly excellent when, given the excessive amount of chocolate fondue, you and your dining partner decide that it would be fitting to start drinking the fondue like chocolate shots. This is the moment when you bring down the class of the establishment because you are both a pair of sugar junkies.

I really enjoyed this meal but that was probably because I wasn’t immensely hungry. I believe that if I went in there with a considerable appetite I would either be disappointed or out of pocket. You are paying for quality rather than quantity. Someone might argue that we weren’t cheated and that our portions were small because we ordered starters. I beg to differ as I saw some main courses being delivered to tables and they could definitely provide more on your plate for what you are paying.

The atmosphere was rather nice – very chilled out and laid back but classy at the same time. Our waitress was nice enough but we did feel neglected towards the end of our meal when we asked for our bill. It took at least 15 minutes for our bill to be delivered and that was after I hunted down another server to let them know we had been waiting. I understand she was probably run off her feet but we may have been in a hurry to get away, which fortunately we were not.

I’d quite like to go here for a drink some time. The cocktails are meant to be very nice. Moreover, I definitely approved of the entertainment. All throughout the night I could hear music which sounded like jazz and easy listening versions of ‘Town called Malice’ and ‘You’ve got a friend in me.’ I assumed it was a covers album by some musician like Jamie Callum. However, it was a pleasant surprise as we were leaving the place to discover there was a man playing a grand piano next to entrance and he was the one who had been singing all night long. And to make matters better, he was quite easy on the eye!

So how would I rate my experience? Tasty food and worthwhile if you’re willing to splash out more than you probably should. The only way this place could get 5 stars off of me is if they provided a little more in their portion sizes and their waiting service was slicker.

I find it unbelievable that they can't deliver to an area in Edinburgh 15 minutes away from the takeaway when back home in Clackmannanshire I can get a meal delivered from 5 miles away!

And I was willing to pay extra for the delivery fee. They lost custom on at least two occasions. Idiots!

I'm not one of those shoes-fanatic type girls and up until the past few years had a limited number of shoes in my possession...Then 'Schuh' emerged as a prominent high street shoe shop with stores in many towns and cities. So what has brought about this sudden passion about what I wear on my feet?

Schuh made me realise that quirky, good quality footwear need not be confined to posh, expensive designer shops and the catwalk. Whilst the shop caters for mainstream tastes the shop pools together various brilliant shoe designers that I had not been aware of previously. Some of the brands they stock for women include:

~Irregular Choice~
I absolutely adore Irregular Choice, a company who produce shows that one could imagine Katy Perry donning on her feet. Whilst a few of the designs are outlandish beyond belief and would certainly take a brave person to wear them, some of them are just just like nothing you see in other high street shops, but in a good way. I am currently eyeing up the 'Cortesan Snake' high heels in the purple version.

~Red or Dead~

Whilst some of the Red or Dead shoes are pretty common fare, I did buy a completely gorgeous pair worth £90 (probably the most I have ever spent on shoes even with the 10% student discount) which tie at the back and made from a luxurious soft material. These were definitely worth the money particularly as these are the comfiest party shoes I have ever owned. I find I can dance and walk about in them for ages and the quality is retained. Red or Dead heels are often sophisticated and a perfect set of shoes to buy for a special occasion or a classy night out.

~Dr Martens~

My purple Doc Martins were the first shoes I ever bought at schuh and lasted me several years despite frequent use. They are still in rather good condition today and only need one tiny hole mendled in the heel. I am a bit disappointed, however, at the recent range of Doc Martins. The colour and variety seems to be less interesting and vibrant in comparison to past stock, although this may be down to the shoemakers themselves. Despite this, Doc Martins are great for those who enjoy alternative styles. Such shoes are often quite painful to break in but with good leather softener and frequent wear, these are the comfiest shoes ever.

There are a wide range of fantastic, good quality shoes for most people, whether they wish to follow current fashion or prefer more unique styles. There are many brands and I have only really noted my favourites here.

The prices at Schuh vary. I would not define it as cheap but the prices you pay are pretty standard for many of the brands they sell. Moreover, bargains can be found in items in the sale section of shops. I would also recommend the shop for the fact that the shoes are often cost effective in the long term as the excellent quality of many brands means they last for a long time. I might also add that many of the shoes are absolutely gorgeous! In addition to this, students like myself can receive a 10% student discount in-store which is very useful.

My experience of customer service has been positive in pretty much every store I've been in. Employees are always willing to give you a hand and to ask you if you need assistance. The services in place for customers are generally very helpful and willing to allow you to order shoes if the specific type or size is not in stock in that particular store.

I generally love 'Schuh' for the diverse range of shoes that they stock. It may be pricey but the quality and attractiveness of the shoes is worth it -Not that I shop there too often as that would kill my student finances. I tend to limit it to no more than 2 or 3 purchases in a year. Schuh is a shop that is largely aimed at adults and I have not seen (or noticed) a kids range at all. This is probably a good thing as sometimes the last thing you want to deal with is noisy kids when out shopping (If any of us can remember our visits to Clarks as a child or other shoe shops before school started).

I have largely focused on female shoes but when I say you can find shoes for everybody, I mean everybody (who's not a child of course). The shop is divided so that one can also find male styles too. I would thoroughly recommend that men try this shop out too.

I was at Clarks yesterday with my mum reminiscing about how long it had been since I had bought a pair of shoes there in their ever so convenient half-sizes (I'm a 5 and a half). However, I quickly discovered why I haven't bought a pair of shoes there since I was in primary school. The women's range are fairly decent but they're rather pricey and not really anything special. I quickly discovered that I'd much rather shop at Schuh than here. Nothing caught my eye. Great quality shoes but nothing special to be honest.

As far as Chinese buffets go, and I've had plenty experience of the excellent and the horrifically bad when it comes to such restaurants, this one is not too bad. It is admittedly not the best and you do feel you are compromising on quality. However, it is not that bad. There is a good selection of my favourite kinds of Chinese food such as Beef and Black Bean Sauce and Sweet and Sour Chicken. They also have a Vegetarian section for the veggies which is semi-decent. I've more often been there for lunch. Dinner, as should be expected, has a wider range of meals including sushi which is rather tasty. The dessert selection is rather nice I must say. There's usually chocolate cake and that lovely soft-serve icecream from a machine with a selection of sauces.

What I don't understand is why the water they have in the water dispensers is so atrocious. Yesterday my mum and I both bought Irn Brus but decided to have a glass of water before we left. However, the water was dire as if they'd made it terrible on purpose. This doesn't make sense when I live in a flat that is a 15 minutes walk away and the water is absolutely fine. They should really sort that out.

I think this restaurant is fairly decent for its cheap prices. It's not the best buffet restaurant I've been to but it's not in any way bad.

My trawl around Princes Street with my mum yesterday had been quite hopelessly unproductive. Then I found the newly opened Urban Outfitters and was pleasantly surprised. Instead of walking around a shop commenting on how I didn't like anything, I ended up picking up several items that I desperately wanted. It made a refreshing change to the bland, dull and samey fashion that is out at the moment - everything that I hate. Urban Outfitters has a selection of interesting, colourful fashion that is stylish but so different from other high street stores that try to be so slick and cool. I got an awesome number of skirts (a nice red patterned sweater skirt and a couple of colourful skirts that cinched attractively at the waist). Not only are the clothes pretty fantastic but they stock a great range of boutique items from wallets to hip flasks to cake stands (!)

The one downside of this - the price. Even with the 10% student discount I got it was a rather pricey shop. Nevertheless, I am in love with its range.

Urban Outfitters is one of many shops that Edinburgh so desperately needs. Solomons_key is only too right - I'm sick to death of tartan shops. If only they could confine them all to Royal Mile and I'd be only too happy. Princes Street remains a bit of a joke for shopping fans.