Shelli's Qype profile

Unfortunately Zavvi has gone into administration and has just closed its Birmingham store.

The store had been completely emptied and was shut when I went past at the weekend so unfortunately if you are looking for a bargain you will have to find a Zavvi that is still open.

There is a hmv right next door though so you’ll still be able to find any cds/dvds/games that you need. (though probably a bit more expensive!)

I love USC and was really sad to see that it is closing down. USC has a range of great brands including Firetrap, Diesel and Ted Baker.

They are currently having a massive closing down sale so definately get over there fast to pick up some bargains. The downstairs has been coverted to the sale area with both womens and mens sale items. Upstairs they still have some full price clothes (mainly mens clothing and jeans)

Urban Pie is the perfect place to go after work on a freezing cold evening. Half price at that time as well (its open until 8 weekdays). Friendly staff, yummy pies, it also sells beer/wine (bottles/cans) and you get an awesome pie box which also acts as your plate when you fold the sides down. The gravy is also great (and free!) There are tall wooden tables for seating and they also have toilet facilities. Once you have a pie though you definately will want to go back!

Situated just off Pauls square near The Ropewalk. As there are so many good places to eat in the area I was expecting good things from Henrys.

We went here on a Monday evening. There was plenty of choice and the starters we had of prawn toast was lovely. However the mains didn’t have much flavour to them and the duck in black bean sauce I had was mostly fat. It also took a very, very long time for the waitress to clear our table afterwards. It took so long that I thought i’d start getting hungry again and start tucking into the remaining cold duck fat on my plate.

The prices were reasonable and the staff were friendly. It wasn’t a horrible experience but I don’t think i’ll be rushing to go back.

A good place to see bands as although it’s quite small compared to the carling academy there is still loads of room to stand. It does feel really chilly though if there is only a small crowd in there, had to get dancing to the support acts to try and warm up!

Bear in mind that there are no cash points close to the venue. (nearest is back in the bullring) There is a small cash machine in there but that will charge you about 2.50. There is also a cloak room which is very handy.

The club nights (Panic, Indiscretion which are on alternate saturdays) are pretty awesome especially when all the rooms are open. (There is about five I think) Unfortunately they are all on different levels accessed by stairs so you’ll probably spend alot of time going up and down if you want to change rooms. However this didn’t really bother me although be careful if it’s been raining as it can get really slippery and I saw a few people nearly fall down the stairs a couple of times! Scary in heels!

There are bars in the different rooms with a place to smoke at the top. Its not the cleanest of places (horrible toilets!) but the atmosphere was amazing and the drinks prices were good.

Definately reccommend!

Not the cheapest place to go but good for a special occasion.

Bear in mind that the dishes are quite traditional so don't expect to see listings like you would in your normal curry house (chicken tikka, korma,vindaloo etc)

Its won awards and you can tell as the food is really high quality with good ingredients used. The staff were very friendly and I'd definately go back again.

Check out there website for more information.

http://www.itihaas.co.uk/

I love this shop, it’s fairly expensive but the chocolate is really nice. There are so many different varieties you are sure to find some you like. They have small slabs of chocolate for about 2.50 whereas the bigger ones are about 11

Definately worth going to if you’re looking for a present for a chocoholic but you’ll probably come out with some for yourself too.

They also do the greatest Easter eggs i’ve ever seen!

Great doughnuts!

At weekends the queue is always massive to get served because they are so good. The bullring is open late on weekdays so if you can i would go in the evening to get some.

You also normally get a free one while you are in the queue, bonus :)

We visited here last night and was very impressed!

Currently (not sure whether this is all the time) they have a 2 for 1 offer for couples on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays evenings. This means that it works out very cheap for an evening meal! It was 16.99 for the two of us including two large cokes. (normally prices are 12.95 for evenings and 6.95 for lunches)

You are taken to your table and pointed out where to go. It is not just indian food but also chinese and thai. So for starters, there were chicken tikka bites, spring rolls, pakora and a few others and they had some quite hot garlic chilli sauce, yum!

Be careful not to eat too many starters as you'll definately miss out on the mains. There is so much choice! There is a selection of healthy foods such as olives, salads and other things on one side.

There is a fairly big curry selection with lamb rogan josh, homemade chicken curry, beef with chilli (very hot!), butter chicken, thai green curry etc. There is a selection of rices and also some vegetarian curries. There is a massive pile of poppadoms around the other side and if you ask the chef he will cook a naan bread for you.

If curry isn't your thing then there is a suchi selection and a stir fry counter. Simply select your ingredients and the chef will cook it for you brilliant. There were a lot of other dishes that i've missed out but you'll be certain to find something you like.

If you're still not full then there is the dessert counter with a selection of fresh fruits, ice cream, cakes and various other things you normally see on the buffet menu.

It looks like jimmy spices would be a good place for a birthday celebration as its a fairly big place with long tables and also has a massive range of cocktails (which i hope to try out next time), beer and wines. They also have an offer of a birthday cake and champagne cocktail for birthday boys/girls if your party is bigger than six.

Also its situated at the beginning of broad street so would be a great start to a night out especially as you don't have to spend ages waiting for the food as you would at a normal restaurant.

I'll definately be going back :)

p.s check out the website http://www.jimmyspices.co.uk/ for more information, sample menus, special events etc.

Really great cocktails but quite pricey. They do use good brands of spirits, liquers and fresh fruit so it’s well worth your money. You can buy trays of differently flavoured shots which are awesome on a night out. The music has always been good when i’ve gone and they have comfy seating although on busy nights places like the upstairs and the bigger sofas are normally reserved for parties.