Made my first visit to the Kennedy Centre today after hearing a lot about it on Yelp. Seems to be…read moremore than just a shopping centre with an on site cinema, a food court and plenty of independent retail outlets. I was impressed by the Kennedy Centre, for a Sunday it was really busy but not cramped like some other shopping centers. There's plenty of parking with an underground car park making it an ideal place to do your big shop at Sainsbury's. As well as Siansbury's The Kennedy Centre also boasts an Argento, DV8, Blue Inc and many other chain stores. If you haven't been to The Kennedy Centre I suggest you pay it a visit. It's only a few minutes from the motorway making it unbelievably convenient.

A mini shopping centre on the Falls Road. The Centre seems to have gotten a lot quieter since 2009,…read morewhen the local supermarket there was sold to Salisbury's, but they're hoping to increase footfall to its former levels - the revamped cinema is open, they managed to get Poundland into the Centre (which has been expanding and opening shops at an impressive rate since the recession kicked in), and the global giant Burger King will take residence there around the end of the summer 2010. The Salisbury's store itself is huge. Aside from that, you also have the typical shops and services you'd expect - post-office, coffee shops, clothes shops, chemists, hairdressers, jewellers, etc., and it's a pleasant enough place to wile away an hour or two. There's ample parking, including an underground car-park at the back.

I had never been in nor heard of this fabulous little shop until today…read more I took myself out on a stroll in the glamorous Lisburn Road (I don't remember it being that glamorous many years ago when I was crawling home in the early hours with half a kebab all over my beck and several drunken students singing the the best of Take That!) The housing in this area is expensive and this attracts a well to do lot to the area. With well to do ladies comes lovely expensive clothing that they want to sell. And so Deja Vu was born. The shop works by a client leaving in a high end piece of clothing, shoes or accessories and then the shop sells it for them for 50% of the price. There are loads of beautiful tops, dresses and skirts from really posh designers - gorgeous. It's like a second hand shop with a difference. They also stock mother of the bride/groom outfits that have only been worn once, originally cost hundreds, even thousands and are in perfect condition. I wish I had have had more time to browse but I didn't - the woman who runs this place is the best sales assistant I have come across yet - lovely to chat to, no pressure, takes time, points out bargains and really seems to want to help. I'm sitting here wanting to go back for another look about. Great!

The Lisburn Road can be pretty pricey and sometimes a little conservative for a fashion-savy lady,…read moreand for that reason alone thank goodness for Deja Vu. Selling pre-worn designer (and not so well known, ahem, designer) ladies clothes, this place is a treasure trove of joy, often with quite unusual and rare pieces, perfect for when you don't want to turn up to your posh do with someone else in the same frock! That's what I love about here- the individuality. Super reasonable pricing too for what you get. They do turn around a good lot of clothes here and as they are second hand they may not have a huge variety of sizes, so if you see something you like don't dwell on it, just buy or it will be gone!

I ordered 2 beds, both arrived well on time, delivered and installed as promised by two very nice…read morechaps. Highly recommend.

What can I say? This is a great spot for getting your furniture and household items. They supply…read moreeverything - sofas, suites, wardrobes, tables, mirrors, mats, etc., and have a separate shop just a few doors away which is a bedroom showroom, and is used exclusively for beds. They always have special offers, whether its discounts on furniture or free fitting or free delivery... there's always something. As an independent retailer it's stood the test of time. People who like to spend big money on furniture tend to go to Boucher Road. People who want quality furniture that's good value go to this place. Yes, you may find the odd bargain on a coffee table in Ikea, but there are several reasons I prefer Direct Furniture to Ikea: a) Ikea is a very inhospitable place, and you seem to have to walk through the entire place via some type of ingenious labyrinth one-way system to get out (I went in one Saturday and couldn't find my way out til Monday, although I was relieved to get out without being devoured by a minotaur) b) Ikea does some very annoying things, like have prices on their wardrobes that say something like 'final' price or 'total' price. After this, I discover that this doesn't include the handles or, in some cases, the pole for hanging things on. Perhaps my definition of final price differs from theirs, but my wardrobe is definitely neither final or total if I can't open it because it has no handles. Maybe they're like the doors in that film "What Lies Beneath", where you just have to reach towards the doors and they open... c) you get personal service in Direct Furniture. You go to Ikea and it's different people working all the time, relying on a handbook of policies to deal with returns, discounts, etc. In direct furniture, it's the same people all the time. Say you go in one day, having been in the previous week. The item you wanted is out of stock and, not being in the furniture business or having any descriptive powers to speak of, you can't accurately describe it. "I was talking to that sales person there about it" will result in the mystery being solved in no time. It's the same 5 or 6 staff all the time, and they'll remember you. Of course, once you enter the premises you implicitly agree to forfeit your name - people who only go in once in a while will be reborn, and given new names like "you're the fella that was in the other day looking the pine wardrobe". Customers always appreciate when someone remembers them, for whatever reason! Finally, if you're going to buy a wardrobe and decide that one could go in the other room as well (or you have a wife who, inexplicably, seems to believe that a nuclear holocaust is imminent, and that it's best to stockpile as many clothes as possible on a weekly basis, lest all clothes shops within a 400 mile radius be nuked in the very near future) bring your wallet with you and you might get a deal on the two of them for cash. Maybe... Good value, quality products, and excellent personal service make this the place for me every time. Sure, if i see a coffee table in Ikea for £7 (if that really is the 'final' price) and the advertisement comes with an instore map of where in the military compound I can get said coffee table, I'll take a run in, but apart from that it's Direct Furniture every time.

Another one for all you shoppers out there. Once you've had your fill of shopping in the city…read morecentre (see my reviews on CastleCourt and Victoria Square), there's still a few places left to burn out the credit card. Just a five minute drive from the city centre, Boucher Road has quite a few shops in it, most of which are located in Boucher Crescent Retail Park or Shane Retail Park (see my review on Shane retail park). There are men and women's clothing shops (River Island, Next, Burton, the Jeanery...), a sports shop, HMV, Starbuck's, Boots... the list goes on. There's a hell of a lot of space dedicated to parking here, but it can still be very difficult to get a space on a Saturday or Sunday. It's not a mall type place where you can get lost in, it's one of those places where the shops are all lined up in a row and you come out of one shop and into the next one - good for methodical shoppers, or those who don't have a lot of time. The downside is that the traffic on the Boucher Road can be crazy between 4 and 6p.m. But, if you're a visitor and you're out for a day's shopping, get yourself a 'day ticket' (see my Translink review) and you can take a trip up here before/after shopping in the city centre.

Boucher Road Crescent Retail Park is a handy spot for shopping if you don't fancy going into the…read moreCity Centre. It has a huge variety of shops including River Island, Outfit, Lipsy, Newlook, Next, Boots and much much more. Oh and there's a few car manufacturers nearby if you fancy treating yourself to a new Audi TT

Shopped here recently in the evening and found it pretty poor. Alot of the shelves were bare and I…read morefound it impossible to find the fruit and veg I wanted or any chicken fillets. Prices are cheap and staff have always been friendly. It sells alcohol, clothes, homeware and cds/ Dvds etc which is handy. Parking is also good and it has recycling bins nearby if you wanna get rid of some old clothes etc. Anytime I've been it's was very busy and you really need to have patience as you weave through the abandoned trolleys, slow walkers and indecisive shoppers. For this reason and due to stock issues I prefer to shop elsewhere.

There are a few things to note about this Asda. Firstly, it's extremely busy, especially since a…read morelocal shopping retailer sold their premises to Sainsburys (see my Sainsburys Kennedy Centre review). The more expensive Sainsburys nearby drove even more people through Asda's doors. If you're in a rush of any kind, you do not want to get caught in here on a Saturday (some evenings are busy, too). The short space between the tills and aisles means that you end up queueing all over the place, and are constantly in someone's way, Secondly, you can also get clothing, electrical items, DVDs, etc. in here. It's a limited selection, but a big enough section for what is primarily a grocery store. Better value than Sainsburys.

Dunelm Mill is the hot pot for everything frilly and fancy for furniture and clothing. It combines…read moreall types of materials for those creative types to make into curtains, bedspreads, table cloths or clothes! I recently purchased material to create my own unique range of scarves which I attached to bags, items of clothing and bedroom furniture. The material was quite inexpensive and easily saved me money if I had of went and bought the items from a shop. The store on Boucher Road is pretty large so if you have an idea of what you're looking for hold onto it, as you could easily get distracted you look for it among satin and cotton . Staff at the store are very helpful and can give you advice on what material to choose for different purposes, what measurements you will need as well as what colour schemes work the best.

This retail park doesn't have as many clothing shops as others on the Boucher Road (see my review…read moreon Boucher crescent retail park), and has more sort of practical/big item shops. Here you'll find a few expensive furniture shops, such as Harvey's. It also has a Smyth's toy store, Homebase, Carpetright, Dunelm Mill,... you get the idea. Shane retail park is just a few minutes' drive from Boucher Crescent retail park and has a lot of parking.

The Gatehouse Boutique (or Gate House Boutique) is a fabulous, quaint clothes shop. It's filled…read morewith quirky, unique womenswear and has some gorgeous hats and scarves. It'll not be to everyone's taste but I absolutely love it.

Absolutely unyielding return policy and very unfriendly manageress at Dunelm-Boucher Rd…read more My wife measured incorrectly for a Roman blind (we needed three but just bought one to see if it fit OK, it didn't) the length of the blind was 2" shorter than the specs on the blinds box and my wife's measuring error made it worse. Time went by as it does in our busy lifestyles, out of the return window. Tried to return for credit note to buy three of the correct size (£65.00 each). Very unfriendly manageress right out refused. I had £300 in my pocket that day to buy the three blinds and purchase a couple of other things for around the house from Dunelm......nope, not to be. I took my £300 and unreturnable blind (will end up using on another window) to Harry Corry's........and spent every penny there!

Great place for homewares. There is everything you need from bedding, curtains, fabric, cushions,…read morethrows, kitchen ware, bathroom, lights, lamps, picture frames and other ornaments. Everything is fairly well laid out over two floors. Everything is so much cheaper than other soft furnishing stores. There is a cafe on the first floor, customer lift is available. Even if you don't need anything you will be lured into buying something! Guy on checkout was nice & friendly

Patrick Collins is an independent furniture shop in West Belfast. The stock is a real mixture of…read moremodern, contemporary stuff and more traditional looking furniture. Any stuff we've bought (which includes both mine and my mum's bedroom furniture) has been of exceptional quality. It is a little more expensive than going to a chain store, but I think the service and quality you get from here makes it worth it.

Lakeland is a chain of kitchenware shops based in Cumbria that has outlets all over England and…read moreScotland. It has kind of crept up on me but the shop is pretty huge, selling every kind of baking tin, kitchen equipment and home appliance that you could think of. Behind it there is a mail order section providing three catalogues so everything is covered. The shop seems brand new and is quite large. You might well need the help of the staff, who are friendly and pleasant, to find things. If you want a specific baking item or saucepan this is the place to go.I'd come here for sugar cake decorations, handsomely decorated tins and saucepans. Everything is good quality. There's a selection of china and foodie gifts, but the main focus is practical kitchenware. Lakeland has become so big that it is somewhat generic but undoubtedly has its place.

So I decided I'd bake my mum a birthday cake...and now I'm so full of regret as I never realised…read morehow difficult it is. Thankfully however Lakeland exists and has every colour of icing you could need and every instrument, tool and appliance you can think of to help with your masterpiece. Lakeland has a huge range of culinary delights, cleaning products, coffee machines, kitchen aids, beer/ wine/ cider making kits and lots of other handy devices that are super tempting but you really have to question if you would get enough use out of it. Prices can be quite expensive but all items are high quality. Staff are super friendly and really helpful. Here's hoping I can mould the pretty fuschia coloured icing I bought into something that resembles a flower or mother may be birthdaycakeless.