Rik's reviews
Review of Holloway Sports
07 Jan 08, 14:28
Good little sports shop 
Unlike JD Sports across the road, Holloway Sports actually know a thing or two about sporting equipment, rather than just selling the latest line of "leisure wear" for the more discerning scally.
Proof of this comes when I went to JD Sports and asked for shin pads, and they didn't do them. They do thousands of tracksuits but no shin pads... anyway, that's not the point.
Holloway Sports seem to have a good range of equipment and the staff all seem rather friendly and know what they're talking about. Plus they'll give you 10% off if you have a loyalty card which is a great little bonus!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Review of Virgin Active
12 Sep 07, 12:11
More enjoyable than I thought
Being one of these people who sit at a computer all day, both at work and at home too, I thought I'd get rid of the belly and join a gym. I also managed to get the missus to come along too, so I had someone to go with.
We checked out the prices online first, it's pretty expensive to be a member of a gym, but they have some off-peak plans which can be more suitable too. When we arrived to join, the salesperson didn't mention the other plans and tried to get us on the most expensive one. It was lucky we'd done our research, otherwise we'd be £20 a month down.
Anyway, we were both impressed with gym facilities, there's lots of running machines, weights, a 25m pool, spa, sauna and loads more. Everything is modern, high-tech and clean.
When we got inducted, the staff member "didn't have time" and only showed us a couple of cardiovascular machines, not the best intro to the gym, we would have liked to be shown more but everything is simple to pick up.
The gym can get busy, especially at the weekends and during the first few days of the week when people can be bothered to go, but there's enough machines for everyone and I've not been left waiting for anything so far.
The missus thought she wouldn't enjoy the gym at all, but now she actually enjoys it and says "it's easier than boring dieting". I enjoy it too, and would recommend Virgin Active to anyone wanting to get fit.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Foxtons
12 Jun 07, 14:04
Go to a friendly estate agents instead 
Foxtons have something of a reputation in London - and it's not a good one. Their suited-up estate agents can be seen driving round in the green Mini's with punk style graffiti on the side. Slightly odd for an estate agent to have punk designs on a Mini but I guess it makes them want to attract a younger market.
Their agents tend to be overly aggressive and argumentative, even for estate agents. They will find properties for you that they know you can't afford in the hope that they get a bigger commission from you. No, Foxtons, I don't want to get a flat that's more than £125p/m over my absolute maximum. I'm not stupid.
Strangely though, when showing you a flat, they will be very laissez-faire about it, despite being 40 minutes late for your appointment, even though they could have walked there in 20 minutes. They don't exactly win you over with their sales technique.
The only good things about Foxtons is their selection of houses and flats. Check their website. Most of the places are expensive but the range is pretty impressive. All the years of ripping down other estate agents signs must have helped.
If you do find a place at Foxtons, make sure you only see the one flat and don't look at anything else, otherwise they'll be phoning you up and emailing you all the time, giving you rubbish flats that no one else wants.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Vue
23 May 07, 18:44
Expensive 
Ryan E's review says that Vue is 'relatively okay priced'... I don't know which Vue in Angel he'd gone to but this Vue is the most expensive cinema I've been to.
Not only are the tickets stupidly expensive, but so are the snack bars. You can easily spend up to £15 each for a film, which in my opinion is expensive for someone to press play on a video and for someone to hand me some popcorn. It's nicer to go to Leicester Square and make a proper night of it and still pay the same price as you do here.
There's nothing particularly wrong with Vue, it's a fairly standard cinema, with nice seats and good views, but the price is so expensive that it feels that you should be getting more for the money.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of The Sequel
23 May 07, 13:56
Cheap and cheesy
I have a mate who swears by this place - he found it by wondering around the streets of Angel looking for a place to eat after only a day in London, but he keeps going back and back to this place. He can't get enough of it. He sometimes comes from Fulham just to visit.
When I finally joined on one of his expeditions, I coudn't see what the fuss was about. The food, mainly Italian-based, was very average. I think I could cook better food without trying. The ingredients didn't seem to be of particularly high quality either, but then it is pretty cheap anyway.
If you're a fan of cabaret, then you'll probably like this place, but, if, like me, you think cabaret is a bit cheesy and cheap, then you won't really like the entertainment they put on.
I can see why this place is popular, if you like cheap pasta and cheap entertainment, then you'll love it. If you're not as keen on either of those, then you'll probably not enjoy it.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Review of Sadlers Wells Barber Shop
14 May 07, 14:34
Sheep
Imagine you're a sheep wanting a hair cut... you don't know where to go so you look on welovelocal for a baaa-rbers (lolz), what would be the first result? Yep, this place. They would sit you down, put a cape around your woolly neck, get out the clippers and lob off your fuzzy sheep hair.
You only wanted your fluffy wool trimmed, you wanted to maintain your cool style to impress the sexy ewes, but now, it's all gone on to the floor on the barber shop, and you leave cold, naked and disappointed.
0 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Wagamama
10 May 07, 11:08
Awful service
I am a fan of Wagamama's food - they do very nice Japanese noodles - and the Islington branch is my local branch, which I tend to go quite a lot. So why am I giving it two stars? The service there is, on a very good day, of an average standard, on a normal day, mediocre, and on a bad day, absolutely abysmal. You can wait ages to be served. Ages to get a bill. Wrong meals. Wrong drinks. Overcrowding. Forgotten orders. Lukewarm meals. It's as if the staff are playing some kind of Beadle's About stunt, but the sad thing is that they're not. And yet, I still go, and each time I come out slightly more disappointed. They would have received a single star normally, but the food pumps them up one.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Angel Curry Centre
07 May 07, 10:45
Currytastic! Highly Recommended! 
I like curry. You only have to look at me to know that. I also like trying out curry houses, and the Angel Curry Center is the one I keep going back to again and again. Let's not pretend the food is nouveau Indian cuisine or anything. It's not. It is, however, a great British curry, which would easily beat anything on Brick Lane. The staff are frighteningly nice - usually they give me free poppadoms with my takeaway, sometimes free poppadoms and drinks while I wait for my takeaway. The price is very reasonable too, usually can get 2 meals with sides for about £16, which is an absolute bargain once you realise how good the food actually is. If you're eating in the restaurant, then it's a good idea to go and bring some alcohol drinks along as they don't sell them, but there's plenty of off-licenses on Chapel Market, so that's not a worry. If you want a curry tonight, do yourself a favour. Go here.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Review of Toni and Guy
04 May 07, 14:39
Variable, make sure you ask for what you want!
The problem with getting a bad haircut is there's not much you can do with it for a few weeks. Apart from wear a hat. Or paper bag, perhaps. Which is why I tend to pay a bit more than ordinary guys for my haircuts. Call it a luxury, but I quite like my hair and want to make the most of it before I go bald. That's why I went to Toni and Guy. Good reputation, plus mid-range prices (not super high salon price, but not dirt cheap either). Although, they don't specialize in mens hairdressing, but I thought I'd give it a go. First time I went, I told them exactly what I wanted, which meant that I came out with a rather good hairdo.
Second time I went, I told them a more general idea of what I wanted, and came out with a complete mess. They had given me short back and sides with medium on top, and a long fringe. I looked like a new romantic. Not a good look I can assure you. I asked for more to be taken off the fringe and literally they cut half a millimeter from it. I came out looking stupid, and I had to cut my hair myself when I got home. I think I did a far better job than they did. I'm going to give them two stars. I would have given 4 for the first cut, but just 1 for the second cut, and we all know a bad haircut is a more life-changing than a good one, which is why it's getting knocked down to 2.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.