Birmingham’s coolest new shopping centre, Grand Central, has been open for almost a month, and up until a few days ago, I had spent all of five minutes in there. So yesterday I had an afternoon to myself and decided to take my GoPro along, to explore GC.
I was immediately impressed with the work that’s been done, the space is HUGE. It’s a lot roomier than I expected and, considering the time of day I went, it wasn’t overly busy, which is always a bonus. I have to tell you how amazing the smell is, too! It’s a very fresh, clean odour mixed in with floral and pretty aromas, mostly coming from the perfume and beauty stands dotted around (Visit the Opulent Perfume counter, I didn’t want to leave).
Of course in a sparkly new shopping centre, there are lots of restaurants to pick from. Walking around surrounded by heavenly-scented food instantly got my taste buds flared up, and you all know how much I love to eat. I ended up walking around a good five times before deciding where to go; Ed’s Easy Diner, Pho (Vietnamese restaurant), Giraffe, Tapas Revolution and the Square Pie to name a few. I ended up going for Japanese cuisine, at Yo! Sushi. It definitely didn’t disappoint, and I left feeling extremely full. I felt like going for a Gelato or one of the cakes at Cocomac’s Bakery, but I didn’t want to push my “diet luck”. Instead I just bought some macaroons to eat later.
Aside from the restaurants, I was amazed by all the shops in Grand Central. There are some I’ve never been to before, or even heard of, such as Pylone, who I’ll be best friends with from now on. I was also excited to see a Cath Kidston store, FatFace, and Neal’s Yard, along with my favourites Paperchase and Accessorize (all of which I’m sure will drain my bank balance). Of course, the big show-shopper of Grand Central is John Lewis (first John Lewis store I’ve ever been too). I love browsing in department stores as it is, but John Lewis is incredible. My inner child felt very happy. In terms of travel, there isn’t really any specific stores, apart from a Kuoni inside of John Lewis on the 4th floor. However, John Lewis has a great travel section, with lots of beautiful cases and travel accessories, cute globes and scratch maps to please the eye.
I had a wonderful afternoon exploring Grand Central. I really think it adds a lot of appeal to Birmingham and I expect over the next few months it will bring even more tourists to the city.
If you’ve been, let me know what you think.
P.S I went back and bought some of those cakes….
D x