The Grill at Macy’s

This is a great place, however, last time I
went I asked for a bacon sandwich at
12:05pm, refused as they only do them till
midday, on my last visit… Arrived at 9:45 ordered breakfast… And at 10:30 refused as the chef hasn’t arrived yet! Also on arrival there was vomit at the steps which hadn’t been cleared from the night before (presumably left by drinkers not diners).
Otherwise excellent ! Shame.
Love the blackadder recording in the Ioo
tho… A nice touch!
I think the owner needs to be present a bit
more often perhaps!
It’s ashamed really because it has the potential to be a 5 !

So, the reviews on here didn’t bode well for us to try the Grill but nonetheless I like to give a place at least it’s one chance to show me what its made of so me, Mr and our 2 friends went for dinner @ Macys yesterday.
We hadn’t booked & when we entered the grill it was empty– slightly perturbed then as to why they sat us behind the serving counter as if we should be ‘out of the way’.
I wasn’t too happy with the table but the waitress didn’t seem to be approachable enough for us to ask to be moved.
(for those who have been here when it was Starbucks we had been sat just near the stairs which lead up to the toilets and the back room)
We were allowed sufficient time to browse the menu which seemed quite a good menu but struck me as ‘bitty’- maybe missing something off it.
There was a selection of salads, predominantly meat and a good choice of accompanying side dishes.
We didn’t play much attention to the starters so I won’t comment.
Our drinks orders were taken and the waitress was helpful in suggesting the £7 house wine offer but my friend has requested slimline tonic and they had none, and no alternative ‘diet’ or low-​cal drinks. He was not impressed!
We ordered the food and had an insightful chat about skinny fries V’s the big fat chips and we were happy that the staff seemed up until now– quite attentive.
The orders seemed to come out in good time.
The 2 who had ordered ‘dutch fries’ had their orders served with skinny fries so we asked for that to be rectified and they were took away and brought back a short while later.
The steak with chili rub I’m told was very good-​if a little underdone even though it had been asked for rare– it was raw in the middle! and the big fat chips were lush
The chicken skewers had a lovely ‘charred taste’ and was good quality chicken yet the pineapple salsa served with it lacked a bit of… someting. The skinny fries were just OK.
The chicken burger which had originally been served wrongly with skinny fries and brought back when it was corrected was then almost cold but my Mr, being one who doesn’t really like to fuss just ate it. He commented it was nothing special.
The other diner also had the skewers with dutch fries which oozed cheesiness and had nice fresh spring onions
The dishes were left too long before being taken away in our opinion and there was also a break in service before we were offered dessert.
Also, if offering brownies I would bring the flavour board over so I knew the selection available!
We ordered and lo and behold– one of the ice-​cream flavours was not available.
Again, another bit of a server error.
The brownies however are luscious! We’d asked for ours warm and they were gooey and delightful. The ice cream flavours were rich and good quality!
The Grill certainly has its good points but the bad points are the niggly little ones which are noticeable!
For the portion size I would say it slightly pricey but the food is good quality. (£72.30 total for the meal/​dessert/​drinks)
We weren’t blown away by our experience but it was nice, just that.
A few more tweaks for the evening service and I would consider going back, especially for the brownies!

Whenever I’m in Headingley and fancy a coffee, Macy’s was my go-​to place; really close to where I park, lovely staff and lots of tasty nibbles.
I used ‘was’ because that was when Macy’s was a nice new coffee shop. Now, for some reason that I can’t even begin to fathom, they’ve decided to try their hand at being an identi-​kit restaurant just like so many other in the city and it’s surrounding areas.
The past few times I’ve popped in with my girlfriend, there’s been no friendly ‘hello’ as we find ourselves a seat, and gawping at the delicious cakes behind the glass counter has been out of the question. Instead, we’ve had to wait for someone to come and show us to a table, and then (when they’re good and ready — just long enough to feel uncomfortable) take our order where we’re sitting.
Usually I wouldn’t grumble at table service, but it means no more chatter with whoever is at the counter and from most seats I can’t see the days’ snacks. And I like snacks.
I especially like Macy’s snacks, actually. For all my grumbling at their new found snobbery and semi-​formal attitude, Macy’s do great coffees and their cakes are fantastic. I don’t know if they bake their own carrot cakes and sponges, but wherever they come from, they’re delicious. They stock Brown & Blonde’s brownies too, which are always worth a punt wherever you can find them.
Shame about the change in direction. Macy’s used to have a lot going for it. The change is so small, but the new formality dulls the spark of the place.

I FINALLY managed to get someone to come with me for a coffee there, aaaaand it was my dad. We went for a a quick coffee and a snack. I had earl grey tea and my dad a double espresso accompanied with a whiskey and walnut brownie for me and a slice of chocolate cake air sprayed with gold for my dad. As the drink goes it was ok although being spoiled by a different coffee shop that I get a pot with the same price I felt a bit weird. My brownie was nicely moist, it was really yummy and the whiskey cut the intensely chocolate goodness and managed to finish it in one go. I also tried my dad’s cake and that was nice too but the chocolate was too much for me. (I can’t eat too much chocolate in one sitting, there was nothing wrong with the cakes).
After this i went once more. This time it was with my boyfriend. I got a bit disappointed that they didn’t had the brownie I was craving for (and the reason I wanted to go again.) This time for some reason also forgot to put tags on the brownies so you couldn’t tell what flavor were they and the waitress wasn’t particularly loud with her talking so i just randomly picked the butterscotch one. It was ok for me but my boyfriend who is fan of all things caramel liked it more. He got a really yummy «New York hot dog» which unfortunately there is no photo of it because it was gone quite quick. Although the first time the service it was ok the second time it was a bit slow but i think it was like that because it was busy. Alos i think the hot dog was cooked at the time of order because it took a while to come.
And one more think. PLEASE put an umbrella to the outside tables, just because is under a tree it doesn’t mean the rain doesn’t reach. I am a smoker and I am willing to sit outside in the cold so i can have my drink the way i like it.

First and foremost: avoid. It may look great but don’t judge this book by its trendy cover.
I’m not used such negative experiences but here we go:
The first time I went to Macy’s I had a great sandwich with fresh bread, chicken mayo, salad and dill pickled cucumber. Unfortunately they have removed their dill pickled cucumber from their sandwiches (apparently other customers ‘didn’t like them’) yet Macy’s have failed to remove this promised ingredient from their menu from which you order (false advertising?) No one tells you won’t get what you order isn’t what you might get. Despite there being a large number of staff members behind the counter, and about four managers lounging around, service really isn’t up to scratch (at all). Staff are either plain uninterested in serving customers and would probably be much more suited to standing in front of mirrors.
Disappointing… especially when you’ve forked up a fair few quid to eat something.
In the past month I have returned two items (no apologies from the staff, just a refund!) and have made a phone call to Leeds City Council’s food hygiene department… more to follow on that one. Needless to say I will not be returning!

I’ve been here on a few occasions. The coffee is OK but that’s where it ends. The sandwiches have dry bread, the WiFi never works and the place just evokes an unpleasant atmosphere. Menus are displayed but no prices.
On my last visit I passed a packed Costa at lunchtime in order to get here. When I got here there were hardly any people. What a contrast to Costa. Every picture tells a story.

I have to say, I had been forewarned about the service before popping in, and so perhaps my lowered expectations meant that my experience at Macy’s wasn’t too bad. I was en route to town and wanted to nip in for a quick drink, so decided to try the new café out before catching the bus in.
I have to say, I love the space. It somehow seems much better than when it was Starbucks, trendier. I love the big table in the middle, it feels very Californian (or perhaps reminds me of a place I love in San Francisco), and comes complete with a number of papers to peruse. The tall ceilings and classy décor make it a very pleasant place to hang out and take in a coffee, and there’s still the cosy spots around the back if you want to hide away.
The menu looks great, although I was liquid focused, so I can’t speak for the bites. Being as I’ve been suffering of late from the dreaded tonsillitis, I opted for one of their fresh juice concoctions, the apple, acacia honey, mint and pineapple juice. Sounds amazing, right? It was. Freshly made, utterly delectable, and *just* what the doctor ordered. It was pure nectar and so refreshing-​I highly recommend.
So, why not a higher rating? Well. Much as I’m utterly enamoured of this new found juice drink, I have to agree that the service was a little off. I went to the till to order, which is fine, and the girl was pleasant if a little brusque. However, I had to wait an inordinately long time to get my drink, even accounting for it being freshly made. (And there weren’t many customers, either.) The other small gripe was that the juice cost £3 –and it wasn’t very big either. I’m not too worried about that, since I know it was all quality and that’s what I’d hoped for, but it’s erring on the side of overly-​pricey.
So. The service wasn’t as bad as other people seem to have experienced, but it really could have been better. In any case, I’ll certainly go back for a second round-​and hopefully will be able to enjoy another of their excellent drinks, perhaps with a little more speed and smile!

I hate to write a bad review. And I really wanted to like this place. It isn’t far from where I live and I am always looking for quality coffee. I had heard about Macy’s and decided to check it out. My first experience there was… ok. Nothing special, nothing bad. But on my two subsequent visits I have decided to simply avoid them. The brownie I had was good. The coffee was decent and the smoothy too. But the service is atrocious. I could probably deal with poor service if the food was great, but with ok-​ish food and poor service there is no reason to go.
The second time I went, they were busy. But the staff didn’t seem to know how to cope with the number of customers. I try to cut people slack in these situations, but it seemed unusually disorganized. Wrong orders produced, people standing around not doing things while others ran to and fro in confusion.
My last trip to Macy’s was simply ridiculous. My fiancé and I went for an iced coffee on a hot afternoon. We waited for what felt longer than we needed to in order for anyone to acknowledge us and just as we were about to walk right up to the woman register figuring maybe we were just standing in the wrong place, the cashier ran out of the building. LITERALLY. I thought… well, maybe she saw something happening outside that she needed to prevent. A wrong order being dropped off or a customer in trouble. But when she returned she apologized and said «I just saw a cool truck outside and wanted to look.» WHAT??? Really unprofessional.
The staff acts like they’re cool and fashionable without caring how they are interacting with the customers. I have worked in customer service for years and it is not that hard to be professional and polite. Especially when it’s your job. If you don’t care about what you’re making and selling and if you can’t be friendly and helpful, than just don’t bother.

I went here for the 3 days of summer we had earlier in the year, looking for alternative sources of caffeine to Costa and the other boring manifestations of coffee house and found Macy’s.
There is no doubting the place looks pretty darn swish! They have done a really good job at remodelling from the old Starbucks décor they inherited.
I ordered a frappé as it was the closest thing they had to a frappacino style drink and got an oreo brownie, and to be fair they both looked pretty good after a biblically long wait im glad they did look so good.
The service is just a bit poor really… the lass who works in there just doesnt really seem to care too much about service, more looking at her best at all times. This isnt a personal attack but she just seemed to snooty to be working with people ‘beneath’ her. Other people had problems with service as the manager was doling out free drinks for those who had waited the longest.
Maybe when they have got the service perfected and brought their prices in line with other local competitors id go back, but why pay premium prices for sub-​par service without a hint of a smile?

The décor is nice & relaxing, and you can tell a lot of love has gone into that. However I feel like this is reflected in the prices– they really are a bit too expensive for what you get, in my opinion. I ordered a small latte which was way too strong & small. They must have put 2 shots of espresso in the tiniest cup– totally unenjoyable. I also shared a pastrami sandwich with my friend which was nothing special. The brownies are amazing but they buy them in (I think they’re from Hash Brownies?).
I decided to give Macy’s a second chance. Unfortunately they weren’t very well staffed that day and I waited what seemed like forever for my smoothie, which just tasted of milk. When I complained about it the lady she was adamant that there was actual passion fruit in it but eventually agreed to make me another juice instead. It took a while to come again and she apologized, but we felt like we were being a bit ignored. They gave us 2 free cupcakes to apologize but they were sickly and I could barely finish mine. I appreciated the thought but to be honest I won’t be coming back here as I’d much rather go to The Bowery down the road!

I’ve decided to err on the side of generosity for this review because it’s really nice to see an independent (ish-they’re owned by the guys who run the Rock Bar) place open where Starbucks used to be. They’ve done the place up really nicely: a somehow simutanously posh and cosy vibe that fits well with the exterior. There’s a decent selection of drinks, nothing wildly original but you can get a coffee to your liking, a herbal tea or a range of tasty variations on the theme of hot chocolate.
What really stands out though is the cakes. When we went in they had an array of the most amazing… well, they were technically cupcakes but really ‘cake towers’ would be a better description: cupcakes with loads of beautiful icing and doughnuts on top. No, you didn’t misread that — there were mini dougnuts on top of the icing. Doughnuts! On the icing! Apparently the guy who makes them won the National Cupcake Award last year. (How much would you love an invite to that award ceremony??) There were some sandwiches too but I’m afraid I was a little distracted at that point so I can’t really remember much about the selection…
Sadly once I’d stopped drooling I remembered that I’m trying to curtail my cake consumption so I reluctantly decided to go for the next best thing and get a white chocolate mocha. And this is where the problems started. The lady behind the counter just misunderstood me in every possible way. I asked for a small white chocolate mocha and had to repeat myself three times. She finally rang up a standard hot chocolate. No worries, mistakes happen right? I repeated my order of a small white chocolate mocha and she rang up a large. When I pointed out her mistake it caused such consternation that I told them not to worry and I’d just pay for the large.
It got kind of funny though when my friend went up to order and I heard her repeating ‘chamomile tea’ about seven times in an increasingly loud and mildly incredulous tone. Ah well, the place had JUST opened so maybe they were having teething troubles. My white choc mocha arrived in the end but was unfortunately nothing to write home about — I don’t know if I’m just too used to drinking black coffee on a daily basis but I find that nearly everywhere I order any kind of milk-​based drink it comes out lukewarm. Sadly this was no exception.
So… Macy’s didn’t quite live up to my hopes and dreams. However it really is beautiful in there, the prices were better than the chain places and the cakes look absolutely amazing. I think I might do a pre-​emptive fast soon and return to claim my cake tower.