Oddbins

The thing about Oddbins is that the name and the outside of the store do not suggest «alcohol» to my mind. Amidst all the gift shops and boutiques along Wellfield Road, this shop always comes as a surprise to me when I walk past. Something about the name, Oddbins, and the design of the sign just doesn’t come across very wine merchant-​y.
However, the reality is that Oddbins is a pretty decent shop. It’s a little more upmarket than Threshers, and definitely geared towards the middle-​aged and upwards market who have a lot of dinner parties and judge each other on the type of wine they bring. So, obviously, it’s probably not going to be the off-​licence of choice for students, who would be much better off heading down Albany Road to Threshers or even Tesco for their cheap booze.
To be quite honest though, unless you’re looking for something extra-​special (and I’m not totally convinced that this store will provide you with it) I would recommend checking out Threshers or a supermarket first. Although if you are someone who goes to dinner parties where a person’s worth is judged by the kind of wine they choose, don’t forget to leave the Threshers bag at home, and check the back of the bottle for the giveaway «made especially for Tesco» label.

For those of you who have read more of my reviews in general, you will know that I recently discovered Threshers on Albany Road. Well, I thought that, in the spirit of keeping up with the fresh reviews for all of you lovely Unilocalers, I’d try a different supplier of alcohol. There is an immediate problem, though, which is that this place just doesn’t look as nice. However, I was willing to look past this for the sake of alcohol attainment… I was disappointed, though, by the less-​than-​enthusiastic staff. I guess on it’s own it’s not too bad a place to pick up a bottle of wine. But Threshers is just down the road. Walk a little bit further and get some better service along with your drink.

Yes it’s a chain and how different can one be from the other? I guess it’s all down to the staff. Fortunately, this particular branch has great staff that are happy, chatty, interested and don’t try and convince you to ‘get into’ expensive wine. They know their stuff and genuinely seem to love what they do.
Top tip: try the Italian Primitivo red — it’s fabulous and costs under a tenner. Result.