Oddbins

I actually quite like Oddbins, actually. I mean, it’s never going to be a destination wine shop for me but if I’m in the area, I would definitely go here to get a bottle of wine over the nearby supermarket, that’s for sure.
This Oddbins is on the fabulous Skirving Street and generally has a pretty good range for whatever you’re looking for. We didn’t want anything specific, just some «weekend alcohol» — I went for wine whereas Graeme had a look around the beer section. At the moment they have quite a few January offers and I was happy with their offerings around the £5 mark per bottle. I’m not sure what beers Graeme got but they looked like hipster craft ones so he seemed happy.
Service is nice and friendly, and I’m sure if you needed help they could give it. On this occasion I was happy just to pick something and give it a shot but if it was a special occasion or a gift I’d definitely ask for help. They’ll wrap your wine up nicely in paper too, which I always like as it makes me feel that bit more fancy.

I’m going up a star, Oddbins has gone from strength to strength and is firmly back as a proper good wine shop and stalwart of the Shawlands community. They have regular wine tastings, they stock a good range of spirits and beers and the staff are astounding. Every time we’re in, we spend ages chatting and trying free samples. If you don’t know what wine you want, tell them your occasion, your preferences and your price range and I guarantee you’ll get a spot on recommendation. The only downside is the amount of money I spend here…

Great choice of wine and beer and the organic chocolate is lovely. Bit expensive so somewhere to stop for something special.

Alas, Oddbins. For a while I loved you, cherished you, and now… You’re a shadow of your former self. Woe is me.
Seriously, Oddbins used to be GREAT. AMAZING, EXCELLENT. All of those things, and more. It wasn’t cheap (well, it was sometimes, but not usually), but I liked it.
What happened? Oddbin’s parent company more or less went to the wall, and all the stores shut with the exception of the most profitable ones who were taken over by new owners.
The new owners appear intent on driving this place into the ground. £9.49 for a bottle of (yuck) Blossom Hill? Check. £9.99 for a bottle of Isla Negra? Check. Not only have this new mob stocked up on the most bland, generic, pointless examples of mass-​market crap to ever blight the face of the earth, but they have then decided to overprice them to oblivion.
Gone are the days of picking up a cheeky Bordeaux, loving it, popping in the next week to find that;” there’s no more, but how about this one instead?!“
Gone are the days of Schneider Weisse Adventinus (even better at 4 for £8) or a cheeky case of Schofferhofer Hefe. Gone are the days of those wee orange spicy thai ricecakes in a green paper bag that were horrendously overpriced. Even gone are the days of asking the staff for recommendations. Imagine — «what would go with the roast I’m cooking tonight, the JP Chenet or the Jacobs Creek» — two years ago you’d have been laughed out of the place!
Also gone is the excitement of walking in, not quite expecting what you were going to come out with — THAT was the magic of Oddbins.
The new owners have ripped the heart of of this place. Generic crap like Carling (who deliberately drinks this?!), white Zinfandel and Bells whisky.
I feel sorry for the workers, It’s a shadow of its former self and it will NOT survive lest it’s brought back to its former glories post-​haste.
SHAWLANDS DOES NOT NEED ANOTHER HADDOWS/​THRESHERS (why do you think they all closed?)
Shawlands needs its old Oddbins back. Run well, it would thrive.

It might be a good sign that Oddbins is one of the few surviving off sales places in Shawlands: the range hints at a quality drinking experience, and the wine range has ensured that it has weathered the attack of cheap supermarket booze.
Strangely, I have always been the only customer in the store, which means I have had plenty of good service: the man behind the till seems to know both his wines and whiskey. They have a few classy snacks as well, which I always end up getting, and it is the only place that seems to sell the spicy Tomato Juice that I love, even without the vodka.