Oddbins

Wine! I love wine! They have all your usual Oddbins offerings here, loads of wine, some mixers, weird beers, fancy crisps and a good selection of offers on — though if you are looking for 3-​for-​a-​tenner on Blossom Hill, you are in the wrong shop. Assuming that’s not what you are after, I can’t speak highly enough of this particular wee shop. They get 5 stars from me because, aside from the selection, the staff are so knowledgeable and friendly and lovely. I went in this afternoon, on the trail of a delicious wine I’d had in a restaurant last month. I couldn’t see it on the shelf so I loitered while the manager lady served another customer. It was very sweet that she talked the customer through how to pay using that new-​fangled tap-​to-​pay, pinless method and told him that if he hadn’t tried it before, it’s best to give it a go in a quiet place like this, rather than get flustered in a supermarket. She didn’t need to take the time to do that, so that was nice. Once she’d served him, she came over to help me. This lady really knows her wine but had never heard of the one I was after (it is very rare, I’ve since discovered). She looked at the photo of the bottle which I had on my phone and asked about the taste of it to try and figure out if they had it under a different label, and even offered to call the London restaurant to find out who imports it. Again, she didn’t need to do that. She could have just tried to hard-​sell me a similar wine, but she didn’t. She did also let me in on a covert bottle they currently stock which is a fancy, expensive wine but which the producer has too much of this year and so to preserve its exclusivity, they sell the surplus to Oddbins with a different label on. There’s a fancy bottle on those shelves for just £6.79 if you know where to look!
So, yes, 5 stars from me even though they didn’t have my wine, and even though the handsome speccy fella doesn’t seem to work there any more!

Good selection of wines! Really nice staff who are really good at helping you choose wine.

Friendly local liquor store on Hyndland. We’ve tried different gins when they have tastings and they are well stocked in Fever Tree tonic water. They also have a great assortment of wines, champagnes and other liquors. Everyone has been really helpful when we walk through the door.

Since changing hands a couple of years ago, the remaining Oddbins have changed for the better. Out is the weird shelf pricing which didn’t apply when buying a single bottle; and in is straightforward pricing and a decent range of craft beer and ales.
This particular Oddbins has great staff — happy to let you just browse or offer recommendation for any budget. And they do know their stuff — I’ve never bought a dud here and always enjoy a wee chat when I’m in for something.
As a beer fan, their growing craft beer range is pretty good; Fyne Ales and Cromarty keep me happy, but there’s many other brewer’s finest stocked.
Not the cheapest, but the handy location and friendly staff make up for it (and occasional special offers — see photo!)

This is a good shop, but it struggles to keep up with its competitors (Wine Rack) across the road. As a rule of thumb, I check out the special offers in both stores. Oddbins can have some good deals however it always seems to be the cheap nasty stuff that makes the 3 for £10 bucket.
The staff are friendly and pleasant enough, but I get the impression they don’t know that much about the wine they sell.