Randomness Guide to London

A chain of fairly decent high-street wine merchants, certainly a better bet than Thresher's or any given local corner-shop off-licence for finding quality wines at affordable prices (though generally one should steer clear of their own-brand range). They are comparable in quality to the French Nicolas chain.

Oddbins tends to employ staff who have a good knowledge of the wines and in most shops can offer informed suggestions. Wines are sorted by country or region of origin, and within that split between red and white (champagnes are generally held with spirits behind the counter). They also have deals for bulk-buying (such as a 6-for-5 deal on most wines).

In addition to wines, their shops stock a good range of fortified wines, spirits (gins, vodkas, whiskies and brandies in particular), beers and ales, mixers and occasionally snacks.

Many of the stores have specified times for wine tasting (see the individual store pages for details), though the larger ones tend to have a bottle or two (sometimes even of spirits) open most of the time.