Gordon's Wine

BeTheBall

Massachusetts

1.9/5  rDev -53.4%
quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 4 | $$$

I work near Gordon's so I have been there quite a few times. Their selection is much better than average, with some Belgians, Germans, and more. Many US microbrews as well, including many IPA's, my favorite. The problem with this place is twofold. First, their finer beers are "thrown" in a heap on the floor, with some cases not even opened, let alone marked with a price. Second is the pricing. You can't tell what it is. Many bottles are unmarked, so you get to the cashier, who says its not in their system, then look at the 3-4 people in line behind you groaning; its ugly. In the cooler, there seems to be no effort to match their shelf labels with what is in stock. There was a sixer of Stone IPA with no sticker to be found anywhere. There was a shelf on labels for Victory various brews, but the Victory selection they had was totally different than those labels.
I personally am puzzled why a store would make the obvious effort that they have to develop the selection that they have, then they totally frustrate you with the shopping experience. Not one person has ever offered to help me, or even approach me to ask if I needed help. The cashier of course says that its someone else's job to do the display;s, what else is new. Did they learn that line at Wal-Mart? Such a waste. I'm now at the point where the frustration has overtaken the good selection, and I've decided to go elsewhere.

06-28-2007 16:49:48 | More by BeTheBall

BattleRoadBrewer

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -20.3%
quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 3.5 | $$$$

Selection looks quite varied, a lot of it is in the cooler to keep it fresher.

They've just expanded their variety of beer quite a bit, at least doubled, it looks like. Until now, I'd only stop there if it was on the way, now could be a go-to place instead of trekking all the way to Newton.

Saturday afternoon, and no beer geek there to help me with my selections.

They're short on space, so it's tight squeeze and hard to browse.

Prices are stupid high, and no discount as far as I can tell (might have missed a sign).

Worth a visit.

06-23-2007 18:00:22 | More by BattleRoadBrewer

Lnedrive14

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -14.2%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

I was stuck in Waltham for 4 miserable years and this was about the only place to get a beer. Well, luckily it doesn't horribly suck, but it isn't Bauer Wines either. They actually have quite a large beer selection, but they just don't have anything terribly interesting! They don't really rotate their beers. It's the same stuff, day in, day out. They have all the major micros from the area, but only their standard brews (e.g. Smuttynose Pale, Magic Hat 9, Ipswich Brown). Very little in the way of singles, basically nothing. They have quite a large import selection, but again, it is all pretty much the standard stuff. Chimay Blue is about the best thing you'll find.

N.B. The kegs are really expensive. Go down main street another half mile towards Watertown and hit up "Skechy" Steve's for your keg needs. They dont really have much of a selection (bud light, that's about it) but you'll save a good $15 over the same thing at Gordon's (although Gordon's does have a selection of better kegs).

10-21-2005 22:14:22 | More by Lnedrive14

YonderWanderer

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -14.2%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Gordon's on Main Street is a fascinating view into a vastly confusing liquor store. Though their wine and liquor are organized neatly, and even the fridges for the beer are as well, much of their stock of beer is in a huge pile in the middle of the store, left in cases, or cases that are partially opened. It's very odd, since the rarer or seasonal stuff is usually in this mix. A shelf of bombers is also crammed in there, but there's barely room for two people to be looking at it at the same time. It's an unusual tactic to say the least. The selection is decent, with a wide variety of micros, and decent imports. Cost is on par with the area, and service has been decent. Worth a stop, since it's one of the better places in the immediate area.

03-17-2008 20:45:21 | More by YonderWanderer

rousee

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -9.3%
quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Pretty nice liquor store in Waltham on Main street about a mile from the highway. The place is big so you would hope that they have a decent selection of better/craft beer and sure enough they do. A tremendous selection and very good pricing on Rochefort, Westmalle, etc. For American beers, they had a very good selection also. Here are some I remember: better than avg selection of Boulder beers, all the DFH, Smuttynose, Long Trail, Paper City, all the Berkshire brewing offerings. Plenty of Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and some of the more readily available craft brands. Also a decent selection of German beers too like Ayinger, Schneider, Weihanstephaner, etc. Overall, an excellent selection especially for a suburban location.

The staff were not able to handle the line that formed while I was there very efficiently and thats why I am scoring that low. Overall, quite a good store if you are nearby.

07-04-2006 21:53:46 | More by rousee

phyfe99

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -9.3%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

I've decided to edit my review of Gordon's Main St. Waltham location because I may have been a little harsh on particular people at the store, which in hindsight is unfair and probably has done more harm than the number of laughs it was designed to invoke.

Gordon's as an establishment is a fantastic group of stores...each location has it's own personality...and therefore suits some people better than others. The Main St. location in Waltham is the flagship location, the biggest, the most "big-box" feeling of the stores and understandably has the widest range of pluses and minuses. The prices there are great, the variety is pretty good (there's ALWAYS room for more beer), and the service in general is good.

Joe, the GM of Gordon's does a bang-up job captaining the Gordon's ship, and Nate, the Craft Beer guy is always bringing new and exciting beers to the store...not to mention a wealth of knowledge. Keep up the good work guys!

04-11-2009 00:58:51 | More by phyfe99

IBUnit63

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev -6.9%
quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

This must be the elder of the Watertown location. Their service is always solid in the wine section; beer is prevalent but maybe not their primary focus here.

There's a decent amount of craft offerings here but I do see a fair amount of dust on a number of bottles.

Prices are on par with other locations. Some higher than others, a couple of select items (Rochefort, for example) run $1-2 lower.

Definitely a place to stop when you're in the neighborhood, especially if waiting for a cheesesteak take-out order from Carl's.

09-10-2008 16:27:57 | More by IBUnit63

j37geogaddi

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Good place...Excellent selection and good prices. Not too many in-store sales typically, though.

I have to say the guy in charge of the beer dept needs to leave customers alone. If you dare make eye contact with him, or even if you don't, he will relentlessly and forcefully try to tell you what you should buy, regardless of your opinion or if you just want to browse. And he doesn't seem incredibly informed either.

Regardless, this place is very good, and that's great considering they are mostly known for their great wine selection.

08-19-2009 00:28:34 | More by j37geogaddi

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped by this past weekend. The layout is a bit odd. There are a bunch of warm beers in the front of the store that are in two parallel l shapes. There are also several coolers along the outside wall of the store. Another nice feature is a discount rack that had several quality beers, that were just slight past season but not expiration. They have a very good selection of most every beer that is available in the Boston area. Schlafly, White Birch, Jolly Pumpkin, you name it. All non-discount beers were priced about what I would expect to pay around Boston. I was not approached by anyone while mulling my selections, but the cashier was friendly. Overall if I lived closer to the area, I would stop here more often without thinking twice about it. A very good store.

01-17-2011 15:45:10 | More by tigg924

pikemark

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5

Probably the best place in Waltham to pick up quality beer believe it or not, even though it is a chain.

They do sell singles which is cool and they have a fridge of just growlers which is also cool. Alot of local stuff, Sam Adams Chocolate Bock, Harpoon 100 Barrel Series, Paper City.

This Gordons had a nice range of everything from unibroue to Hi.P.A to Big Foot Ale.

They have wine tastings some days and there is always someone around to make suggestions. Actually one time a guy suggested Erdinger for a good Hefe and it turned out to suck. Next time Im sticking to BA for advice.

04-18-2005 09:38:58 | More by pikemark