Spec's - Downtown

HoustonTX

Texas

5/5  rDev +12.6%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

The biggest distributor of liquor/beer in Texas. This place is enormous. Beautiful selection of many variety of products. Something for everyone. Staff is friendly and always willing to help out. If you so happen find something that they do not supply/have in stock, they will gladly order it for you. Their selection of beers is incredible, shelf upon shelf, of quality brews. Spec's is my definitive beer hookup in Texas. Found many different beers at this location then other spec's. But then again, this is their warehouse. Always a pleasure to visit. Thank you Spec's.

07-06-2006 20:07:17 | More by HoustonTX

shererjt

Texas

4.55/5  rDev +2.5%
quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

A pretty amazing place. As previously stated, they carry every beer that is distributed in the Houston area. Prices are highly competitive, but be sure to pay cash/debit to avoid a 5% surcharge. I'll only ding the service and selection a bit, as when asking why they don't carry any altbiers (they used to have Frankenhiem and Diebels) I was told to try Paulaner Original Munich, Weihenstephaner Original, Hofbrau Original, & Hacker Pschorr Munich--which obviously are not alts. But I did get a courteous response, so I'll give them credit for that.

Great place to buy beer. I don't drink much wine or liquor (the wife likes wine, though), but the selection in these areas is crazy good as well. I've had mixed success with the food (deli, sausages, etc.) but they have an interesting variety of stuff.

If visiting Houston, check it out.

05-28-2006 21:15:33 | More by shererjt

HardTarget

Texas

4.3/5  rDev -3.2%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

Ground zero for the beer and liquor selection for Texas.
A huge warehouse feel, aisles and aisles of every beer, wine, liquor, spirit, and glass you could want. The beer section has about 12-15 cooler doors, and about 2 aisles of warm beer choices. They do a good job of keeping a lot of the choices in Texas in stock, but I think Hall’s (in DFW) might have an edge on them. They had a good selection of DFH beers and I got the Midis Touch and 120 min IPA which are hard to find in Texas. I also found Ice Cider, which even Grapevine in Austin didn’t carry.
Staff was very friendly and helped me find what I needed and served me with a smile.
This is the place to build a party, whether it’s a small gathering of just you, or a block party for the ages.
If you’re in Houston, there’s no reason not to be at Spec’s downtown.

05-05-2006 21:40:33 | More by HardTarget

acrawf6

Louisiana

4.15/5  rDev -6.5%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I have some mixed thoughts about spec's, or maybe Houston. They certainly did have a nice selection of beers, but i just thought they would have more, particularly in the american micro genre. It's not a bad or low selection, i guess i was just expecting more (wishfull thinking from where i'm from).

The quality was good, seemed they took carefull attention to the beer isles. They also have pretty much all the beers they have in coolers, which is nice.

Service was pretty good. one guy stuck around the beer area asking if anyone needed help.

But i guess overall the selection what pretty nice. Lots of things i usually cant get. (i just thought houston would have more). I thought the belgian section was slacking, nothing out of the ordinary really. English beers were pretty generous. As far as american beers, they sold lots of texas beers, had a large amount of Avery Brewery beers, as well as Great Divide. But it just seemed their selection was focused on texas and Colorado. Nice to see abita there; very nice to see lots of people buying them.

Value is average.

Overall it is a great place to check out. Tons of wine, tons of liquor. Nice little grocery store in it as well. Check it out.

04-24-2006 22:10:50 | More by acrawf6

goochpunch

Texas

4.7/5  rDev +5.9%
quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

This here is the best Spec's.

Every beer that I've seen available at any other Spec's was in stock here last time I went. In fact there were some beers I'd never seen before (or since) at other Spec's locations (Olde Suffolk Ale, for example). Nice produce section, and I'm not sure, but I think I might have been a baked goods section in there too (this was a few months ago, I don't remember). Service seemed decent as I saw a lot of employees scrambling around helping people find stuff, or maybe they were just pulling out all the stops because it was a week before Christmas.

This Spec's gets my highest recommendation, but, when I'm in the Houston area, this is just a pain to get to.

04-19-2006 23:11:48 | More by goochpunch

cheers2beers

Texas

4.85/5  rDev +9.2%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This liquer store is by far the best I have been to.Walking into this warehouse of goodies I feel like a kid in the candy store.They have plenty of checkout lines to keep the crouds moveing.They have a section for glassware that can get very expendsive.
They have many many rows of wines and liquers.Beer selection was good and disappionting too.Only because they did not have the beers that other Specs stores have.If wanted 6 brands I would like to know I could go to 1 store to get them all.Maybe thats just me.
Service was great,many wine and liquer sample taster stands scattered about.Which is a plus,where else can you get free alcohol to get your beer buzz warmed up?
They have a nice sized deli department.With many cheeses,breads,salad bar,chips,etc etc.I would have tried something from the deli but the line was way to long and I was to eager to drink the beer in my basket.The food must be good for people to wait that long.
They do have a cigar humidor and a few tables up front for dineing.Remember pay cash and get 5% discount always a plus.

Cheers2Beers

01-21-2006 03:37:41 | More by cheers2beers

dungaree

Texas

4.65/5  rDev +4.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5

The best selection of beers I have found yet in Houston. I wish all Spec's had the selection this downtown location has. The quality is good too. I haven't gotten a stale beer yet from this Spec's. The beers are nicely arranged by country making it easy to plan your sampling of beers. There are about 15 checkout lanes, so you won't wait to check out. It will take many, many trips to this location to try everything they have on the shelves. I particularly like their selection of single bottles so I can try more beers without having to buy a whole four or six pack.

03-09-2005 04:56:10 | More by dungaree

Gagnonsux

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +1.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is a huge liquor store, it's property takes up an entire block. Spec's has a small specialty food section with plenty of food to pair up with wine or beer. They also have an enormous selection of any wine or liquor you'd want. Furthermore, this is the best place to purchase beer in Houston. Spec's has a very strong selection of all the major imported countries and American micros. Spec's employees are always eager to help and have knowledge of the stock. The prices are very reasonable considering the huge selection and items frequently go on-sale. Since the stock rotates quickly I've never had a beer that has sat too long or been unreasonbly skunked. This is well worth the drive, unless you have a well-stocked neighborhood Spec's close by.

12-21-2004 15:30:18 | More by Gagnonsux

Dubblebock

Texas

4.35/5  rDev -2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4

Spec's is a Houston liquor store institution, and this downtown location is one of the best beerstops in town. I used to shop here a lot when I lived in Houston, now I go when I get in to visit the in-laws.

Easily located, well-lit, adequate parking, clean lot.

Very good service. There is always someone there to answer questions or offer information regarding one of the beers. Above average selection compared to most liquor stores, but not as good as some of the places in Austin. Lots of domestic micros, a good number of imports. Clean stacks and displays. Prices were competitive to slightly high on a couple of items.

All in all, a good place to try if you're in the area. Spec's has a lot going for it if you want to find something a little out of the ordinary in H-Town. They have smaller satellite locations all over town, but none has as good a selection as this main locale. Spec's also has an online order-entry system for those who might want to buy via the Web.

11-30-2004 18:27:55 | More by Dubblebock