Cottage Drive-In Liquor

Great Liquor store. Tommy works the counter 7 days a week and is a great guy. My roommate and I came in one night and I was sorta the babysitter and he dropped a tall boy on the floor. Unflinching, Tommy said «no big deal, get another and this one is half price». Saved our asses from paying full price for a big ass beer that was just horrifyingly lost to the concrete. God damn shame. I’ll always remember that moment because a goddamned tear was brought to my single eye. I’ll probably keep shopping here for the duration of my San Diego stay.

Tommy is the best. Always makes you feel welcome and always happy to stop what he’s doing and make a beer or wine selection for you. The selection is amazing by the way! Is a bit out of the way for me but will drive the extra miles for the great family service and selection.

Love this place. It’s a little funky until you get used to it and it’s own/​run by the nicest family. But I had no idea until the mom was working! After speaking with her about her two sons (who I met numerous times and had no idea were brothers) I have definitely become a regular. Lol, let her do the marketing and hang out more!

All I can say… I’m a neighborhood bartender and my main man Tommy is awesome… Always makes me feel like I’m connected to the community when I come thru for a quick purchase. Tommy you stay awesome love, Dwan @ Heat Bar & Kitchen

I can not give a place more than one star that charges 1.90 something for a 24oz bottle of RC cola. If that’s the case I bet a Coke must be $ 5. Also not to mention the rude staff member who helped me. He rolled his eyes at me and was very rude. Also not to mention I was just in there to buy a soda not liquor. So I chose not to pay that price for the RC cola so I attempted to take the bottle back and get something else and the guy snatched it and glared at me. I am not from San Diego why would I go to a liquor store to steal a 24oz bottle of some RC cola? Makes no sense to me. I felt unwelcome and charging almost 2 dollars for a RC cola is almost criminal. Maybe the staff member would of been nicer if I dressed like the average local yuppie. But then again I guess douches are used to prejudging others.

Despite friendly staff and a wide selection, this stores prices don’t lift my «spirits.»
although hardly unique to cottage liquor, there is a reason why they call these places «convenience» stores. You can expect to pay for the luxury of not having to go all the way to bevmo or vons.
truth be told, they do have a pretty wide selection of craft beer — including some of the more rare bottlings — but I caution you all to check dates when possible. I have personally purchased beer here that was significantly past its date. For certain styles this isn’t really an issue, but do your due diligence especially when buying 22oz hop-​heavy brews as I have been watching one bottle of mother earth that has been in the case for 3 months already collecting dust…
cheers!

Five stars because I can leave my apartment, walk here, buy a bottle of Stone Double Bastard Ale, and be back home before the commercials are over. Friendly service and an awesome selection never hurt anyone, either. Now only if they’d stay open until at least midnight.

I really like this place. The guys who own it are very friendly and their selection is great. I’ve been there several times and never had any issues.

This is not just a liquor store but a nice little convenience store as well. They recently redid the layout of the store to open it up more, too; whereas before there were lots of tall shelves and blind corners, now you can see from one end of the store to the other, which is nice and makes it feel less claustrophobic.
If there’s any issue I have with this place, it’s with making card purchases. They will try to charge you a fee if you use a card but you’re not buying enough. Don’t let them do this. For credit/​debit cards, it’s not only against the merchant agreement for Visa/​MasterCard (probably the other cards as well), it is against STATE LAW. For EBT cards («food stamp» benefits), it is against FEDERAL REGULATIONS. Do not let them snow you. They have tried a couple of times with me, and when I’ve indicated I’d walk out without buying anything, they’ve relented «just this time.» But no, they’re not allowed to charge you a fee at ANY time.

I like it here. It’s perfectly good and it serves it’s purpose EXCEPT it closes so damn early and you can’t charge more than $ 100 on your debit card, which is embarrassing anyways. They also charge like a .50 fee for cards. But they’re closer than Ralph’s and the dudes are super laid back so I would recommend a visit.

A little disappointing. I am only giving the stars because the guy was very nice. I was stopping in to grab a couple bottles of champs. I recognized immediately that the labels on the bottles were the older labels. I should have known better, but I was a little buzzed already so I didn’t use my better judgement.
I went out on a limb and figured that maybe they just had a good supply… unfortunately the bottles were corked and did not taste good at all. I may stop in another time, but this was a disappointing experience.

Big selection and friendly service… Not overpriced like some of the other stores in the area. Saves me numerous trips to the grocery store. Do check the expiration dates.