Connolly's Wine Merchants

FAQ

Reviews

• 

  cristiano cardin

  your combination of shockingly rude service and worse food led to my losing my temper and swearing at your restaurant manager last night. I’m honestly not sure how you managed it but with next to no effort at all, you aimed low and then exceeded all expectations. A little background..... We were recommended to you by the lovely guy who ran our b and b – I’m attaching no blame to him at all. Readers may also be interested to learn that I have worked in the wine trade all my life and have very close links with the hospitality industry as a consequence - we also run our own small wine bar. In short, we are not unfamiliar with the demands of the industry and the pressures that we all face, particularly in the face of rapidly escalating overheads and ingredient costs. Tragically, the cynical attitude on display last night which sees customers not as guests but as cattle to be processed through as quickly as possible only serves to damage the restaurant community further. So what happened? We called in earlier in the day and made a reservation with a pleasant young woman. No swearing took place at this time. We turned up at the appointed time and were shown to a table – still no swearing. Menus were consulted and the wine list handed to me by a waiter clearly able to discern from our body language that my WSET diploma trumped my wife’s meagre WSET level 3. The wine list is pretty good in fairness and, by mutual agreement, we settled on Stefano Inama’s delightful Soave Foscarino – this was the high spot of the night. Waiter returned slightly prematurely to take our order and told us brusquely, he would come back in 2 minutes. He was as good as his word. (No swearing.) Mrs C ordered a marinated anchovy salad which turned out to be a substantial plate of anchovies with sufficient lettuce and tomato to qualify as salad. It was OK. My grilled sardines were breadcrumbed and deep fried and served on a bed of tapioca – not what I was anticipating but they were eaten without complaint or swearing. We’d left a small amount on our plates with cutlery to indicate that we were not finished as we felt that a €100+ meal was not something to be rushed but the team of middle-aged blokes were having none of it, operating some sort of tag team system which saw them returning every 60 seconds to clear away. Eventually we gave in and the plates were removed. (Still no swearing) Mains turned up. Spaghetti with sardine and onion for Tania and spaghetti with mussels for me. As I set to separating the molluscs from their shells, Tania said, “I can’t eat this, it’s ridiculously salty.” I took a fork full of mine. It was inedible. We gave up on them both. Waiter turned up, saw plates full of food and asked if all ok. T told him it was excessively salty. He laughed. He argued that no-one else was complaining. There are 3 conclusions to be drawn from this – either our taste buds are shot, everyone else’s tastebuds are shot or we were treated to salty spaghetti with added salt. Shortly afterwards he returned from the kitchen offering to replace them. Neither of us could face anything else. I suggested they adjust the bill. They knocked off €6.00. Still no swearing. As we left I told the maitre d (presumably) that it was very disappointing. He repeated the “no-one else is complaining” line. I told him I didn’t give a f***, the food was inedible. He pointed his finger at me and told me that was my problem. I told him to f*** himself.

  24-05-2023
• 

  Gina Wakely

  Very disappointed with the slow delivery and lack of communication when asking where my delivery was, at £8.95 for delivery I would expect far more better service. It takes a couple of minutes to respond to an email which they couldn’t be bothered to do. I wouldn’t use them again and I wouldn’t recommend them, a shame because they stock a good range, but delivery is too expensive and unreliable. Further to Connollys Wine’s response, I can confirm that an initial email was sent on 20 December followed up with a further email on 21 December, neither email included a telephone number and I certainly did not receive an answerphone message. Very disappointing indeed.

  26-01-2023
• 

  Graham Alexander

  Great wines good prices and delivery what's not to like

  26-12-2022
• 

  Paul Levesley

  My favourite place to by wine and beer. Service is great and I learn lots every time I visit.

  26-10-2022
• 

  Eric Wilson

  They don't have good selection of wines.

  26-09-2022
• 

  Indie Bilkhoo

  Great knowledge and customer services. Someone who has real passion about their work

  26-06-2022
• 

  Chris Harris

  The best wine merchant in Birmingham. Great selection of wine from the everyday to fine wine. Lovely little café too.

  26-05-2022
• 

  Adam

  Cracking bar which of course focuses on good wines, however the beers and spirits are also top notch. Relaxed and smart, knowledgeable staff and bright, welcoming atmosphere, you could also enjoy some cheeses and cold meats with your chosen drinks. There's a well stocked shop offering wines, spirits and beers too, and for a small corkage fee you could choose a bottle of wine and enjoy it in the bar. Highly recommended, have been a number of times and will most definitely be back

  26-05-2022
• 

  Rayray here

  Thank you so much for your help tonight with helping me get to my daughter safely home

  26-05-2022
• 

  Paul W

  26-05-2022