SIR Charles Liquor Store

I lived in Southern California for about 10 years, but the first time I hit this place up was when I came back on vacation. Go figure! This place has a nice selection for how small it is. The owner is a trip — super nice and chatty but oh my gosh, you cannot understand a word he is saying. So funny! I can appreciate this place more because it has held its ground despite all of the super trendy development that surrounds it.

Small efficient store. Nice selection of beer and wine. Always has Perrier and Pelligrino in the cooler.
Owner is a good man, I am happy to give him my business even when I am not picking up take out from Umami burger next door.

I love this little quirky liquor store. The old Vietnamese guy is very talkative and incomprehensible, but pleasant nonethless. I love More 120’s and hardly anyone carries them but I can always buy them here. Also, they have funny little selections of odd stuff that is pretty cool. I like getting liquor drinks in cans like the old days when we would stop on our way to the beach to buy martinis and screwdrivers in a can and drink them on our way (we called them «roaders»).
You must stop in and try this place just once, you will be pleasantly surprised.

I kind of liked this liquor store. I just stopped in to pick up some booze with friends, and while I normally don’t review crummy little liquor stores, there was something about this one. It wasn’t nice by any means — it had that greenish refrigerator lighting and the wares weren’t well spaced or appealingly presented. But I liked the wares. In addition to plenty of liquor and cigarettes, Sir Charles offered a random assortment of hats, along with other little knick knacks. I also appreciated the limes for sale by the register. The store just had a charming mish mash feel to it that I enjoyed. The cashier was also friendly.
The other thing worth mentioning is that Sir Charles was the first and only place at which I have obtained Four Loko. I’d heard all the (mostly annoying) rowdy buzz surrounding this drink, and I’d just like to say that it was one of the most vile things I’ve ever tasted. The initial taste is bearable, like punch in a can, but it quickly turns nasty, leaving a farty aftertaste that lasts for hours. But if you’re into the idea of Four Loko, you can get it here.

My friend and I ate at Native Foods, and then he locked his keys in his car. We had to wait for a tow truck so we went to the liquor store to get cigarettes. Before we went in my friend Paulo told me that the last time he was there the clerk seemed to be judging him for asking if she had Tylenol while it was right in front of him.
Didn’t feel that judged. She didn’t say much. He bought the cigarettes so I don’t know how over priced they were.

Expensive! It was somewhere around $ 5.50 for a tiny little bottle of Smirnoff. Wanted SKYY or something, but that was like $ 7.50. They also don’t have much in the way of mixer selection– only one kind of nasty cranberry juice from concentrate– bummer.

YOU MUST MEET SIR CHARLES AT LEAST ONCE IN YOUR LIFE.
I went in to buy a pack of Parliament lights and with it I received a 5 minute lesson about life, and also something about how Sir Charles thought I was Vietnamese but I told him I was Thai and he said something I couldn’t understand.
I don’t even know if the guy working there is Sir Charles but the store is called Sir Charles Liquor and I am just going to assume that the long haired Asian guy is Sir Charles himself. He will talk to you alot so prepare some material to discuss with him.
Love it.

VISIT THIS PLACE AT LEAST ONCE!!!
One of my regular liquor stores when I lived in Costa Mesa.
PROS:
— Excellent selection of import beers in 22 oz bottles and tall cans. They’re hidden (no, seriously they are hiding them) around the corner in the back (refrigerated, don’t trip).
— If you’re adventurous there is always something new to try in this tiny liquor store. A new kind of tequila with a new animal at the bottom of it. A new kind of cheap cocktail in a can. A new discount wine. A new tropical beverage with a ridiculous ounce/​dollar ratio (and they’re usually pretty good!)
— The old vietnamese guy at the register (who gave me the nickname «blunt wrap») is impossible to understand yet insisted on having long, detailed conversations with me daily. This guy has talked to me for several minutes after wrapping up our transaction, with me just nodding and saying «wow» the whole time. Once he even asked me to solve a math problem for his daughter’s homework (I think).
CONS:
— No tall-​can 3-​packs. At least not when I lived there. (until Oct. 2007)
— Most of their cigars, black and milds, blunts, etc are on the stale side. Is it stereotypical for me to expect that the liquor store located next to the tattoo shop move through their supply of blunts quickly enough to keep them fresh?
— Not open late enough.
— Adult magazine displays right in front of the cash register make for awkward moments when you’re in line with that nice older lady who lives on your street. Must… not… let eyes… wander.
Seriously, I was never interested in these magazines (okay, not THAT interested) until I started going to this place. They’re positioned in prime impulse-​purchase territory, next to the gum, lighters and National Enquirer.
It’s like: «Anything else?»… «Um, yeah, actually, a pack of mojito Orbitz, a green Bic and this magazine with an amazingly hot chick on the front who apparently is going to be naked when I open it».