Geek Retreat

This place does fantastically well with the space its got and i absoloutely love it. First off the staff are amazing, they are geeks through and through, each and every one of them is friendly and approachable and basically just awesome. The stock is good too as you ahve comics and geeky items to buy as well as free ones to read. The reason i love it is the geeky atmosphere and lots of magic players, a game of which im getting more familiar with lately. They have many events such as magic tournaments, geeky movie nights, halloween treasure hunts and various things. Their menu is fantastic as it has hotdogs, paninis and usual fare but geeky alternatives such as a hulk smash which is basicaly all the fat sweetness imaginable, down to a fluffernutter and a wide selection of smoothies, fizzy drinks and coffee to accompany your pop tarts!
Only two things let this down and one of them is being sorted! Firstly the lack of wifi and the fact it is a communication black hole is currently being fixed. The other is something i appreciate they need which is a fair usage policy. Every hour you are there you are asked to buy something wether that be a drink, food, cards, comics or such. now this is great but if im spending alot of my time there (ie 6 or 7 hours) this can rack up to alot of money so you cant stay with your more thrifty friends if you run out of money. Only these two things stop it from being a 5 star and to be honest if the wifi gets ficed that is probably enough to bump it up.
Keep being geeky guys!

I love this place.
Okay, so it doesn’t have anywhere close to the selection that A1 Comics or Forbidden Planet provides but what it does do is make you feel at home in nerdy paradise.
It is situated underneath Union Street in a wee bunker. Even on your way down the stairs in to the store you are surrounded by comics and pulp art; instant escapism from the busy street above.
The name ‘Retreat’ is quite apt as you definitely feel like you are retreating from whatever you are doing the rest of the day i.e. work! It has comics, figures, collectibles, toys and even board games to play (as long as you’re eating or drinking).
I haven’t stopped in to eat yet but will be doing so very soon. I like the cut of their jib with a healthy selection of hot dogs, pop tarts, chocolate and fizzy juice! Essential nutrition for the avid comic reading geek.
To top it off, you can also sign up to their subscription service, which you can save 15% on cover prices by using. All you need to do is give a staffer your comics wish-​list, some contact details and they will give you a quote as to how much it’ll all be on a monthly basis. Set up a direct debit and hey presto, you don’t miss an issue! They are a small independent store and trying to build custom so get yourself in and support them :)

I will make a small confession that I did walk past the entrance but my excuse is that I was on the other side of the road.
I am a self confessed comic geek however last night was my first visit to Geek Retreat.
Why oh why did it take me so long???
Having arrived to take part in the Science Grrl event I immediately fell in love.
The atmosphere is very relaxed and the staff are very friendly and make you feel extremely welcome.
This will now be my meeting point for 90% of my friends, even if you are not a geek or geek lover this place is too relaxed not to enjoy it!

«Blessed are the geek; for they shall inherit the earth.»
OK, maybe inheriting the Earth is a bit much, but we can at least occupy the cool parts of it. And this, friends, is definitely a cool part. I only made a fleeting visit due to train timings, but I’d heard about it and seen the posts on Facebook and Twitter (how like us geeks to use that Social Meeja stuff, right?) so I wanted to check it out.
Instantly, I was overjoyed to find the entrance was papered with comic book pages! I had to stop myself from reading them and venture down the stairs. At this point, I want to note that there is a lift available for disabled or mobility challenged peeps, which I heartily approve of. Nice touch, folks!
When you get down, as the other review mentioned, the welcome is warm without being overpowering. The layout is simple, the décor is bright and the leather couches are a welcome comfy touch!
The arcade machines and board games are a great idea, and the reading material is varied, and not too old either. I only had a coke, but there was coffee, cupcakes and all sorts of American Candy gubbins to tempt people with. The menu looks fun too, with pop tarts! POP TARTS!!!
A wide range of comic books was available to buy, and all sorts of geekery. Indeed, I ended up buying some Lego and some badges I’d say that makes it a success on the merchandising front.
I will return here, and I’ve already recommended it to other people, and will continue to do so.
A nice wee break from the norm and the chain stores… support local businesses, people!

Would I call myself a geek? Perhaps. My husband did buy me geek socks for Christmas. And I did do a course in genetics of my own free will. And I like reading books on grammar. Ok, so I’m a geek.
Then, this place was made for me, right? Well actually, this is more for the comic book geek kind of person, but I was still tempted to go along to see what this place was like. It just opened (on Saturday) so I wasn’t expecting much.
It is pretty easy to see with the signage (look for black/​yellow hazard tape coloured signs), and you head down a set of stairs with some seriously cool comic wallpaper. Into the main room and your eyes will be hit with walls of bright yellow and fluro lights. You’ll find a café, lots of seating, comics as well as figurines and some locally made crocheted characters too.
There was a guy standing near the café to «brief» people as they came in, if they walked in looking bewildered and confused like I did. I really appreciated this as he was super friendly and chatty without being pushy or overbearing. There was quite a lot of people in here for a Thursday lunch time seeing as it just opened, and in fact they’d sold out of hot dog rolls as well as a couple of paninis, so they must be doing well.
I settled for a cupcake (with a batman logo) and had a seat. There is plenty of seating although I imagine if it got busier, you might have to share a table with a stranger (not necessarily a bad thing!). They have a display of comics for you to read while you eat which I thought was pretty cool, as well as board games to play (just leave a £5 deposit).
They are still ironing out some things — they are getting wifi, so at the moment it’s a reception black hole with no phone/​internet (what is a geek to do?!) but I imagine that once that is sorted this would be a pretty good place to hang out for a geek-​out.
They sell a bunch of American themed snacks and lollies (candy/​sweeties) if you are so inclined.
I liked the vibe of this place. Geeky — obviously, but also friendly, relaxing and (dare I say it) a bit cool. Nice one, guys!