We went all the way to York to finally step inside the most hyped Harry Potter shop in the entire country and we left bitterly disappointed. Here’s our The Shop That Must Not Be Named review.

Located at 30, The Shambles in York this beautiful street is a vibrant and quirky walk of some of the most unique shops in the country. The street looks like it has been plucked directly from the wizarding world and many say this very street was JK Rowling’s inspiration for Diagon Alley in the franchise.

The Shop That Must Not Be Named has the most beautiful shop exterior and window display that perfectly matches the old and magical aesthetic that this street holds. Containing shops that house dragons, little ghosts, potions and more the shop perfectly fits in and I feel as though I’m missing my Harry Potter robes as we go down this fantastic and historical walk way.

We stepped into the store after seeing the impressive window offering and then it hit us… like a corporate haymaker to the face as we were greeted with every licensed item under the sun like a glorified B&M.
Plastered from top to tail was licensed merchandise that you’d see on display at any regular chain store for almost double the price in some cases. All of the magic of the exterior had evaporated in seconds as we were met with replicas, cheap plastic tat and more.

One thing the shop did have was Noble Collection wands of the highest quality. They released quite a few varieties of wand but these were the high end ones which come in the original Ollivanders box so they were nice to see but other than wands and some jumpers there wasn’t much in the way of quality items on sale.
The little cauldrons (see below) are horribly made and there’s no chance you’re putting anything in any of them without it ruining the item.

I was bitterly disappointed after seeing random shops up and down the street with such unique and wonderful interiors. One gothic shop in particular had a breathing dragon and faux rockwork interior and in the Harry Potter shop famous around the world we have cheap store crap (not price wise cheap, you know what I mean). I was annoyed to say the least.
A street of quirkiness (including a Ghost Merchants shop) and out of all of them the one franchise you expect quirkiness from had gone on vacation! 

Staff members were friendly and had a little bit of magic to each of their own personalities, even as close to the book as having a Luna style character just staring into space behind the reception for what felt like an eternity. 
Lacklustre and soulless The Shop That Must not Be Named needs original and unique wizarding artefacts. It needs handmade items, potion books and really well crafted collectibles that wouldn’t look out of place on a shopping trip to Hogsmeade. 

A shop that absolutely wipes the floor with this is The Lonely Broomstick in Falkirk, Scotland. The items within that Harry Potter themed attraction are exactly what you’d want to see when entering a store like this. If we could combine the exterior of this York attraction with the interior of the Falkirk Harry Potter styled shop then we’d be onto a winner.

Harry Potter fans will turn their noses at this very review as I’m hating on their holy grail but let’s be honest here, slap Harry and the gang on any old rubbish and they’ll lap it up like no tomorrow. Whilst some of the licensed stuff (at the higher price range) is actually very good quality the same can’t be said about the majority of what was in store. It’s a real shame they chose to sell only licensed merchandise when a blend of licensed and handcrafted could have hit home so much better.

Imagine an actual Ollivanders style corner where an actor chooses your wand or assigns a wand to you with an option to buy. A sorting hat corner that puts you into a house but then offers you a range of merchandise from all the houses customised for you. Whole sections dedicated to classwork, an actual wizarding robe clothing section, a sweet section designed with good theming and props. They’re missing a trick in every corner of this perfectly located attraction.
Creativity went out of the window and a corporate shell remained. I’m sorry that this The Shop That Must Not Be Named review couldn’t be more positive, I tried and tried to think of things but other than the cosplayers and fans that attend this venue I can’t think of many other positives the second you step into the building.

It’s quite the journey to get to a shop you’ve wanted to see for many years and be disappointed, but I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
I guess it’s just another memory to store in the Remberall but not exactly a memory I’d want to revisit anytime soon.
The Shop That Must Not Be Named Review by Sean Evans