West Portal Daily

This store stocks great British candies and biscuits at affordable prices. It’s a family run store where the owners show great pride in their products. The cookie tins were all perfect and not damaged like you find at stores where employees slice right through cardboard boxes and do not care when they ding up tins.
The owners were helpful and friendly and understand why I like the box of Fox Vinnie cookies because of the cute tin! Pleasant surprise was the cookies/​biscuits are delicious!
Love this store!

I was a great experience, the store is full of products that you can not find somewhere else
I love it

The rating is only for the misleading store description. Do not go there thinking you’ll get an array of international papers and magazines to purchase. Owner says that since at least a year he has discontinued carrying international periodicals. Well, that truly wasted a trip and stress to get metered parking on a Saturday morning. But the owner was very nice. And isn’t British. :)

Just an upadate for everyone looking for variety of magazines in this spot, this store is no longer selling any magazines. What they do is selling all candies in stead.
I am disappointed to find out, after seeing latest recommendation on 2009, I was quite expecting to find myself a nice corner to browse as many different magazines as I want for a good warm afternoon. .. .. too bad, NOT here anymore.
Try your luck on a busy book store next next next store down.

You don’t see too many of these international newsstands nowadays. I didn’t spend too much time looking at the periodicals but I did notice they were organized by subject (e.g., fashion, sports, politics). I spotted Italian Vogue and Vogue India. Half of their space is devoted to periodicals and the rest to snacks, candy, cigarettes, and some Irish groceries (sauces, condiments, canned goods). The small freezer stocks Irish bacon, bangers, black & white pudding and shepherd’s pie. The baked goods (I saw one loaf of Irish soda bread) come from the Copper Kettle on Taraval.
The selection of UK candy and groceries is quite small. Roxie’s has a much better selection of these. For example, WPD has 5 or 6 flavors of Tayto while Roxie’s on Kirkham probably has twice that if not more. Still, if you’re craving Tayto chips to go with your sandwich from Market & Rye, Toasties or Submarine Center, WPD is convenient.
$ 10 credit card minimum.

This place is great! This place is worth the trip just to see the young handsome clerk’s perfect eyebrows

Cool selection of magazines. The staff are all very kind.

If you love good chocolate (aka real British Cadbury’s chocolate) then this is the place for you… There are also some Canadian specialties like Coffee Crisp… oh my… too many good things to choose from. The lavender honey is also worth getting sticky about :-) Then for those of us who like real British Christmas pudding and mince pies and custard etc etc… then this is still the place for you. Maureen and everyone she has working there make it a good experience whenever I go in… If you’re worth spoiling… then spoil yourself at West Portal Daily :-)

I was early for a spa appointment and wanted to browse while I waited. I wandered into the surrounding shops and found myself at West Portal Daily.
As a journalist myself, I love buying print and supporting independent news stands but as soon as I walked in, the blond older woman with a ponytail sized me up. I ignored it and kept browsing.
I picked up a Chronicle and scanned an article that caught my eye on the front page that continued to the back. As soon as I flipped to the back fold, the woman abruptly asked me if there was an article I was looking for.
I asked if we were allowed to read before we buy and she said (very rudely) that there was a Library up the street. I told her I was planning on buying it but would not patronize the store any further. She did not make the same inquiry to another well-​to-​do looking woman that browsed through the magazines earlier.
DO NOT SUPPORT A BUSINESS THAT DENIES CUSTOMER SERVICE OFF A SUPERFICIAL PREJUDICE. If she knew anything about me, she would be sorely embarrassed that she lost one of the FEW people that are actively trying to save the PRINT DINOSAUR from complete EXTINCTION.
(By the way, on Larchmont, on Melrose, on Sunset, I browse the news stands all the time and never get hassled one bit. And for that I purchase at least two magazines. I never thought I’d be snubbed in my hometown of San Francisco.)

I’m tempted to not tell you how friendly and pleasant this store is for fear that you’ll buy my favorite British magazine. It’s nice to have a local spot for international magazines. The staff is professional and helpful.

This is what it must feel like when a mysterious foreign stranger moves into a sleepy village.
He slips in quietly, without much notice. But somehow things seem different in town, more elegant, alluring, and these foreign candy wrappers suddenly start appearing in waste cans and on the street…
One day you finish getting your Peet’s and are on the way to the hardware store to pick up some Christmas lights when… what’s this? A little shop, it appears. Is that… Italian Vogue? Wait… Bambini? British House & Garden? Wallpaper? And then…
Flake! Crunchie! Aero! Lion Bar!
Suddenly you will be transported to another world — there is a great assortment of magazines, candies, and a few other items to delight you, right in our own humble West Portal neighborhood.
No more driving across town for me to faraway neighborhoods with no parking to get my around-​the-​world glossy and sweets fix. Hurrah!
If there is a special magazine you want, let the owner know and she will try to get it for you.
A welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Finally an International Newsstand has returned to the ave. Get all of your French fashion magazines, and European newspapers here.
There is an Arabic magazine selection as well as the Italian version of Wired magazine. There is a wide variety of monthly as well as daily and weekly publications.
In between Noah’s and Peet’s this retail spot has a great location. Open from 7:00am until 7:00pm. They also carry sundries and drug store items as well as beverages and candy.
I am very happy my access to world news has returned. Check them out.