Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: JD Wetherspoon

Gothenburg Trip – Day 0 (Botwell Inn)

Safely into Hayes and Harlington, I knew that Richard would be pleased with a decadent little restaurant. So, we went to the Botwell Inn, a JD Wetherspoon operated pub which appears to have lost its entry in the Good Beer Guide. As usual, I’ll revert to the venue’s history behind the pub name:

“This pub takes its name from the hamlet of Botwell which once stood in what is now Hayes’ town centre. These premises were the home of the furnishers S Moore & Son, which moved here in 1933 and remained for 65 years.”

There are no team members in the photo as they had a meeting as to why there was a customer in a Christmas jumper. I didn’t say anything though.

The steak pie and chips, along with the pint of Brewdog Elvis Juice, came to £7.20 which is ridiculously good value. I accept that it’s not world class food, but it’s hot, tastes fine and is filling.

Aperol Spritz, chicken in BBQ sauce, spicy rice, a mushroom, peas and coleslaw, very decadent.

It’s the JD Wetherspoon beer festival and they had some tempting options available.

I was charged £2.09 for a pint of the Exam Room Tears from Stu Brew and this is perhaps nearly as good as cask beer can get. It’s a maple syrup and pecan stout, it had a nice nuttiness along with the sweetness from the maple syrup. I was very pleased with this.

My now obligatory carpet photo.

As for the online reviews, this venue is right towards the higher rated end of JD Wetherspoon establishments.

“i ordered a drink here when i wasnt even at the pub and i couldnt get a refund, the stupid app was broken”

Might be sensible not to order at a pub that you’re not in….

“Meals are served to you without condiments and when you ask the waitress tells you to go get it yourself from inside the pub. So if you are on your own you are expected to leave your meal unattended to go inside to pick up the condiments your self. Very poor service.”

This customer notes that their meal cost £60 to £70. That buys most of the entire menu….

“After touring the UK with my family we stopped at many weatherspoons as we all loved the food and cat beat the prices. Well this one had to be the worst by far and that’s a nice way of putting it. The staff were unbelievably rude and unhelpful. For our last meal in uk before flight it was utterly disappointing. Only good thing was leaving after our meal. Thanks for the stella glass though.”

So it seems that they stole a Stella glass. Classy.

“Used to be a good pub but the new manager has a problem. His attitude stinks. Took an overseas call whilst having breakfast with my work colleagues to be told I can’t do that inside the pub.”

I like this new manager.

Anyway, I digress. I was very impressed with the cleanliness, the friendliness of the team members, the value for money and the drinks selection. I can see why the pub is relatively well reviewed online, it feels well run and it was just a little disappointing to see it so quiet on a Thursday evening. A really rather lovely start to the trip away.

March 6, 2026
Burton upon Trent – Lord Burton (JD Wetherspoon)

A few years ago, my friend Nathan and I tried to get into this JD Wetherspoon but it was too full, so we visited most of the other pubs in the town instead. Last month, Richard and I were in the town and we decided to make a quick visit.

Using the pub’s own history to explain the name:

“This pub is named after the first Lord Burton, Michael Arthur Bass, a member of the famous brewing family whose company has its headquarters in Burton.”

I think it would be a fair comment to say that the venue was struggling just a little to maintain order and the door staff were certainly challenged. It probably wouldn’t be much of a stretch to suggest that the door staff couldn’t really take control, there was smoking inside and drug use, which isn’t really where JD Wetherspoon would probably want to be. And, at the same time, on a Saturday night, the delivery turns up.

But, I like a pub with a bit of vibrancy, it all adds to the excitement and I don’t think any customers were ever in danger in the sense of a pub that is unsafe, there were just a few licensing issues for the venue to deal with.

Most of the rear of the pub’s carpet looked like this, with menus, glasses, napkins and food lying on the floor. The team members didn’t get chance to clear it during our visit.

This was the cleanest piece of carpet that I could find for my obligatory carpet photo.

We were initially seated at the rear, but it was quite loud (and as someone who has run a venue that was effectively a nightclub, I set the bar at a reasonable level here) so we decided to move when our drinks arrived.

After fifteen minutes our drinks hadn’t arrived, so I went to recover them from the bar. The team members here were doing a really decent job, they were friendly, working hard and I think just short-staffed. I didn’t query the wait, but a helpful team member said they had a lot of away fans in after football.

The beer is the Auld Acquaintance from Loch Lomond Brewery, hoppy, light and inoffensive.

This is the home of brewing after all…. (the town, not the pub).

The front of the pub was quieter and after a while we got a seat. We had decided that there was a micro-pub nearby that needed our attention, but it was much calmer down this end. Although they didn’t have any tables where everyone was downing wine from the bottle at this end of the pub, so I was tempted to go back.

Anyway, back to reviews as I like reading them, with this venue towards the lower end of the scale for the chain.

“Absolutely awful 😖 asked 4 times to get the table cleaned!!!! When the food arrived I asked again for it to be cleaned before they put the food down….he wiped half of it and slammed the plates down…won’t be going back”

There are tens of reviews like this, but I like a bit of staff attitude to add to the mix.

“Awful experience, had a great time until Nicola left us with a very bitter taste in our mouths (and not just from the mushy peas). Two groups of our friends sat on separate tables and ordered each other food. When the waiter came out she asked us to “stop prating about” and that we were “messing up their orders” however we all ate the food and caused no trouble. We sent it to celebrate our lovely friends birthday to treat him and were told that they will take both tables away from us if we carry on, how dare we treat our friends? This is awful customer service and completely unacceptable from Nicola. She then took the cutlery away from us when we had payed for the food, ordered it to a table when we couldn’t even eat it. We had to go and ask at the bar for some. I think this is appalling customer service and shall be going to the crossing or the prince of brewers from now on.”

Let me guess, they were sending each other milk and peas….. No excuse to treat team members like this by ordering food to each other’s tables and then confusion when the team members are annoyed.

“Because we put our hands up (next to be served) the young girl clearly didn’t like it and made us walk to her.”

Seems reasonable to me.

The pub is on the chain’s cheapest price band and I remember from the choice of venues in the town that they must have a lot of competition which would explain that. I suspect it would have been a rather more relaxed visit if we had popped in earlier, but I do like a bit of drama. We were pleased that we had gone to an Indian to eat though before, it was all much busier than I had expected.

February 25, 2026
Leeds – Beckett’s Bank (JD Wetherspoon)

I have written about this pub before when I visited in 2021, but I’m not going to let that stop me from writing about it again. I was in Leeds again in the middle of January 2026 because of an LDWA meeting and I’ll add that I visited a number of independent craft beer and Good Beer Guide listed pubs at the same time.

I won’t repeat the history of the venue as I wrote about that in my last post, but, it was formerly a bank and that’s what they named it after.

The sausage, chips and beans was just £7.05 including the large bottle of Elvis Juice from Brewdog, so it’s hard to complain about the value being offered here.

I perched myself upstairs in the hope of some Hogarthian (of the William Hogarth type) debacle happening down below. Nothing of that nature occurred.

And my now obligatory carpet photo. Yes, I know that I need to get out more. Once again into the reviews section as I always like the treasures that this can uncover. The reviews for the venue are towards the higher end of the scoring for a JD Wetherspoon pub, so all seems generally well.

“Staff served meals however no drinks, I had to tell 4 Staff members about the drinks and even then I had to go downstairs and collect while my meal was going cold.”

In fairness, this happened with my meal. The food arrived just five minutes after ordering, which is slightly ridiculous really, whereas the drink took eight minutes. It plays havoc with my trying to take photos for Untappd. And, yes, I know there’s more to the world than Untappd.

“I ordered the Shawarma Chicken Topped Chips via the Wetherspoons app. The menu said the dish included sauces, but nowhere did it say the sauces would be drizzled all over the food. I couldn’t eat it and asked for it to be replaced or refunded — the manager refused and blamed me for not asking beforehand, despite there being no option to do so on the app. I also selected a straw for my drink in the app, but staff told me they don’t have any straws at all. I contacted customer services, and after a few dismissive replies, they told me they were closing the complaint — without addressing my key points.”

I do feel a little sorry for the manager, having to throw away food because of queries like this after the food is delivered must be quite painful. Although perhaps JD Wetherspoon might just have to relent and show photos of every single dish in the app for those who don’t want to ask at the bar….

“Wall decor with a biography on ‘Cuthbert Brodrick’ led us to believe this was the pub we were in since that was one of the close by options according to our location. We had no menus to tell us otherwise. When our drinks did not came, we went to the bar and asked about them, and we were told that the pub had never received our order, so we showed them the app. They explained that we had ordered to the wrong place and that, despite the misleading decor, they would not refund or replace the drinks.

Normally, I’d agree that selecting the correct location is the individual’s responsibility, but the decor directly in our eyeline matched with the name of an option on the app. Since each location of Wetherspoons has unique decor based on the location’s history, and further due to the inavailability of menus to confirm the location, we certainly felt that weren’t totally to be blame. When I contacted customer services, I asked only for acknowledgement that the decor was misleading, but the company refused to say as much and closed the matter. Wetherspoons does NOT value its customers – we have, like many, been going since our teens for both food and drink – but over £15, I will never go to any of their locations again, and I suggest you don’t, either.”

Much as I think the ordering system is actually really robust with all of its multiple warnings about location, the pubs are only a three minute walk away from each other so I think I would have rushed to the other one to try and salvage my food and drink….

“We ordered some chicken bites, we ate them but were vod. We only ate as was starving and waited 45 minutes for the food. My partner ran to the toilet 15 min after eating and was sick and spent 25 mins on the toilet. I told a female manager and she said, what do you want me to do. You can’t get food poisoning that quick . She was dismissive, rude and had a bad attitude”

That would be bloody fast food poisoning to be fair to the manager….

“Was told by security I couldn’t take my chicken bites outside (I understand alcohol. But chicken bites). Why dont I leave my food unguarded in a spoons (That is a great idea). At worst, you will come back to no food. Well, I guess I won’t be going back. Staff were nice, but security lets it down. I would not recommend when security is at the door. Btw the chicken bites are nice.”

I like this review as they’ve left 5 stars for the food.

Anyway, I digress once again. Everything else was good with the pub, it was clean, seemingly well managed and I was happy with the value for money. And with that, I felt the need to go to a craft beer bar for balance.

February 23, 2026
London – Greenwich (Borough of) – Stargazer JD Wetherspoon Pub at the O2

I visited this pub in September 2023, but I don’t appear to have surprised and delighted my two loyal blog readers by ever writing about it. Anyway, the Stargazer is the JD Wetherspoon pub located in the O2. Back when I lived in this area, this pub wasn’t there and it would have been quite handy as my local cinema was literally opposite within the O2.

The chain explains the reason for their pub name:

“Renowned astronomer Sir Edmund Halley established his reputation studying stars. His star catalogue, published in 1678, was the world’s first such work and determined hundreds of southern stars’ locations. Halley was later appointed Astronomer Royal at Greenwich Observatory. He is commemorated by Edmund Halley Way (in front of The O2), leading to the River Thames’ cable car crossing – with its views of the London skyline.”

All under cover and centrally located within the O2, this was at the time the only JD Wetherspoon that I hadn’t visited in London (I define London as zones 1 to 3).

I accept that I’m not going to win any photography awards here.

It’s a sizeable venue and it was all clean and organised. The venue has premium pricing for JD Wetherspoon, but it’s quite competitive compared to all the other dining options at the O2.

Perhaps not the most riveting of real ale selections at the time.

This is the Guardsman from Windsor & Eton Brewery, reasonably malty but not packed with the most decadent of flavours.

As it’s a JD Wetherspoon venue, I feel the need to have a little look at the online reviews. These aren’t very good, it’s one of the lowest rated one of their venues in the country. There seem to be a lot of of issues with slow service when it gets really busy, which is a bit sub-optimal if you’ve got something to see at the O2.

Although there’s a one star review because:

“Meals were on the table before I got back from ordering”

So you can’t please everyone all the time….

“Such a shame as the pub looks nice. However, one of mangers was grumpy when serving at the bar, then said its company policy they don’t accept Scottish notes….well the other weatherspoons in London take Scottish notes.”

The actual chain policy is they take the notes in Scotland, areas where there are a lot of Scottish people and they take £10 Scottish notes. It could probably be a bit clearer to be fair to customers.

“Having a lovely time until a wasp came along and landed on my burger I said to a member of staff oh sorry a wasp is on my burger.”

I like how that’s the fault of the pub and they get a 1 star review as they didn’t offer a new meal.

“We had a very unpleasant experience with a staff member named *******. He was rude, unprofessional, and his behavior came across as discriminatory. As someone with years in hospitality, I was shocked by his attitude, this is not how guests should be treated. Staff like Vaishnav should be given proper training on how to interact respectfully and courteously with guests. It’s disheartening to see such behavior in a customer-facing role, and I sincerely hope the management takes this feedback seriously.”

This is one of the nastiest things that I’ve seen customers do, four different one star reviews all targeting one individual staff member. It’s fairly evident where the problem is here from such actions. It would have been easier to ask for the duty manager than try and make such a personal attack like this.

“No music, slow, bad attitude from staff. The whole environment was boring.”

Always nice to be reminded that there’s no music, this suits me……

“Around midday we walked straight in, got served immediately and went to sit in what is somewhat poorly described as the “beer garden” as one person has already mentioned, it’s more of yard, sandwiched between the service road, the pub and a service tower, and the river views promised, really do fail to deliver.

But all in all its your typical Whetherspoon, and because you’re at the O2, you pay for that in drink prices. Fast forward 6hrs, we return with friends, 4 of us in total, to be refused entry. Reason from the door staff “it’s too busy” when I polity ask what the capacity is, does he have a counter to check, he has no idea what I’m talking about. Whilst this discussion continues, 8 people leave and we still can’t get in, the reason again, “too crowded”. At this point I walk off as I’m bored talking to the cretin on the door. Whilst discussions continue, 2 people walk up to an empty table, sit down and order via the app. That was the last straw.

If you’re going to employ door staff, surely they must be fit for the job, despite being licensed to do so. Customer service costs nothing, manners cost nothing, and before you ask “where you drunk and disorderly?” Far from it, as we had been having lunch and a catch up with friends. Fortunately there are many places to eat and drink in the O2, so I don’t have to go back. Sorry Whetherspoon’s, you just lost a once extremely loyal customer!”

“Cretin”? I suspect the chain will be glad to lose the customer…..

Anyway, I digress. I rather like this venue as I’ve only ever been when it’s peaceful and calm. I can imagine it’s a bit more of a nightmare during busy evening services and I feel sorry for the staff, it must be a permanent nightmare being very busy for relatively short periods.

January 1, 2026
Maidenhead – The Bear (JD Wetherspoon)

The pub stop en route from Cardiff to Luton was the JD Wetherspoon operated The Bear in the fine town of Maidenhead. This was all rather appropriate because this is where Liam grew up, although he didn’t take up drinking until he became friends with me, I suspect I drove him to it. But, anyway, this pub is also listed in the Good Beer Guide so that’s another box ticked.

It’s quite a spacious arrangement and using the chain’s history notes about the pub name, which is one of the few that they haven’t named themselves.

“The name of this historic inn was perpetuated when it became a Wetherspoon pub in 2010. The Bear has been on this site since 1845. Previously, it was at the corner of Park Street and High Street. The Bear is recorded in 1489, when the landlord charged ‘an unlawful price for provisions’. In the early 19th century, it was one of the town’s main coaching inns, but was converted into a private house in 1845.”

The real ale selection and there’s a couple of interesting options there, as well as the Greene King IPA for those who want something to clean their shoes with or something.

My now obligatory carpet photo.

I was slightly surprised that this pub is on the cheapest price band for the chain, I thought being on the Elizabeth Line into London they might have gone for some premium pricing. There are our drinks on the screen and these were made promptly, but not served before the food arrived. As we were sitting by the counter I asked if we could possibly just take the drinks as the food arrived, with the team members helpfully facilitating that.

This might have been the third day in a row that I had this…. Well, actually, it was the third day in a row, but I like their steak pie and especially so when it’s just over £7 including a drink. The included drink is the Eye of the Tiger from Wilde Child, a very agreeable beer which had a taste of marshmallows and chocolate, certainly verging on decadent.

As it’s a JD Wetherspoon pub, I feel the need to look at the online reviews and this venue is rated around average for the chain.

“On the 8th Nov 2025 I attended the rememberance day in maidenhead as I am a veteran with 24 years service. My partner was away so I brought the dog with me. There where lots of veterans outside the weatherspoons so i decided to buy a pint there. I had my medals and could be clearly identified as a veteran. On buying a pint I was then approached by a staff member and told that I would not be served as my dog wasn’t a service dog. I wasn’t even allowed to stand outside with a drink which i offered to do. The staff where very polite. Mr Weatherspoon, if it wasn’t for veterans then your pub wouldn’t exist or you would now be serving German beer. Shameful, stupid rules Mr Weatherspoon. You should be ashamed.”

Just about every JD Wetherspoon pub is littered with reviews about why they should be exempted from their dog ban, including how well behaved it is, how quiet it is, how it wouldn’t cause any trouble. They’ve made it simple by just banning all non-assistance dogs, I’m not entirely sure why Tim Martin should be ashamed.

“I recently visited this pub and unfortunately had a poor experience. After ordering and paying for a drink, I was informed that dogs were not allowed on the premises due to pub regulations. While I understand and respect their policy, this information was not clearly displayed, leading to an unnecessary purchase and inconvenience. Furthermore, the pub’s cleanliness left much to be desired. I recommend they make their dog policy much more visible at the entrance to prevent similar situations for other customers.”

In fairness, there isn’t a sign out the front about this, or there wasn’t when we visited anyway.

“Ordered a Stella for £4.37, poured half and then left me for 5 minutes to change the barrel and then brought the warm half a pint back and proceeded to continue to fill. I asked for a fresh pint and he wasn’t pleased that a customer could do that!!! Cheap pub but don’t expect a great experience”

I suspect quite a few pubs would be surprised that a customer would ask for a keg beer to be changed in such circumstances. I’ve removed the unnecessary comment about the team member…..

“Ordered food and had it delivered @8.30 only to be told by the doorman that we needed to leave by 9pm because we had children. The manger was unsympathetic and said half an hour was ample to eat food! When asked if he had children he said no!! To which I replied how do you expect children to eat within half an hour especially those with additional needs! No compensation received”

It does sound ample 🙂

“Absolutely disgusting service from the male server and manager on shift this evening. I ordered food through the app – I asked if the server could provide me with allergen information regarding the side salad sauce (I have coeliac disease and this is not on the allergen menu) the server refused to help me in any way, saying that it’s “company policy” to not give out any allergen information. I then approached the bar where I heard him bad mouthing me to the manager who said “well I’m not going to give her any information either”. In the end I asked to see the sauce bottle and the manager acted as if this was a huge inconvenience rather than a simple task. Ridiculous.”

It’s not on the allergen information charts as it’s not an allergen, team members aren’t going to be easily able to give advice on this and that seems to me a very sensible and responsible company policy.

“Unfortunately its hard to give a good opinion on this pub as it’s damaged in reputation for losing its lively atmosphere and hosting a good night out.”

I suspect the chain quite liked losing its lively atmosphere to be fair.

“Slow service but the beer used to be good at this Wetherspoons pub. Tables never too clean, and always a bit sticky. Now that it lost its good beer guide place 2018 no point to bother. Go to Coppa Club, it is only up the road.”

At least it’s back in now 🙂

Anyway, I digress once again. I rather liked it here, it was busy, the team members were friendly, the service was efficient, the prices are firmly towards the lower end of the scale and the beer range was entirely acceptable. All quite lovely.

December 2, 2025
Pontypridd – Tumble Inn (JD Wetherspoon)

Next stop on our little expedition was a flying visit to Pontypridd and Wikipedia tells me that this station once had the longest platform in the world. That’s something I’ll have to investigate at some point, I like a bit of railway excitement.

We were visiting The Tumble Inn, a JD Wetherspoon operated pub which is also listed in the Good Beer Guide. The chain explains the pub’s history on their website:

“In Victorian times, this area was known as ‘The Tumble’, from the horse-drawn carts which often overturned as they journeyed to and from the pits. The Tumble, with its innumerable inns, was the heart of the town. The Half Moon, which stood opposite this site until 1989, was said to be the most frequented bar in Wales. The New Inn is also well remembered. A farmhouse in the 1730s, the New Inn became a post house and then a famous hotel, until it was demolished in 1982.”

We were celebrating our bravery at abseiling, me with a beer, Richard with gin, Ross with a coffee and Liam with an orange & lemonade…. They know how to party. Incidentally, I had gone to take a photo of the carpet, as I’m like that, when my drink arrived and they wouldn’t leave it on the table until I came back and they could check that I was old enough. They seemed to decide I was old enough with alarming speed, but there we go.

The pub interior and the venue is on the chain’s lowest price band.

My new obligatory carpet photo.

As I’m a creature of habit, I had another steak pudding with a rather lovely craft beer of Son of a Beach from Tenby Brewing Company. The food and drink cost just £7 and the beer was hoppy, fruity and a little tropical. The venue had around seven real ales available as well as craft beer selections, all at their usual low prices.

The food tasted as expected, it’s not fine dining but it’s entirely agreeable. Richard went for a festive pizza as he’s very excited about Christmas with Liam going for a hearty meal of sausages and chips.

As usual, I feel the need to check the online reviews and the venue is about average in JD Wetherspoon terms.

“The last reason for visiting here has gone. San Miguel has been taken off and replaced with a very inferior Poretti. There is now no decent premium lager.”

Each to their own, but both are technically premium lagers and neither set the craft beer scene alight shall we say.

“Me & my friend come into Weatherspoons we ordered our food. I went outside & I did talk about making a joint. But I didn’t it was just words. Then the manger came over & asked n me to leave which I understand even though I ain’t done nothing. She knows me from before & is judging me & my friend on my past. I have worked hard to be clean off drugs. I am clean 18 months now.”

One of the more personal reviews that I’ve seen….. But not many JD Wetherspoon pub managers are going to let customers stay in their venue that have made it clear they will be rolling a joint.

“Called in for a fish Friday lunch and was told the menu had been changed so no longer providing the “healthy fish” option.”

This is a very old review, but I forgot that they offered this option until early 2017. I’m sure that they had good reasons to get rid of this, but I always thought it was a sensible idea. Not that I ever ordered it, which is likely the good reason that they stopped doing as no-one wanted it.

Anyway, I digress. The pub was busy and we were perhaps fortunate to find a seat, the team members were friendly and the food and drink met my expectations. The value was excellent and I’m glad that the Good Beer Guide directed us here.

November 18, 2025
Cardiff – Gatekeeper (JD Wetherspoon)

Our final pub of the evening was the Gatekeeper, a JD Wetherspoon venue which is also listed in the Good Beer Guide. In terms of the pub name, the chain notes:

“This pub is near the site of one of the five gateways through the medieval city walls. Originally called Wales Gate, it became known as Blounts Gate after a former gatekeeper. A blue plaque nearby indicates the location of the gateway to the Town Quay. Although the nearest water is now more than 200m away, until 150 years ago, the Taff flowed along what is now Westgate Street and, until the end of the 18th century, the quay was Cardiff’s main outlet to the sea.”

They don’t mention that the building was originally constructed as a theatre and it was more recently used as an auction house.

I was pleased to see that the Plum Porter from Titanic was on, but this was apparently unavailable, as was the Old Peculier from Theakston. I wasn’t entirely sure that I understood why they didn’t turn the pump clips around.

I instead went for the Time Travelling Taxi from Brew York, a competent pale ale which was hazy, juicy, fluffy and entirely acceptable.

My obligatory carpet photo. The online reviews are in keeping with the national chain’s average and I always feel the need to have a little look at them. I never claimed to be interesting…..

“got kicked out for no reason, abit ridiculous really, no warning loads of us kicked out for no reason? wouldn’t recommend. Wheelchair accessibility Not available no space no help or support”

The venue is accessible, but I wonder how I’ve never been thrown out of any pub but some people get kicked out for “no reason”, it’s a mystery….

“Absolute moronic decision by the so called “manager” to change channels on all TVs on Saturday 9th November from Liverpool vs Aston Villa to the hugely representative France vs Japan Rugby game (must have been 1 French supporter in the whole of the pub) – the bar staff had promised the game would be on but old incompetent “manager” decided to take a unilateral decision to satisfy one person.”

I think this is why some venues just decide not to show sports at all…..

“Watched some guy complain about women using the men’s toilets from what I gather nothing was getting resolved and he protested by entering the women’s toilet found this quite interesting as within seconds there were doormen there to throw him out not very professional run place and not very considerate as women should not be using the men’s as that guy was right. The man actually complained to a member of staff cleaning the gents at the time who did nothing to resolve it very untrained staff and the managers attitude was he didn’t care very rude staff all doormen the same attitude I felt like saying that the guy who got thrown out had a point because there were women in the men’s toilet on several occasions even a female member of staff at one point to sign the check board don’t think I’d like it if my partner had to do that or my daughter as part of her job role.”

I’m not sure entering the female toilets as part of a protest was perhaps the best thing to do here….

“Manager gave away our table and stole our drinks because we didnt tell every staff member we were going out for a cig, told two obviously not enough refused to give is a refund or a new drink.”

Hide them behind a menu, job done.

“Ripping people off yesterday with big price hikes just because the Foo Fighters were playing Cardiff. The place was packed , they would have made plenty of money anyway”

A couple of people have noted this, I wasn’t aware that JD Wetherspoon were engaged with hiking prices for certain events but that feels a little underhanded if true. Unless there’s some minimum pricing required for certain events which might explain it.

“Never got to enter as it’s impossible to park your car anywhere sensible”

I’m not sure that’s entirely fair on the venue to leave them 1/5 for not being able to park.

Anyway, I liked it here although I’d rather they turned the pump clip around to show what beers they didn’t have. The service was friendly, the venue was pretty clean and it felt safe and welcoming, so all really rather lovely.

With that, it was off back to the hotel via an Uber booked by Richard. A really rather lovely day.

November 17, 2025
Banbury – The Exchange (JD Wetherspoon)

The first pub stop en route to Cardiff was The Exchange pub in Banbury, operated by JD Wetherspoon. Using the chain’s text to explain the pub name and history:

“For almost 50 years, countless letters and parcels were brought in and out of this building. Banbury’s former head post office was built in 1936, on the site of an earlier 1877 post office. The new building, and the telephone exchange giving this building its name, was designed by Henry Seccombe of HM Office of Works. It was opened on 15 December 1936, by Colonel A Heenage, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Postmaster-General.”

As usual, I have to applaud the chain’s efforts to explain the history of the local area, there are tens of these boards across the pub. There’s a photo of when this venue was a telephone exchange at https://telephone-exchanges.org.uk/exchanges/banbury-exchanges/.

My now obligatory photo of the unique carpet.

The entrance and lower area of the pub, the main bar is on the raised area to the right.

And another photo looking towards the bar. There were around six real ales available, all at the usual low prices. For anyone staying late and wanting to go to a club at the weekend, the nightclub Fever is located literally behind the venue.

The pub is on the chain’s lowest price band, so this meal and drink were a grand total of £7. The steak pudding is OK, it’s not packed with the finest quality steak, but that Hazy Jane is a pint bottle and so that seems like excellent value to me. Ross went for the Christmas wrap as he loves this time of year and Liam I think went for the all day brunch or similar. The drinks and food all arrived promptly and were at the appropriate temperature, so everyone was happy.

This leads me seamlessly onto my having a look at the online reviews of the venue, which are about average for the chain.

“The “chef” kept coming out to the eating area in her grubby uniform and dancing all over the place.”

I’m with the customer, there’s no need for frivolity, it’s bad for the soul.

“My daughter, 18 today, tried to enter this establishment 30 minutes ago, with her approved photographic I.d. And was turned away for being underage, because she had to be 18 years old and one day, this is in contravention of the current licensing laws.”

That does seem a bit harsh, the excitement of turning 18 and being told that you should wait another day. Although it isn’t a contravention of the current licensing laws.

However, this is back in the day when venues were allowed to respond and they did.

“Your daughters ID showed her as turning 18 on 10/08/2019, so until 00:00:01 on 10/08/2019, she would not have been able to enter the premises. We are open until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, which technically is the next day, so if she had come in between midnight and 01:00 she would have been allowed entry.”

A rather different story and I like that they would have let her in for one hour after midnight, that’s quite a classy response.

“Very disappointing experience where the rude staff member wouldn’t even consider looking at my son’s valid electronic Australian drivers licence as ID. We had already been served once? I was rudely told when the staff member was talking over me that it was company policy to see a physical document. We had no issue is Bristol. I guess Banbury isn’t used to seeing many international visitors”

As it stands, despite the Government planning a change to this, a pub can’t accept a digital ID. So that’s a 1 star review as the venue refused to break the law to serve someone…..

“Very disappointed,got to be the worst Wetherspoons I’ve ever been in.No fish and the Wiltshire ham was almost see-through with chips I could almost count on two hands. Usually I would have made a big fuss for being ripped off but it was my birthday and my wife talked me down. Safe to say I’ll never frequent this branch again OR RECOMMEND IT.”

Complaining should be allowed on your birthday…..

“Dreadfull , ordered a starter , main all arrived at once starter was cold and clearly not cooked , main pizza arrived 2 small pizzas as they had run out of large bases , just poor service , nasty nasty”

That feels sub-optimal, sending two pizzas to make up for not having a larger base. However, I felt the need to think about this and JD Wetherspoon offers 8 inch and 11 inch pizzas. I went to https://www.omnicalculator.com/food/pizza-comparison and it seems that the customer got a better deal here in terms of the area of pizza…. I think I should probably get out more….

“I think your staff need to brush up on the laws of photography within a public place.”

Goodness knows what the back story is here but the interior of a pub is not a public place. If the chain wants they could be as ridiculous as Sam Smiths and ban all photos.

“Widely regarded as being one of the worst in the chain.”

Not judging by Google Reviews.

Anyway, I digress and I rather liked this venue. In an ideal world they might have been clearing tables a little faster, but it was clean, comfortable and seemed to be decent value for money. The team members were friendly, the prices were cheap and that’s another outlet in the chain visited.

November 16, 2025
St. Neots – Weeping Ash (JD Wetherspoon)

Richard and I stopped off at the Weeping Ash in St Neots following the LDWA Local Groups’ weekend. It had been a successful few days, although it was fair to say that I was now getting quite tired.

Here he is enjoying his coffee. The pub was relatively quiet, but everything felt clean and organised.

I went for a pint of the Moose River from Hop Union Brewery, a hoppy, light, fluffy and bouncy beer. Eagle eyed viewers will note that Richard hid his ginger biscuits when he went to explore the pub, he was nervous that someone would scoop them up when they were walking past.

As for the pub itself, for the rest of this post, I’m going to copy and paste some text from a previous visit, which Liam and I made after I was brave going zip-lining in Wales.

The pub’s own text about the venue’s history:

“This former post office stands on part of what was once a much-admired Victorian garden belonging to the house across the road – the home of William Medland, an important man in St Neots. Bank manager and town commissioner, Medland died in 1872 in his late 60s. His widow lived in the house until the 1890s, when it was bought for the Conservative Club, which is still there. Medland’s garden was well known for its many fine trees and shrubs, particularly for its ‘magnificent weeping ash’.”

I have no complaints about the pub, it was clean, well managed and sizeable. The reviews on-line are a little less impressive, with the usual sneering type:

“It’s full of lads in white trainers and white socks that are really excited but have no idea what their excited about and badly dressed girls”

Fortunately, we didn’t have white trainers or white socks to avoid clearly offending this customer.

“They gave me a empty coffee cup without saying I needed to go and fill it up myself like I’m supposed to know this”

I do see this occasionally, often when the empty coffee cup is traipsed half way across the pub by a staff member, and then the confused customer has to traipse the same distance back to get their drink.

I find simple things entertaining, so was very excited to see a new type of coffee machine at a JD Wetherspoons. Now, I accept that I should get out more rather than spend time writing drivel like this, but it pleased me. For £1.20 for unlimited hot drinks, a complete bargain as far as I’m concerned. [I’d add that it’s now £1.81 since I wrote this with the coffee machine no longer being new]

It was a little early, but I did get a quick half with my hot drink, just so I could comment on the beer quality. I’m very dedicated to ensuring beer quality, but I do it for very selfless reasons of course. I went for the Jemima’s Pitchfork from the Glamorgan Brewing Co, a not particularly interesting beer, but at least well-kept.

The very keenly priced avocado muffin, my new go to breakfast option since the recent price hikes on the traditional breakfast. [I wrote that a couple of years ago As an aside, this menu item isn’t available in many JD Wetherspoons which is sub-optimal from my perspective.]

Anyway, I’ve visited here a few times, not least my latest visit with Richard this week, along with the food visit with Liam a couple of years ago. It’s towards the lower end of the online reviews for JD Wetherpoon outlets, but it’s always felt well managed when I’ve been before.

November 13, 2025
London – Southwark (Borough of) – Sun Wharf (New JD Wetherspoon)

A new JD Wetherspoon has opened at London Bridge station in what was formerly the London Dungeons. The entrance here is the former way into the London Dungeons, which was here between 1974 and 2013. This venue is a considerable project for the pub chain and it’s open for long hours, between 06:30 and 00:30 every day of the week.

As usual, I’ll take the pub’s history from their own website:

“Next to London Bridge station’s entrance, 48–50 Tooley Street are distinctive brick arches. Until 2013 (almost 40 years), this had been The London Dungeon. The arches were occupied by importers and provision agents, whose livelihoods depended on the warehouses opposite. Many have survived (Hay’s Wharf, now Hay’s Galleria). Fenning’s Wharf and Sun Wharf were replaced (in 1984/85) by the huge No.1 London Bridge complex. During that site’s redevelopment, a Bronze Age burial mound was unearthed.”

The bar which is bright and open.

Some of the brick arches and I can see why this was a suitable place for the London Dungeons. The rooms flow into each other, I like this sort of quirky thing.

The new coffee machine and there’s only hot milk, with no jugs for the cold milk.

There’s a bank of three coffee machines.

The unique carpet.

There’s a display about the carpet and why they’ve designed this one in this manner.

The menu.

Part of the support elements that I assume stop the building from falling down. The trains are evident running above both by noise and also because things vibrate a little.

This feels like a really well designed building, there is a choice of seating styles including low and higher tables. There are quieter areas, open-plan areas and plenty of power points. The team members seemed engaged, helpful and I saw numerous positive customer service interactions. As a conversion into a pub, this is one of the best that I’ve seen.

Although the venue has only been open for a few weeks, I thought I’d see what the few online reviews posted are like so far.

“Had had a lovely evening here but sadly the dessert menu isn’t clear enough – says “vanilla ice cream” as if it’s plain but it actually comes with sauce and the staff member wouldn’t switch it for plain despite asking. It’s a scoop of ice cream! Don’t argue the toss just switch it hahahah. Sauce was horrible by the way”

The printed menu and the online menu both mention toffee sauce and Belgian chocolate sauce. And then to give the venue 1/5 after a lovely evening….

“Told off for bringing in a fully wrapped Greggs Muffin.”

Probably best not to bring in a Greggs…..

No-one has complained yet that they can’t bring their dog in, but I imagine that’ll be coming soon. Anyway, this is a large venue that has lots of little smaller areas, something forced upon the chain by the historic nature of the building. It all felt well managed to me, spotlessly clean and evidently already popular with local office workers. All rather lovely.

November 12, 2025