HOME | LAST 100 POSTS | CONTACT ME

Category: JD Wetherspoon

  • Stone – Poste of Stone (JD Wetherspoon)

    Stone – Poste of Stone (JD Wetherspoon)

    Going back to 10 June 2023, when my friends Ross, Liam and I went for a little Staffordshire expedition, this was our visit to the Poste of Stone that I’ve realised I didn’t write about. So as a treat, here it is, only three years late.

    As usual, I’ll use the chain’s own text about the history of the pub’s name, although it’s one of the shortest that I’ve seen:

    “The pub is a former post office. Stone had its own postmaster as early as 1575, when the official in question was William Nicholson, described as ‘The Poste of Stone’.”

    Some decoration near the entrance and it opened as a pub in 2002.

    The real ale selection and the usual slightly illogical pricing from the chain.

    The keg selection.

    I didn’t write any comments on Untappd about this at the time, although it looks a little under-poured to me. Anyway, it’s Ricky’s Ox Dropper from Uttoxeter Brewing Company. I can also see Ross was in his tea mode at the time, which is very Ross and possibly the most emotionally stable drink choice available in any Wetherspoon

    The obligatory carpet photo, which wasn’t obligatory in my photo albums in 2023, but I like the design and the link to it being a Post Office in the past.

    Anyway, as usual, I feel the need to have a little look at the venue’s reviews and they’re towards the higher end of the average for the chain. There aren’t very many negative reviews though which limits my excitement a little.

    “Ordered an ice cream for my child. It arrived with no sauce. This was stated on the desert menu. I questioned the waiter however was told it was made clear at the till when I ordered. No it was not. I explained whatever is stated on the menu should be delivered. My child was upset that it was only plain ice cream. Regardless of cost, the waiter continued to explain that it’s company policy that sometimes the kitchen runs out and doesn’t need to state it. Why wasn’t this explained initially? The desert was only £1.99. Not even an apology. Obviously the customer is always wrong, so thank you for nothing.”

    I’m with the customer on this one. The child should have had their chocolate sauce. Civilisation depends on small agreements, and one of them is that if sauce is promised to a child, sauce should appear. Otherwise we are just animals with laminated menus.

    “Awful customer service, my friend was refused a drink because he couldn’t spell the word remember – this is not fair on the neurodiverse. I was then refused a drink for standing up against the cause. We shan’t be silenced anymore! The uprising has begun. 0 stars is a blessing as they can’t pour a pint of ale either.”

    I’ve never had to do a spelling test in a JD Wetherspoon pub…. Although I wouldn’t oppose them being introduced.

    “The pub classics steak pudding was as small as a chip shop suit pudding with a very poor filling of slop.”

    As a side issue, I’m surprised that they continue with that steak pudding, I know I have it a lot when it’s £6 including a drink, but it’s not a very decadent meal and it seems to get more complaints than anything since the Sunday roasts.

    “Cheap food with infants serving”

    I’m with the pub. There was more to this rant, but what a way to write about people….

    “I was waiting 10 minutes to be served, it was my turn and no one was at the bar when Duty Manager was finishing serving a customer. He decided to serve someone who just arrived at the bar. When I said I was next he said I would not be served today. Awful experience. I been to over 400 spoons and never had an experience like it.”

    I’ve been to over 400 JD Wetherspoon venues but the easiest way is to use the app….. Or, alternatively, get a blog and complain about slow service there, where the staff cannot refuse you service because they have wisely remained unaware of your existence. Telling bar staff they are incompetent may not always produce the desired hospitality outcome, even if one has an extensive pub-visiting CV.

    “Absolutely disgusted to find there were NO salt sachets available.”

    I hope that people prayed for the customer and their well-being.

    I was disappointed not to find any reviews complaining that dogs weren’t permitted.

    Anyway, I recall that the pub felt welcoming, clean and organised, but that the visit to Stone was all about the Titanic pub in the town…. Unfortunately, that’s about the limit to what I can remember, although I do know that Bill Cash (who had been the MP for the town for four decades) announced that he was standing down the day that we were there. I decided that I’d take credit for that as although it might not have been connected to our visit, history is so often about interpretation…

  • Letchworth Garden City – Three Magnets (JD Wetherspoon)

    Letchworth Garden City – Three Magnets (JD Wetherspoon)

    It’s not always easy to find somewhere to sit to get work done which doesn’t get in the way with the operations of the venue. I’m not going to take up a seat in a cafe where they need the tables because I do have some moral limits, even if they are inconsistently applied. But JD Wetherspoon has the perfect set-up for me and so that’s how I ended up here.

    I did try the town’s library as an alternative, but that was louder than this pub, which feels like a sub-optimal development for civilisation. I appreciate, begrudingly, libraries have changed and are no longer silent temples of paper and mild fear, but it is still slightly disconcerting when the pub is the better option for concentration. Somewhere, a Victorian librarian is turning in their grave, probably while tutting.

    As I’ve decided to keep every photo from the last 15 years, this is when Liam and I popped into the pub on 4 November 2018. I’ve included it for the sake of completeness…. One day historians will thank me for preserving these moments. Well, maybe.

    Using the chain’s website to explain the pub name:

    “Letchworth was the first ‘Garden City’, inspired by the work of the urban planner Ebenezer Howard. He illustrated his idea for ‘Garden Cities’ with his famous three-magnets diagram, from which this Wetherspoon pub gets its name.”

    That is quite a pleasing bit of civic context. Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City idea was all about combining the best of town and country, which is a noble ambition. I’m not sure he specifically envisaged his planning philosophy leading to refillable coffee, curry club and someone checking Untappd in the corner, but social progress takes unexpected forms.

    There was a decent selection of real ales, around seven in total, and all reasonably priced with the options here from Thornbridge, Elgood’s and the Cairngorm Brewing Co.

    I went for the Wildcat from Cairngorm Brewery Co and it was fruity, malty and rich. And not only was it well-kept, it was just £1.95 with the CAMRA discount.

    The rear section of the pub, which isn’t enormous and some of the seating is a little tightly stacked in.

    My now obligatory carpet photo. Some people collect art, some climb mountains and I document the floor coverings of national pub chains. I won’t pretend this was my original life plan, but I must work with the gifts that I have been given.

    When it’s just over £6 including the 0% Guinness then I can’t resist. This was all cooked well other than that gravy could have been hotter.

    Obviously I felt the need to have a little look at the online reviews and they’re towards the lower end of the chain’s scale.

    “Went for a dinner few nights ago and we ordered Indian chicken jalfrezi meal and fried halloumi burger. The food was atrocious. The waitress only bothered to tell us AFTER we had paid for it that the Indian food was reheat and eat.”

    I’m not sure if they expected the JD Wetherspoon chef to be making curries to order in the kitchen, perhaps grinding spices by hand while someone asks whether table 42 has got their chips yet. There are many things to enjoy about JD Wetherspoon, but I’m not sure bespoke Indian cuisine is quite the business model.

    “Charged £4 for 2 halves of Stowford press when the menu said £1.99 a pint, something going on here, maybe bar staff are fiddling”

    Sub-optimal, but hard to imagine the team members are fiddling if that’s what the till comes up with.

    “The chavs like smoking their cigarettes at the main door of the pub – with the door wide open – no surprises – the pub stinks of cigarettes. Manager doesn’t seem to care.”

    I wouldn’t refer to smokers as chavs, but this smoking at the front door has annoyed a few reviewers and it’s still going on….

    “The overweight barmaid…..”

    I ignored the rest of the review, this sort of review really shouldn’t get accepted.

    “Dogs are banned even in the outdoor space. Utterly ridiculous.”

    Always reassured to see at least one person annoyed at the chain’s dog policy.

    “Don’t sell carling”

    I’m not sure why that deserves a one star rating.

    Anyway, I digress. I had wanted to explore more pubs in Letchworth, but a number were shut on Mondays and Tuesdays, although I did find one interesting one I’ll post about soon. This JD Wetherspoon seemed competently managed, cold gravy aside, it was cheap, cheerful and was a suitably comfortable place to sit. Although they need to sort out the number of flies around their coffee machine, that was a little ridiculous.

  • Swindon – The Sir Daniel Arms (JD Wetherspoon)

    Swindon – The Sir Daniel Arms (JD Wetherspoon)

    I popped into the Sir Daniel Arms pub in Swindon for a quick coffee (well, eight of them as I like to test the caffeine infrastucture of the venue) before my National Express coach to London. I had thought that I had written about this JD Wetherspoon venue before, but it has transpired that I haven’t. Although I did mention it in June 2018 when a group of us visited it before walking the Ridgeway.

    I’ll take the history of the pub’s name from the chain’s website:

    “This modern building stands on the site of a row of small shops, 1–10 Fleet Street. They served the adjacent railway village which was built by the Great Western Railway in the mid 19th century. The row included the Sir Daniel Arms, which traded until the 1980s, and was named after Sir Daniel Gooch. He proposed that the Great Western Railway Works should be built in Swindon and then ran the works which subsequently dominated Swindon for nearly 150 years.”

    A bit of JD Wetherspoon bling. Incidentally, I don’t have a carpet photo, but there’s carpet in this one so that will have to do. I appreciate that this may disappoint the more carpet specialist readers of this blog, assuming that there actually are any. There are two floors to the venue, although the upper floor is closed off during quieter periods.

    To help with the lack of photos, here’s a steak pudding that I had in February 2026 at the pub, namely as this venue is at the lowest price band for the chain for this was only just a little over £6 for the food and drink. I don’t claim that it’s a great meal, but for the price it is very hard to complain and so I don’t.

    Anyway, onto the reviews as I like browsing through them and this venue is a little towards the higher end of the ratings on Google.

    “The main reason for this negative review is how disgusted I am with the service received by what I assume was a member of management. From the moment we arrived she was rude and continued to be for the duration of our visit. I’ve just passed by driving test so surprised my mum with a trip to Swindon for her birthday so this was supposed to be a lovely day, yet her attitude to my mum and I was appalling. It was so bad, two ladies actually approached my mum to ask if she was okay out in the toilets as they were concerned.”

    I always wish reviewers would give a hint about how the situation began. It feels unlikely, although not impossible, that a staff member simply appeared from nowhere and selected a customer for a sustained campaign of discourtesy. There is usually a prelude to these things. That said, surprising one’s mum with a birthday trip to Swindon after passing a driving test is an act of confidence, and I respect the ambition.

    “Pint if thatchers tasted like water and exactly the same with the Stella, got it changed but still tasted the same, won’t be going back anytime soon”

    I would like to note that Thatchers is meant to taste like that, but that would appear to be too churlish.

    “I went in with my assistance dog got a drink for me and bowl of water. Then had a manager come over telling me unless had a uk pass couldnt come in and was refused another drink. Wouldn’t mind but we sat outside so was no where near people eating . Disgusting the way was treated. My dog had jacket and lead stating what he was with Canine Partner jacket and lead and lanyard. Disgusting how weather’s poon treated me”

    The chain is being questioned over this at the moment and now genuine assistance dogs are potentially being refused because some people have pretended in the past that their dog is an assistance dog when it is no such thing. Sub-optimal for all concerned.

    “Unbearably loud music on the weekends”

    I’m with the customer here, it’s one of those Lloyds venues and I’m aware that it gets far too vibrant on a weekend….

    On the real ale front there were seven available, from breweries including Twisted, Hanlons, Hop Union and Phoenix, all at their low prices of under £3 a pint. I was on coffee rather than beer because I had a coach to catch and sometimes even I make decisions with a vague nod towards responsibility.

    Anyway, it’s all cheerful and the coffee is suitably cheap and reliable, so what more could I want.

  • Newport – Queen’s Hotel (formerly JD Wetherspoon)

    Newport – Queen’s Hotel (formerly JD Wetherspoon)

    Located literally opposite the Travelodge in Newport is the Queen’s Hotel, a former JD Wetherspoon venue which they sold in 2021.

    I have stayed here before back in 2018, so I have some photos of the inside. The history on their website noted:

    “A grade II listed building, previously the Queen’s Hotel, this three-storey premises opened in 1863, soon after Bridge Street was laid out. Named after the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, it dominated the western end of Bridge Street which soon became known as Queen’s Square.”

    The bar as it looked back in the halcyon days of March 2018 and there were a good number of real ales on.

    The standard JD Wetherspoon breakfast and, in this case, an overcooked egg…

    The single room that I booked.

    The view from the hotel room window and I accept that it’s not the sort of vista that would cause a Romantic poet to start trembling near the curtains or something similar, but it could be worse.

    The room plan and I remember from the time that this didn’t feel like a typical Wetherspoon hotel, they had by that time started to have grander rooms in either purpose built extensions or they had been heavily renovated. They hadn’t done that here, they’d just tidied up the existing rooms and did the best with what they had which is a noble British tradition and also the basis for about half of the country’s hospitality industry.

    I didn’t take carpet photos back in 2018, as I obviously didn’t know how to live, but at least it’s visible in this photo.

    I remember that the pub was a Lloyds so they had music and were showing sports, with the whole arrangement not really fitting into the broader chain’s dynamic. I’m not entirely surprised that they sold this venue, it seemed an odd fit in many ways. They never reopened up after the lock-down in Wales required pubs to close and it sold for nearly a million pounds, but successive operators have struggled with it and I think that it’s currently entirely closed. Anyway, hopefully it will open again at some stage but it’ll be hard for any operator to make it as busy as it was when JD Wetherspoon managed it.

  • Bath – The Old Post Office (JD Wetherspoon)

    Bath – The Old Post Office (JD Wetherspoon)

    This is the new JD Wetherspoon in Bath that opened a few weeks ago in March 2026, the second one of the chain’s pubs in the city and this refurbishment cost them £2.2 million. This building was once Bath’s Post Office, but was for the last fifteen years or so used by Revolution until they closed.

    One thing that JD Wetherspoon does well, amongst many other things, is having an interest in the history of their buildings. This reads:

    “York Buildings is a grade II listed Georgian terrace, with a grand frontage along George Street. Completed in c1760, most of York Buildings, excluding No. 2, was the York House Hotel, latterly the Royal York Hotel. No 2 is at the end of the terrace. Previous uses include the Midland Bank, an auctioneer/estate agent’s premises and Bath’s main post office.

    York Buildings was designed in the Palladian style by John Wood the Younger, who also designed Bath’s world-famous Royal Crescent, one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in Britain. The porches were added in the 19th century, with ground-floor alterations made to No.2 in the 1870s. Bath’s architectural transformation into a Georgian city was begun by his father, John Wood the Elder. An outstanding architect and town planner, he began laying out George Street in 1734.

    On the front of 2 York Buildings is carved ‘The Old Post Office’. During 1854–1927, these premises housed Bath’s main post office, with Oldham T Taylor its postmaster for nearly 30 years (1863–90). Thomas Moore Musgrave was also a long-serving postmaster here. On 2 May 1840, Thomas famously posted an item of mail from the Bath post office, then at 8 Broad Street, with the newly invented Penny Black postage stamp — this was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp’s earliest use.

    Ralph Allen was another famous postmaster. He arrived in Bath in 1710 and worked as a postal clerk. Two years later, aged only 19, he became the postmaster of Bath. In 1722, Ralph was elected mayor of Bath. During the intervening years, he made a fortune from reorganising the main postal routes across England.”

    The downstairs bar and it all looks colourful, bright and clean.

    The window seat was handy for people watching. There’s an upstairs bar as well and the whole arrangement is quite sizeable.

    My now obligatory carpet photo.

    There were six real ales on (with beers from Thornbridge, Oakham, Brains and Greene King), but as it was still morning I went for the £1.89 refillable coffees.

    As usual for this chain, I felt drawn to look at the online reviews and it’s one of the higher rated JD Wetherspoon locations on Google although it has only been open for a few weeks.

    “I was disappointed to see the lack of diversity in the interior design of this new bar in Bath. The images displayed throughout the venue only portray white men, which feels out of touch in 2026 and does not reflect the diverse history and communities that exist. Public spaces should be inclusive and representative of everyone. I hope this is something the management considers improving ASAP as it would make the environment feel more welcoming and inclusive.”

    Although the photos the reviewer took showed half the images in the venue were women and there is perhaps a limit of how many eighteenth and nineteenth century diverse images of famous Bath residents they can find without it looking a bit forced. I can’t imagine that this will be a priority for JD Wetherspoon.

    “Arrived to the new weatherspoons and looked good. Asked if we could have a table with our dog and was told yes out side. Sat down ordered food , told I have to order to a table inside and take it out side my self .
    After getting oue drinks and paying I am told that I must leave as my dog was not welcomed due to policy.
    I understand policy, how ever being told I can have a table outt side then order my food .to then be told I have to leave is not on. I did get a full refund , as my food arrived. Will never return”

    There’s already a review that JD Wetherspoon don’t accept dogs anywhere in their venues, that didn’t take long.

    And that’s about it, just some disappointment about cold breakfasts and tables that weren’t cleared down very quickly, otherwise customers seem to like it. It was certainly busy when I went on a Saturday morning in June, with the service all being fast and efficient. All very lovely and that’s another one of the chain’s venues that I’ve visited, so I then thought I’d better visit some Good Beer Guide pubs as well.

  • Bristol – Commercial Rooms (JD Wetherspoon)

    Bristol – Commercial Rooms (JD Wetherspoon)

    After an overnight coach journey with National Express, I felt that I deserved a coffee and I knew a place that would do unlimited coffees for £1.89. This is the JD Wetherspoon operated Commercial Rooms, which they’ve been running since the 1990s, so it’s one of their earlier venues outside of London.

    It’s a grand building internally and the chain give the history of the name:

    “Situated in the heart of Bristol’s old city and opposite the historic Corn Exchange, The Commercial Rooms was built in 1810 as a meeting point for the city’s traders. The retained weather vane, above the bar, would let merchants know whether it was safe for ships to negotiate the treacherous Avon Gorge. The three statues at the top of this grade II listed building represent Bristol, commerce and navigation.”

    It’s one of the smaller JD Wetherspoon venues, there’s the main room and then a back room that was once a meeting area, with the toilets located upstairs. They had an impressive seven real ales available including options from Thornbridge, Brains and Otter, all priced at under £4 a pint.

    I sat near the coffee machine as I thought that would save time.

    My now obligatory carpet photo.

    As it’s a JD Wetherspoon venue, I feel obliged to have a little look at the reviews, which are broadly in keeping with the chain’s average across the country.

    “If you want to hang out with friends and have a fun time, don’t go to commercial rooms. The atmosphere was awful, no music at all and the dim lighting is horrendous”

    Perfect. No music.

    “The security was so rude and very aggressive. He said he doesn’t take BRP. Im international student and if we can not use BRP, we can use E-visa. No one goes around carrying Passport, which is the most important document while staying abroad”

    I carry my passport. No ID, no entry….

    “The bouncer informed us that Wetherspoons management had installed microphones around the pub to listen in to what the customers are talking about.”

    They haven’t.

    “Not Pet friendly. Went elsewhere.”

    Disappointingly, this is the only negative review about someone not being allowed their dog inside. Well, I assume it was a dog they tried to bring in, I suppose that it might have been a cat.

    Now there is one review of a pint of Guinness with absolutely no head and that does seem to be a very valid complaint, it would be hard to pour a Guinness like that. A deserved 1 out of 5 if that is genuinely true and it was from three years ago, so more unlikely to be AI generated.

    “Waiter told 2 year old to shut up on a Saturday affernoon”

    Reasonable.

    Anyway, I was entirely content at this visit, the team members were friendly, it was pretty clean and I had several coffees for £1.89. And the building had some history to it, which always adds positively to a visit for me. I’ve visited this one a few times over the years and for a cheap coffee (well, several coffees), it certainly didn’t disappoint.

  • Chatham – The Thomas Waghorn (JD Wetherspoon)

    Chatham – The Thomas Waghorn (JD Wetherspoon)

    I haven’t wittered on about JD Wetherspoon venues for a couple of weeks, so it feels about time to post something. This is the Thomas Waghorn in Chatham which I visited on the first May Bank Holiday.

    It’s a grand building which is located in the town’s former main Post Office.

    The information panel outside the pub and the chain adds on their website:

    “The well-known statue (erected in 1888) by the bridge over Railway Street commemorates the ‘postal pioneer’ Thomas Fletcher Waghorn – the Chatham-born naval officer and merchant seaman who developed a new postal route from Great Britain to India. His 6,000-mile overland route replaced the 16,000-mile sea journey, reducing the time taken from around three months to just 35–40 days.”

    As mentioned, JD Wetherspoon opened it in 2016 and they spent £2.2 million on the building and the conversion, so a fair commitment.

    It’s a large venue inside with this space in front of the bar and they’ve also got an open kitchen. There is an upstairs area and a garden with a choice of around seven real ales and numerous craft beer options.

    My obligatory carpet photo and it was all a bit grimy.

    This was around £9 which really is decent value for fish & chips and a bottle of Staropramen. All tasted as expected, was at the appropriate temperature and was served promptly. The Staropramen was agreeable and actually served in a clean glass, those larger ones are often not particularly well presented.

    It’s fairly well reviewed online for a JD Wetherspoon venue, but I felt the need to check as usual.

    “I am not happy with the way my son and his friends were treated by the staff at The Thomas Waghorn, my son bought an alcoholic drink Mango loco that cost him over £9 & his friend only had a drop of it(only put a tiny drop of it on her finger, she didn’t have a sip of the drink at all) & my son & his friends were kicked out of the place. My son is 18 & a half & I am not impressed with how the situation was dealt with by the staff, I certainly will not be going there ever again as my son has come home in tears as has my niece(who was with my son). This situation should have been dealt with more understanding rather than with rudeness”

    Or just don’t let children have any alcohol in a pub maybe…..

    “Me (17) and my partner (18) came here for their birthday and they ordered two drinks, both for them. The waiter took the drinks away and offered us juice instead. He then told me with a very smug look on his face that he couldn’t give me a refund as it says in ‘small print’ on the website. This has never been a problem anywhere else.”

    I can’t imagine what the problem was here given one was 17….

    “WARNING: Filled with old racist men waiting for death. Hateful 20 IQ door staff discriminate at random. Miserable bar staff who cant pour pints they’re so overworked. Reheated freezer food. Literally every surrounding bar in the area is better.”

    I don’t think this customer likes the pub…..

    “I was simply kicked out because staff did not like my children around”

    I would be interested to know what these children were doing….

    “Atmosphere of a wake.”

    Good, venues can have too much frivolity sometimes….

    “Found a 5p in the salt that we sprinkled on our food”

    I’m not sure that I’ve seen a review mentioning something like that before….

    “The young male server in his 20s who I’ve been told is possibly called Robin ( not sure how accurate that is and dude was also probably autistic) that seemed to really struggle with understanding humour and very obvious good humoured sarcasm had genuinely ruined my evening out with my friend and partner. He was so patronisingly rude and unpleasant that I eventually stopped ordering through the app and went straight to the bar just so he would stop serving my table. He very clearly had a huge attitude problem with power tripping from his server position as he continued to be rude and in a poor rendition of what he thought was an Essex accent said to me “I didn’t see your drink at the end of the bar lovey” in a mocking tone and in reference to myself making a joke about wanting a beer like my friend. Also he asked my partner “If things go down the wrong holes often” when she was choking on her food. Weird to make a sexual innuendo at a person who’s actively choking. For the first time in my life I wanted to talk to the on shift manager as the server was actually bordering on hostile after our 4th encounter which was extremely strange. This is the first time he’s done this as he in a poor attempt at humour called my friends partner fat on another occasion and once couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that someone at our table didn’t want ice cream with their brownie so he legitimately stood there staring in confusion and contempt for 2 minutes I’m silence whist our table watched him in confusion”

    Well, I like a bit of drama…..

    “Manager refused to deal with my issue after being presented with a side dish that was included on my main plate and so tiny it was like a the kitchen staff had been dared to do it. He wanted more money to rectify it and refused to give me his name when I asked for it, stating I could describe him on the complaints form instead. He was a child but had no self awareness and shouldn’t have been in a management position. Harry Potter specs, curly black hair and an attempt at a man’s stubble? I think? He was very forgettable?”

    Those last couple of lines are hideous, how customers think it’s somehow acceptable to talk about team members like that…. Anyway, I digress.

    The pub did though hit the newspapers a couple of years ago when two elderly customers were confronted by a duty manager and thrown out for using drugs. Anyway, JD Wetherspoon formally issued an apology and said that the duty manager had made a mistake. However, one of the two had phoned the pub manager up and was rude, and so JD Wetherspoon said he was permanently barred for that instead.

    The venue could do with a bit of a deep clean, but it was cheap, welcoming and everything seemed to be served efficiently. It’s a decent venue as well and I’m not sure that many other operators could have made this work.

  • Bromley – The Richmal Crompton (JD Wetherspoon)

    Bromley – The Richmal Crompton (JD Wetherspoon)

    I had a rail connection at Bromley South railway station today to get to Kent, so I thought that I’d meander over the road to the JD Wetherspoon operated Richmal Crompton which I’ve visited a couple of times before. The sun was shining, the pub had a beer garden and it was just too hot. But, I didn’t complain to myself about the extreme temperatures.

    The chain explains the reasoning for the pub name:

    “This is named after Richmal Crompton, the author best known for her ‘William’ books. William Brown first appeared in a series of short stories written in Richmal’s spare time, while she was a teacher at Bromley High School for Girls. She lived in Bromley for 26 years, first in Cherry Orchard Road and later in nearby Oakley Road.”

    It’s cavernous and not overly interesting as a building. It got busier at lunchtime, but the chain also has a pub just a short walk away, the Greyhound. Incidentally, and I write this without having a view either way, but this is one of those venues where customers queue in a line to order rather than wait along the bar. There’s an area which feels like a dining area off to the left, although the tables were all in long lines and it wasn’t clear whether they were expecting groups of 24 to turn up, or they had just crammed them in there. There were bookshelves to the rear of the pub and I thought that added to the arrangement. It’s all affordable and reliable, spacious and predictable.

    My obligatory carpet shot.

    In terms of the beer, the prices were moderate as usual and they had a selection of craft cans alongside six real ales, with beers from Thornbridge, Adnams and Theakston.

    I decided to get unlimited coffee for £1.85 rather than anything beer related, although they had run out of milk and didn’t bother replacing it for the two hours that I was there. I decided raw coffee would just have to do.

    The online reviews are about average for the chain and I couldn’t resist having a little look….

    “Came in for a quick bite to eat with my dog who’s sitting outside and I’ve been told by every bar staff in here dogs aren’t even allowed on the premises that means even outside the door , Food is absolutely disgraceful as you can see from the photo, The manager with the wonky eyes said I need to get out as soon as I’ve eaten my food absolute joke stay clear unless you’re on a budget”

    I suspect that JD Wetherspoon would be pleased that a customer who insults their staff like that goes elsewhere….

    “We reserved an area for our wedding reception, no help in moving tables was offered, on the day there was glass in the reserved area that hadn’t been cleared prior to us arriving. We appreciate we had a large party but we waited ages for our meals, and drinks. Having booked in January for September plenty of notice had been given that we’d require food. They’d ran out of chicken nuggets, and the large mixed grill, and this was only early afternoon. When the steak came up and we asked which was medium rare, the waiter said that they’d all been done to the same (medium) even though we’d asked for different. We had one waiter serving almost 30 of us and it took almost an hour for tables to be cleared of plates. Me and my wife met in this wetherspoons 2 years ago but we will not be returning unfortunately.”

    I’m not wholly convinced that JD Wetherspoon pubs are usually well equipped to deal with entire wedding parties….

    “On top of that, after we left a pub, I came back to go to the toilet, it was around 23.00. On my way to the toilet i have been stopped by the waiter saying that ‘I’m banned in this pub and I have to leave’ after my statement that I AM PREGNANT AND I NEED TO USE A TOILET he insisted me to leave. How comes pregnant woman cant use a toilet in such a big pub? What policy are you based on? Of course I will proceed with further excalations and highlighting this situation everywhere possible as IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO NOT ALLOW A PREGNANT WOMAN TO USE A TOILET.”

    The customer was refused service for allegedly being drunk, they left the venue after an argument and then are furious that the venue wouldn’t let them back in. I like a bit of drama to be fair….

    “Being Xmas everyone was having a great time and we were playing a game with an I top, a harmless tabletop game . When we were laughing and jeering eachother on ,the staff came over and told us to keep the noise down. What happened to the good old days when they had juke boxes in pubs and everyone singing along to Xmas songs and having a great time.”

    Good, there’s no need for frivolity even at Christmas….

    “Bar staff and management told us to leave because we were being to loud and noisy we were having a laugh we weren’t being rude or we were having a laugh. But we had to leave all because we were having a laugh”

    Reassuringly peaceful, I like it.

    “Not worth posting a review”

    I think that’s a review.

    Anyway, I digress enough. It seemed like a perfectly serviceable pub, although they rather abandoned the coffee machines, but in fairness I didn’t say anything to let them know. It was all clean, the team members were friendly, it was value for money and it wasn’t too loud. All really rather lovely.

  • Wetherspoons (Berkshire)

    Wetherspoons (Berkshire)

    I like visiting pubs in the Good Beer Guide, but I’m also trying to work through every pub in the JD Wetherspoon chain.

    Bracknell : Old Manor [I haven’t visited this one]

    Maidenhead : The Bear – 8/10 High Street, Maidenhead, SL6 1QJ

    Newbury : Hatchet [I haven’t visited this one]

    Reading : Back of Beyond – 104/108 King’s Road, Reading, RG1 3BY

    Reading : Hope Tap – 99/105 Friar Street, Reading RG1 1EP

    Slough : Moon & Spoon – 86/88 High Street, Slough SL1 1EL

    Windsor : King & Castle [I visited this one a very long time ago]

    They also used to operate the Baron Cadogan in Caversham, the Diamond Tap in Newbury, the Greyhound in Maidenhead, the Monks Retreat in Reading, Lloyds in Slough, Windlesora in Windsor [I visited this a very long time ago] and the Gig House in Wokingham [I visited this a very long time ago].

  • Reading – The Hope Tap (JD Wetherspoon)

    Reading – The Hope Tap (JD Wetherspoon)

    Hmmm, I appear to have been so distracted with other pubs that during my visits to Reading, I’ve only briefly popped into the two JD Wetherspoon venues in the town. And this is one of the only two photos that I have of the Hope Tap which I would have taken for Untappd.

    The chain say about the venue’s name:

    “The site of this pub was once occupied by the Hope Brewery which had its own pub, The Hope Tap. According to the earliest trade directory, 103–104 Friar Street were occupied by the brewery, but by 1860 the brewery had gone.”

    This map is from around 1900 and the Hope Tap is located just below the BM, with that inner courtyard now being part of the pub.

    I mentioned I had another photo and it is from my visit in September 2025. The two photos are nearly four years apart but are both of the same beer, the Titanic Plum Porter, which was just £2.28 a pint on my recent visit.

    Anyway, onto the reviews to amuse me, which are around average for the chain.

    “A nine year association with this once good pub is at an end. I have used £sterling over the nine years and a mix of English and Scottish bank notes without question. Tonight I handed over a Scottish £20 note, to have it returned with a stern warning, “although it states Sterling, we do not accept Scottish Bank Notes”, is this racism, it felt like it, I was person non grata. I politely refused to hand over Sterling in an acceptable format. Thank you, Hope Tap for the humiliation.”

    Racism because they have stopped accepting Scottish £20s in their English and Welsh pubs because of the amount of fraudulent notes in circulation?

    “Ordered food 10.59pm, kitchen closes at 11. Come to my work at 4.59 and we’ll honour that by allowing your vehicle into our workshop for whatever repair/maintenance required. Hope tap didn’t allow us to get our food, a man just came to our table and refused to make us the food ordered, and didn’t answer why, he just smiled and laughed. Pretty poor customer service. Use to love this place. Now I’ll just go hungry, or even better, pop to McDonald’s for a cheese burger, as they’ll always accept money for food no matter what time, or however late from closing time.”

    This reminds me that for a while they had a situation where some JD Wetherspoon pubs took food orders until 23:00 and also closed at 23:00 which felt like a sub-optimal arrangement. I personally wouldn’t dare order on the app at 22:59, but each to their own.

    “Ordered a Doom Bar and an IPA via the App, arrived at the table, and the kid said, “I don’t know which is which”, then turned to leave. I asked if he could take them back and re-pour them to know for sure, and he proceeded to return to the bar with them, wait 30 seconds at the end of the bar, then return with the same drinks pretending to know. I took them up to the bar, and after explaining to 2 highly confused staff, finally a bad tempered ‘manager’ came in and reluctantly proceeded to pour new drinks with quite an attitude. Par for the course, I guess.”

    I’ve had this and it’s not ideal, but I’m not sure I’d send them back as that would admit that I couldn’t tell the difference by taste. But, once again, each to their own. The attitude is understandable in my view….

    “i was out for the night with some girls on holiday from Denmark. when we got our drinks, we clinked our drinks together and said woohoo. the short bouncer was very aggressive and kicked us out without finishing, saying we were too loud”

    Good, there’s too much frivolity in pubs.

    “Organised trip to meet family on basis of Google including it as accepting dogs, but it didn’t.”

    How is that the pub’s fault?

    Anyway, enough of this excitement. They’ve usually got six real ales on and the prices are about the brand average, although that’s all towards the lower end of the scale.

    I’ve rarely lingered for long in here, it can get really quite busy and I prefer the vibe at Siren’s taproom over the road and there are a fair few interesting Good Beer Guide pubs around as well. But, I’ll likely pop back at some point and I might remember to take a couple of photos to surprise and delight my two loyal readers.