HOME | LAST 100 POSTS | CONTACT ME

Category: JD Wetherspoon

Gdansk Group Trip – Day 1 (The Overnight Wait)

As it was now nearly 03:00 we thought that we’d locate from the quietness of Stansted coach station to the rather more busy terminal. This is my first Ryanair flight in years and I’m already pre-annoyed about it, but to be fair it might surpass my expectations.

The barriers were removed and a stampede of excited passengers surged towards the security lines unable to control their excitement at entering the airside area of the airport.

I’ve never noticed this interesting military history which is rather hidden away but contains a list of the units which have been stationed at Stansted when it was a military airport.

The anticipation…… The whole process was efficient and we were through to the airside area by 03:15 with only a brief wait in the queue for security. The staff were enthusiastic and helpful, full credit to them given the early time of the day and the inevitable many hours before their shift ended.

After spending what seemed to be half an hour meandering around the compulsory trudge through duty free we reached what was, for now at least, the tranquility of the airside area.

There were tens of these USB chargers in the seats and I couldn’t find any that worked. Very sub-optimal as I watched numerous people trying each one in turn in the hope of being able to charge their devices. Given how airlines encourage passengers to use boarding passes on their phone, the airport do perhaps need to provide more working charging units.

Here was our plan (which I suspect was mostly my plan that Ross went along with), I spent £3.25 for three hours worth of unlimited hot drinks at the Windmill, the JD Wetherspoon outlet at the airport. More importantly there was a power point so that I could charge my devices to my heart’s content. Everything fully charged for the flight, that’s my nerves settled.

The history of the pub’s name and I remember the old JD Wetherspoon outlet at the airport, it was tiny in comparison to the cavernous pub they have now.

The pub’s interior and it’s located over two floors, with a windmill design in the centre. The service was helpful, immediate and polite, it was all stress-free which is just as I like it.

As my friends know, I’m easily pleased, and I was very excited and delighted to see the cold milk option for the first time. That will save me countless minutes over the course of the year, perhaps as many as twenty, getting the milk jug refilled.

Several coffees later, I was suitably refreshed and recharged. Ross didn’t go for such coffee extravagance, he only likes slightly posh soft drinks. Ross also had to try and avoid the friendly team member at the entrance to the pub who was in danger of making conversation with him, but that crisis was averted by Ross’s sneaking in and out. There’s quite a lot of frivolity at this pub before 5am which I suppose is understandable as it’s a primarily leisure airport, but I’m naturally grumpy in the morning (and indeed throughout most of the day) and it’s all a bit exciting for my liking.

We are now ready to depart for the gate and it’s evident how bored I am by how I’m now writing up the most tangential of things. But, Poland is getting ever closer, it’s light outside and all we have to do now is not miss our flight.

May 10, 2023
London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Central Bar

This is another of my posts trying to tidy up some of the Good Beer Guide listed pubs that I’ve visited but never written up. The downside is that I have very limited photos of them so this is hardly going to win any awards, but there we go, I’ve only got to cater to about two readers so that makes things easier.

The pub is operated by JD Wetherspoon, who opened it in 2002, and they have two other venues with the same name, the others are in Cardiff and Carrickfergus, but this one relates to the Central Line:

“This pub is on the first floor of the W12 Centre, opposite the Central Line underground station. The railway came to Shepherds Bush in May 1844, to close only a few months later. The first proper local service came with the opening of the Hammersmith and City Line, in 1864. The Central London Railway opened in 1900 and was renamed the Central Line in 1937.”

This was one of the cheap meals that were offered for many years, chicken wrap and chips, but the prices have gone up sharply over recent months.

Back to the venue, and once again apologies for the lack of photos of the interior, but the pub is located in a shopping centre and so it’s quite a generic and dull open plan set-up. For a JD Wetherspoon outlet it’s relatively badly reviewed, although I can’t say that I’ve had any particular problems here during my visits.

One customer has a photo of their food with a comment noting “Steak and pork loin cremated on my mixed grill with zero sympathy from the manageress” and he isn’t exaggerating, the photo shows food which shouldn’t have been served. On this point, there are two reviews of poor food where the customer has eaten nearly all of it and then taken a photo of the now nearly empty plate, I’m always humoured by the those reviews.

A few customers have complained that a QPR ticket is required to enter the venue when the team are playing at home, which is no doubt more for licensing issues but I can imagine it’s a little annoying for visitors who don’t think to check when the local team is playing. The pub serves alcohol from a later time in the morning when QPR are playing, which sounds very sensible to be fair.

“The management was kicking me out because me and my friend ate a burger that was not ordered by us “

I can understand where the management are coming from…..

“Asked for a classic 6oz beef burger with cheese and bacon no salad and the moron behind the bar somehow managed to hear “original gourmet beef burger” instead”

This from a customer who managed to order the wrong thing, didn’t notice they were charged more for the food, didn’t notice their receipt and calls the member of bar staff “a moron”….. I make no comment.

Anyway, I’ve once again digressed. At the time of writing, this venue has seven real ales which are priced between £1.71 and £2.96, very thrifty options there, including Oakham’s Citra and Elgood’s Patron Saint. Just on that selection of real ale and pricing, it’s no surprise that it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide.

April 30, 2023
London – Lewisham (Borough of) – Brockley Barge Pub

I haven’t visited the Brockley Barge recently, this is just something of a tidying up exercise to write a few riveting words about a pub that I’ve been to which is in the Good Beer Guide. It’s a JD Wetherspoon operated venue and they’ve been listed in the Good Beer Guide for several years now. The Wetherspoon history of the pub is quite brief, namely:

“The name of this pub recalls the barges which plied their trade on the Croydon Canal. Opened in 1809, the canal was replaced (in 1836) by the railway line, which was laid largely along the same course.”

A large chicken jalfrezi and I have to note that I’ve only got a few photos here, so excuse the lack of interior shots of the pub. The venue has been operated by JD Wetherspoons since 2000, it was the Breakspear Arms before that which had first opened as a licensed premises in 1868. It closed in 1994 after some turbulent years and was left with an uncertain future for six years until JD Wetherspoons reopened it.

As I have a lack of interior photos, here’s some fish and chips I had in the pub a few years back. The pub has always been busy when I’ve visited before, it’s not that substantial in terms of its size and it is clearly a popular venue within the local community. Incidentally, if I revisit I’ll actually take photos of the interior, rather than having to rely on old photos of food which I accept have rather limited excitement to my large readership of two people.

The reviews for the pub are generally positive but I had a little look through to see what excitement was going on.

“My friend who is heavily pregnant was in urgent need of the toilet. We knocked on the door a couple on minutes after closing to which they heard of her pregnancy and walked away. The manager then came and shouted at us through the window, as I told her by the law an establishment should let a pregnant woman in to use the toilet”.

I’m fairly sure it was never in the licensing rules for the pubs that I had which said it was the law to open up a closed pub to a pregnant customer to use the toilets…… Mind you, there’s a myth that pregnant women have the legal right to urinate in a policeman’s helmet on request, another falsehood that amazingly persists.

“They didn’t answer the phone when I called to wish them happy new year”

Hmmmmm. That’s as exciting as the reviews get to be fair…..

At the time of writing the pub is offering six real ales, priced between £1.71 and £2.78 per pint, including Sambrook’s Wandle Ale and Sambrook’s Nightshift Mild. A pub with a mild can’t be a bad thing. Although it’s important to mention micropubs and other independently run pubs, it seems to me a real positive that this venue has been saved by JD Wetherspoons as there would otherwise have been a realistic possibility that it would have become another outlet of Tesco Express.

April 30, 2023
Wombwell – The Horseshoe (JD Wetherspoon)

Just as a separate post as not to upset the flow of my beautiful prose (ahem) on the LDWA 100 posts. I’ll keep this post short to avoid any one of my flights of fancy.

This is the Horseshoe pub in Wombwell, which was built in the 1930s and more recently taken over by Wetherspoons. There was also a pub on this site before then, dating to around the early nineteenth century.

As an aside, Wombwell is a small town located not far from Barnsley, with coal mines once providing its wealth. Unfortunately, the good times seem to have faded somewhat and the town is need of some funds to restore some of their grander buildings. The local press are saying that this building may now be redeveloped, after ten years of mostly standing empty.

Arguably slightly underpoured, but this is the Gorlovka Imperial Stout from the nearby Acorn Brewery, very keenly priced at £1.20, especially given it’s 6% ABV. Well-kept and suitably delicious, no complaints from me about that.

It was busy on a Saturday afternoon and had something of a community feel, but the pub’s location means it’s unlikely to get too many visitors from outside of the area as I’m not sure that Wombwell is known for its tourist industry. It’s relatively well reviewed on-line for a JD Wetherspoon pub, with everything seemingly well managed. I did quite like the recent review of:

“Youth club. Full of bratty teenagers strutting around, thinking they own the place. Staff couldn’t care less. They congregate in the toilets. Going to the bar and sitting with free coffee refills for hours and on end. Obviously been dragged up. Zero manners. Why in earth the staff don’t throw them out is totally beyond me. If I was the manager they wouldn’t step one foot over the threshold. Spoilt the enjoyment of the evening (from a hard full time working adult).”

I’ve heard complaints of younger adults getting drunk in pubs and causing a nuisance, but not so frequently of youngsters binge drinking coffee and being annoying. I was quite disappointed to miss out on this extravaganza though as it wasn’t taking place when I was visited. It’s quite a large pub with one of the more modern interiors, it feels like they have the best maintained building in the area in terms of the exterior. It can’t have impressed enough local CAMRA members though, as it doesn’t feature in the Good Beer Guide.

June 24, 2022
King’s Lynn – Re-Opening the Globe

I’m conscious that there are many smaller independent pubs that are in need of support now, but my favourite ones were still closed and I wanted to pop in to see how JD Wetherspoons were managing with the re-opening of their outlets.

There’s a little welcome station with hand sanitiser and paper menus, along with a large sign telling customers what to do. I must admit I read the sign and forgot that I was meant to write down my name, which they didn’t make very clear and I’m easily confused at the best of times. It didn’t much matter as they took that information via the App when I ordered, but otherwise, it all looked organised.

There are protective barriers in the pub now and the self-service coffee machine has distance markers to keep people suitably distanced. I must admit, this is probably as much as they could have done, although some of the barriers weren’t ideally placed and people snuck between them and then brushed past other customers at tables. The best-laid plans of any pub are usually circumvented by some customers though….

I hadn’t expected the unlimited coffee to be back, but it’s all working as usual. I ordered via the app, which is the preferred method, and it was brought over soon enough. There’s a new policy where customers can’t re-use a mug and they have to get another one, and I never worked out the most efficient way of doing this and where to stand. The pub was well-staffed though, so my standing awkwardly seemed to work sufficiently well.

The pub was relatively busy in the afternoon and I suspect they’d have been better having someone at the door to explain what was going on, but it’s good that there is some vague notion of normality returning now to the pub sector.

July 7, 2020
JD Wetherspoon – 50p off CAMRA Vouchers

I’m glad I didn’t throw my 50p off CAMRA vouchers away now. Very lovely.

July 6, 2020
Wetherspoons – Greater London (A-B)

As I bored everyone with here, my travel has meant that I’ve managed to visit a lot of JD Wetherspoons over the years. So in an attempt to remember them all, I’ve decided to try and write about them. As explained elsewhere, other perfectly good pubs are also available and of course should be visited 🙂

There are 111 JD Wetherspoon outlets in Greater London, and I’m not typing all that up in one go. So here, for my own amusement during the Covid-19 situation, are those in towns which start with the letters A-B. So, entirely arbitrary really.

Figures: (which are more for me than to interest anyone else):

Number visited : 7/11

Favourite pub in list : Goodman’s Field

Acton (Red Lion and Pineapple) – I visited this one a few weeks ago, just before the lockdown, so this one is easy to link to. I very much like it, a quirky design and a real sense of history to it.

Aldgate (Goodman’s Field) – This pub is the easiest to get a seat in for those in the Tower of London area of the city and it has quite a cafe bar feel to it, as well as lots of power outlets. I’ve visited here plenty of times over the last decade and it’s got one of the more relaxed vibes to it and it’s well-reviewed on TripAdvisor for a Wetherspoons. Well, relatively. The pub name harks back to when the area was fields that were once owned by Roland Goodman.

Barking (Barking Dog) – I always thought that this pub name was just a wry word-play about it being located in Barking, but the actual reason according to Wetherspoons is:

“For centuries, fishing was Barking’s most important industry. Its fishermen fished the high seas off Doggerbank and the coast of Iceland. If you shorten ‘Doggerbank’ and join it to ‘Barking’, you end up with the name of this Wetherspoon pub.”

The reviews for the pub are again relatively high on TripAdvisor, although it’s a shame that the poster didn’t explain what the mistake was.

“What an awful customer service by Manager Kerry. it was meant to be the perfect Sunday where I would enjoy a meal and a drink. Not the case wrong choice. I paid around £15 for meal and drink and realised i made a mistake. Bad Customer service from a poorly trained duck.”

But referring to a female staff member as ‘duck’ like that is probably all I need to know. A chunk of the negative reviews of this pub have all been written by the same person, I’m not sure why anyone would rate somewhere as 1/5 and then keep going back before then leaving more 1/5 ratings…..

Anyway, the pub is hardly the prettiest from the outside, at the base of a bland and modern office block, but it’s convenient for the next door underground/railway station. The interior is relatively large and about as much character has been added in the design as is likely realistically possible in such a modern building.

Barkingside (New Fairlop Oak) – Never been here….

Battersea (Asparagus) – This memorable pub name refers back to when in the nineteenth century the area around where the pub now stands was used for growing asparagus, which became known as Battersea bundles. It’s, I think, the only pub in the country with this name, and there’s something to be said for finding a unique and memorable name. The pub opened in 1998 as part of a new commercial building, but it’s not too garish and there is a beer garden out the back for those who like wasps.

Bexleyheath (Furze Wren) – Never been here….

Bexleyheath (Wrong ‘Un) – It was a nuisance to get to Bexleyheath when I lived north of the river in the east end of London, the lack of underground meant connecting to North Greenwich (which was already a DLR journey and an underground journey from where I was) and then getting a bus which seemed to take hours. And probably did. So, I’ve only been here once and I never made it to the other Wetherspoons in Bexleyheath.

And, since my sole visit was seven years ago, I’ve mostly forgotten everything about the pub. Which is why I now write the blog primarily, to remind myself of where I’ve accidentally gone before I forget. The pub name is a bit tenuous, it’s apparently because cricket was once played in the area and a Wrong ‘Un is a difficult delivery to play for the batsman.

I like the TripAdvisor review exchange with a customer complaining that he had been told to drink up five minutes before the pub closed, which to me isn’t an unreasonable request, but there we go. The review then accuses the manager of the below.

“The manager came out and his name is terry fitzgerald. I explained to him what happen and he reply qas well you are in England you should speak English. How dare they even suggest such a thing. The was more than willing to take our money over the bar.”

But, I like very much that the manager himself has replied:

“I take great issue with your comments as this incident did not happen, I lived in Spain and Portugal for a total of fifteen years and have great memories of the countries and the people I would not say anything so ridiculous and there is no proof from our head office that you complained to them. I do not what issues you might have but if you are going to review please tell the truth. Terry Fitzgerald ( and I am sorry for the late reply)”

Each person can decide who they believe, but I know who I’m with here…. Anyway, I digress again.

Another customer complained that they had been spoken to because they kept complaining about the food, and I do wonder why people keep going to pubs if they do keep complaining about the food. And another customer who complained about a staff member’s behaviour and demanded an apology, but the customer didn’t mention themselves that they had been filming him with a phone.

I must return to this pub, I like moderate drama like this, keeps things interesting.

Brixton (Beehive) – I’ve been here three times and it’s the only Wetherspoons I’ve felt unsafe in, given that there were fights on two of those visits (not involving me) and on the third a huge argument between an aggressive staff member and a customer. The toilets were on all three visits beyond unclean, the staff had entirely clearly given up. It’s the only Wetherspoons I’ve been to as well where there were “customers only – no public use” signs on the toilets, although by the time someone has gone in and reached the toilets I can’t imagine this sign would put them off. Having written that, I haven’t gone back in years and a few reviews have mentioned new security processes, so perhaps it’s a lot better now. It is quite a small Wetherspoons though, so given its central location in Brixton and cheap prices, it gets busy quickly. Or did when I last visited.

Brockley (Brockley Barge) – The pub name here is a good one, it’s a reminder that the Croydon Canal used to pass near to where the pub stands today, although a railway line has now been laid along much of the canal’s former route. I much prefer this new pub name to the Breakspear Arms, which was the pub’s previous name, and JD Wetherspoon re-opened this location in 2000 after a few years of closure. The closure was probably inevitably as media reports noted that the pub had established itself as somewhere with a poor reputation, so it’s entirely to JD Wetherspoon’s credit that they’ve managed to turn this place around.

The interior is homely, although not particularly notable, but the atmosphere is welcoming, even though the pub has been busy in the early evening on the times that I’ve visited. Perfectly decent pub though, the staff here have always been friendly when I’ve been in as well.

Bromley (Greyhound) – Never been here….

Bromley (Richmal Crompton) – Never been here….

May 14, 2020
Wetherspoons – Hertfordshire

As I bored everyone with here, my travel has meant that I’ve managed to visit a lot of JD Wetherspoons over the years. So in an attempt to remember them all, I’ve decided to try and write about them. As explained elsewhere, other perfectly good pubs are also available and of course should be visited 🙂

There are nineteen JD Wetherspoon outlets in Hertfordshire, and two which have closed. I’ve visited four of the nineteen open pubs and neither of the closed two. So, a really half-arsed effort so far for Hertfordshire….

Figures: (which are more for me than to interest anyone else):

Number visited : 4/19 (open pubs) 0/2 (closed pubs)

Favourite pub in county : Moon and Cross

Admiral Byng (Potters Bar) – Not visited

Angel Vaults (Hitchin) – Not visited

Colombia Press (Watford) – Not visited

[Closed] Cross Keys (St. Albans) – Not visited, but it was originally opened by the company in 2006. The pub was sold by Wetherspoons in 2012, when it became a little surplus to requirements following the opening of the Waterend Barn. The building is now a Bill’s Restaurant.

Crown (Berkhamsted) – Not visited

Full House (Hemel Hempstead) – Not visited

Harpsfield Hall (Hitchin) – Not visited

Hart & Spool (Borehamwood) – Not visited

King James (Cheshunt) – I’ve visited here recently, so just as easy to point to my blog post about the pub.

Manor House (Royston) – Not visited

Moon and Cross (Waltham Cross) – I’ve visited here recently, so here’s the blog post.

Moon Under Water (Watford) – Not visited

Pennsylvanian (Rickmansworth) – William Penn lived nearby to where this pub now stands, and he was the founder of Pennsylvania, which is one of my favourite states in the US. I was mildly disappointed when the company said earlier in 2019 that this was one of the pubs that they were selling, although it still appears to be part of the chain at the moment.

Looking at Wetherspoons, I was pleased to note this review, “Was asked to either tone down my baby grandson who was being a bit vocal at the time or leave”. I’m one of those people who is very understanding of children making noise (well, sort of), but continuing to be a “bit vocal” isn’t very fair on neighbouring tables…. And another customer rushed to leave a 1/5 review, despite apparently walking out, complaining that the “short, dumpy female” serving hadn’t served her in turn. The pub is perhaps lucky if a customer with that willingness to mock staff has gone elsewhere….

It’s been a few years since I’ve visited this pub, but I liked it, although it seems that it is probably in need a refurbishment now, although if Wetherspoons do keep it, perhaps that will take place.

Port Jackson (Bishop’s Stortford) – Not visited

Six Templars (Hertford) – Not visited

Standard Bearer (Stevenage) – Not visited

Standing Order (Stevenage) – Not visited

Star (Hoddesdon) – Not visited

Three Magnets (Letchworth) – Not visited

Waterend Barn (St. Albans) – This is quite literally a barn of a place, with plenty of seating space across what is actually two former barns, one from the sixteenth century and the other from the seventeenth century. The interior is modern, albeit within an historic setting, and it’s a spacious and comfortable environment. Judging from the reviews, the standards here appear to be relatively high, although there are always some exceptions to the positivity…..

“Was having a byl of wine on Sunday, got told I have to finish it outside and then while still drinking have asked to use a toilet. Security guy advised me that it’s only ladies allowed to use it and guys can go round the corner and sort it out outside?”

The pub didn’t deny that this took place, so I’m with the customer, that’s not great….

“There was a lady on a table opposite who was awfully loud, and she felt it necessary to broadcast to half of the pub that she needed to use the toilet, and then called over to me and my family to watch her drink so that she could go out for a smoke, which I thought was pretty rude”

I’m not sure that it’s rude to ask someone to look after your drink, but each to their own…. I like characters like in the pub though, the awfully loud ones can often be quite entertaining when they’re doing their broadcasting.

“The bar has a one drink minimum rule per person after waiting half an hour to get anything.”

I’m not sure I understood this review, surely every bar has a one drink minimum rule per person? Otherwise it’d just be going over there for a chat with the bar staff.

[Closed] Wetherspoons (South Oxhey) – Not visited and not one of the most interesting names for a pub that JD Wetherspoon could have picked….

December 20, 2019
Wetherspoons – Cambridgeshire

As I bored everyone with here, my travel has meant that I’ve managed to visit a lot of JD Wetherspoons over the years. So in an attempt to remember them all, I’ve decided to try and write about them. As explained elsewhere, other perfectly good pubs are also available and of course should be visited 🙂

There are nine JD Wetherspoon outlets in Cambridgeshire, and one which has closed. I’ve visited seven of the nine open pubs and the only closed one.

Figures: (which are more for me than to interest anyone else):

Number visited : 7/9 (open pubs) 1/1 (closed pubs)

Favourite pub in county : Sandford House

College Arms (Peterborough) – The older looking red-brick section of this pub was formerly the County Technology College, hence the name of College Arms. Wetherspoons opened the building as a pub in 1996, making it one of the earlier pubs which the chain opened outside of London. I’ve encountered some of the friendliest of Wetherspoon’s staff in this pub and the environment is comfortable, with a usually quiet small upstairs section.

Although I like the pub, the reviews aren’t particularly positive and they’ve suffered from the same debacle of poor quality 2019 Christmas meals that is littering the reviews of Wetherspoons across the country…. Not least:

“Went to the Collage Arms today for a Christmas lunch ,the meal was very poor quality, they forgot to put the pigs in blankets and peas on the plate and had to take the meal away to add the forgotten items. The roasted seasonal veg were clearly reheated in the very thick salty gravy and not like roasted veg and hidden under the very processed Turkey roll, mashed potatoes had clearly been over microwaved and the pigs in blankets cremated in a deep fat fryer.”

What completely surprises me is that there’s also a positive review of the same meal, so at least someone is happy with it somewhere in the country….

This review of the pub though seems just a little harsh….

“Smells of death and sick. Smells of men’s broken dreams drowning in tequila and death, with a side of sick. Gone to turtle bay.”

Draper’s Arms (Peterborough) – I can’t wait to come back here for another exciting night of quizzing…. What I hadn’t realised on my visit a few weeks ago is that the pub was about to close until February 2020 for a £1.4 million refurbishment which will increase the space available to customers by moving the beer cellar into, well, a cellar rather than being on the ground floor and adding a rear extension. There’s also going to be a new roof terrace garden and hopefully they’ll fix up the toilets which are currently too small and just a little rickety and worn. CAMRA report that this was the first pub in Peterborough to go smoking-free, all the way back when Wetherspoons took it over in 2005, and after it was a drapery (hence the pub name) it became the Old Monk pub in 1996.

George Hotel (Whittlesey) – It’s a while since I’ve been to the fine town of Whittlesey, it dates back to the late seventeenth century when it was named the George & Star. Formerly a hotel, although no longer, it’s a large venue with plenty of space.

I’ve heard this complaint a few times over the years:

“I don’t understand how I can have fried egg but i cannot have poached egg?? He said we have run out??? Do you realise how easy it is to make one?”

I don’t dislike that Wetherspoons bring in poached eggs which are just reheated, at least it leads to them nearly always looking the same and being appropriately cooked.

Anyway, that’s about as far as I can go about the George, primarily since it’s so long ago that I’ve visited, I can’t remember much about it…

Hippodrome (March) – I recognise that Wetherspoons is, by its nature, a generic chain in some ways, but they have a real ability to transform buildings and this is no exception. Formerly a cinema which opened in 1929 and could seat 900 people, it later became a bingo hall before finally closing in 2009. Wetherspoons reopened it in 2011 and also turned part of it into a hotel, with the whole refurbishment being sympathetic to the building itself. It’s a very well reviewed pub and I remember it being clean and organised, with particularly engaging staff.

I like reviews like the one below, as often this is my sort of pub….

“Shame they haven’t got a music license as it can become abit boring and the atmosphere in there well is rubbish!”

This is the entirety of a 1 out of 5 review, I hope it made more sense to the pub…

“Thursday curry John chicken balti Michael lamb durriage it cold we had 2 sweets its cold custery cold. i stroke sorry”

Regal (Cambridge) – This was apparently once the largest pub in UK, although I’ve never been entirely convinced by that, although it’s a bit irrelevant now the Wetherspoons in Ramsgate has opened. It’s spacious, although it’s still not always that easy to find a seat in. There are two bars which makes things easier, although I keep forgetting that the upper bar is there and stand like an idiot waiting at the lower bar.

Anyway, onto TripAdvisor:

“My partner and I went to one of the bodyguards to ask where we can leave our jackets to which he impolitely answered ‘no where’. My partner then answered that it’s crazy they don’t have a clock room open in such a big place so we were kicked out of the bar.”

I like the idea of Wetherspoons supplying bodyguards, and I’m also intrigued as to whether any of their outlets in the country has a cloakroom…

And, the review below probably has a really interesting back story, shame the pub didn’t reply to the customer’s comments as I like reading about dramas such as this.

“Was sitting with a good friend of mine, enjoying our time, some food and all, at one point the friend goes to toilet. Upon coming out the toilet he is met by Theo, a Duty Manager who accuses my friend of doing ‘naughty things’ in the toilet and that he needs to leave. Keep in mind that the friend is smartly dressed, and a lecturer at one of the universities here, in his 30s. Very rudely tells me to ‘shut up’, and tells us that someone reported he’s been doing… ‘cockaine’! Friend offered to be searched by said Theo, upon inspection finding NOTHIN”

Given the number of students in Cambridge, I’m surprised there aren’t once again two Wetherspoons in the city, but maybe in the future…..

Sandford House (Huntingdon) – This is my favourite pub in the county and is another really well converted building, half from a former chapel and the other half from solicitor’s officers, with a new connecting area between them. A combination of modern design with old buildings, it’s open and bright with plenty of space for customers. There’s also a hotel element to the operation and it has a more relaxed feel than some other pubs, with the manager saying on one review that “Since opening, no one has ever failed to find a table”.

I also like the pub’s review to one customer and their side of the argument seems more likely to me….

“On looking into this matter, I can say there are always two sides to a conversation. Our managers and staff always try to give perfect customer service. You may not always like the outcome but we all follow our company policies.”

Swan & Angels (St. Ives) – Never been here…..

[Closed] Tivoli (Cambridge) – This pub, formerly the Graduate, was once a cinema which was open from 1925 until 1956, before being used as a warehouse. It was turned into a pub in 1995, the Fresher & Firkin (what a horrible name) before Wetherspoons transformed it into one of their outlets in 2010 at a cost of over £1 million. Then a little incident happened and the damn thing burned down in March 2015, less than five years after it opened. And, it has never re-opened since. Wetherspoons have now sold the still fire damaged pub and plans were submitted in early 2019 to open it as a student orientated pub with crazy golf. A shame that it hasn’t survived as a Wetherspoons, but hopefully the new owners will ensure what is left of the art deco design can be maintained.

Weeping Ash (St. Neots) – Never been here…..

Wheatsheaf (Wisbech) – Not the most visually appealing either internally or externally, but entirely acceptable in terms of the food and drink. Since I’ve written about this pub recently, I’ll just link to that page 🙂

December 12, 2019
Wetherspoons – Suffolk

As I bored everyone with here, my travel has meant that I’ve managed to visit a lot of JD Wetherspoons over the years. So in an attempt to remember them all, I’ve decided to try and write about them. As explained elsewhere, other perfectly good pubs are also available and of course should be visited 🙂

There are eight JD Wetherspoon outlets in Suffolk, and another three which have closed. I’ve visited seven of the eight open pubs and two of the closed three.

Figures: (which are more for me than to interest anyone else):

Number visited : 7/8 (open pubs) 2/3 (closed pubs)

Favourite pub in county : Willow Tree

Corn Exchange (Bury St. Edmunds) – Located on the top floor of the town’s corn exchange building which opened in 1862. There was a burst of these openings in the 1850s and 1860s following the change in the Corn Laws, but most started to fall out of use by the late nineteenth century, although many of the buildings have survived. The building was split into two floors in 1969 and it opened as a JD Wetherspoons in 2012, despite some ridiculous plans in the 1960s to entirely demolish the structure.

Incidentally, Wetherspoons have a minor issue with customers using the app to buy things for people at other tables, which is a potential nuisance if a table ends up with 13 pots of peas. Unfortunately, they’ve also had an incident where someone sent a customer a banana, which raised all sort of race-related issues for the company. Anyway, this review is where the pub thought something was a joke and wasn’t….

“Ordered a banana waited 45 mins went up to the bar for the staff member to tell me they didn’t bother bringing it because it’s normally a joke. Awful attitude why have it on the menu if you won’t bother bringing it.”

Cricketers (Ipswich) – This large pub has been a Wetherspoons for some time, a 1930s building formerly known as the Town House and Millars (or at least according to CAMRA that’s what it was called, I’ve known it as the Cricketers since I first went there in 2004).

It’s quite a vibrant pub, although I note a complaint was made on TripAdvisor by a customer who was with her children and was asked to leave in the evening because that’s a requirement of the pub’s licence. The woman then went to take photos of staff at the bar, which she admitted doing, although this seems like erratic behaviour for someone out with their children. Anyway, the pub responded and added “you have since returned on Saturday 22nd June 2019 at around 10am where you physically assaulted on our shift managers by throwing a glass in his face”. I feel more than sorry for the poor staff involved in this, I hope the police took action.

Although I’m also surprised that the pub charges for extra gravy at 75p, I’ve never encountered that at any Wetherspoons, although I’m sure it happens frequently as I don’t tend to go about asking for extra gravy that often.

Drabbet Smock (Haverhill) – This pub has more of a cafe bar feel, comfortable although perhaps a little soulless, although that’s perhaps primarily as it’s a conversion from a former butcher’s shop and shopping unit rather than a grand historic building. And a Drabbet Smock is a form of clothing which was made locally, a pub name that I rather like.

I love this review on TripAdvisor, primarily as there’s a photo of the broom which has been thrown down.

“I cannot believe it, now having dinner and the rude staff literally just cleaned the floor and the table next to us and without any hesitation just threw his broom down next to us and walked outside for a social without hatting an eyelid, blocked my passage of getting up and left all the stuff there, im disgusted and outraged and not an apology in sight.”

[Closed] Golden Lion (Ipswich) – I only went in here once, in around late 2004, with my memory of the pub being very hazy. This was one of the Wetherspoon outlets that was closed down, perhaps because it was just a little small to be viable (I say small, I can’t remember quite how big it was, but I always got the impression it was small), despite a handy central location in the town. Last time I walked by, the building was closed and no-one has yet to take it over, a shame as I’m sure it could work well in some sort of slightly large micro-pub (I accept that’s not actually a thing though) type arrangement. I have no recollection of note about the interior, but there’s been a hotel at this site since the sixteenth century, when it was originally known as the White Lion.

Golden Lion (Newmarket) – Popular with those working in the racing industry, or at least there always seem to be horse related conversation every time that I’ve been in, this is a slightly smaller Wetherspoons, albeit with a large pub garden. It was once the Golden Lion Hotel, and there was an ad in the Sporting Life on 3 February 1900 when the entire premises were up for sale. The advert read:

“An exceptional opportunity to purchase this old-established hotel public, which is in the market for a short time only, owing to a leading firm of brewers having purchased the same, and only wanting the beer trade, which is comparatively small to the large and very profitable wine and spirit trade that is done. As is well known, it is one of the leading hotels in this flourishing town, with a billiard room, and accommodates some of the leading sporting and other gentlemen and trainers, also having very extensive stabling, which are always readily to let to them. The property is leasehold and requires a cash of around £3,000.”

And, a little pop over onto TripAdvisor amused me (I’m so easily pleased it’s untrue):

“I waited 10 minutes overall to hopefully buy 2 coffees. By this time my husband who had been watching this unfold signalled to me to go back to our table and said ‘Look I need to speak to the manager as the staff are not serving properly or fairly. On returning to our table he was horrified as when he spoke to the ‘manager’ to say the service was unacceptable the manager rudely said ‘Oh all right. Goodbye then‘. Not the thing to say to a customer.”

I’ve long since muttered privately to myself, and indeed posted on this blog to the two people that read it, about slow service, but I’m not sure I’ve ever got a manager and told them that it’s unfair. Anyway, I was amused that the pub replied and said they were sorry and that it was actually a customer who said “goodbye then” and not a staff member…..

Grover & Allen (Sudbury) – I actually thought that I’d been here, but it transpired that I had muddled it up with the Haverhill pub. So, at some stage in 2020 I might manage to make my way here….

Joseph Conrad (Lowestoft) – Situated opposite the town’s main railway station, this always seems to be one of the cleanest Wetherspoons, although no doubt it has its moments as well. Named after the Polish/British author, I’ve heard a few people accidentally call this pub the “Heart of Darkness”, which is one of Conrad’s books. The pub also seems to fare better in terms of reviews than some of their other outlets manage, perhaps they just have a competent manager, unless the people of Lowestoft aren’t very demanding.

Although, to be fair, this customer wasn’t pleased on TripAdvisor….

“went in for a couple of beers and was told by a staff member what do you want customer service gone out of the window will not go back”

A staff member asking a customer what do they want doesn’t strike me as worthy of a 1 out of 5, but there we go. And another review is titled “Homophobe and Chips” and I’m sure there’s some likely quite exciting back story to this:

“A recent visit with family brought a surprising appearance in the shape of the duty manager.His purpose to inform me i was on their most wanted list of banned customers !The reason? I am allegedly a homophobic. I duly asked for the police to attend, because it was a false accusation.”

And another customer complained about a manager not committed to customer satisfaction. The pub’s reply tells me all that I really need to know.

“After our discussion I am very sorry that you disagree with our policy on drinking responsibility however as I said the staff are only doing their job and trying to ensure the safety of yourself and other customers.”

King’s Head (Beccles) – I remember this pub from before it was a JD Wetherspoons, and it was a much less interesting affair then that did have a tired feel. The pub has several hotel rooms above it, although there’s a limited space for customers for dining and drinking, so finding a table can be difficult at times, although I think that an extension was completed in 2019 to provide more space. The pub appears to me, if I may generalise in such a manner, to have a much more middle class customer base than some of the other pubs in the chain and it’s also in one of the higher price bands for food and drink.

My favourite TripAdvisor review for this pub was a customer who was livid as they had found grass in their meal and claimed that the pub had tampered with their food as they had complained about their meal.

“My Daughter found some grass, actual grass with little roots, in her salad, I have attached a picture taken of the said grass. Never before have I experienced anything quite like this.”

The pub were polite in their response, but it really doesn’t look like grass to me, it looks like mixed leaves. But, the photo is on TripAdvisor for those who want to make their own minds up about whether a staff member rushed outside to find some grass to chuck in a meal.

[Closed] Robert Ransome (Ipswich) – For a time this was the third Wetherspoons in Ipswich, although they’re back down to one as this and the Golden Lion both closed. This was a Yates before 2009 and they took it back in 2017, but it always seemed a strange purchase to me as Wetherspoons have the Cricketers located opposite, although I assume they wanted to operate this as more of a student venue. The building was once a carpet shop and it seemed to be quieter than the Cricketers when Wetherspoons operated it, which is perhaps why they closed it. But, I’m sure Ipswich could do with another outlet of Wetherspoons though, just one seems a little low at a time when the chain is looking to expand again.

Willow Tree (Stowmarket) – Although this is probably my favourite of the chain’s pubs in the county, it’s also the one that I’ve seen the most arguments and the most abuse to staff in. And they’ve had flooding issues when it rained on two occasions when I visited, but otherwise it’s a cheap and cheerful location which is spacious and is rarely as rammed as some other pubs.

The pub opened in 2012 and the building is entirely new, with the former offices that were on the site having been demolished in 2008. Just as Lowestoft and Beccles seem to be well reviewed on TripAdvisor and similar sites, the Stowmarket pub seems to be struggling in comparison, although maybe their locals have higher expectations.

And, on the matter of TripAdvisor, this lovely customer gave 1 out of 5 and wrote:

“Only me at bar 16.00 on Friday… No staff, then one appear to say having a drink because allowed. Dont argue that, but these ignorant specimens need to remember who pays there salary. On that, it will be a long time before I set foot in this worst managed WS in the country.”

The pub had a look at the CCTV and reported that the customer actually waited only 53 seconds. Unforgivable….

[Closed] Wolf (Bury St. Edmunds) – This was one of the earliest Wetherspoons outside the capital, but it had a relatively short life span as it only operated from 1996 until 1998. I had always assumed that it closed as the company opened the Corn Exchange, but it seems that there was a bit of a gap between the two events. The building has been used for various purposes since Wetherspoons left, but it re-opened in early 2019 as the craft beer bar, Tavern at St. John’s.

December 12, 2019