The Regal, Cambridge

At only a hundred metres down the road from my Cambridge college, the Regal (a JD Wetherspoons pub) would seem to be the ideal place to go to grab a drink or a bite to eat of an evening. But, as with all pubs, this place has its advantages and disadvantages. Read on......

As mentioned in the title, the Regal is one of, if not the biggest pub in Europe, with a capacity of around 1,300 people. Formerly part of the Arts Cinema, the decor is in line with this theme, and gives the pub a personality, of sorts. Most of the decor is, however, aimed at the vast quantity of tourists who pass through Cambridge, offering memorabilia of the events of Cambridge throughout its history.

The pub itself is both spacious and comfortable, except on Friday and Saturday nights, when bouncers hover round the doors to throw out any under-age drinkers. There is usually no trouble in the pub itself - the only problem I have seen is drinkers getting a little rowdy after some of England's World Cup football matches, but these people were easily dealt with.

The pub serves a wide range of beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. There are around 8 varieties of beer and lager regularly on tap, along with three or four guest beers, from a variety of breweries. The thing I like about these guest beers is that the staff at the Regal allow you to taste them before you buy them - something which I have not seen in many pubs.

The drinks are also very cheaply priced, with alcopops starting at around £1.10, and pints of lager at about £2. There are promotions on spirits, where if you buy one shot, you can make it a double for just 50p extra.

The main reason, however, that I usually go to this pub is for the food. The menu is the same as all other Wetherspoons menus - offering sandwiches and jacket potatoes as well as light snacks, for example, nachos, potato skins, etc, and main meals and desserts. You can buy two main meals for £6 from a special selection, which is useful if going in a large group, as long as people want to eat something from this list! The portions are large and usually fairly well-presented, and taste great! One of my favourites has to be the gammon steak, which is served with either pineapple or egg, along with chips, peas and onion rings, for around £5, and is always cooked to perfection.

The only problem with food is due to the size of the pub - if eating at a busy time, food can often take up to an hour to arrive at your table, so it is not ideal if you want a quick meal.

The pub also houses a range of fruit machines and video games, including a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire quiz machine, on which we often waste a lot of money!

Toilet facilities are also good, the women's toilets containing a large number of cubicles, washbasins and hand-dryers, as well as several decently sized mirrors for reapplying make-up!

Overall, I would rate this pub as fairly good. If the Regal had a music license, if it didn't get so overcrowded, and if food delivery times were shorter, it would rate higher, but I am still happy to frequent the pub - after all, the food is good, the drink is good, and it is a great place to socialise!