To find a pub in London offering the inexpensive service that Wetherspoons does is priceless. Being a student in London I find money scarce and Wetherspoons’ one price all over the country policy is a very, very good thing. I started writing this opinion about a week ago and was wholly expecting to go on in the same mould as these first few words, however things have slightly changed (I do mean slightly, I still love the place).
I will start as I meant to start last week and then move onto the happenings since.
>The Pubs I have visited five separate Wetherspoons so I guess I cannot say that I am an expert on the subject but I am very choosy about my food and am quite hard to impress on this subject. These pubs were in Norwich, London (three) and Ipswich; they are often in the traditional style but sometimes incorporate modern elegance, on the whole they are well presented but not exactly great looking places.
>The Meals Wetherspoons often provide me with my essential Sunday afternoon meal when I should really be studying soil mechanics (as interesting as it sounds). The food is (usually) top notch and I often go for the fish and chips. On offer is a very good range of meals catering for just about every taste. The specials offers on the menu are exceptional value, these come in the form of the very popular ‘beer and burger’ meal and the perhaps just as popular ‘2-for-£6’ meals. The ‘beer and burger’ meal is self explanatory and the ‘2-for-£6’ meals can be chosen from the likes of traditional fish and chips, vege lasagne, country pie, chilli-con-carne and more; all of which come in generous quantities. Other than this there are several scrumptious starters, some magnificent main meals including the mouth-watering 18oz mixed grill and delicious desserts.
>The Drinks A very good selection with most of the usual suspects: Fosters, John Smiths, Guinness, Budweiser, Bacardi Breezer, Smirnoff Ice, etc. All of which are sold at extremely good prices, especially for London, at around £1.50 a pint for the likes of Fosters and John Smiths. They also hold 99p nights every Friday.
>The Service You must hunt down a menu before ordering meals at the bar, giving your table number (be sure to have this information ready as I have seen people treated like imbeciles if they didn’t know) and the meal is then brought to your table. Condiments are usually provided on a self service table, avoiding the common ailment of ‘crusted tomato ketchup bottle’ and giving all desperate students the chance of re-stocking (wasn’t me guv). Tables are tended to relatively frequently but there can be exceptions...
This leads me on to mention that I had one bad experience yesterday in which I was very disappointed with the service. Admittedly it was quite a busy time, but the food I received was not up to the standard I expected from Wetherspoons and the attitude of the staff when I complained was equally poor. They made up for it a little by being very apologetic later, although they did not offer any way of compensation and I was just left with the feeling of having my sacred Sunday lunch tainted.
As I mentioned, this was a one off and it doesn’t spoil my appreciation of Wetherspoons a great deal. On the whole it is a thoroughly recommendable place to both eat lunch and to have a cheap drink. The service is as you would expect for a place giving you value but the quality of food surpasses its cost.
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Excellent review, 1st time I've seen your work but will certainly make a point of checking other reviews out.
kimborob 14.02.2001 16:17
Good op, I started a Civil Engineering degree about 13 years ago but only lasted 1 year - the pub got the better of me (student days, I'm cured now!!)
jameshale 13.02.2001 13:31
Tracey(moose)...i usually visit the bell but this weekend i tried out the 'city gate' which is slightly less crowded due to its enormous size (we're talking ex cinema here) and service is a lot better. A bit out of the way (for me anyway) though. Thanks for your comment (and everybody else's). James.
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Feb 5th, 2001
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