......and I said, "He won't be trying THAT again in a long time"......
......and I said, "He won't be trying THAT again in a long time"......
Member since:10.04.2004
Reviews:69
Members who trust:35
Wetherspoons, home of the cheap beer and two main meals for £5.99 deal. If you haven't been to a Spoonies or Lloyds bar where have you been?! Mind you, it could just be that you go to classier joints than me, so let's just leave it at that.
There are several branches across Manchester, I have based my review on the Lloyds no. 1 bar, a branch of Wetherspoons in the Printworks.
On walking in it has a very modern, casual atmosphere, The music is loud enough to be heard clearly, but not so intrusive that you can't have a decent conversation. As you would expect, it's a mix of different modern music from R 'n' B to Indie to pop. It has a modern 'wine bar' type of atmosphere, which generally attracts all ages and types of people, from your lunch hour workers, to families, to your all-day drinkers.
There are plenty of tables, with more upstairs. So me and my sister sit in the corner, away from the screaming kiddies running riot while the parents are quite unconcerned, playing on the fruitie. Finding that the table isn't very clean and has drink spilled on it, we move to another which appears to be cleaner but still nonetheless uncleaned after the last
diners.
We take a look at the menu which is covered in what appears to be brown sauce (I can only hope!) and there seems to be quite a selection. You can choose from starters such as nachos, bruchettas with tomato and mozzerella (posh toasted bread!), or a selection of paninis; or main meals like steak, burger meals, pasta and sausage and mash. There are a few vegetarian options too - mushroom dopiaza, chilli, cheese tart and pasta. The prices for a main meal are on average between £5-£6 , although there are some deals to be had such as the two for £5.99 on certain main meals, and free drinks with others. Please be aware though that prices and menu selections vary slightly from branch to branch, and that some deals (such as the curry night) are only available certain nights of the week.) This branch is in the 'posh' (I use that term very loosely here) Printworks so is quite reasonable.
My sister picked the Cheese tartlet and I picked the mushroom dopiaza. To drink we both opt for the non-alcoholic Koppaberg pear cider. Off I go to the bar, luckily it's quiet, there is no-one else waiting. That doesn't stop the four members of staff that were hanging around talking doing a vanishing act to the back room. After a couple of minutes two venture back out, I give my order only to be told they have no cheese tarts. Normally I would just think 'Ah well, it happens.' But everytime I go there they are out of something or other. In fact it's at the stage where we have a second choice when we go there now, just in case.
My sister picks something else and when it comes to the cider 'No we haven't got any' the barman says. 'Yes, we have downstairs' says the other, at which point the first one shoots him a look. In other words he couldn't be arsed going downstairs for some.
Anyway, with the meal paid for off I go. It arrived in about ten minutes which was what they told me it would take, so they are pretty quick there.
The meal itself was lovely, my curry included two poppadoms, a naan bread, yellow basmati rice, and the dopiaza in a separate dish. There was also a little pot of mango chutney. It was quite a large portion for the money, and all the extras were included in the price. My sister enjoyed her meal too, having opted instead for the penne marguerita which comes with garlic bread or a salad. (She chose salad.) Her portion looked a decent size too, and she was also happy with her meal.
All in all it cost us around £14 Which is very reasonable, and for this reason I have returned there several times. However I have found that on several occasions that the tables are unclean, and in fact this seems to be the case right across the chain. Staff seem to stand around doing sod all, and they are out of stock in many items - even being told one day that they no vegetables at all for the Sunday roast, which I find a bit ridiculous, really, seeing as we were there early afternoon before the busy period. I mean it's not as if it could catch them unawares, Sunday comes round every week regular as clockwork. On other occasions we are told there was no sour cream for the nachos, I overheard them telling a gentleman that they had no red sauce for his dinner. To be honest this is very poor for a large chain, surely they do stocktakes or something? What would it have taken for them to go and buy some red sauce from the shop? Since that day they have been 'out of stock' of non-alcoholic Kopparberg in either, despite it still being on the menu, and despite the fact other branches seem to have some in.
The toilets are upstairs with disabled acces via a lift, but please be aware that everyone can see your skiddies while you are going up and down the stairs if you are wearing a short skirt!
The toilets are usually very clean, in fact a lot cleaner than the tables probably. But I find myself having to enter several cubicles before finding one with paper.
Imagine my shock when walking past there the other day I saw a notice that stated it was £2 to get in there after eight o'clock on weekends! What a swiz! At the end of the day it's a Wetherspoons pub and still attracts your pound-a-pint-punters despite its posher location. £2! I couldn't believe it!
All in all, if you don't mind sticky tables, and haven't got your heart set on one particular meal it's worth a visit because it's cheap and cheerful, and handy for town. I do feel that it's a bit slack that they can't give the tables a wipe as they clear the plates, it boils down to laziness really. The fact they are continually out of various items - a problem with suppliers, or poor management either at bar level or regional? Well, I can't decide but it's not a new pub finding it's feet, a small family business, neither are these occasions one-offs, so I can't really find any excuse.
With regards to a night out there, the beer is famously cheap at Wetherspoons so if you plan to stay there all night then it's worth paying the £2, after all you save on drinks. If it's just a pit stop however, go there early to avoid paying.
Although as I said earlier we used to go there regularly, we now go to the Waterhouse, another Wetherspoons pub, which is more reliable with their stock. And best of all, it always has Kopparberg (and slightly cleaner tables!)!
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Oct 1st, 2006
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