Bonkers or Bargain? Wetherspoons January Sale
Feeling a bit peckish after a long meeting in Manchester the other week, I popped into the Waterhouse for a spot of lunch. So, for my money, I got:
- Fish and chips (small, but to me adequate, portion)
- Medium-sized mug of cafe latte (as an alternative to the advertised cup of tea)
- Bread and butter (as an extra)
- Pint of something tasty (forget exactly what) from Ilkley Brewery
Total cost? £5.74 (and if I had remembered to take a CAMRA voucher, that would have been just £5.24) - madness!
Last edited by rpadam; 21-01-2011 at 19:42.
It is hard to argue with value like that. I am a fan of Wetherspoons ( and I'm not afraid to say it ! )Originally Posted by rpadam
Yes, they have thier faults but on the whole, they offer fantastic value.
A reasonably priced and varied menu
A good selection of drinks ( including a choice of ales )
Add that to excellent toilet facilities, disabled access, Wi-fi, etc etc and its no wonder they are always busy.
I have been in 4 spoons in Newport today and they were all busy. I went in 4 other pubs and only one of them was busy. The other three had a total of 5 people in between them.
I hate to see any pub closing down and I have no doubt that Mr Martin has put the final nail in a lot of coffins.
I am a salmon !!
The last few times I ate at Weatherspoons I have ended up wishing I had eaten a pot noodle instead, similar calibre of food and cheaper. The last being a godawful burger before the Birmingham meet (their idea of quality seemed to involve making it out of 50% condiment).
So from my perspective, bonkers.
Wetherspoons... shut down the local pubs.... Shut down the local cafes... I'm waiting for them to shut down the local brothels!
WE ARE THE BREADMEN - UP THE BEES 
Yes I have had some awful meals in Spoons but I have had some decent ones too. I once had a breakfast in the spoons in Middlesbrough which has to be the worst I have ever had. The one I had yesterday in Newport was pretty good. Large brekkie and a drink for 2 of us for about a tenner.
I am a salmon !!
Moving aside from my pathological hatred/jealousy of Wetherspoons. This does raise another issue myself and Dave have frequently stumbled to in Bristol.
Do pubs change their chef every month. We have yet to find a pub in Bristol where we can pretty much guarantee a good meal any time we go in. I swear that there are a couple of good chefs in the city centre who just move round the pubs changing jobs repeatedly.
Spoons - tosh generally, unless you prepare for diasppointment and try to avoid it - pick easy food they can't mess-up and i drink half pints as they are frequently flat. I go in them as i do every pub and have enjoyed a couple of them - but in general, i dislike them.
MILD:
None around here locally [one threatened], so my experience is limited, of those I have been in 3 I walked out of without ordering anything, one I had an awful cardboard vegeburger smothered in chilli sauce, and one I quite like, fair value food and not too crowded, probably because it is a historic pub & thus not a large dank cavern with dirty tables
I cant say I ever eat in the spoons I may of done once or twice but thats all I prefer the Greasy Spoon Cafes Or Fish & Chip Shop. I find the Spoons OK for a few Pints but not the sort of place I would stay for a few hours. Theres some good Spoons where the Ales are always good but theres also some bad ones as well. Problem is when you get a good manager that seeems too look after the Ale and serve a good range of constantly good Ales they always seem too get moved on after a year or two.
Don't You just hate Pubs that say
( We don't stock any Real Ales as theres Just no call for it.)
Generally I find the Wetherspoon 'Sales' a waste of time, nor do I like the Beer and a Whatever offers. Why would I want to drink a Ruddles with me burger? If it's like Conrad's, the beer'll make it worse, and, if it's decent, the beer will only spoil it.
That said, by and large I'm a Wetherspoon fan, often wearing their tee-shirts to advertise it,but I approach an unfamiliar one same as I do all strange pubs, cautiously.
In a JDW I expect the beer choice to be reasonable, the food to be inexpensive and, as often a not, to have to wait get served. Compare this to most other pubs where I don't know if there will be any real ale, whether I can afford the food, let alone eat it, or get served promptly even if the staff outnumber the customers..........
When I find a pub I like, I stick to it, and I'm in no hurry to visit one I don't again.
Last edited by runningdog; 22-01-2011 at 10:16. Reason: Bluidy fingers, I wish they'd either learn to spell, or at least listen to me brain..........
Pubs are a hobby, real ale is a passion. Oh, and like me dogs, fear no evil..........
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