Wetherspoons

[barry1010]

Has anyone been recently? Do they still serve the Sunday roast dinner?

Yes, I know there are much better pubs that serve far superior food.

[New Judge]

//Wetherspoon's have largely followed the 'pizza and burgers' route with their menu these days, presumably to meet the demands of families with children and younger diners.//

I think you're right, Chris. I've been using JDW for many years, usually for "lunch" with a group of friends in Central London but sometimes locally. I can recall some years ago, the Steak Night offering included two steaks and a bottle of wine for £15. That went many moons ago.

I have to agree that the standard of 'Spoons outlets varies enormously. In honesty, it's usually the clientele that make the difference. I have two near me - one is a dump which attracts all manner of waifs and strays, the other is quite nice. I've noticed that feature in a number of towns which have more than one Wethers - one good, one not so good. Chesterfield springs to mind. The Portland Hotel is very nice; the Spa Lane Vaults, no more than half a mile away, is a dive. Two worth a visit purely for architectural reasons are The Winter Gardens in Harrogate and the Royal Victoria Pavillion in Ramsgate.

[maggiebee]

Obvious that none of you have been in Weatherspoons in Dundee. You can't dance across the floor - your feet would stick to it. Disgusting place but it still seems popular with its regular clientele.

[237SJ]

There was a programme on TV about Weatherspoons a while ago. It was about how they can serve up cheap food and quickly. I think for example their bacon was delivered pre-cooked so that all they had to do was reheat it. A bit like airline food. I wouldn't pay good money for that though.

[burlyshirley]

Buen - my local Wetherspoons still serves steak and kidney pudding - I had it last week !

[Buenchico]

^^^ There are two Wetherspoon's pubs in Dundee, Maggie. (The Counting House and Jolly's Hotel). Perhaps you should try the other one?

I like the Standing Order in Edinburgh but I've not tried the other JDW pubs in your capital city (or, indeed, anywhere else in Scotland).

Down here in Suffolk, there used to be three JDW pubs in Ipswich. Firstly they closed the smartest one of the three, then they closed the friendliest one of the remaining two (which was my Sunday night 'regular'), leaving only a barn-like place that's always been popular with all-day drinkers (and which I won't go anywhere near to).

The other JDW pubs around here are largely 'acceptable', rather than 'special'. In London there are some real dives (e.g. the one in Leicester Square), some great pubs but which can get incredibly crowded (e.g. the one at Liverpool Street station) and some that are really worth going out of one's way to find (e.g. the Ledger Building in Docklands).

[Buenchico]

Shirley:
JDW do have a few regional variations in their menus. (For example, the Standing Order in Edinburgh always used to have haggis, neeps and tatties available, whereas here in England that was only offered around Burns Night. I don't know if they still serve it there all year though).

So it seems likely that someone at JDW HQ has decided that steak and kidney pudding is something that will go down well in your part of the country but not elsewhere.

[burlyshirley]

I'm not bothered about elsewhere Buen, as long as I can still get it at my local ! My friend loves their fish and chips and she nearly always has that. My only complaint against them is their coke, it always seems watered down to me and actually looks watered down ! I've stopped buying it.

[maggiebee]

Thanks Chris, I didn't realise that Jolly's hotel belonged to Wetherspoons. It's in a very up-market area so would imagine that it would be OK. Must give it a whirl. The Counting House on the other hand is a dump.

[Buenchico]

^^^ Having worked in quite a few bars (including managing some), I can tell you that the Coke will come from 'post mix', which is a concentrate that gets mixed with carbonated water in the cellar. If the equipment isn't correctly set up, the ration of concentrate to water will be wrong, often resulting in a very weak product.

Lemonade from concentrate is far worse to deal with though. If the 'post mix' for Coke runs out, the colour (or absence of it) of what comes out of the dispenser will immediately alert a bartender to the problem. However he/she could serve lots of 'lemonade' to customers, that actually consists of nothing more than fizzy water, before the complaints start coming in when the concentrate has run out.

[barry1010]

237, you would be very surprised just how many pubs and restaurants just reheat food that has been delivered cooked, a commercial range of ready meals if you like. Even 'sizzling steaks' can be reheated in a commercial microwave from frozen and appear to be straight from a grill.
Try asking for a small change to the meal, such as without the sauce, and you will be told it can't be done.
That is how they can serve food all day.

[barry1010]

Buen, thanks for the info re Cosy Club, sadly they don't have a branch in Wolverhampton

[237SJ]

I`m not surprised which is why I very rarely go out to dinner in a pub or restarant (in the UK) unless it's somewhere where the food has come straight off the the wok

[237SJ]

Please excuse typos!