please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
An unfairly low average, I think. Definitely one of the best Wetherspoons I know in terms of number of ales served, and it's always been quite well served when I've been in there. The interior is a bit cavernous but impressive none the less.
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Paid a recent visit and it still lacks atmosphere. Went during "Spoons" beer festival and the quality and choice of ale was very good.
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Absolutely huge pub, with a single circular bar in the centre. Very full of City types at office closing time, but not too bad earlier or later on. Anyway, the main point of this review is to note that there are currently 18 (yes, 18!) different real ales on during the Wetherspoons 'International' festival. So much choice, Tim Martin should be done for inflicting mental cruelty on his customers...
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Very nice Wetherspoon’s, almost empty on Saturday afternoon after the FA cup football at about 5.30 which was a surprise as the one at Liverpool street station was closed on police advice. Pleasent staff and very smart bar and decor unlike some I have been in.
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Lots of open space with just one bar equally rubbish and slow service. Bar lady had no idea about sport or what game to put on and informed us that the decision is made ' by whichever is requested more'. I guess a raise of hands for which game you want.
No sound for the football either (apparnatly sound is only on for Champions League finals)while there was zero atmosphere.
Food was poor but dirt cheap. My burger had the onion scraps off a bread board with no moisture at all. Basically a frizzled up lump of meat. Chips were ok though.
I would only recommend this pub to someone who needed the toilet.
gumbo - 12 Dec 2007 13:29 |
Food is awesome - the sausage, beans and chips rivals the Little Chef version. Burgers were moist and tasty (and thankfully, approved).
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Ridiculously huge screen visible to most of the pub makes this a prime footie watching venue. Otherwise, you know what to expect, it's a Wetherspoons.
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Not bad as Wetherspoon’s go. Decent wide beer selection, service is alright, always plenty of space. One for the serious drinker. Happy daze.
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one of the better wetherspoons, beautiful building,only decent memeber of staff who takes pride is Ben.Overall not a ba pub.
anonymous - 15 Nov 2007 12:24 |
despite being virtually opposite my work place, no-one ever goes in here as it has no atmosphere and the service is possibly the worst in London and always has been - even when the place is quiet.
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This place is absolutely enormous. I was very disappointed that my steak didn't come with mushrooms as advertised. The kitchen must be miles away cos the waiter bloke took ages to get to the kitchen and back with a reason for this, then had to go back again to get me extra tomatoes instead - which never arrived, I think he forgot. I probably won't go back cos the food was average and the service was poor.
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Yes, getting served quickly in this pub seems to be a thing of the past. It's good that the staff clean the ashtrays out regularly but surely selling the drinks is the most important thing?
Still once you get a beer it's usually very tasty.
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Far too big a pub. Feels like a conference centre. Typical 'spoons pub in that the beer is cheap and is normally of a reasonable condition.
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Impressed by this compared to the terrible Wetherspoons we have to put up with in Maidstone. Quiet when we went in as it was mid afternoon. Good range of guests were available, had a pint which I forget which was unremarkable. Food was average and the experience a positive one.
Sharp - 31 Mar 2007 01:29 |
This used to be a favourite of mine with a great variety of beers, This has changed over the last few months as the nationals have crept in to replace the more unusual brews. I realise it is now trendy to serve lager at even lower temperature to mask the taste and this appears to be rubbing off on the beer, which to me is now more the old cold shelf rather than cellar temperature. The service has also deteriorated with the downward trend in beers and I have often waited 10 -15 mins during the week just to get served. Surely it does not take a rocket scientist to solve this by adding a few more staff, especially early evening and making more money.
anonymous - 23 Mar 2007 16:03 |
If ever there were a case point for the phrase looks can be deceiving being true, then The Crosse Keys in Bank is a prime example. There is no doubting whatsoever that this pub is housed in a most wonderful grand old building, where the sheer size of it is awe inspiring in its self, but this alone, isn’t enough to make it a decent place. I paid a visit with my girlfriend when in the area last Saturday (10th Feb) and once I’d settled down and gotten over both the splendid interior, I found the branch of the Wetherspoons chain to be most disappointing. It would guess that the pub was only a quarter full at most, but the staff were both morose and slow. The breakfast I ordered was of the poorest quality also, even by ‘Spoons standards! All in all it was a rather disappointing experience. You don’t necessarily expect a lot from this chain, but maybe the grandeur of the building itself caused me to expect a little too much.
HTM69 - 14 Feb 2007 18:25 |
Enormous old banking hall that feels like drinking in an airport departure lounge or one of London's larger mainline stations.
Just too big although the City location means that it has less down and outs than most Wetherspoons
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This used to be a flagship Wetherspoon's for unusual real ales from microbreweries. Last week the pumpclips lined up as 'Pedigree, London Pride, Courage Best, Courage Best, London Pride.' There were 2 guest ales and they were well kept. But the final nail was the service - it was bad enough the overall 'no rush' approach but then one of the barmen was about to dispense my order into someone else's dirty glasses. I guess the washing up was a bit of a chore. That's outrageous in my book and I doubt I'll venture back here in the near future.
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I used to quite like this place as far as Wetehrspoons goes, it always has a wide range of ales on offer and though usually busy I always got served quickly. However the last two times I've been in there it wasn't all that busy yet I've ended up walking out in despair at ever getting served!
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Well worth a visit to see the interior. Wetherspoons pub, so food and beer are cheap and cheerful.
Bar staff can be very slow at serving. Avoid on busy nights or Fridays.
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I visit this pub fairly frequently and it you can stand the city types that frequent the place it is not a bad Wetherspoons. Good selection of real ales and one of the few city pubs that you can get a drink in on Saturday afternoon.
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Huge large building with an interesting interior structure.
Was slightly on the pricey side for a Spoons, but it was in the City I suppose. It was pretty empty when I went in at around 5ish on a Saturday.
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Nice and big with big screens for the footy - nowhere to put your bags if you turn up in a busy period so they usually end up on the floor with fag ash all over them. Food not too bad, cheap beer. Just one thing, next time Chelsea play Tottenham on Sky they should show that instead of the bloody rugby!
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I was in here last night watching the France game. It is massive to say the least I think its an old trading floor. Service was fine, beer was fine (and cheap for the city). Not really somewhere I would go out of my way to but if I am in the area and fancy a cheap pint it will be my destination.
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Massive inside. Loads of guest beers but there was some kind of beer festival on. Had a good pint of Grand Union Mild. About 1000 staff members on duty.
Strange place but not a bad place.
anonymous - 25 May 2006 13:17 |
One of today's guest beers is the exquisite Theakston's Old Peculiar - yummy (even if it wasn't kept that brilliantly)!
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Now has TVs in the non-smoking areas at the back - good idea!
PS: I agree with the Rt Hon BeerGuru - this pub is NOT in Bank.
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Bank? The Monument is nearer but I'm just splitting hairs.
Big, cheap & unlike 99% of Weatherspoons shows sport. Watched the last few hours of the 5th Ashes test & it was packed - great atmosphere. Then went off to West Ham stuff Villa 4-0 - what a night!
Bar service needs to improve big time - lost rag in there a lot of times by the barman/barmaid serving my 'area' not knowing who is next to be served. Don't they have barstaff schools in Eastern Europe?
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Watched the England Poland game here and was very pleasantly surprised for Weatherspoons.
Almost as spacious as the Acropolis inside and a huge TV screen. Normal collection of pinstripe for the area, but for footy a very good bet. Bar service takes a while, but then again I can only speak English.
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bland. good bogs though.
evers - 29 Aug 2005 17:21 |
At least this is on the CITY pubs which is open on a Saturday evening, was still serving food and was showing the footy. Not bad for the City and had some pretty decent beers on.
Hucks - 25 Aug 2005 13:11 |
This place has definately gone to pot over the last 6/12 months. Used to be the best 'Spoons in London but has become just another mediocre watering hole. Have heard that it's being dropped from the 2006 Good Beer Guide. A shame but not really surprised.
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Wetherspoon's beer fest - which they claim is the largest in the world; have they not heard of the GBBF at Olympia!! - is now on so a ratehr good selection of beers again. Still getting used to the idea of being able to watch the footy at a place selling good quality beer :-).
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This used to be a wonderful pub but the beer range has shrunk and it does get very smokey especially when the suits come in to watch football on the large drop-down screen. The food is typical Wetherspoon fair. The beers are well kept but considering the amount of space in the place it would have been nice if you could walk in off the street to the bar and from there to the toilets without having to go through the smoking section. At least they seem to have got rid of those dodgy blokes from the toilets.
anonymous - 9 May 2005 20:46 |
nice and dark and big and cheap and uncool,..ideal to get lost in on your jacks, whilst your collegues are happily queueing and haw hawing away, in the ponce and penis nearby,.....several fruities
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At first, you walk in and are very much like 'wow, this is big, innit'. It used to be a bank didnt it. Its the biggest pub in the city, dont you know.
Anyhow, I dont like how from most of the tables the bar is a distant spot on the horizon. I think they should have two bars there.
Had bottles of leffe and duvel, cant remember what they had on tap.
A word of warning. Dont allow yourself to end up here when its nearly empty as this will emphasise the large high-ceiling emptyness of the place and make you feel insignificant, sad, empty and alone in this life, so very very alone.
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Very poor management. Wetherspoons can do and have done a lot better in other parts of town !
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The tables are crammed far too close together. When the place gets busy it's impossible to move.
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Blimey! They've raised the real ale prices to £2.10 a pint :-( . Nice beer though!
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Nice building / location, with so much potential, shame about what they have put inside!
The size of a small aircract hanger inside, and sadly with the same character. Absolutely zero atomoshere. Continuing the aeronautical theme, drinking in here reminded me of having a pint in an airport, only I had less fun.
About the only thing this boozer is suitable for is if there is a big group of office types having a leaving do or whatever, or if you absoutely must have a cheap pint, otherwise I would give it a very big swerve.
Try one of the pubs across the road in Leadenhall Market, much bundles more character and atmosphere. Or if you want a big old pub in a traditional buiding, try the Counting House round the corner on Cornhill, which is a 1000 times better.
Wetherspoons - you coud have done so much with this space, please think again!!!
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As Wetherspoons go (I am not generally a fan) this place is OK, which is odd as it's very 'wetherspoony', ticking all the usual boxes. It's enormous (though the building is nice), serves plastic food, has a huge screen which shows football, has those utterly classlesss shiny plastic food/drink menus on all the tables.. but the staff do try hard, service is pretty quick and they do a pretty good job with the quality of the beer. If you work round here it's not a bad place to go with colleagues (assuming they are skinflints and lack the good taste to go elsewhere). If you don't work round here, don't bother.
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Standard Wetherspoons fare - i e a good range of cheap beer, but with poor service from staff who usually have limited understanding of the English language or familiarity with the real ales available.
Lovely interior, but could be better because of the criticisms above. Always busy, so I suppose a lot of people like it more than I do
John - 4 Nov 2004 13:09 |
don't go here out of pleasure, unless you've got a leaving drink to attend and you don't want to spent a lot on your office colleagues....
Pedro - 15 Oct 2004 13:14 |
A nice pub, with good beer, good food, and (usually) good service.
I am a London Blue Badge guide, and have taken groups there s few times. I want to take a group there on the 3rd Novemeber, and would like a sample menu. Could one be e-mailed to me, so I could phone the pub in the morning of the 3rd, with my order?
John Garrod - 13 Oct 2004 14:25 |
Very large, standard Wetherspoon's (cheap drinks, expensive food) but still quite cheap for drinking in Central London. Large range of beers, quite a few staff but the guy in the gents pissed me off too. 6/10
Steven - 5 Aug 2004 21:12 |
Good food and wide selection of beers. Always has plenty of bar staff so you're not queuing 3 deep to get served. Judge a pub by its beer and bogs - the bogs are clean, spacious and importantly you never have to wait! Downside - the female clientele is sparse and mostly mingin.
John Greeves - 16 Jun 2004 14:08 |
Beautiful pub with a large range of beers. They go through them so some can appear to be 'off' but it will just be because the barrell is being changed. Friendly staff (on quieter days!) Well worth a visit, best ale selection i've seen in the city!
Geezer041 - 8 Jun 2004 01:40 |
One of the best of the McSpoons chain and I always use it when in the area. Currently suffering from an enormous TV screen, which I hope is a passing phase. Large range of beers, but not imune to the problem of advertising loads of beers which are not actually available despite what the pump clips say.
Stephen Harris - 21 May 2004 21:50 |
Still shrouded in blue nicotine fog, and still big and echoey and full of people who'd rather be drinking elsewhere. Pubs down the road in Leadenhall are much better.
Matt - 7 May 2004 15:09 |
Unquestionably beautiful building but is it really best used as a pub? The vast, hall-like dimensions mean it can be echoey and appear shrouded in a smoky blue mist. It's over-lit, too, which can make it positively headachey if you've been smoking and had five pints of Pride.
That said, it does decent food and is streets ahead of virtually any other Wetherspoon's I've been to.
Matt - 12 Jan 2004 12:37 |
better than most wetherspoons as they have a better choice of real ale. They have dropped the standard range of directors, greene king abbot, etc, so its always a pleasure to try new beers
tom - 25 Nov 2003 20:32 |
the building alone is well worth a visit,very busy miday & early evenings,at least nine real ales on pump at all times.a real ale paradise. loads of smaller rooms for a quiet pintin sumptious surroundings,good food
elizabeth - 26 Oct 2003 18:54 |
THIS MUST BE ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PUBS IN THE CITY,A REAL ALE PARADISE,IT USED TO BE A VERY LARGE OLD BANK AND HAS LOADS OF SMALL ROOMS AND AN UPSTAIRS BALCONY SITTING AREA.EVEN THOUGH IT IS VERY BUSY FROM LUNCH TIME ONWARD YOU CAN STILL GET SERVED QUICKLY AND FIND A QUIET CORNER IN ONE OF THE MANY ROOMS.WELL WORTH A VISIT EVEN IF YOU DON'T DRINK!.NO MUSIC,NO TV,GOOD FOOD
JOHN MCGRAW - 5 Oct 2003 10:02 |
Typical W'spoons no music, no TV, no atmosphere.
Got to agree with the other comments - W'spoons get rid of the guy in the gents.
James - 25 Jul 2003 10:38 |
Decent bottle of rioja for just £9.99 - fantatstic (wish my hangover was a fantasy too).
And please, Wetherspoons - lose the guy in the toilets!
Darren in the City - 25 Jul 2003 08:59 |
Probably the largest pub I have been to. Size don't mean everything though.
Why, oh why is there a man in the gents offering to dry your hands for you? It's a Wetherspoons for gods sake!
Rob - 11 Jul 2003 16:28 |
Sebastien - you think its that good?
Such a shame, a wonderful space ruined by Wetherspuds. Lacking in atmosphere, 5 minutes to drink up.
Totally vile
Ben - 15 Apr 2003 12:17 |
AWFUL - Truly awful pub, the management are rude and aggresive, the 20min drinking up rule is very rarely adhered to, plus it is often freezing cold, plus JD pub means NO MUSIC - AWFUL
Sebastien - 15 Apr 2003 11:33 |
A Wetherpoons pub housed in a former bank in the city. Very spacious, not much trouble finding a table most nights. Staff turnover appears to be quite high so the ability of the staff varies from week to week.
Alistair - 5 Dec 2002 15:34 |
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