please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Unfortunately work on the roof means scaffolding obscures the "grandeur" of the conversion. I am usually a fan of Wetherspoons but agreeing with previous comments the tables were left full of plates and empty glasses for far too long.
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Unusually, an impressive JDW that hasnt made the Good Beer Guide.
Stunning building - it takes some imagination to turn a victorian theatre into a pub.
So its JDW on a grand scale - massive ceilings. Hundreds of tables - either occupied or filthy. Bar queuing in the centre, rather than making the most of the width.
No belgian bottled beers - so I made do with an Exmoor Stag - exactly the same pint I had in St Albans JDW last weekend.
Worth a look for the architecture.
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I have to agree with most other reviews here on tables not being cleaned or floors around where children have been(parents ?) food regulary bieng taken back cold,however i have never had any issues with quality of ale in spoons for 15 years, until now FLAT/CLOUDY/HAZY every day for 3 days even house beer abbot ale was cloudy. Have they a trained cellarperson here ?
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Wentin for a drink on Tuesday evening,stood at bar for approx. 10 minutes,didnt get served so left and went to the Cottage Loaf which is just behind.
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I'm normally a big fan of Wetherspoons but in this case less so. On a recent trip to Llandudno we visited the Palladium several times, but I found it less than satisfactory. The former theatre certainly makes for an appealing conversion, and the atmosphere was busy and lively, but it was very noticeable that the tables weren't getting cleared and cleaned in a timely manner. Therefore, we had to sit at greasy, dirty tables, and clear piles of plates and glasses left by previous customers, who in many cases seem to allow their children to run about and make a mess both on the table and carpet. To be fair, the staff were likely at full stretch, but it's bad management not to hire extra staff if that's what it takes to keep the pub acceptably clean and tidy.
As with all Wetherspoons, there were plenty of ales available and I had a good experience with a locally brewed Elderflower Ale, but another beer I tried (can't remember what it was called: '--- Stone') was cloudy and tasted bad.
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A former theatre that looks very impressive both from and outside and (when your eyes have adjusted to the darkness), the inside as well. The good news is that there are 15 handpumps, with 7 or 8 guest ales available.
Unfortunately, I can only reiterate what previous posters have said. The service is pretty abysmal. Hardly any staff, those that were serving, were very slow, and kept making mistakes “oh dear, and I was doing so well until then”. Not helped by clientele being mainly pensioners wanting all sorts of weird combinations of stuff.
So what was going to be a leisurely half turned into a very quick swig. And then I discovered that the toilets were absolutely miles away ! They were up 3 flights of stairs totalling 26 steps – and that was from the entrance level, which is a few steps up from the bar. When I got there, I reckon it was nearer to jump out the window to my next port of call (Cottage Loaf), rather than go back to the bar !
4/10 – it needs more than an impressive building to make a good pub.
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Spectacular interior, but the service was very slow and haphazard, and the beer (JDW's standard beer festival offerings) rather disappointing, if cheap. Would recommend the Cottage Loaf next door, unless you're really keen on saving money.
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I was taken by this place from the outside and even more so on the inside, one of the nicest buildings I've had the pleasure of visiting. I loved the fact that a lot of the seating had been kept facing where the stage once was. The toilets are above the stage area with the spotlights on them, upon leaving the toilet you get a feeling of what it must have been like up on the stage. The 'royal' boxes have cardboard cut outs of gentry in them, its well worth a visit.
Only downside was quite an important one! I tried 2 real ales which werent much to write home about at all.
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On first glance at the outside you might not believe this was a JDW pub as the Wetherspoons name is right at the very top of quite a high building.
This pub has recently been refurbished and is quite impressive although the high padding to the back of the seats on the right is somewhat off-putting.
It was very busy on my visit, with 6 guest ales on and the service was not that good.
Toilets, as usual, are up stairs.
Would only visit again if in the area.
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Have called in here quite a few times during the past few years, very hit and miss re real ale selection. Plenty of "Coming Soon" labels on the beer pumps and at times have ordered a supposedly available pint to be told "Sorry, it's run out"...is this Tim's idea of how he wants his pubs to be run?
The Palladium is now looking tired and knackered, the carpets are dropping to bits and generally the place is need of a refurb, behind the bar in particular looks grubby.
Come on Wetherspoons you've a great building here that needs some loving care and attention and managers that should do better.
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Once a theatre as the name suggests the building has been tastefully converted & has kept some of the original features including some of the seats in the upper circle. This gives quite a strange feeling as you come downstairs from the toilets at the back because you feel you are entering a stage. The downstairs has the feeling of a theatre foyer. The conversion is very similar to another Wetherspoon's pub The Winter Gardens in Harrogate. Very busy on my 3 visits especially on the food side, however service wasn't too bad. Beer wise there were at least 3 Welsh brews including Brains SA & Conway Brewery Gold n' Delicious.
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when in sunday late april the last day of the beer festival none of which i wanted,so settle for a abbott which was ok the pub was very busy. a average jd pub
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visited again on a recent holiday.
a very impressive 15 cask ales on !
every day is a beer festival here !
the ones we tried were all in good condition.
***
only thing I don't like here is its a bit dull & dark on the lower floor, even in bright sunlight. Also, as is the case in many jdws, the tables were cleared but table tops and menus were sticky with drink spill.
bring back beer mats !!
***
verdict:
even after my gripes, I still give an 8 for exceptional choice & value.
rock on JD.
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Witherspoons love it or hate it you know what you are getting. This place is interesting, and the acoustics in the bar are good. The beers good(with the guest beers) and reasonably priced. I think its good for weekenders/holiday makers. Not good for an all niter but pint and a platter is great and a lot less pricey than some of the towns restaurants.
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I went in a few times during the week and I found it clean and the staff were friendly. There were a few ales on which were all well kept. The Pedigree was only �1.69 a pint so cant complain about the prices at all.
The pub looks very impressive both inside and out. It still has the original features of the theatre that was once there.
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Called in last night, tables strewn with dirty glasses and plates etc. Real ale selection poor, only the usual Pedigree, Abbot and a Conwy Brewery beer available, plenty of "coming soon" ones though!
This Weatherspoons is very inconsistant in its standards. Come on management, do your job properly.
(We didn't stay for a drink, walking straight out again)
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A wonderful building, fantastically renovated. Usual slow service at busy times. It's Wetherspoons so what can I say that you don't know? Friendly doorstaff. Always get the feeling I'm drinking in a busy railway station due to buildings acoustics.
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Typical Wetherspoons. Can't get served. Food is their main interest as on 3 visits I took back 4 pints. They should take a leaf out of a couple of better Wetherspoons I have visited who have seperate tills for food and hot drinks and employ one person to specifically look after the beers. Sorry Timmy. You haven't quite got it right in Llandudno.
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nicely refurbished old theatre with understandably large floor space, for dining/drinking. [ideal for small beer festival !]
very high, ornate ceilings, etc. lots of stairs !
many drinks on offer, some cask. well-priced.
seems very popular at weekends.
an excellent example of how to utilize an otherwise deteriorating attractive building.
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Pick your time,avoid spotty chav peaks,and its good! The had The Reverend on the pumps on one of my visits. Yonks ago, it was a part time opera house,saw the Carl Rosa mob
there. A!ll in all, a sound beerhall
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Also, to the reviewer who wrote below that the correct spelling of the name is "Palladiwm" - both Welsh and English signage is used throughout the building and on the facades. The English translation is "The Palladium" whilst it is "Y Paladiwm" in Welsh. Both designations are used equally.
anonymous - 5 Jan 2007 00:29 |
I've worked the last few summers at this pub and yes the place is busy all the time, which means people have to queue a lot for drinks. The J.D. Wetherspoon policy is to serve everyone at the bar within twenty seconds of their arrival - in reality in a pub with the customer capacity of The Palladium and the comparitively small size of the bar this is in no way possible most of the day. It's not the staff nor managers' fault - simply that the pub has been more successful than anyone dared imagine when it was converted five years ago. No doubt when it undergoes a mid-life facelift the bar issue will be addressed and other "worn" items will be reviewed - e.g. chairs etc.
As it is, the turnover of the pub, especially the food is many times greater than the amount predicted when it opened (e.g. a rumour circulates that the food turnover alone on a Saturday afternoon is more than the original predicted food turnover for the entire week - taking into account club nights, which as many of you will know are hugely popular)
The building itself is maginificent and although I'm obviously biased, I can guarantee that all the staff work incredibly hard and very long hours. It was not uncommon for me to start a shift at midday and still be cleaning up the bar at 3am the following morning. Not poor management or sloppy work, just a massive pub with a huge clientele. Do remember that a lot of the managerial responsibility for a chain like Wetherspoon lies with head office, not necessarily at the door of the pub manager or even regional manager.
anonymous - 5 Jan 2007 00:24 |
The building itself is nice, but the place as a pub is awfull. Not possible to get a drink at weekends because its full of drunk 18 year olds, shouting and screaming... The food is dodgy and there is a funny smeel at the bar, which is enough to make leave. Not reccomended.
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Great building - and I have a soft spot for it as I had my 1st snog with my wife to be in it!! Service was poor though - as its generally so crowded at the bar I guess.
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Amazing building,well worth a visit. 9/10
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Had my 1st snog in here with my wife to be!! Magnificent building but did take a long time to get served.
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One of the worst Wetherspoons I've ever been in and that's saying something. Bad service, some meals weren't on when we went, the tables and chairs are really beaten up and to top it off there's a horrible smell near the bar.
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Problem with this place is ACCESS-to get to the bar you need to go up some stairs-cross a small floor the down stairs-thats from the rear end-it is a beautiful building as like Rhyl and Colwyn Bay it was a cinema and the decoration is superb-it is actualy spelt in Welsh where "W" is "U" so it is Palladiwm,nice chip shop next door,the day I went was a bank holiday and there was the Victorian transport festival on,it started raining and although there were signs saying children not allowed they were running all over the place-and the place was quite full-but I have visited the place a few times and shall be going again
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Great pub right on the 'main drag' of Llandudno. I totally agree with glowman above. Like other Wetherspoons, this pub has a great selection of real ale's on tap at extrememly reasonable prices (typical mainstays Rev James, Spitfire, Abbot Ale and 2 guests). If you're a person who likes beers on a gas pull, they have a good selection as well. Very friendly staff, great scenery, and very pleasing food prices (2 dinners for 6GBP) is very nice.
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Well... what can I possibly say about this place?
FULL OF CHAVS mainly, apart from the odd old couple sitting in the corner drinking bitter.
Price of alcohol is great though, and you can probably get drunk on less than a tenner!
When you walk in you can definitely NOT see elegant ladies and gentlemen - but totally the opposite. Girls (15 year olds) in skirts no bigger than belts and tops that barely cover their nipples!
As for the guys (again, 15 year olds), they all look like clones dressed in blue and white stripey shirts and jeans / black trousers.
But as I said earlier, if you're aim is to get totally bladdered, then this is definitely the place for you!! Enjoy!
anonymous - 30 Dec 2004 12:17 |
Wetherspoon, former Palladium Cinema building
mark - 4 Nov 2004 15:02 |
A lovely Wetherspoon's pub. Used to be a theatre as the name suggests. Beautifully restored inside and out. On entering, give your eyes a minute to accustom to the atmospheric, lighting, and it's like being in a Victorian theatre, with the ornate ceiling, and boxes for the posh folk. You can almost see the elegant ladies and gentlemen making their way down from the foyer to take their seats for the evening show. The pub opens at 10am, and provides a smashing full monty breakfast for about �2. I live in Manchester, but visit Llandudno whenever I can. (Weather permitting - we go camping in Rhos-on-sea!) Highly recommended. Llandudno is a beautifully kept town with a great shopping centre, and loads of charity shops. Well worth a visit.
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