HOW DO SPOONS DO IT ?

Samuel Pepys wouldn’t have skipped writing up visits to the local Wetherspoons for a burger and beer, so why should I ?

Spoons remains divisive. I still read a fair few comments on Blue Moon that insist the beer is cheap because it’s nearly out-of-date, always swiftly debunked nowadays.

In truth, JDW’s cask is in a purple patch these last few years, this Gadd’s oddity veering close to a NBSS 4 Very Good. £2.45 with CAMRA’s voucher, even less early in the week.

During the Sheffield heatwave of May ’26 I was more drawn to the thirst-quenching powers of low alcohol German wheat beer, with added “isotonics”. I wonder if they had isotonics in Pepys’ day.

I think Tuesday was “chicken” day, or perhaps it was Old Codgers who got an extra 20p off their meal deal,

but I have no idea how I got Korean burger, chips and a half litre of beer for under £6 in “Broken Britain”.

But, but, say some CAMRAs, Spoons are dirty places full of the dregs of society. They may be in North-West London, mate, but the Rawson Spring‘s lovely outside drinking area is the smartest in Hillsborough.

That said, 45 minutes in a Spoons is about my maximum, whereas my next two pubs are places you could while happily away an afternoon.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

3 thoughts on “HOW DO SPOONS DO IT ?”

  1. “That said, 45 minutes in a Spoons is about my maximum”
    I think that Spoons’ are increasingly feeling like a mid-point between pub, caff and coffee shop, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it does mean they work better as somewhere to pop into for a bit rather than somewhere to linger.

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    1. I think that’s spot-on, Steve. And I often pop in on the walk back from Hillsborough shops for a cheap bite or pint. I just don’t see it as a “pub visit” as such.

      By the way, I will comment on your excellent piece on the Tamworth Tap, though I can imagine at least one of our readers here having a counter view !

      Pub Thoughts #13 (Tamworth Tap)

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  2. But isn’t £4.02 for a bit of microwaved or deep fried food and £1.82 for what’s in effect a bottle of pop about right ?
    I do much better with Craft Union – £3 for an “Excellent” pint of St Austell Tribute in the Pheasant, Newport last Saturday and £2.45 for a “Very good” pint of Old Speckled Hen, despite it being near the end of the pin, in the Coach and Horses, Stafford on Wednesday.

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