please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This is a magnificent spoons. Feels almost like what it may have been like to walk into one of the exhibitions the Victorians would have put on to show off the wealth of Britain during the 19th century. One thing that also caught my eye is the fire place which is to the right of the entrance that is on parliament street. You enter and there is a raised platform with seating where you can survey those who sat lower down. There are also grand old stone pills along the stairs. The bar itself is down the steps from this raised platform bit in a large L shape with a lot of seating around it. There are at least 14 hand pumps but not all were on when i came in. The ales that were on were Abbot, Doom Bar, Ruddles Best, Phoenix Wobbly Bob, Saltaire No 5, Mammoth Epic Ipa, Isaac Poad 1863 best bitter, Yankees Rooster and Moorhouse's Black Cat. And a couple other pumps were dedicated to real ciders.
I initially went for Black Cat but it was off, I pointed this out to one of the barmen and he found that it was bottom if the barrel so I went for the 1863 bitter, it was quite a solid beer and well kept and it cost me 1.99, however I'm not sure if this is the price of the guest ales or it was a special offer on Black Cat which he applied to my pint of 1863. A look of the menu said that guest ales start from 2.79, so by spoons standards in a non city centre, this is steep. But I assume they believe you are paying for the experience. It is certainly a grand place with a high raised roof that looks like something you may see in a grand old Victorian building. There are also posters around the building of advertisements for Harrogate as a spa town and history about the building. I would assume that in this wetherspoons, it never gets so busy that you will struggle for a seat. Definitely one to check out if on a shopping trip in Harrogate or before a night out or for whatever reason.
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A Sunday afternoon visit to this cavernous 'spoons in the Winter Gardens building. A stunning conversion into a pub with most of the original features either left in tact or restored, this is a stunning building.
Was very busy but the place is so big there's a massive amount of tables, seats and standing area's.
The long L shaped bar has 3 banks of hand pumps totalling 15, with at least 8 ales on and a few ciders. I went for a pint of Rudgate's Ale Storm @ 4.0%., well kept and very drinkable.
Quick service from the many bar staff. A very good 'spoons in a stunning building offering a decent range of ales.
Another pub ticked from the GBG.
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One of the more characterful Weatherspoons. Tends to be busy lunchtime, if you want to eat suggest you try later. Plenty of people behind the bar but as usual many are not serving, avoiding eye contact with customers,"managing" and trying to look busy,etc! Well worth a visit and best place to eat in Harrogate for a reasonable price.
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Really interesting. Building dates from 1897, with a very large central bar. A spectacular building with great architecture. 10 beers available, including the usual Spoon favourites Adnams Broadside, Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best Bitter and Sharp's Doom Bar, plus guests such as local Daleside brewery. Worth the experience.
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best spoons ive visited, as with most spoons a good selection of ale, but a bloody nice place to drink, wouldnt want to spend the whole evening there, with the old bell tavern 100 yards out the back. give it a visit.
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Large (even by their standards) Wetherspoons. Nipped in for a swift one on Saturday morning whilst woman was in barbers. Populated by couples out shopping drinking coffee plus the regulatory quota of alcoholics. Has got a decent sized south facing patio area outside, which catches the sun from 10am onwards, and looks onto a car park. Pint I had was acceptable and prcies were as expected. Overall, not a bad place for a quick pint or two but not a place to spend a whole session.
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This pub has a superb interior, which commences as soon as you enter via the front door and sweep down the staircase which lends the whole place a touch of class. It is by far the best Wetherspooons I have ever visited.
Visited this place twice recently, firstly on a Friday evening when I sampled a pint of Daleside from its many ales on offer - this was good quality and as usual in these places, great value,
The second visit was for its breakfast the next morning - ample amount of tasty well cooked food, tremendous value and all consumed in a relaxed atmosphere.
If you are wary of Wetherspoons, ignore your previous experiences and visit this place if you are in Harrogate.
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Superb inside entrance, about the best you�ve ever seen, giving great atmosphere at one end. Inside it�s a bit of a barn. Actually it�s a lot of a barn. Beer choice and quality the usual high JD�s, service sadly the usual poor JDs - does Tim EVER read any reviews? Nice beer garden out the back which you can get in from � saves walking round to the front door, if you know where you�re going. Expect a few of the usual scrotes.
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Spectacular Wetherspoons. The (predictable) understaffing meant we had to wait a bit, but the quality of our beer was excellent. No problems here at all, and an enthusiastic and friendly manager added to the experience.
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The usual stunning JDW building. Wide range of beers all in good condition. We were served quickly despite the pub being very busy (Saturday lunchtime).
lotus - 22 Mar 2010 17:53 |
Awful service - bar staff have no idea who they should be serving. Even when it's not packed you can be waiting for 10/15mins + before being served.
I saw Shed Seven and the Bluetones here a (good) few years ago. Pity it is not a venue for bands today.
torra - 16 Jan 2010 17:07 |
I think this is the most stunning pub conversion I have ever seen. From the main door, which is fairly insignificant, you make a grand entrance into a breathtaking & huge single room down a staircase with potted palms either side. The decor is Victorian & the whole place still has a very grand air about it. The bar runs down most of the left hand side & has plenty of handpumps. As I was here for breakfast I didn't bother to look at what was on. A must visit.
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One of the better JDW's around with it's impressive high ceilings and street entrance being at a higher level so you can survey the full pub before walking down the stairs.
Usual extensive choice of beers, Strongbow cider and a good choice of bottled ciders.
Small outside patio area.
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Have to say I liked this �spoons. As mentioned below a really good sympathetic conversion of a building with character. I particularly liked the top section after you come in the main door with its almost private side room sections before you move to the balcony to look down on the cavernous main bar area. Yes the bar itself is huge and you have to walk the length of it to find out what beers are on as the groups of hand pumps are spaced some distance apart along it. I believe there are 15 in total and there was at least 8 different ales on during my fleeting visit. I didn�t experience any problem getting served, but then we only stayed for the one and it wasn�t overly busy on the early Saturday evening of the Easter bank holiday weekend.
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Outstanding building sympathetically �spooned�. Beers not bad, normally a mixed range. The service is average Wetherspoons not the worst by any means but not too good, I have often got bored waiting for a pint in this one.
anonymous - 16 Feb 2009 11:16 |
Called in a couple of times over the weekend. Could still get served! Once again had 3 guests on all well kept. Had breakfast here on Sunday morning. Ordered at the bar as usual, sat down, food arrived! Great service, 11 minutes from ordering to being on the table. It was pretty busy as well. Well done guys.
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Top marks to Wetherspoons for their sympathetic conversion of this building, I believe it cost an arm and a leg to complete. Usual Wetherspoon suspects on the bar but with 3/4 guests on as well. Whilst it has always been busy whenever we've called in, we've never had that much trouble getting served. We may have just been lucky, but we've been in quite a bit on different days/nights. Pretty good for a Wetherspoons.
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Nice large spacious spoons with rear patio area,very slow service but was very busy being sat night, decent pint of ale though, 8/10
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The real ale in this pub was served far too cold and they all but ran out in the last hour before closing time. The impressive building cannot compensate for these shortcomings.
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Its a real shame that service lets this pub down. Unfortunately you always have to wait a long time to be served and there doesn't seem to be enough staff to keep the place clean and tidy. Though there are plenty of good points, the actual building is great(quite grand with large staircase) its part of the original Royal Baths building. Its very big, has a nice outside seating area and has the same value for money associated with the chain.
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Nice building and good outside area for a spoons; otherwise what you come to expect from one of their more upmarket pubs ; very good beer & range
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Worth a visit for the decor alone, otherwise a typical Wetherspoons, with a decent outside drinking area.
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This place is HUGE,best Spoons (for decor) I have been in,a little awkward for acces if your not to good on stairs,usual stuff for spoons,as stated the sevice is quite slow,mainly because of the legnth of the bar,the staff could do with skates,spoons now do a very good range of ciders.
Outside seating available.
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A great place to meet friends, drink and talk. good atmosphere and stunning decor. Drinks are cheap...but service can be very slow as they often seem under staffed in proportion to the number of customers.
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