King of Wessex, Bathback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
With Wetherspoon’s houses you generally get what you pay for, but recently I have had a bad experience at Victoria Station, and yesterday another having drinks and a meal at the King Of Wessex, Bath's branch of The Walking Stick & Zimmer Frame, turned into a nightmare.
Despite there being a massive bar, customers formed an orderly queue in front of one of the cash registers until one of the two bar staff deigned to serve you. Then they took your order and money before pouring your drinks. Whilst doing that they discussed everything from what they had for dinner to who was in their bed when they woke up!
Ham, Egg and Chips turned up with cold leather eggs and 12 cold chips (or bits of chip) each. When a member of staff passed by we commented on this but there was no concern shown.
We went on to order two desserts and a beer, but only one was served, and despite being able to tell them how much I paid (over £11 including a pint) I was told I would have to pay again.
Then the pint I had purchased with dessert (the same as the first pint of the evening) did not clear, so I took it back and was told that it couldn't be replaced as I had drunk some?
Eventually got a "manager" to agree that the portions were cold and crap, the desserts had been ordered but not both served to the same table, and, perhaps most tellingly, despite the ice machine not working, it was wrong that I got told that I could not have a lemonade and lime because I asked for ice.
We got half the cost of the meal and desserts back, and also given a survey website for Wetherspoons. This will knock their average!
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Ended up here for some cheap food as we knew it would have a highchair for our little 'un, and we wouldn't end up paying through the nose.
Glad too, as it was pretty uninspiring stuff - and I say that as someone normally happy to eat at Wetherspoon's.
Several ales on, and had I not been driving, would've been tempted by an offering from Box Steam.
As for the boozer, it's long and gloomy, as people have previously said, and was really busy on a Friday lunchtime. Posh loos, but the rest of the place didn't inspire you to stay for too long.
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Very large Wetherspoons next to the Odeon cinema
As mentioned in posts below this place is rather uninspiring and apart from the decent range of real ales and cheap food (standard 'spoons staples) there really is not a great deal to say about the pub.
Lots of tables and chairs crammed in.
I came in around 11.30 on a Sunday and it was pretty busy already.
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In all my 15 years of pretty regular drop-ins to Bath, I have never even considered seeking out the local JD Wetherspoon's outlet. Quite besides the fact that I'm not even sure there was one until relatively recently, the obvious reason is because with the plethora of pub paragons in this vicinity, there should simply be no need to bother. It will almost inevitably be inferior by comparison! Other than genericism of expectation (which can be a blessing in an area poorly-stocked with decent ale or food houses), particularly on pricing (which let's be honest is only a contraint that troubles a minority of punters in Bath), there really is little point in seeking this out.
Having finally had cause to visit the local Wethy here - the appropriately-titled King of Wessex - I can only confirm that I was correct in adopting this view. Let's consider this pub's merits standing alone without comparisons with its more individual counterparts. It harbours all that one comes to expect from a standard JDW pub experience - highly-competitive prices across the board, a reasonable spread and quality of beers (cask is mostly local), an acceptable quality of food across a range of menu options, and clean, tidy and efficient interior design. One doesn't find an impressively-converted old building as it's a brand new construction. But one does find a surprisingly well-heeled mixed clientele (the difference I suppose between Bath and branches in, say, Croydon!). It is all perfectly comfortable and amenable.
But as the previous reviewer made clear: it is characterless, anodyne, and most damningly, decidedly un-Bath! Neither the pub chain nor its customers can avoid that; a Wetherspoons can sometimes mark the zenith of character in some towns, and they do try. But in a stark, functional, bland glass goldfish bowl like this, there is no chance of it developing any authentic patina, irrespective of inherent quality of service and wares. One really could be anywhere in Britain once inside. A less brutally-modern and more charmingly-traditional setting would at least have given this wing of the T Martin empire a leg-up, even though it could never really aspire to becoming one of Bath's top destination boozers. As it is, it is one of the most forgettable experiences one can have locally. There are WORSE pubs here by far, but even they are at least memorable, if only for the wrong reasons!
My chilli con carne was actually very tasty, as was my pint of Box Steam Rail Ale (3 BS beers were on that day and all were well-kept). And I paid no more than around �6 for them. But it was only the need for speed passing through which negated tempting oneself to get entangled with the many old favourites that brought me here, and other than being in that predicament again, I doubt I'll return. It's not the push factor of this place, so much as the magnetic pull of others.
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This pub boasts a good range of beer at a very reasonable price compared with its competitors, some decent food and probably the best toilets in any pub in Bath. All very commendable and yet ...... it's pretty horrible. One large uninspiring rectangular room crammed with as many tables and chairs as can be fitted in. All the atmosphere of a railway buffet at one of the major stations with people continuously coming and going. Slow service at the bar and dull to the n'th degree. Only worth visiting if you have time to kill and it's raining outside.
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@Mr Blue
I think this place won an award for the best kept pub toilets in the West Country a few years ago.
Maybe they should now concentrate on keeping the rest of the place clean! lol.
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I couldn't see myself staying here for any length of time, but it's ok for a brief stop on a crawl. They generally have a couple of interesting beers.
Service can be slow. The food is cheap and I can recommend the Breakfast. By pub standards (which admittedly is pretty low) their gents are first class.
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Pub No.1 on our crawl of Bath. Okay it's a Wetherspoons so it lacks any atmosphere but it more than makes up for it in it's selection of beers (especially as there's a beer festival on at the moment) and also the decently priced food. We partook in a hearty cooked breakfast to set ourselves up for today's crawl of Bath while sampling a Holdens - Burton Runner & Three B's - Oatmeal Stout.
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Horrible, horrible Wetherspoons. Worst one I've ever been in. Bad design, no atmosphere and less beer choice than other 'spoons. Not even worth going into while waiting for the cinema.
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As Wetherspoons go, this is a bad un, they are never great but sometimes you can get a reasonable beer, not seemingly in this one. Packed at all times of day by the looks, but that is also par for the course.
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Since my last post, I have been back a couple of times, and I am pleased to report that service has improved. The main improvement is that the Manager is a real ale enthusiast, and the beer quality and range is definitely improving, with Butcombe and Bath Ales featuring regularly, at the expense of Courage Dishwater and Pedigree. Fingers crossed that the improvement is maintained.
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Back in May, I posted about improved service, sadly that is no longer the case yet again. How difficult is it to keep staff behind the bar? Often, there are just 1/2 people serving, and help does not arrive until the queue is about 2 deep. If they are going to offer cocktails or coffeees that take time to make, then staff the bar appropriately! On the rare occasions that the queue goes, staff immediately vanish so that it builds up yet again.
I have used many JDW Pubs, and never found one that is so sparsely staffed behind the bar. I have written and complained, but any improvement is only ever temporary. Maybe a cheap pub in an expensive tourist area breeds complacency? Whatever the reason, the Management of this Pub needs a massive kick up the arse!
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Lets be honest Wetherspoons will only ever be for the cheap beer. It does that really well and there is always a good selection. Ditto on previous posts about the staff, I aged 1 year and 2 months while waiting for a drink once - should have just walked out. Lol. Anyway the place has nothing other than that, it is a soul destroying place with no atmosphere and I must say is one of the worst Wetherspoons I have been to.
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Not a bomb zone on my recent visit-for a change. Traditional spoons staff social club meeting in the washing up area though and only one girl left serving. Bizarrely the guest ales,which included Coach House Cinnamon(excellent), York Centurians Ghost(v good) ,B&T Aragon,Hilden Molly Stout and something from Hanby were all �1.39 while Courage Worst, and draught dogfarts aka Pedigree were �1.89. Football with volume on the telly but no one interested. This place needs a kick in the arse and if it got it it could become reasonable.
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Good choice of real ale and very cheap, but why do they keep it so cold? Sometimes can tak 10+ minutes to get served. I've walked out a couple of times after waiting ages to get served. Not the best Wetherspoons I've been to.
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Compared to some JDW this place has no character.
On the plus side, good selection of beer, reasonable prices, great toilets, which is very rare in a pub. Ambience can be poor, not just the aircraft hanger room, but some of the clientele attracted by cheap booze. OK for a swiftie, but I wouldn't hang around.
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Walk on by
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Since my post of July 2007, I would add that the service has improved considerably. Sadly, the real ale quality can still be a bit iffy on occasions, but credit where it is due, during the recent International Beer Festival the beer was very well served.
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Was down in Bath for the weekend and as it was a surprise weekend arranged by the wife and she did not tell me where we were going, was unable to utilise beerinthe evening to research decent watering holes before coming down. Popped into this Wetherspoons as it was one of the first pubs we came across from the direction of our Hotel.
The beer was OK , but also have to say not one of the best JDW's I've been in and it's design and location gave it a strange ambiance that I could not put my finger on at the time and a feeling that I had been in a JDW that had been very similar in feeling.
Now on reading the reports below , Haggisbasher has put it in place for me, as that will be the same ambiance as the one at Heathrow airport then...
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Reduction in rating.
Visited yesterday,would have probably stayed but every vacant table was piled high with glasses and plates of long abandoned food.
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Blanmd, even by JDW standards, and the speed of service really is poor. If the queue goes, so do the staff, only to return once things are out of hand. On the plus side, the beer is normally good and it is cheap.
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Good experience here last week,good selection of ales,pleasant managers/staff. Lost �7 in the ITBOX,expected to be given the usual"we'll call the engineer" bull and never see me money but the manager coughed up with apologies!! Not bad.
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A very large pub, and very busy. Non smoking though which is a redeeming feature. Good range of alcohol and extremely cheap. Great place to go before the cinema.
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They have built an airport departure lounge planted it in a cinema and filled it with the worst that package holidays and 18 - 30's have to offer without the safe knowledge that armed police will be along to sort it out in the end. Pub games include long distance vomiting and olympic standard stupidity. JWD pubs were all that were missing from the Plagues visited upon the Egyptians.
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Banned smoking early, which is a positive, as is the selection of drinks. However dont expect to get served on a Friday or Saturday night- it usually takes half an hour! OK on other nights though, but would stick to elsewhere as its all one big open plan, plain and boring and in a modern cinema complex opposite TGI Fridays.
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This is a new build venue and rather "plastic". Suffers from the usual Wetherspoons problem - the drinks are too cheap. To maintain margins, staffing is minimal and queues at the bar are excessive. The pricing also attracts customers who are there simply to get tanked up cheaply. However, this had a reasonable cafe-like feel to it on Friday afternoon (before the college students came in) and with the no-smoking rule it was almost civilised. Tried three unusual guest beers which were all fine, food was ok. To be honest, however, with so many great alternatives in Bath, this would not be my venue of choice.
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It's a Wetherspoons, which more or less says it all. It's in a brand new cinema complex so doesn't even have the redeeming features of having character or atmosphere. Feels like a canteen, bouncers fairly friendly though. Smoking ban to be introduced shortly.
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