please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Was dragged here kicking and screaming the other day to have a pint years and it looked exactly the same - and I mean exactly! Every chip, scuff and crack was where it was from before. The one - yes one (of a list of twenty-odd beers and eight possible handpumps) - of the festival beers that was on was not in good nick at all and returned to the bar for a bottle of Erdinger instead. Won't be going back I have to say. I've somehow ended up in a few 'Spoons just recently and they are all pretty crap, but this one is down there as one of the worst.
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one of the biggest choices for ales in town but quality seems to be up and down like a yo yo of late (typical spoons)
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Beer to the usual level of Wetherspoons, I had a pint of Adnams Ghost Ship at �1.99 which was OK.
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No longer has SKY Sports.
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Good selection of reasonably well kept beers available here, plus of course Wetherspoons food which fills a hole for a reasonable price, but don't expect a-la-carte though! Pub is huge, lacks atmosphere and is often understaffed (or is staffed by persons not capable of doing their job well) opens at 9am and does a steady trade consisting of the unemployed and smelly old men drinking Guinness for breakfast. Dining area is slightly better and popular with young mothers for coffee and pensioners for the cheap food. Close to bus and rail stations. Sadly it's in the a*se-end of town and seems to attract a fair bit of it's clientele from here. If your passing, it's ok, but there are better pubs not too far away.
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excellent customer service from this pub duty manager on saturday evening 8/10/2011 excellent recommend this pub anytime
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I was reasonably impressed by this Wetherspoons. Oxfordshire Marshmellow, Vale Gravitas, Ruddles Best, Greene King Abbot, Oakham White Dwarf & Arundel Summer Daze were the real ales. Thatchers Traditional, Addlestones, Westons Vintage Organic, Old Rosie & Marcle Hill & Mr Whiteheads Festival Perry were the real ciders and perries on offer. This is a particularly large Spoons. The paintings (presumably featuring scenes from the Pilgrim's Progress) at the rear are quite impressive. Recommended. I can also recommend the Indian restaurant Baraka further up the Midland Road, where we enjoyed a very tasty curry.
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One of the better pubs in town for choice of well kept real ales - one of the few in Bedford to reguarly stock darker beers and more full bodied ales instead of "boys" bitters. Mid Afternoon or later in the eves are the best times for a quiet pint if you dont want to feel like your sitting in a kindergarten or having sports tv "shoved" in your face.
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Better of the two Wetherspoons in the town, handy for the bus station and with helpful staff. So - better than adequate
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still problems getting served if you turn up at the wrong time - ie noon on a saturday, be prepared to be 20th in a queue behind food and coffee orders - however a change of managment in the past few months has meant the real ales are more varied and much better
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Large sprawling Wetherspoons with loads of seating in rooms either side of the main bar. On both my visits it has seemed to suffer the usual JDW understaffing problems. Generally aiming at the lower end of the market, and catching them.
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Full of pikeys and people trying to flog knock off gear.
The people outside seem to be mostly homeless drunks who have been kicked out of the night shelter.
Very rough and intimidating pub.
anonymous - 3 Dec 2008 21:54 |
no amount of cheap bar prices can take away the crap quality of the real ales here - total inconsistancy in terms of choice/availability and quality, lethargic bar service even when the place is almost empty, tables of food left uncleared for hours, on occasions an inability to keep the chill cabinets stocked with (chilled) beer and wine. The good news is apparantly this place is being demolished as part of the town centre recdevelopment (the bad news is JDW might get another site) - This place is the epitomy of a pub chain.
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I have to agree with a lot of the negative comments made about this pub....however.... The curry night is excellent value for money and well worth doing. It's the best venue to watch live sport in Bedford, much better than taking your life in your hands on the High Street. Also the beer of late has improved albeit it's still served way too cold... The only problem is the usual proliferation of wether-folk who have been in the place since 10 in the morning drinking insipid pints of John Smiths!!!
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I found this pub while staying the night in Bedford. Was served stale beer by youths who didn't know what they were doing. Unpleasant drunks were near the back entrance. Such a shame
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A lot of hostile comments (see below), but this Wetherspoons is just what one might expect - an uninspiring watering hole in an uninspiring place like Bedford...
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Cavernous, atmosphere-free pub. Prices extremely cheap, which may explain why it is always filled with terrifyingly drunk pensioners by 3pm every day. Horrible vibe, repulsive food, only benefit being it is not quite as bad as the Nag's Head next door.
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i hereby declare that i will never drink any real ales from this pub again - crap crap crap Atleast there is a good selection of ciders and wines to choose from and you cant get that wrong ? (or could they?)
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yippee they were getting ready for the forthcoming beer festival so instead of 4 cold flat lifeless ales there were about 7 - enough said
anonymous - 8 May 2006 18:17 |
another change of managment ?? another slide down the slippery slope to oblivion, lousy guest beer options and availibility - even the guest lager is usually not on, - dont bother
anonymous - 22 Feb 2006 22:04 |
this wetherspoons can either be really good or bloody awful - on this visit the latter as i gave up waiting to be served and went to The Ship in St Cuthberts Street where they were interested in my hard earned cash ! nil point JDW
anonymous - 20 Dec 2005 07:52 |
Very smoky. Cheap drinks and my 18 year old sister is a bigfan which speaks volumes. Not a brilliant location - right in the middle of the town centre near a busy road and on the corner of a large street chock-full of dreary, fluorescent-lit kebab and burger bars - i.e this is a pre-club watering hole. Service isnt brilliant either. Nice exterior though, recently refurbished - shame the pub itself doesn't quite match up.
anonymous - 13 Oct 2005 23:04 |
Very smokey pub, full of young drunk people on friday and saturday night, avoid!
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This is one of the few Wetherspoon's outlets that has a big screen TV and shows most sporting events, which can attract the younger ages and can liven it up somewhat. I do, however, have to agree with the comments regarding service. Even when it's quiet the staff certainly allow you to get a thirst on before serving! Plenty of seating and family/children friendly segregated restaurant area.
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Food service is dismal, beer poor, good wheelchair facilities
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good cheap food, cheap drinks, my 5 year old son loves it there.
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The worst of Wetherspoons. A friend of mine said Wetherspoons like this are freaky. Sit in one for over half an hour, look up and you could be anywheree. Even the customers look the same. How right he is. Also managed to ruin a pint of Exmoor Gold.
Graham - 9 Oct 2004 17:35 |
The best thing to say is that it`s better than the other JDW in the town.Bring gloves if drinking the real ale!!
alan - 8 Oct 2004 10:27 |
revisited last night, nice and quiet, i am still wondering if the chairman of wetherspoons ever tried the real ales his pubs dish up ? 2 pints of "still life" i had....
Steve - 8 Sep 2004 12:06 |
If The Bankers Draft is the Bedford Wetherspoon's creche then this is the Wetherspoon's rest home. An older set here plus the usual nutters and posties attracted by cheap booze and decor nicked from your mum's house.
Eamonn - 8 Jun 2004 18:55 |
Big place generally for an older set. Service was slow. I celebrated a couple birthdays waiting to order lunch. But the food and drink were decent enough.
jason - 5 Apr 2004 23:10 |
One of 2 JD wetherspoons in Bedford, i dont know if its just me but the bigger Wetherspoons gets the worse the pubs become ? The one good thing i can say about this Wetherspoons is thats its sooooo huge you can always find a dark corner for a quiet undisturbed pint, the bar staff on the whole are friendly and helpful - though like most Wetherspoons you will grow old and grey waiting for service at busy times. From a real ale drinkers perspective Wetherspoons is a welcome addition to a town mostly dominated by two regional brewers, its just such a shame Wetherspoons seem to intruct their staff to keep their ales in an almost refrigerated state thus killing any remnants of flavour the beer may have possessed, so i will probably stick to the wine list for future visits.
Steve - 5 Oct 2003 13:04 |
