please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
They seem to have kept up the Wetherspoon tradition of understaffing the bar as I had a bit of a wait to get served but the barman was pretty diligent in serving people in the correct order. Went for the Braxator which was a nice enough pint. The have some shiny brewing equipment in the bar and even though it is basically unchanged from the Wetherspoon layout they manage to dispel the feel of a Wetherspoons. Was best beer of the night.
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This old Wetherspoon's pub is now a Brewhouse & Kitchen, brewing its own beers on the premises. Their regular ales are Banker's Draught, Intrepid & Invarsity. There is also a changing beer, which was Braxator. Orchard Pig Maverick was also on tap. Food is promoted and it is family friendly. There is an outdoor area at the rear. Not sure if the CAMRA discount is offered on cider. But I forgot to ask in any case.
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Has now been closed down and sold off in line with 'Spoons current cost-cutting measures. If one of the two of their pubs in the town was to go, I would have said that the Pilgrims would be the one. Not quite sure what their reasoning is, but there you go. This will now be a craft beer emporium by the sounds of it, which I'll dutifully give a try as and when it re-opens.
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Slightly better than it's other Wetherspoons counterpart in town The Pilgrims Progress, probably because that is nearer the bus station and the smelly old men / unemployed / drunks don't like to walk far when they get off the bus. There are still a few characters in here but less so than many Wetherspoons I have been in. The food is standard Wetherspoons fayre and beer quality is good but as with many of these pubs the staffing let the place down - I have stood at the bar for many minutes whilst members of staff mess around / gossip / play on their phones at the other end of the bar oblivious to the fact that customers are waiting. Even a loud cough or clinking glasses together doesn't rouse them from their posting of ironic statuses on Facebook and the like. I have also sat near the kitchen on more than one occasion and heard blazing rows between two or more staff members! So choose your seat carefully! Generally this pub is comfortably busy but you can usually always find a seat. As is often the case though, there are many better pubs in the locality.
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Food is to Whetherspoons standard and has some interesting ales to try. Service good.
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Is said to have had a refurbishment, when I went in there wasn't a great deal of difference inside. The beer and food is the usual Whetherspoons fayre. Didn't stop to buy anything as there were a lot of people waiting.
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Have been here a couple of times recently and the beers have been consistently good I have to say, particularly for Wetherspoon's. Like someone else has said, the usual (stereotyped) suspects are here in droves, but I've never seen any trouble. The staff are friendly too.
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Trendy and smart. Great selection of lagers and spirits including my favourite Jim Bean Black. Always good fun on wednesday when the students come out for their student night and most of the time are all dressed up. Good food prices and friendly service.
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Range of ales greater and quality much better these days. Sadly too many of your worst stereotype nightmare customers from the local pond to make it worth regular trips.
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Adequate 'Spoons with good quality beer but nothing else to either recommend it effusively or criticise it harshly
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OK beer, food is a bit hit and miss, which is obviously microwaved. I had a Pork Roast dinner which tasted of parafin.
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beers usually on their way out and service painfully slow.
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Decent range of beer of reasonable quality. Food was palatable of a bit dry, myself and a mate had pasta meals which were seemingly reheated in the microwave. Will probably go a again but in no rush to.
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good for quiet daytime drink - choice and quality of real ales much improved - batemans, lees and potton brews to name a few
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Im a Bedford regular and we went here the other week to see what it was like on a friday night. (This was our first pub of the evening) It was busy and the door staff ID'ed me although im nearly 30 lol but was fine as i understand why it has to be done..... i was happy until i got to the bar. The rude barmaid ignored me and served everyone else around me and then moved up the other end of the bar so she didnt have to serve me. This was our first pub of the evening. After waiting at the bar for 20 minutes and being ignored my party left without a drink.
We will not be going again.
Sorry if my party of five cant even get a drink you score 1 and only one as the door staff were polite and friendly.
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Pleasant, clean barn-style Lloyds No 1 bar. Only two staff who struggled when it got busy but they were friendly and efficient nonetheless. If you can't get served pop across the road to the Bear and wait for the rush to die down.
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I pulled in here once, so it can't be all bad!
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not much in bedford to shout about..at least this serves real ale and cider..not too far from the bus station to pop in for a pee on that long haul from cambridge to oxford..quite big inside.
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I was served a piece of steak in there that resembled a Bison's testicle. Beware the mixed grill! It was pretty appalling. Half decent pint of beer mind you.
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Pretty much standard Wetherspoons pub branded as a Lloyds so TV screens and music played inappropriately loudly given the relatively few punters in there on the Monday that I visited. My pint of Pedigree was awful but a friend's guest ale was reported to be ok. Staff member didn't know what she was doing and seemed to have the attention span of a goldfish but she had only just started so some leniency due. However, the attitude of the duty manager left much to be desired - when the aforementioned inexperienced staff member approached him to ask what to do with a glove that she had found in the pub his response was "throw it in the bin". What a wonderful approach to lost property!
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The best pub on Bedford High Street by far!!!!!! All the Staff seem well trained and lovely to talk with. Drinks are sooo cheap, at the moment you can get a Gin and a Mixer for 99p!
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The Bankers is by far a better place than its (distant) relative The Pilgrims, the service is quicker, the food better, and the environment nicer. Not high praise, I know, but if you want classy you don't go to McDonalds do you? Be warned though, a small group of us ordered food and returned to our seats only to find that the moment our orders arrived 80% of the lights went out and it all went "disco." I suppose regulars are well aware though.
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Reasonable interior, but spoiled by an array of dirty glasses and plates on every table. It is good to see them support the local Potton brewery, but they don't seem to sell much as the beer was well past its best. Better than the Wetherspoons on the other side of town (The Pilgrims Progress). Just.
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Good atmosphere, service quicker than the rest of town on a busy night. Good range of quick, quality food too! Highly recommended
anonymous - 4 May 2007 11:37 |
There was only one Potton beer available and it tasted awful. The pub itself was awful too. Even though it was before midday, virtually all the tables were full of uncollected empty glasses, plates and general tat.
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good to see this place still supporting the local (Potton Brewery) by selling almost the full range whatever you think of JDW
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Lovely pub, cheaps drink!. Door staff are friendly love it how they acknowledge everyone! Looks really nice in it now. Love the sofas. Food always arrives on time, just one think - they don't do checkbacks.
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now a Lloyds, the non-smoking area has been enlarged (about time too) Also been selling some local beer - from Potton which has to be a good thing. Ok for a brief pint if your passing.
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Okay, it's a Wetherspoon's pub... so I don't expect much. But this, is quite possibly the most disorganised drinking pit I have ever had the displeasure of visiting!!
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Good choice of ales, typical wetherspoons.... cheap n cheerful
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quite smokey this pub, seen worse than this though in bedford, wouldn't come here on saturday night though.
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food is good and inexpensive, bit amoky, very large, nice garden at rear, absolutely packed most nights.
anonymous - 9 Sep 2005 23:10 |
The transformation was immense since my previous visit. The manager David was interacting very well with the locals and seemed to be loving the banter. The atmosphere was very light and welcoming! Hooray for a welcoming friendly local town centre pub. very clean and well air conditioned
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Yes, it's another Wetherspoons, and you couldn't possibly mistake it for anything else. They're not trying to be anything special and, of course, it's not! I agree with Becky (several comments earlier) - start here for a crawl down the High Street, but just don't expect to love it!
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Still big and boring. Lots of people crowd this place and I don't know why.
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seems to have under gone a transformation - real ale was seriously on form, was quiet and not full of the usual chavs etc lets hope it stays this way !
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The other Wetherspoons in town. What a contrast. The food was good, the beer (Everards
Summer Ale) was also good.Admittedly in the middle of the afternoon, but giove me this one over the Pilgroms Progress any time.
Graham - 9 Oct 2004 17:29 |
i do keep coming back here like a lemming thinking i am gonna enjoy the experience but i get thwarted every time ! not withstanding the impossibility of getting served, somewhat indifferent real ales i was confronted with an enormous screen showing olypmic sports (which no one was actually watching) maybe at 11am on a week day when the beer is fresh its worth a try.
Steve - 5 Sep 2004 17:35 |
A good pub to start a night in due to cheap booze and no music so you can catch up with your mates before really starting your night.
Becky - 18 Aug 2004 23:09 |
Near the bus station, which is grimmer and more dangerous.
Vasili - 28 Jul 2004 17:15 |
Giant and Grim. Full of people only there because the beer is cheap. If you must go then escape out to the beer garden if possible.
Eamonn - 6 May 2004 19:41 |
Another Wetherspoons. The idea of turning an old bank into a pub sounds like a clever one on the outside, but inside it's just big and bland. There's was no decor worth mentioning, or none that I could see, cuz the place was packed with students.
jason - 13 Apr 2004 03:20 |
