My Addiction With Wetherspoon's

For those who don't know me. I have visited a number of Wetherspoon's pubs around the country. For readers outside the UK. You can say it's a small addiction.

Wetherspoon's is basically a chain of pubs. Like McDonalds, KFC, Subway etc... but rather than serving fast food. Wetherspoon's specialises in cheap alcoholic drinks and meals. The reason I have visited a few Wetherspoon's on my travels is basically what I've said in my last sentence. They do very cheap meals. Depending which one you're in you can have a beef burger with salad (lettuce, onion, and tomato), chips, relish and a drink for only £4.19. With the drink included the price, it can be either a soft drink like a Pepsi or it can be an alcoholic drink like a pink of Strongbow cider. If you think about it. Given their alcoholic drinks range from £2 upwards. You're only paying around £2 extra for a burger and chips. I also approve of their steak deals on Tuesdays, where you can have a rump steak and a drink for around £6.39 but if you pay an extra £2 you can have a bowl of scampi making it a surf and turf. So for around £8 ish you can have a surf and turf. Compared to some pubs that have surf and turf with prices of £10 plus.

I think the small addiction started when I visited The Crown in Worcester in 2006 as a birthday meal from work. It sort of started from there. When we travel around the country as a family, mostly on the weekends we tend to stop at the local Wetherspoon's for lunch. When we were holidaying in Torbay for a number of years self catering, we've visited The London Inn in Torquay a number of times.

I know JD Wetherspoon's have mixed opinions with the public but the fact is their business is booming and they're keeping the faithful pub alive. Given the closure of many pubs over the years. Their menus are set up that tells you how many calories each meal contains. To help the small eater, they have meals with low calories like sweet chilli noodles.

The reason I have decided to blog about Wetherspoon's is down to a running joke at work. Someone I will not name told me I should write a book about them since I've visited so many. The fact is I haven't visited every one of their 800 plus pubs across the UK but I have visited a small percentage of them.

Racking my brains. Here are the Wetherspoon's pubs I have visited over the years.

The Crown - Worcester
The Postal Order - Worcester
The Abraham Derby - Merry Hill Shopping Centre
The Golden Bee - Stratford Upon Avon
The Golden Cross Hotel - Bromsgrove
The Royal Hop Hole Hotel - Tewkesbury
The Bank House - Cheltenham Spa
The Regal - Gloucester
The Dragon Inn - Weston Super Mare
The London Inn - Torquay
The Vigilance - Brixham
The Powder Monkey - Exmouth
The Moon in the Square - Bournemouth
The Tyburn - London
The Bright Helm - Brighton
Cornfield Garage - Eastbourne
The Welkin - Liverpool
The Central Bar - Cardiff
The Royal Enfield - Redditch

The Royal Enfield at Redditch is the latest one I visited today. Making it my 19th Wetherspoon's pub. Each one I visited does have it's differences.

The Royal Hop Hole in Tewkesbury is classed a listed building and have been told by the staff they're not allowed to fry any food. Meaning the chips served are oven baked. According to my mother, The Royal Hop Hole is similar to The Pack Horse (now known as The Courtyard) in Worcester. The Regal in Gloucester is a converted cinema where the screen is replaced by a massive window. The Welkin is the smallest one I have visited and can be very cramped. As it was when I was in there in September 2012. The Bank House has two bars, one on the ground floor the other on the first floor. I was at The Central Bar in Cardiff when Wales played Australia at the Millennium Stadium. Cornfield Garage in Eastbourne is a converted garage.The London Inn in Torquay has a dance floor in their entrance. While The Royal Enfield has karaoke on Monday evenings. It's also a fact that my last visit to London in April had The Tyburn running out of plates had had to resort to using that looks like chopping boards.

I'm not whether it's a myth but it seems most Wetherspoon's has their toilets on another floor that is not on the same floor as the bar. The ones in Cheltenham, Worcester (Postal Order) and London are in the basement. Whilst the one in Stratford Upon Avon, Torquay, Liverpool and Cardiff are upstairs above the bar.

I'm not the only one who has an addiction with Wetherspoon's pubs. My mother has a similar addiction with one of their meals. It all started last autumn when The Golden Bee in Stratford Upon Avon had a trail run with selling hotdog meals. Similar to their burger deals. You can have a footlong smoked hotdog with chips and drink for around £4.19/£5.19 depending which pub you're in. She claims to say it's like the old days of the 1970s. Due to a successful trial at Stratford and other pubs, they've rolled out the hotdog nationwide as from April this year. Given the national rollout, every time she goes in a Wetherspoon's that is not in Stratford, 99% of the time she will order that hotdog.

I will confess that there are two other pubs I do enjoying visiting. The Retreat in Norton outside Worcester and The Wheelbarrow Castle in Radford but with towns and cities. You cannot beat a quick meal at a Wetherspoons.