Our mission is to visit every one of Wetherspoon’s pubs, and through doing that we hope to discover the best (and the worst) pubs in the country. So whenever we visit a new pub, we both rate the venue based on three criteria:

Building

Many of Wetherspoon’s pubs occupy grand, impressive or otherwise interesting buildings. Many used to be banks, theatres or churches, whilst some were built specifically for JD Wetherspoon. When we rate the building we try to take into account a few factors, such as:

• Architecture – is the building interesting to look at? Some are grand and interesting buildings whilst others can be rather bland and uninspiring public houses.
• Heritage & history – is the building a Listed building, or does it have an impressive history?

Interior

Wetherspoon’s are often accused of being dull and dreary inside, and though we’ve certainly encountered a few pubs which fit this stereotype, the truth is that the interiors are often as varied as the buildings they inhabit. Some are huge and open, with tall grand ceilings whilst others are more traditional, with cosy side rooms and warm décor. When we’re rating the interiors we take a variety of things into consideration:

• Size – how large is the pub? Does it feel the right size or is it too small, too large?
• Layout – is the layout of the pub interesting? Some are spread across various levels or with separate rooms, whilst others can feel like one large drinking hall.
• Tables – how are the tables laid out? Some pubs have a spacious layout with a range of booths and banquette seating, but others can be so cramped you’re bumping elbows.
• Décor – is the pub decorated well? A good pub feels inviting and tastefully decorated, but some use mismatching colours or feel aged and dated.
• Theming – some pubs are decorated to match a theme; perhaps the name of the pub, or sometimes paying homage to its location.
• Beer gardens & outside space – not interior per se, but does the pub have a beer garden or terrace? Especially in the warmer weather a large, well-planted beer garden can make all the difference.

Toilets

Many a joke has been made about the distance one has to travel to find the toilets in a Wetherspoon, but we think not enough credit is awarded to the pubs which make a concerted effort to include excellent toilets. The chain has actually won numerous Loo of the Year awards over the years!

We’re able to sample both the men’s and women’s toilets (spoiler alert: the women’s toilets are almost always more glamorously decorated than the men’s) and we each give them a rating based on the design and facilities. The first rating you see is always the men’s, and the latter is the women’s.

Final notes

You’ll notice that we don’t review the pubs based on the service we receive, or the choice of food and drink available on the menu. This was an intentional decision we made.

We plan to visit every one of Wetherspoon’s pubs, a task which will almost certainly take us a few years to accomplish. We want our reviews and ratings to stand the test of time, so our aim is to review the aspects of each pub which should stay the same whether you visit the pub the day after us, six months later, or three years down the line. Menus, prices and drink selections change all the time, and whilst we’ll typically give a special mention to whichever real ale is sampled on our visit, it doesn’t form part of the ratings.

Service would be a very tricky thing for us to review fairly. Sometimes we’ll pop into a pub at 8AM for a breakfast, at which time we’re probably the only ones there; other times we might review a pub at 9PM on Friday night. We also don’t order food from every Spoons we visit – the amount of money we’d spend would be astronomical and I suspect we’d both end up putting on quite a substantial amount of weight. Being a chain, the standard of food and service you can expect in one of Wetherspoon’s pubs is pretty much the same across the board. We’d argue that’s of the charms of Spoons – you know what to expect!