To praise Wetherspoons

The local one is awful... we are blessed with nice pubs though

Weatherspoons are one of the most family friendly eating places I have ever been. I mean I obviously would not take children in there on a Saturday night, like any pub, but at lunchtime or early evening it is brilliant for children.

My DH and I had our first kiss after a works night out in a Wetherspoons, so it will always have a special place in my heart!

Seriously though OP, I'm with you. Yeah the food isn't exactly masterchef level, but it's affordable and you know what you're going to get. It's also a reasonably 'safe' place if you're on your own and provides lots of older people with somewhere to go for a bit. Well at least the one near me does. We also used to go there during the day with our babies on mat leave, cheaper than costa plus lots more space and bigger tables.

I might start suggesting it on all the 'there's dogs everywhere how am I ever meant to visit a pub/cafe/restaurant threads' .

For me this would be going straight on the positives list 😂😂

I do like the buildings they take over and restore, the ones I’ve been into have usually been really unusual. They serve a wide variety of drinks.
That’s about where my love for it stops though. The tables of any I’ve ever been in have always been filthy/sticky, I went to a couple and the glasses were dirty and the food was horrible!
Fine for a drink at the station while waiting for a train home, not somewhere I’d suggest as a night out.

So you haven't actually tried the food?

Not sure how you can judge somewhere you have never set foot in.

Is that on Oxford Rd ? It looks familiar 😉.
The one in Stevenson square ( about a 5/10 min bus ride ) is nice , unlike most WS it's not a huge open space it's got smaller cosy rooms.

I think it probably depends on location and time of day / week as to whether I like Spoons. To be fair a lot of my experiences of Spoons are a long time ago now. I had two nearby. One was nice but got rammed with drunks on Friday / Saturday pre club and there were often fights. The other one was dead and full of sleazy old men at the weekend. Both fine in the week.

It does a job though doesn't it. You know what you will be getting in terms of food, prices, etc.

Funny how it's always the people who have never been in one who say how terrible they are.

By all means boycott them on political grounds but don't just make stuff up to support your argument.

Love Spoons ❤

@Ginburee have you ever eaten their food?

I literally said I don’t care what the venue is. I think anywhere selling alcohol at 9am is questionable. But I dislike the culture around alcohol in general and I don’t drink, so I am aware I am probably in the minority with this view.

Nope, cheap nasty food and the owner was a big Brexit supporter.
I won't ever set foot in one.

The only thing is I wish they would drop their anti dog policy

My elderly aunt loves it. It’s very good value too.

The 5 star Mandrake hotel sells alcohol at 9am. Is that ethically dubious? Or is it okay because it is not cheap?

I got married in a Spoons. There was one in London that was licensed for weddings, although they have now sold it on. It was a very popular wedding venue too.

Anywhere that sells extremely cheap alcohol designed to be consumed immediately at 9am is ethically dubious in my mind. I don’t care if it’s a big brand like Spoons or an independent pub. Nothing inherently wrong with Spoons but the culture of drinking it promotes doesn’t sit well with me.

I have worked in nurseries. Most nurseries treat their staff appallingly, and lots of MN use them.
Its easy to boycott somewhere you were never going to go in the first place.

No he furlouged his staff...and then was miss quoted in the daily mail (who seem to dislike him as they often miss report) they said he told staff to leave and work for Tesco. What he said was as his pubs were closed and the supermarkets were struggling for staff his employees should work there and he would 're employ them when he reopens

Yes and that have horrible/Brexit supporting owners too!

I've dealt with some bloody horrible owners in the hospitality industry and on the Brexit front I live in a strongly Brexit voting area so I'm certain many local pubs owners were in favour of it too. At least Tim Martin does genuinely support UK suppliers in return.

Yes that’s very true 😆

some are absolutely fine for lunch I know it’s not going to be the best food I’ve eaten out but good for the money and some settings are really nice I don’t drink often but they do nice tea and hot chocolate

For example, Amazon treats it's employees appallingly and avoids paying tax in the UK but I bet a lot of Wetherspoons owner haters still use Amazon

nope, I don’t use Amazon or Wetherspoons. I have a long list of shops & businesses that I will not use for a multitude of reasons

I love most spoons, our local one is very popular with elderly people who like the hot drinks refills and cheap meals. It's become a bit of a social Club for a group of ladies I often see in there, the staff take a genuine interest in them........spoons have done more for low income pensioners struggling to keep warm than our present government tbh.