To not want to eat in Wetherspoons?

[giveitarestplease]

Popped out with BIL and OH today, I absolutely despise Wetherspoons but they love a bargain and aren't too fussy.

I'm not a snob in anyway shape or form I just can't stand it. I eventually went with them and sat in there and waited until they finished.

I just hate the old dirty pubs and how fast the rancid food comes out 🤢 the alcoholics that have been sat there since the moment they opened the doors on the morning.

I'd much rather go to one of our local independent cafes and have a nice lunch and I know it's not coming out of the microwave. I know it's not the same price bracket but you know what I mean.

They always laugh and joke and call me a snob and say I think I'm better than everyone else. But I'm really not and I don't think that.

The ones by me are nice and its good value especially if you say have the steak deal with an alcoholic drink that would cost double somewhere else. There is a few in our local city that are not great inside and full of winos.

The last time I was in Wetherspoons the staff had to call the police because of the behaviour of some drunk lads around 1pm on a Saturday afternoon. They were short staffed. On their knees I was there with my 82 year old Dad and 14 year old son. It was not an enjoyable experience. I'd rather go anywhere else.

I wouldn't eat there either... but i'd have a drink there.

[quote MrsFezziwig]**@FluffyBooBoo I presume that’s the Caley Picture House in Edinburgh. I came on to say that some of them are in lovely old buildings which might well have gone to rack and ruin otherwise (see also the Standing Order and the Booking Office).

I would love them unreservedly (how could you not love a place that specialises in pint cocktails) were it not for the politics of their owner.[/quote]
Exactly. Wetherspoons has preserved some quite astonishing buildings and adapted them sympathetically and well. Until a friend started dragging me to some, my opinion on the chain was borne of a mild snobbery too. But I was wrong. We both hate Tim Martin's politics, but a 'spoons breakfast and unlimited coffee is the bomb.

Take a look at these images of The Coronet, an old cinema which would have been lost without Wetherspoons' attitude to saving old buildings. It's amazing sitting with your drink in front of the safety curtain.

www.google.com/search?q=the+coronet+pub&sxsrf=AOaemvKOVYazWtvBBxMOquTXK3ioTdAZjQ:1635407715885&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwjz_N6_0OzzAhVZSzABHcGoBSoQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1422&bih=677&dpr=1.35#imgrc=CxOW8bW4tr6f5M

PS. Good for your Mum and Dad bringing you up to like good food! It doesn’t have to be expensive and it sounds as if yours was all home-cooked.

So much snobbery on this thread. I had some really nice fish and chips in a clean, bright Wetherspoons located in an old bank last week. It was better value than the quite nice but overpriced set lunch I had in a restaurant in Mayfair yesterday.

Some Wetherspoons are a bit grotty, just as some pubs and restaurants are, but some are really nice.

There an app called Never Spoons which tells you where the countless alternatives to soggy cheap brexit rubbish can be found. Most towns have a thriving independent culture somewhere where you can eat every day of the week and not even have to go near a horrible 'spoons'

Presumably the posters calling her snobby are the sort of people who make Wetherspoons somewhere to avoid.

I wouldn't eat there because of Tim Whatsisknob and his brexit propaganda, and I'm only posting on this thread in case he's been directed to it by his marketing team. Tim, you're a twat.

All the people boycotting due to the owner you also know you're then refusing to support thousands of people who earn a living by working there, right?

Nothing I'm wrong with Wetherspoons.
Decent drink selection, basic menu but ultimately fine. Stop being a snob.

Went out as a group of 3, got 'out voted' about where to go.
Came on an anonymous internet forum to moan about it.
That'll teach 'em🤪

@giveitarestplease

Also I live in the West Midlands maybe our Wetherspoons up here is just a bit different then?

I also live in the West Midlands! And every town has its own Wetherspoons - I don't think I they are homogeneous.

I recognise what you are saying about the lonely older men who spend most of the day in there - they don't give any trouble and I'm glad for them that they can get some company again after the time when the pubs were closed . You may look down on them as being 'alcoholics' but some people have sad lives.

In my local Wetherspoons they do make up a small percentage of the clientele - in others though I haven't seen this .

I often meet my friend in Wetherspoons mid morning for breakfast - and ours is normally full of middle aged couples or groups of friends having coffee and cake (or breakfast) after doing their shopping . It's a lot cheaper than costa !

I don't think that anyone who eats in Wetherspoons thinks they are getting quality food though - it's a convenient place to meet and cheap.

@TinyTickler

All the people boycotting due to the owner you also know you're then refusing to support thousands of people who earn a living by working there, right?

Nothing I'm wrong with Wetherspoons.
Decent drink selection, basic menu but ultimately fine. Stop being a snob.

I don't not eat/drink out because I don't go to wetherspoons. I support staff working elsewhere by eating there. They probably have better working conditions too.

@TrickyD

Presumably the posters calling her snobby are the sort of people who make Wetherspoons somewhere to avoid.

Haha, aren't you a joy!

I'm not an alcoholic (the only type of person that op mentioned), and I don't go to Wetherspoons. But thanks for the laugh!

I'm currently sitting in a local independent cafe with beautiful sea views that costs a lot more than Wetherspoons. Nobody is looking askance at me, so I think I'm okay.

(And before anyone asks why I'm on my phone, I'm waiting for two, also perfectly respectable and not alcohol dependant friends. One has made swearing into an art form though, if that makes a difference).

I drink In there but would not eat in there as the food is dire.

@SatsumaPumpkinFace

I just hate the old dirty pubs and how fast the rancid food comes out 🤢 the alcoholics that have been sat there since the moment they opened the doors on the morning.

Where the hell did you go? All the Wetherspoons I've been to are not like this, or are you exaggerating a tad to get your point across?

You’ve never been to the Spoons in Hastings, have you?

The food's alright for cheap lunch, to be honest. Won't go in them now cos the owner is a twat, though.

Spoons round here isn't dirty, yes there are a fair few alcoholics in there but you get that in a lot of places. You're coming across as a snob.

You agreed to go it but rather than eating lunch like a grown up, you just sat there. I can imagine the face you had on.

You’ve said you’d eat a jacket potato in Morrison’s cafe. Seriously, how different is a Wetherspoons’ jacket going to be?

@welliesarefuntowear

The last time I was in Wetherspoons the staff had to call the police because of the behaviour of some drunk lads around 1pm on a Saturday afternoon. They were short staffed. On their knees I was there with my 82 year old Dad and 14 year old son. It was not an enjoyable experience. I'd rather go anywhere else.

Drunken behaviour is not solely the preserve of Wetherspoons. Visit any town centre on a weekend night and you will find drunks spilling out of non Wetherspoons pubs as well.

Some Wetherspoons pubs are dirty and full of drunks, as are other pubs. Some Wetherspoons pubs are clean and bright and sell food that is perfectly edible.

It seems to me that people are tarring all of them with the same brush.

BTW I live in an area where the majority of people voted for Brexit (we didn't), so the chances are that the independent cafe owner is or was pro Brexit.

I used to work in Wetherspoons as a student. The regular men in the day were generally lovely - the wine group top left and the Newcastle Brown/Theaksons group bottom right! They were either widowed or on their own except for their gang. They had set days per week that they met without fail and looking back I'm glad they had each other for company. One group used to plan a Summer trip to the Blackpool Wetherspoons as a day trip out!

I absolutely hate Tim Martin and wouldn't choose to go in there, though I would say the cleanliness standards were high. We had to do a lot of bar cleaning at night and the standards in the kitchen were very good. Much better than other places I've worked over the years. So, I personally wouldn't object to having a lunch in there. Last ate at the Gatwick airport one when travelling alone, and the app ordering system was really convenient too.

@Whatiswrongwithmyknee

I just hate the old dirty pubs and how fast the rancid food comes out 🤢 the alcoholics that have been sat there since the moment they opened the doors on the morning.

This sounds like massive snobbery. Saying 'I'm not a snob' before this does not make it otherwise. Really this is about you wanting to eat in one place and them wanting to eat in another. The reasons why you don't like their choice are kind of irrelevant. I'm sure they could say equally, if different, disparaging things about your choices.

These seem like perfectly good reasons not to eat there.

@LittleBearPad

OP is perfectly entitled to not to want to eat there. That is irrelevant as BIL and OH are also perfectly entitled to want to eat there. The OP does not like the food or the atmosphere - OK. BIL and OH may not like that in her choice of venue. Saying you don't want to eat somewhere is fine. Saying the food is rancid, calling other patrons alcoholics and generally insinuating that you are superior to the people who want to go there is not OK.

OP can dress is up however she wants but this is just a simple matter of different opinions about where is a good place to get lunch. OP and BIL are also entitled to want to eat there.

Why?

They are pretty fair points.

Many Wetherspoons are pretty grotty. They aren’t necessarily clean and they do attract alcoholics. Why is it snobby to say this?

You are a snob.

I personally don't agree with the ethics of wetherspoons so don't frequent them. But there's nothing wrong with their food for its price and what it is. It doesn't claim to be fine dining.