A Tale of Two Wetherspoons
Published: Nov 7th, 2009 |
I recently visited two Wetherspoons pubs in the Tower Hill area in London – both on the same day. The two pubs are actually quite close to each other and the experience showed the contrast between good and not-so-good in the same chain.
The Liberty Bounds
The Liberty Bounds by Tower Hill tube station
The first pub was the Liberty Bounds in Trinity Square and given it’s location close to where I currently work it’s surprising that I hadn’t visited for a while.
The large windows at the front make the pub a light and airy place – even with the dark red paint on the walls. The windows also let you enjoy the striking view of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London – especially good from the balcony.
The bar and furniture are more traditional in feel than some other ‘Spoons, and the Liberty Bounds has a much more homely feel than some.
The beer selection is pretty good although not in the league of the Crosse Keys in Gracechurch Street. The Itchen Valley Pure Gold I had on this visit was delicious.
The food menu is standard Wetherspoons and I’ve never eaten here so can’t comment on the quality.
My only slight gripe was that it took ages to get served as only one person was serving. This echoes some of the comments on the Beer in the Evening website.
The Goodmans Field
Shortly after leaving the Liberty Bounds I found myself in the Goodmans Field in Mansell St. I have been here a few times recently for leaving parties and it never seems to get any better.
Usually getting served is fairly quick which is good, but you wouldn’t come to the Goodmans Field for atmosphere – it feels so cold and impersonal. The interior is very modern unlike the Liberty Bounds and I think that contributes to the lack of atmosphere.
Beer quality varies and the choice is quite narrow, although I have to say the Otter Amber I was drinking on my last visit was superb.
It’s probably obvious that I couldn’t recommend this pub and I wouldn’t be sad if I never went there again. As I write this though I’m discovering that I’ll be meeting friends there at lunch time…
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