Testing, testing, testing. With Wetherspoon's likely to install itself in the spring, I felt it my duty to see what all the fuss was about. Off to Yr Wyddgrug/Mold, then, and to the Gold Cape, a J D Wetherspoon's pub. And, not just once, but twice… lunchtime and in the evening. Glutton? Probably. Punishment? Possibly. And we took a brief look at the evening competition.
Thursday Lunchtime
The pub wasn't immediately obvious at The Cross. It's double frontage seemed rather dwarfed by the buildings each side of it. Inside, however, it extends back and towards the south, in an L-shape. There were about 45 covers, some quite tightly packed. The décor was an unattractive though modern brown & beige but with an appealing exposed brick feature behind the bar. The place was busy, though it was easy to find a table. I'd imagined it would be full of youngsters; may be because it was a weekday, but there was a remarkable cross section and it seemed to me that middle aged and older patrons were in the majority. There was a large table of retired men, for example.
There's a huge menu from which to choose. It would be hard not to find something, even if you the strictest of dietary requirements. One comment on here recently suggested that Wetherspoon's is to the pub trade what Tesco is to grocery. It's something to which we've alluded but it may be fairer to suggest that JDW's is more like an upmarket McDonald's. It was almost tempting to try the burger plus chips & drink (including a beer, if you wanted one). At £5.10, it represented incredible value at just 81p more than a large Big Mac "meal". For this, you eat on a plate in surroundings far homelier than a Maccie D's and without the whaa whaa whaa of screaming children. A burger’s a burger, after all.
Rather, my companion (also from Rhuthun/Ruthin) and I chose fish & chips; and a panino at £3.99 plus chips. You have to order at the bar and pay in advance. It wasn’t long before being served. The £1 extra for chips with the panino, this was an absolute rip off. There wasn't even a baker's dozen of them and the whole meal looked lost even on an undersized dinner plate. No complaints about the panino, though.
The battered cod fillet looked dull and uninspiring. The tartar sauce was a little awkward to get out of the small, flimsy cradle but at least there was no cheap-looking sachet. Plenty of chips, some of which went to supplement the poor show with the panino meal. The garden peas went cold almost immediately. The portion wasn't the biggest but, then again, it was lunchtime. At £4.79, you're paying takeaway prices. The advantage of a takeaway is you get bigger fish and more chips. But at JDW you can sit and eat. It’s sociable. No background muzak and it's very conducive to conversation.
Thursday Evening
Thursday's curry club night at JDW. Why not, we thought. Getting a table was an altogether different thing. The place was now packed and after a short wait we managed to squeeze in. It took longer to order at the bar and for the order to appear. The proportion of younger adults had increased, too.
Both curries as ordered were respectable. Just don't expect something from an Indian restaurant. That's a different thing altogether. The portions could've been bigger but with plenty of carbs and fats—rice, naam bread and a couple of poppadoms—it filled you up. At £6.79 each (IIRC) including an alcoholic beverage (if required), I'd say this was acceptable. Can you go wrong at the price?
How Were Other Pubs Doing?We took a walk around Yr Wyddgrug, glancing into other hostelries' lighted windows along the way. Admittedly, this was Thursday evening and neither Friday nor Saturday. Unlike at JDW, there were few punters around, all except for one pub that, if not bursting, was acceptable. The question we couldn't answer was, had people transferred from elsewhere or was Wetherspoon's attracting people who would otherwise be out? Numbers elsewhere were dire.
And so, then, to Rhuthun.
Thursday Lunchtime
The pub wasn't immediately obvious at The Cross. It's double frontage seemed rather dwarfed by the buildings each side of it. Inside, however, it extends back and towards the south, in an L-shape. There were about 45 covers, some quite tightly packed. The décor was an unattractive though modern brown & beige but with an appealing exposed brick feature behind the bar. The place was busy, though it was easy to find a table. I'd imagined it would be full of youngsters; may be because it was a weekday, but there was a remarkable cross section and it seemed to me that middle aged and older patrons were in the majority. There was a large table of retired men, for example.There's a huge menu from which to choose. It would be hard not to find something, even if you the strictest of dietary requirements. One comment on here recently suggested that Wetherspoon's is to the pub trade what Tesco is to grocery. It's something to which we've alluded but it may be fairer to suggest that JDW's is more like an upmarket McDonald's. It was almost tempting to try the burger plus chips & drink (including a beer, if you wanted one). At £5.10, it represented incredible value at just 81p more than a large Big Mac "meal". For this, you eat on a plate in surroundings far homelier than a Maccie D's and without the whaa whaa whaa of screaming children. A burger’s a burger, after all.
Rather, my companion (also from Rhuthun/Ruthin) and I chose fish & chips; and a panino at £3.99 plus chips. You have to order at the bar and pay in advance. It wasn’t long before being served. The £1 extra for chips with the panino, this was an absolute rip off. There wasn't even a baker's dozen of them and the whole meal looked lost even on an undersized dinner plate. No complaints about the panino, though.
The battered cod fillet looked dull and uninspiring. The tartar sauce was a little awkward to get out of the small, flimsy cradle but at least there was no cheap-looking sachet. Plenty of chips, some of which went to supplement the poor show with the panino meal. The garden peas went cold almost immediately. The portion wasn't the biggest but, then again, it was lunchtime. At £4.79, you're paying takeaway prices. The advantage of a takeaway is you get bigger fish and more chips. But at JDW you can sit and eat. It’s sociable. No background muzak and it's very conducive to conversation.Thursday Evening
Thursday's curry club night at JDW. Why not, we thought. Getting a table was an altogether different thing. The place was now packed and after a short wait we managed to squeeze in. It took longer to order at the bar and for the order to appear. The proportion of younger adults had increased, too.
Both curries as ordered were respectable. Just don't expect something from an Indian restaurant. That's a different thing altogether. The portions could've been bigger but with plenty of carbs and fats—rice, naam bread and a couple of poppadoms—it filled you up. At £6.79 each (IIRC) including an alcoholic beverage (if required), I'd say this was acceptable. Can you go wrong at the price?
How Were Other Pubs Doing?We took a walk around Yr Wyddgrug, glancing into other hostelries' lighted windows along the way. Admittedly, this was Thursday evening and neither Friday nor Saturday. Unlike at JDW, there were few punters around, all except for one pub that, if not bursting, was acceptable. The question we couldn't answer was, had people transferred from elsewhere or was Wetherspoon's attracting people who would otherwise be out? Numbers elsewhere were dire.
And so, then, to Rhuthun.
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Wetherspoon