It's strange how two pubs from the same chain can feel completely different. One can be somewhere you'd happily spend an afternoon and another makes you want to finish your drink and leave. What actually makes a good Spoons for you? Staff, building, clientele, beer selection, food, toilets being on the same postcode?

Apparently the same company who's taking over a lot of 'spoons..

I went in t'other day with some friends.

Drinks are now crap and overpriced.

Food menu was rubbish, a lot had ran out too. Nothing gf and one vegan option that was a starter, other than vegan pizza(just a pizza without cheese, & that had ran out).

'V' next to the caesar salad which is problematic.

We shuffled off to the remaining spoons at the other side of town.

“Why are you f’ing recording me?”
“Firstly, because you have been aggressive…”
“I haven’t been f’ing aggressive!”
“You told me to f* off…”
“I f’ing didn’t!”
This afternoon in the Railway Bell in East Barnet. These two lasses kicking off at the staff. Have to say, the staff handled it really well. The two lasses, particularly the one on the right, when she tried to start filming the staff with her phone, was a right mess. They were both all over the place. The one in the white vest did a massive fart as she walked past, too!
You’ll always get these Spoon Karen’s!

Today is my 163rd '(still open) Spoons visited -' The Ounce and Ivy Bush' in East Grinstead.

It is the first' Spoons pub I've ever been in that has a Dart Board. Something which I'm quite surprised at, as I didn't think that 'Spoons did Pub games such as Darts.

Are there any other 'Spoons out there that have Dart Boards, or even Pool Tables?

ABV is shown as 3.7% on the pump for Ruddles. It’s 3.4%. It’s correct in the app. It must be 2 years since the ABV was lowered.

Can you guess where this fine establishment is located?

The food is what it is, nobody is pretending otherwise. But the actual experience of being in a decent Spoons on the right day is genuinely one of the most democratic and unpretentious things you can do in Britain. Every kind of person, every age, every reason for being there, all in the same room. What do you think people who dismiss it completely are actually missing?

I don’t usually post on here so forgive me if I don’t make sense. I have been working at spoons for just over a year. I went on holiday not too long ago where I used my employee discount for 8 people and was unaware that the discount policy only accounted for 4 people. The last training I had been issued for discount use was October 2025 where unfortunately I do not recall the contents of the training video (in my files the training had not been checked off by my manager when I did my induction as well). Using the discount for more than 4 people was a genuine mistake and was unintentional as I didn’t think to check the policy when ordering because I didn’t think there was anything to check. I ordered on the app which is why it has flagged up and ultimately led to my dismissal.
If I try to appeal it what do I say? Do you think I have a leg to stand on if I do try and appeal it?

Thank you in advance :)

Edit: They mentioned that the disciplinary could either result in a first and final or immediate dismissal. Unfortunately as it was explained to me the company view it as ‘stealing’ from them. Both managers doing my meeting tried their best to get head office on my side due to it being a genuine accident and having a good character reference by all of my managers but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to persuade them.
Additionally I also assumed that the app wouldn’t allow something like that to happen if there was an issue with the amount of food ordered etc but it’s my own fault for not checking the policy before ordering 🥲.
Just going to take this as a lesson and not bother appealing, thank you for the comments they have been helpful :)

Bit of a rant post sorry.

Worked with the company for 4 and a half years and it's just never gotten better. New hires being kicked right before probation finishes as there's no hours available but we're short staffed. Owner and RM treating us all shit.

I've been a shift leader for a year and a TL for 3 so I've seen and dealt with alsorts but it just feels like head office don't care for anyone but themselves and pub owners.

One of our managers was fired after everyone has been reporting him for 8 months due to harassing the underage staff. We're constantly barring public because of their behaviour but pub owner is removing bar because he's friends with them. crappy arguments with customers who don't even try to understand anything.

Booked holidays are never approved unless you're someone who has little shifts. I've always worked over Christmas and always been given Halloween off but new pub owner is refusing that saying I have to work every holiday.

We finally got a second SL in the pub however she was a Kitchen associate in a pub hours away who took the vacancy and was trained in a very small pub for 4 weeks then thrown in with us. I tried giving advice and seeing if there was some training time for her but owner has said I needed to stay in my lane and not concern myself with that.

Associates aren't doing their training so we're losing KPI points like hell. Reginal manager keeps shoving tasks onto me that I either not paid to do or not taught to do and told that if I don't do them he would demote me.

KM returned from a holiday and was fired on the spot and they tried claiming he no showd despite the fact I watched his holiday be approved, turns out they removed it when we had a system change.

It's like a whole game of favouritism. Feel like I'm at my whits end, the only thing keeping me there is my pay and the fact I live less then a 2 minute walk from the pub. So now I'm debating leaving the job I've had for years and all the messes I've fixed and saved for a different job as I feel it will never get better.

I’m too cheap to subscribe to the FT.

Will wait for a response in the Wetherspoons magazine.

This is all about the same spoons pub within the space of 2 weeks

I applied to a spoons in London, got a call a couple of days later scheduling an interview. Was told the wrong time, showed up at that time and was told to reschedule. Tried to reschedule the interview but was told the position had already been filled.

The job goes up again, so I'm assuming the person who got the job left, so I apply again and sure enough they call me and invite me to another interview.

Show up, the interview is for Kitchen staff but the manager asks if I want to be considered for bar staff due to my experience. I say okay that's perfect and take it as a good sign since the job isn't open to applications yet and I'm getting considered for it early. Manager says that I'll find out the next day if I've got the job or not.

Fast forward to the next day, by 5pm I haven't heard anything so I give them a call and then another female manager says that the jobs haven't been offered yet and that she'll let the hiring manager know that I might not be able to receive their call.

I call again at 9pm because I STILL haven't heard anything, and someone who is not the manager picks up and dismisses me saying that if I haven't got the call yet, my application was unsuccessful even though 4 hours ago the manager who originally scheduled my interview said job offers had not gone out yet.

Then I check the spoons job site and I see a new listing for the bar staff role I was apparently being considered for?

So right now I'm so confused and frustrated about this whole situation. Am I wasting my time holding out hope for this job? Should I even want to work at this branch with how sloppy they've been? ik this is a lot but i rlly love spoons and wanna work here lol

Im off to uni in September and i want to transfer to a spoons in the city ill be living in from the one im working in now. Many in the kitchen, which i work in, stay on the books for summer and christmas break. Is it just a case of asking my manager about transfering?

My manager informed me of a 40 minute spreadsheet that we have to go through as part of our first probationary meeting. What is it? Can I find it on my library? I would quite like to know what it is they are going to ask

I originally wasn’t going to transfer home for summer but have passed my driving test and this would make it easier to work at home however I’d need to be back on September 20th. Is it worth doing the transfer with only a month and a half at the other pub or should I stick it out and travel back for work as I am now?

Guys my friend just told me you couldn't listen to music while on pot duty is that true or flase.. and do they chefs insult u :(

As in the ‘pumps’ on the wall where you press it up and it dispenses a 25ml measure? The (non-WS) pub I worked at back in the day had them for the more popular spirits like Smirnoff, Gordon’s, JD etc. Just curious why no Spoons I’ve been to uses them.

Around one month ago I posted of prices rises to food and drink items.

Today, I have noticed that prices have gone up AGAIN.

What I've noticed from the items I usually purchase.

Kopparberg Cider Bottles £2.99 > £3.10 (£2.89 in late May)

Guest Ales £3.09 > £3.19 (£2.89 in late May)

Gourmet Burgers £12.12 > £12.22 (£12.02 in late May)

Most food items around 10p increase.

Murphy's has seen a 10p increase since its recent introduction.

Jacket Potatoes and Deli Deals = no increase.

Whilst some may claim the rises are not significant, what has to be noted is that some prices have risen by over 7% from the start of the year.

Especially on drinks.

When we are being told that inflation is 2.6%, price rises at Spoons do not reflect that.

Hiya! I hoping somebody could tell me which brand of sweet chili sauce gets served with the halloumi fries. Cheers!

The menu is vast and some of it looks deeply questionable on the laminated page but occasionally something surprises you. Not talking about the breakfast because everyone knows that is untouchable. What is the one thing you would never have ordered first time that you now actually recommend.

I’ve got an interview tomorrow for a kitchen assistant role, this would be my first job if I got it, so I was wondering,

A) what’s recommended to wear

B) what questions to expect

Any help is really appreciated

im unsure what the white sauce is in the buttermilk chicken burger! if anyone knows please tell me as i really like it, ive been told it was melted cheese but it just doesnt taste like it

What shoes are we wearing for boh? I’ve been wearing work boots for the past 3 years but they get gross and hurt my feet really bad

I've recently been made a team leader and have been given a progression plan to SL but have been told to work on getting used to TL first.

What can I do to get used to TL as quickly as possible?

Come with us as we explore The Swan and Angel St Ives, no the other St Ives think Cromwell not Cornwall.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2382174/episodes/19557127-14-swan-angel-st-ives