The Railway, Putney, SW15

An average example of the JDW chain enlightened by the discovery of the upstairs bar and a pretty good pint of Robinson's Young Tom at £1.99. I'm struck time and again by the unbeatable value JDW offers on food & drink but this is always somewhat mitigated by the poor lighting, samey decor and sterile atmosphere. Handy for the station though, if you have half an hour to kill.

This pub is housed in an impressive and magnificent Victorian edifice. Inside it’s an enormous barn of a bog standard Wetherspoon’s, with nothing exceptional about it except that it seemed to have more one-armed bandits than you usually see in a Wetherspoons. Guest ales are a bit more expensive (£2.20 a pint) than the ‘spoons I usually frequent slightly further out from the centre of town, where they are £1.99 a pint, but compared to “normal” pub prices they still represent excellent value. The first pint I ordered (Westerham’s Target) was rank and undrinkable, but this was readily changed for Dorking Brewery No 1, which was not good, but just about drinkable. It’s a ‘spoons – some love them, some hate them. Personally I can take them or leave them, and I think I’ll leave this one.

large 2 floor spoons