The Wheatsheaf (JD Wetherspoon), Stoke Central, Stoke-On-Trent

The Wheatsheaf is a relatively small L-shaped Wetherspoons with a bar counter across the rear that supports standard and premium keg alongside twelve hand pumps that were drawing GK Abbot Ale, Sharp’s Doom Bar and Ruddles alongside Black Hole Brewery’s Milky Way, Pheasantry Brewery’s Dancing Dragonfly, Coach House Brewing’s Blueberry and Postlethwaites, GK Abbot Reserve and Keltek Brewery’s King. I thought this was a pretty decent haul for such a small pub, and the old pump clips on the walls of the kitchenette to the left of the bar I think show that someone here is now taking the ale seriously. The friendly barman was a wealth of knowledge regarding Stoke and the surrounding areas that make up Stoke on Trent. Yes this is a very basic JDW, but I quite liked it and would return.

Dull Wetherspoons with a 'L'-shaped bar that was already busy before 11 am. On the plus side, it did have a reasonable selection of real ales from 11 of 12 handpumps, including two beers from Lymestone and one each from Burton Bridge, Titanic, Staffordshire and Corke's Gold (fine value at £2.15).

Passable Spoons with their usuals on, along with a decent selection of other beers. Nothing spectacular about the place.

A fairly small Spoons decked-out in a bland identikit colour scheme of salmon and magnolia (perhaps you could call it terracotta, but I wouldn’t). Low ceilinged and a late ‘90s JDW conversion look. Decent choice of guest ales but poor quality - 2x Lymestone (one was flat and went back, the other was tepid pish) and Sambrooks Junction (middling). Hard to disagree with Mr Bundy’s cogent analysis below (though I note that it is no longer GBG listed). Joyless. 4.5

This is a fairly small and rather drab Wetherspoons pub in the centre of Stoke, converted from a pub of the same name which was famed as a live music venue. On approach there are a few tables with unusual lattice work seats on the pavement - not really ideal on a cold winter's afternoon but handy for the smokers and no doubt put to good use in the summer. You enter into a surprisingly modest L-shaped single room interior, carpeted throughout and with the bar along the rear wall. The servery has a standard wood panelled counter and dark wood bar back, with high tables and chairs opposite plus a few drinking ledges around structural pillars in the centre of the room. Elsewhere, regular tables and chairs fill much of the space to the right whilst banquette booths run along the left hand wall. The room extends slightly to the rear, past one end of the bar, where some further seating options can be found under tongue and groove panelled walls and minimal wood and glass partitioning screens. A couple of TV screens dotted around the place were showing subtitled news coverage and the usual Wetherspoons local info boards were evident throughout, but there really was very little of interest here and I was surprised to discover that this place had previously been a pub, as it very much felt like a typical bland 'Spoons shop conversion. Unlike some of the previous reviewers, the plus point for me was the beer, with seven guest ales available alongside just two JDW regulars and one unused pump. I plumped for a pint of the Tring Tea Kettle Stout, served after a bit of a wait, by a very pleasant barmaid and in the sort of shape I would expect from a Good Beer Guide listed pub. I also stopped here for a quick bite to eat before my train home and the food came out nice and quickly and was the usual no frills, reliable fayre you come to expect from the chain. I found this place quite difficult to warm to and felt it lacked any kind of warmth or character, which was a bit of a shame given the decent pint I enjoyed here. I may have caught the pub at a bad time, but even with a livelier crowd, you can't get past the fact that this feels a bit like a typical drinking barn style establishment. Not one of the chain's better efforts and one I'm unlikely to revisit given the superior alternatives nearby.

If this place is on the the GBG listed guide then they need to have a look at themselves.

This is a GBG listed Spoons that was disappointing on the beer front but was nowhere near as busy as the two I had visited earlier. It opened in 1999 and is small for a Spoons but other than that is fairly typical. Ironically this was the only one of three pubs near Stoke Railway Station that was showing the tedious Cup Final, there were about six people watching! The bar has twelve Hand Pumps but three were unused, two were the usual GK Beers, two were ciders and Lymestone Stooker's Ashlar was doubled up. The remaining three had a house beer called the Wheatsheaf something or other, Titanic Captain Smith and Springhead Drop O' The Black Stuff. I went for the Captain Smith which was in good nick. I also had something to eat with the pint which was fine. Despite being a regular GBG entry the beer choice let this place down for me.

A single storey Spoons, with a terracotta painted interior. I noticed a hand painted mural on the ceiling at the main entrance. The ale of interest on this visit was RCH brewery East Street. There was also a Titanic ale on handpump, didn't see the logic there, with the White Star only round the corner. The customers were mostly middle aged and sensible, didn't notice any outstanding characters about the place.