The Moon on the Square (JD Wetherspoon), Northampton

The Moon on the Square is a Weterspoons that faces Northamptons outdoor market. Once inside there is a long oblong shaped room which dog legs to the rear,the bar is on the left side,there are tall tables and chairs on the right side and in the middle area with normal tables and chairs elsewhere,there are steps to the rear right which leads to another area where there are normal tables and chairs. I had a drink og Hanlons Yellow Hammer which was a decent drink,i failed to note all real ales due to people round the bar,but i did note Elgoods Desert Storm and the Spoons regulars Doom Bar,Ruddles Best and GK Abbot. This seemed like a decent enough Wetherspoons to me. Pub visited 1/10/2016

Classic 90’s Spoons conversion, this one is dog legged over two tiers; the main bar is downstairs at ground level, then up a flight of steps off left to a jumbo conservatory. Red and cream shades dominate in what is a pretty functional and uninspiring interior. As it was Sunday morning the ale front had taken a bit of a hit but I managed to spot Moorhouse White Witch and got a good half for my troubles, served-up by a friendly barmaid. We sat in the area atop the steps and took great delight in noting the amount of people tripping over the bottom step, seemingly happening for no obvious reason but three went stumbling in the hour we were there. Perhaps the thing that will stick in my mind much more than the pub itself was the rather unfortunate instance when I entered the gentleman’s office and noted a bloke sat on the throne, doors wide open, trousers round ankles without a care in the world. And yes, dear reader, he did then re-appear downstairs and carry on drinking…

This is a long narrow Spoons that is rather dark but with a lighter conservatory style area up a few steps at the back. It wasn't that busy on my Friday afternoon visit. Although the long bar has two sets of six hand pumps the beer selection wasn't that great. The two GK beers, Broadside and unclipped pumps were all doubled up. This left Phipps Midsummer Meadow, Hoggley's Bitter, Milestone Classic Dark Mild and Stonehenge Pigswill. I went for the Mild (£1.89) which wasn't very good as it was completely flat. To me this was a below par Spoons that I wouldn't make a point of returning to unless I had time to kill waiting for a bus from the nearby bus station.

Prices still good in here as we also paid £1.89 a pint. There were 12 handpumps and we were lucky to find two decent beers on our visit. We went for the Vale Brewery Gravitas and Langton Brewery Woodsman, both were in tip top condition. The rear conservatory area at the back was very busy on our visit with people eating. The front area of the pub has limited seating, as it's so narrow. If the beer is as good as this and for the price, I wouldn't hesitate to pop in again.

Housed in a modern building facing the busy Market Square, the long rectangular bar also has a large side extension located up a flight steps at the rear. Usual furniture and decor, and the only point to note was the number of uncleared tables (which doesn't reflect well on the management). Reasonable selection from 12 handpumps, including a decent pint of Banks & Taylor Dragon Slayer at a remarkable £1.89.