The Bank Statement (JD Wetherspoon), Swansea

As might be expected from a bank conversion this is a fairly grandiose Spoons but is rather let down by only having six hand pumps. The area at the front has a high decorative ceiling while at the back the ceiling is low and it is rather gloomy. The bar is on the right and on my visit had one unused, Abbot, London Pride, Doom Bore, Great Newsome Frothingham Best and Mumbles Gold. I went for the Mumbles Gold (£1.79) as I had just had a pint in the bar next door and thought it would be interesting to compare them. As far as I could tell they were identical apart from the price! I also came here the next day for an early breakfast which was fine. I can't help thinking this would be so much better if they got rid of the Lloyds branding and increased the beer choice. It is GBG 2015 listed.

This is a large Lloyds No. 1 bar on Swansea’s busy binge drinking strip. As the name suggests, the place is a bank conversion, which opened back in 1998, around which time I recall fierce price wars between this pub and the now closed Goose and Granite over the road, with prices dropping well below £1 a pint before the police put a stop to it, much to the annoyance of us grateful student types. You enter through a nice high porch into a vast open room with the servery running down the right hand wall. Several recesses are built into the opposite wall with U shaped banquettes fitted inside to create cosy booths. In the space between, the usual mix of seating options fills this part of the room nicely and leaves a gap for vertical drinkers on busy nights. The ceiling is fairly decorative, but overall the pub lacks some of the more opulent characteristics associated with bank conversions. The room extends quite a way to the rear and despite being a Lloyds bar rather than a standard Wetherspoons, I always felt it was a versatile venue that would be acceptable to the traditionalist as much as the Friday night revellers. There are six hand pumps, four of which were dispensing guest ales on my visit, with the remaining two kept for a couple of ‘Spoons regulars. The service is generally pretty good (they appear to have replenished their stock of wine glasses since the previous review) and the breakfast I tucked into was the usual good value, hearty stuff. Whilst I would always pick the Potter’s Wheel over this place for best ‘Spoons in town, this pub still has its good points and is worth dropping into if you’re on Wind Street, especially as a double header with the nearby No Sign Wine Bar.