User name:

Password:

Login


Sign in with Facebook


Not already a member?
Join our community and - Rate & review pubs - Upload pictures - Add events JOIN for free NOW


Chat about:
Approving photos with rpadam on the Pub Forum

Picture of The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)
Image posted by Just a quick pint, then I'm off
Submitted on Saturday, 20th July 2019
With picture contributions to 9749 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (17 more images)
Only members may add pictures, click to receive free membership

The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon), Dunstable

Pub added by elizabeth mcgraw
Unit 2, Grove Park, Court Drive
Dunstable
LU5 4GP
Phone: 01582471452
Correct details

Pub Type

J D Wetherspoon

Served areas

Reviews of The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon) (Average Rating: 6 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)

Large and modern branch of Wetherspoon's situated in a retail park just to the east of Dunstable town centre. It feels quite spacious and much brighter than most old-style 'spoon's.

Customers here were forming an orderly queue for the bar. Most were ordering meals. So, I'm not sure if this is the 'done' thing here, or whether these particular customers decided to create a queue. I duly joined the back, in any case.

For beers, the usual suspects were on - Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Sharp's Doom Bar. In addition, there were 3 guests from Kelchner - Masquerade, Local Is Lekker & James Blonde. My Masquerade was a little cloudy, but just about drinkable. Real cider is no longer stocked, or at least was not apparent.

On 29th September 2021 - rating: 5
[User has posted 2442 recommendations about 2441 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)

This is a mid-sized, open plan Wetherspoons set in a modern building close to a large college campus and Grove Park. The room roughly follows a C-shape, with the usual ‘Spoons carpeting throughout and a familiar mix of high tables and stools, standard tables and chairs and one or two comfier banquettes and tub chairs here and there. Unusually, the high tables aren’t lined up directly opposite the bar, as tends to be the case in most ‘Spoons, with that honour going to some tables and chairs formed into booths by the positioning of Covid screens. An L-shaped servery can be found down the right-hand side of the room, with a plain wood counter front embellished with a few stylish inserts and a basic bar back that has been given some cursory decorative flourishes. All of this sits underneath a vast, curved wooden canopy which looks a bit like a gigantic bus shelter, although I feel this description does no favours to the dramatic effect of the whole thing. The room has large for to ceiling windows down two sides, which help make it feel light and airy inside, whilst the walls are painted mostly in red or other such warm shades and decorated with large mirrors, abstract art pieces and the usual muted TV screens. A very large, elaborate wall-mounted arm has been used to hang a pretty big light feature at one end of the room, whilst you can find a life-size statue of the eponymous Hollywood actor sat on a horse at the other end of the room, next to the stairs leading up to the toilets. To the left, doors lead out to a good-sized patio seating area with lots of picnic benches, many of which are sheltered by jumbrellas or small gazeboes.
There were three ‘Spoons regulars on the handpulls alongside two guest ales from the Kelchner Brewery from nearby Ampthill. I ordered a pint of the latter’s Masquerade Red Ale from the waitress who was despatched to my table despite me being sat right opposite the bar and perfectly capable of giving my order to the lady behind the bar without having to get up and approach the counter (as were the rules at the time of my visit). The beer turned out to be nothing special and was perhaps starting to turn a little, with most other customers seemingly favouring lager and bottled beer.
I quite liked this modern building which I thought helped the place stand apart a little from the usual shop-converted branches of the chain. However, it did seem a little too sterile, even by ‘Spoons standards, and didn’t exactly help its cause with sub-par beer and a cluttered, messy feel to the layout. I may have caught this place on a bad day, but I left feeling I could quite happily have dropped this from my itinerary without feeling like I missed out on much.

On 17th August 2021 - rating: 5
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)

Large 'L'-shaped 'spoons named after the Hollywood star nearby before emigrating to America with his family. Housed in one corner of the large modern Dunstable Centre development (with BBC Three Counties and the Grove Theatre as neighbours), this has a towering ceiling and full-height windows so feels light and airy. Some external tables can also be found overlooking the Grove House Gardens. Not much doing on the two banks of five handpumps, with the Cairngorm Trade Winds (just £1.89 on a Monday) being about the best of three beers and a cider as alternatives to the trio of Ruddles, Doom Bar and Abbot.

On 21st July 2019 - rating: 6
[User has posted 8066 recommendations about 8066 pubs]


View more reviews of The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon) (6)
External web links for The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)

Pubs Galore is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Pub location see interactive map of local area
Map location corrected by elizabeth mcgraw
Leagrave, 4.12 miles, 1 hr 19 min walk (show)
Luton, 5 miles, 1 hr 36 min walk (show)
Harlington (Beds), 6.35 miles, 2 hr 2 min walk (show)
Latest updates View all updates for The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon), Dunstable
29th Sep 2021, 18:39
Review submitted by Blue Scrumpy
 
17th Aug 2021, 18:43
Review submitted by Pub SignMan

Pub Details

Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.

  • Accommodation : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Bar Billiards : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Beer Festivals : Yes last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Beer Garden : Yes last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • CAMRA Discount : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Car Park : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Child Friendly : Yes last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Darts : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Dog Friendly : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Function Room : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Hot Food : Yes last updated 16 July 2013 by Dave McNally
  • Jukebox : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Karaoke : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Live Music : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Live TV Sports : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Micropub : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Pinball : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Pool Table : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Quiz Night : No last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • Real Ale : Yes last updated 16 July 2013 by Dave McNally
  • Real Cider : No last updated 29 September 2021 by Blue Scrumpy
  • Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 17 August 2021 by Pub SignMan
  • WiFi : Yes last updated 16 July 2013 by Dave McNally
Local pubs

Icon Key: Picture Recommendation Rating Closed