The Masque Haunt (JD Wetherspoon), Old Street, EC1

Official site of The Masque Haunt (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Date of visit: mid-2017. We came here as a group at the time above. It is/was certainly home to a more drunken crowd than typically encountered in a 'spoons and the former William Blake next door was even worse. It's now though a branch of Sports Bar & Grill so I doubt it will have improved; the Old Fountain is across the way. --------------- A return the other night and the staggering all-day drinkers have seemingly been given the heave-ho, an altogether more civilised crowd of seemingly harmless, studenty types, albeit in a venue with sub-standard cubicles. There's the basic cask lineup, along with the now - temporarily universal - Jaipur, two cans of San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa chosen to slake my thirst. Better than the average 'spoons, probably due to its small size, but the Old Fountain and Wenlock are a short walk.

Official site of The Masque Haunt (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Pretty typical Spoons. 4 guests on plus the usual suspects. I went for Elgood's Patron Saint and Batemans XXXB. To be honest neither was very good and I was glad when it got to 11 and other pubs were open!

Arriving into London early on a Sunday and looking to move time on, I looked for the nearest Spoons. This wasn’t the best choice, unfortunately. Fairly gloomy and awkwardly laid out. My Chris Moose tasted suspiciously of Greene King IPA and was poor quality (NBSS 1.5). Some weird pricing at the bar with one of the more innocuous GK Xmas ales priced at over a fiver which I found exceptionally hard to believe; someone, I think, is playing fast and loose. A very poor JDW, has really slipped in the last 10 years. July 2013 A classic JDW conversion (1994), this is a weird one due it being essentially a very long shallow room with a raised seating area. The vast amount of glass frontage can't compensate for a lack of natural light due to high surrounding buildings. Kitted out in the mid-90’s Spoons catalogue, this one appears to be a lot more looked-after (or simply has less damaging patrons) than most of that period’s output 20 years on. In fact it felt almost plush in places despite a particularly pungent ‘Wetherspoons whiff’. Twelve handpumps with a decent guest list (only one of which was off) including two from the nearby Hackney brewery, I tried a hefty abv Hackney IPA and it was in excellent shape; I was almost tempted to delay my onward march to the Wenlock for another. The barmaid perhaps should leave the comedy wind-ups for regulars (“we don’t sell that in halves, only in pints…ha haaaa”) - as a new visitor it was hardly welcoming. Despite her best efforts there was an unusually mixed clientèle, with professional drinkers from the local estates mixing with a number of fairly well-to-do young professionals and a smattering of students. Hardly a destination venue but if you’re in the area it’s worth popping in to see what’s on. I might well alight here again. Rated 6

Date of visit: mid-2017. We came here as a group at the time above. It is/was certainly home to a more drunken crowd than typically encountered in a 'spoons and the former William Blake next door was even worse. It's now though a branch of Sports Bar & Grill so I doubt it will have improved; the Old Fountain is across the way.