Hamilton Hall (JD Wetherspoon), EC2

A splendidly ornate interior in what is a former hotel ballroom, there are moulded nymphs on the upper walls, large mirrors, Rubenesque paintings, gilded cornices and other such features. The ceiling is very high indeed and has enabled a mezzanine area to be installed up a curved stair, complete with its own bar, albeit with a lesser range than the main bar below. Large double storey height windows let in lots of natural light. Very bust early Saturday afternoon, lots of football fans in and vertical drinking the order of the day but quieter and more civilised upstairs. The train departure board is a useful feature. Several guest ales on and for once, no "coming soon" clips, my Kelham Island Pale Rider was in good shape if pricier than a suburban JDW at £3.15. A decent station pub.

An impressive interior and well worth a visit for this alone. We took our drinks up to the Mezzanine floor, which was pleasant enough and gave a good view of the detailed ceiling work and a good overall view of the main space. Our beer choice was Mauldons Suffolk Pride and Brewsters Decadence, both were in great shape. Also the service in here was quick and the staff helpful with our directions.

A large JDW overlooking the concourse at Liverpool Street station. It was one of the early JDW's and was converted from the old booking office. When I first visited the pub there used to be a hymn board on the wall displaying the days closing price of JDW shares as they'd just been lauched on to the stock market. Sadly it's no longer there. There's one large, fairly ornate room with an upstairs area above the bar. I often call in here whilst going back for the tube after a crawl round the area, but it's not one of my favourite JDW's. The range of guest ales is usually pretty poor, even during a festival and the bar staff are pretty useless. I still keep calling in for one though as the beer quality is pretty good.