The Beaten Docket (JD Wetherspoon), Cricklewood, NW2

A tidy and upmarket old skool suburban Spoons (1991 opener) overseen by quite the Irish matriarch; hard on the outside but soft on the inside if you remember to say please and thank you. Faux Victoriana interior of the period with plenty of wood panelling like the one up the road in Kingsbury, along with the usual booths and pub carpet. Blue and white colour scheme in the non-woody areas. GBG listed and proudly displaying its credentials, I certainly couldn’t argue with the quality of my Cairngorm Nessie’s Monster Mash (NBSS 4) which was my pick amongst the four guest casks. A quiet and polite crowd in at lunchtime, including a few old boys in suits. 7.5

This is a relatively small branch of the Wetherspoons chain, located on the main street in the centre of Cricklewood, around a 15-minute uphill walk from Kilburn station. It’s a typical early-style, North London ‘Spoons, with plenty of carpet, wood panelled walls and slightly dated décor. The pub has an L-shaped layout, with the entrance taking you directly to the bar, with a small seating area to your right and a much larger one, in what I assume would once have been a separate shop unit, to the left. Aside from one row of high tables and stools directly opposite the bar, most of the seating comes either in the form of basic tables and chairs, or a set of cosy looking banquette booths down the left-hand wall and in the front right corner. The booths are all nicely screened from one another by a mix of modern etched or stained-glass panes set into attractive, arched wooden frames. The servery, which turns 90 degrees in order to serve the front and left sides of the room, has a classic dark wood counter and mirrored bar back with some nice glasswork through the gantry. The walls have been decorated with numerous paintings, including a notably large one near the entrance, plus plenty of plain mirrors and a few random bits like some old Victoria bed warmers, whilst copious amounts of fairy lights have been strung throughout the pub, creating a nice, warm ambiance thanks to the muted lighting they afford. The usual ‘Spoons intrusions were all present and correct, including a couple of TV screens showing muted rolling news coverage. There were just the two regular ‘Spoons ales at the bar (no sign of the ubiquitous Doom Bar this time), with three guest ales to pad out the range. I tried a long overdue pint of Theakston Old Peculiar – a favourite of mine that I’ve not seen on cask since pre-pandemic days – and found it to be in excellent condition and a steal at £2.77 a pint. The bar staff here seemed a bit miserable, but the clientele felt very different to the usual ‘Spoons crowd and there was quite a relaxed atmosphere as a result. I was fully expecting this to be another unmemorable, suburban North London ‘Spoons, but it turned out to be a bit of a winner, thanks to plenty of comfy seating options, a nice ambiance, and some well-kept beer. The place was perhaps let down a little by the surly service, but I enjoyed this old-school ‘Spoons and was glad I made the effort to check it out.

Quite a large pleasant pub but few guest ales but this is not a cask beer area.Tried the Wolf -Granny Wouldn't Like It and had to agree with her.Not a great beer.

For such a large 'spoons, three guest ales on isn't good, and no doubt reflects the drinking preferences of the customer base. The three guest ales were Barley Brown's Blck IPA, Adnam's Broadside and Triple fff Alton's Pride. The usual ersatz Ruddles stuff was also available. This is a very large fronted shop(s) conversion, but in usual 'spoons style it stretches back a fair way on the left. There's a bit of pavement seating out at the front. The furnishings are the 'spoons standard issue, and the walls have the usual array of prints on them. A couple of the larger prints near where I sat were horseracing related, which seemed somewhat appropriate as most of the accents I heard were Irish. It also had its fair share of all day drinkers. This is a standard 'spoons, and jolly useful when looking for somewhere to have brunch at 11.30 in the morning.

This is an old school Spoons shop conversion dating from 1991. Although there are 10 pumps there were only five beers on, all doubled up. These were GK Abbot and Ruddles, Adnam's Old, Itchen Valley Tea Clipper and Kelham Island Pale Rider. I went for the Pale Rider (£2.30) which was in superb condition. On my midday arrival there was an old Irish bloke loudly criticising a friend (?) of his for drinking too much before downing his pint and unsteadily leaving! This is a fairly standard Spoons in a rubbish area for pubs.