The Moon Under Water (JD Wetherspoon), Enfield

This struck me as a typical 'spoons, in a most magnificent building with a high vaulted ceiling, that had clearly been extended at the rear to provide a separate room. It looked big enough already to me, but that's 'spoons for you. There was the usual 'spoons clientele, plus some noisy children. Nothing much worth mentioning in the way of decor, although they did have some original paintings by someone called Robert Simmons - personally I wouldn't have given them houseroom, but what do I know about modern art? As is usual, there was a decent range of real ale on. For some reason though, pints of festival ale here were £2.15, instead of the £1.99 I had encountered or heard about in other 'spoons (including in the more expensive than average Assembly Rooms in Epsom) during the beer festival. Anyway, we weren't quibbling about £2.15 a pint. This is a bogstandard 'spoons, even if it is named after Orwell's perfect pub. Apparently it's converted from an old dairy, although it's very churchlike with its high roof and stained glass windows. Odd, but there it is. This one is just fine if you're OK with the typical 'spoons model.

I made my first visit here this lunchtime and overall I was impressed by it. It’s a converted dairy as opposed to a shop or office so is a much more attractive building than most. According to the GBG it has been here for over twenty beers so it must be one of the older surviving Spoons. Another good feature is the fact that the 191 bus stop is literally right outside the door, as the picture shows. I got served quickly with a pint of Mauldon’s Blackadder which was in excellent condition. They also had Adnam’s mild on, something I haven’t seen in a pub for many years. Now it comes to the gripes. They had two Adnam’s beers, the other was Broadside which to be fair is on the current guest beer list. They also had Fuller’s ESB on which isn’t on the list, I can’t remember if Pride was on as well. My gripe is that there seems to be a trend in Spoons pubs to stock beers from big regional brewers rather than micros through their beer agency or direct from local microbrewers. A lot of Spoons serve London Pride at a higher price than the guests, so why do it? I think the answer is that there is a grubby deal between Wetherspoons and pushy sales reps from the breweries involved. In my opinion selling these big regional brewer’s beers at a higher price that micro or local brewer’s beers goes against Tim Martin’s vision for his pub estate, and I certainly don’t like it. Another trend I have noticed in some Spoons is the wasting of a handpump by putting a clip on it to advertise a draught cider such as Black Dragon which is served from a polypin held in the fridge. I would have given this 9, but due to the beer selection issue it gets an 8. It also annoyed me that Holden’s Special was “Available Soon” as I would much rather have ordered this than the Mauldon’s. Despite the gripes I would be happy to return here.

Not at all bad for a 'spoons - friendly welcome and efficient staff, good ever-changing range of (usually) well-kept beers, Normal range of microwaved pre-pack food of the chain. Above average for a 'spoons but average overall.