The Moon On The Square (JD Wetherspoon), Feltham

This is a rather compact High Street branch of the Wetherspoons chain, just down the road from Feltham Station. The pub has a notional two room layout, although this is just an illusion really, caused by a centrally positioned staircase which effectively splits the room in two. The front space is the exception, as it has an open plan feel, with lots of chair and high stool seating filing a broad, carpeted area, dominated by a row of large windows which are ideal for people watching. The servery is down the right-hand wall and has a pleasant counter with curved ends, a mirrored bar back and a modern metal frame pot shelf. High stools serve numerous tables opposite, before the room opens out again to the rear, albeit with a large pillar in the middle. Tables and chairs fill the space, along with some banquette booths across the back wall. A few local black and white photos on the wood panelled walls add some visual distraction and are further enhanced by the addition of some aviation bits and bobs, which hint at the pub's proximity to Heathrow Airport. Stairs lead up to the toilets and they have a large crescent moon sculpture hung above them, with an unidentified character sat on it. A row of slot machines near the rear entrance, was quite well secluded from general view and TV screens showing muted live rugby kept folk entertained and distracted from what felt like a rather grotty and unclean pub. On the bar, the three usual regular 'Spoons ales were doubled up but there was still enough space for five guests as well. I tried a pint of Zulu Blonde for just £2.55, which I think was part of their beer festival and might therefore explain why so many beers were on. It was a decent enough pint and I had to sit at the very back of the room to drink it, as the Saturday evening crowd had taken just about every other table. I didn't find much to get excited about here, in what appeared to be a grubby, cluttered 'Spoons with a dubious customer base. Only the varied ale range caught my attention, but that alone wouldn't tempt me back for a return visit. Its worth a look, solely because there are so few other decent pubs in Feltham, but set your expectations low - as I was leaving, one of the regulars confessed to me that he hates the pub but that it's the only one he can get to, which kind of summed it up for me. Date of visit - 14th October 2023

Mid 90s Victoriana Spoons (dark wood, glass, booths), only a few yards from the station. Edgy atmosphere on a Tuesday (!) with trouble clearly brewing and indeed it boiled-over that a full-on scrap ensued amongst the knuckle-dragging locals to the extent that the pub was locked-up; staff gave the impression they’d seen it all before (subsequently backed-up by a couple of locals/spectators I chatted to as the screaming chimpesses - for it was mainly ladies - went at each other outside) and were somewhat slow to hit the button despite it being clear to anyone not half-cut it was about to kick-off; they could have thrown them out and saved the grief. That rather took my eye off the reviewing ball, though my notes say that here was three guest cask and my Twickenham was a little under-par (NBSS 2.5). Let’s say I won’t be gracing here, or Feltham, anytime in the foreseeable. Hard-Fi were right…

Official site of Moon On The Square (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of Moon On The Square (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

'Moon on the Square' is probably the best pub in Feltham at the moment. Their selection of world beers is always welcome. The staff, although often quite young, are always efficient (well-trained), polite+friendly. And will sometimes engage in conversation (which is rare in a lot of London pubs)! I like the MOTS, it's a good, honest pub. 'JDW' seem to know how to run a pub properly! :o) I've upped my rating: 6

"MOON ON THE SQUARE", Feltham:- this is a proper working man's pub, and whenever I visit, no matter what time of the day...it's ALWAYS busy! :o) Ol' J.D.W. must be doing something right, it's a popular pub. Full of airport workers, and shift workers. The best thing about this pub is it's the closest pub to Feltham train station, so if you've got 20 mins 'til your train comes...you've got time for 1 pint :o) I used to try to avoid going in "MOTS" because of its past bad reputation. You may still see a bit of trouble here on a Friday or Sat.night (...I don't know, I don't visit then)! But during the week it seems OK. The barstaff always seem on-the-ball, and I did see a chap refused service at the bar here the other day (6.00pm) because he'd already had a skinful. That's responsible bar serving for you. Well done "MOTS" staff :o) I was also impressed with their 'world beer' selection. I plumped for the 'Goose Island' pale ale, which is from Chicago, USA. (£1.50 for a bottle) which instantly reminded me of the one-and-only time I was in New York. The Goose has a distinctive flavour. Try it, you might like it! Toilets are in fact a bit of an uphill trek...! (upstairs) so be aware if you've had a couple! You do see some 'colourful characters' in 'MOTS' but on the whole, down-to-earth, and fairly reasonable. NOT everyone's cuppa tea..! But, I will revisit, if just to re-taste 'NY' while waiting for the next train home! I've increased my rating from 4/10 to 5/10 for their 'world beers' selection :o)

This is a typical Spoons in a shopping area near Feltham Station dating from 1995. It's a two storey modern square building that looks wholly uninspiring from outside and doesn't get much better once you enter it. The bar is on the right and there is the usual Spoons mix of tables and chairs. There was a staircase that I assume led to the toilets. It was remarkably busy at around 11:00 on a Friday Morning. There are two banks of six pumps, but you may as well forget the left six as it's just the two GK beers and boring Directors doubled up. Gwynt Y Ddraig and Marcle Hill ciders left four guest beers, Adnam's / Sixpoint Bengali Tiger, Cotswold Spring Ambler, Holt's Maple Moon and Bingham's Dana-Mite Blonde. I went for the Bengali Tiger (£2.29) which was in good condition, but not as good as I had tried it elsewhere a few days earlier. It's GBG listed which probably says more about the rubbish pubs that I saw from the bus on my way here than its own merits.