The Postal Order (JD Wetherspoon), Worcester

Fairly standard Spoons which had a decent selection of beers on. I was in very early for breakfast so I didn't try the beer however the food was very good.

Typical bog standard Spoons, complete with mobility scooter going back and forth between bar and table. Guest beers complementing the usual suspects were, Acorn Old Moor Porter, Woods Shropshire Lad,Hop Farm Frizzle, Boss Brave AIPA and Man In A Hat APA which was of average quality.

This is an old school Spoons dating from the beginning of 1997. It's housed in an old red brick building just yards from Worcester Foregate Street Station and was clearly once a post office building. Inside it's a fairly typical last century Spoons, wide at the front and narrowing down at the back. There were two banks of six hand pumps with Ruddles & Abbot, Pope's Absent Friends doubled up, Slater's Top Totty & Queen Bee, Wadworth's Golden Perch, Old Pie Factory Pale, Cheltenham Spa Battledown Porter, a Bespoke Brewing beer and Fortyniner & Snecklifter available soon. I went for the house Absent Friends which was in excellent condition and was £2.20 discounted to £1.99 on Cheapskate Monday. This was a vast improvement on the Crown and I would happily return.

Funny how things can vary, I popped in here for a very late lunch on arriving for a wedding weekend in Worcester, I looked in the other JDW, The Crown, first which had only one beer of interest on and felt dingy and down at heel. I found this one to be much better, five or six guest ales on plus uniquely I reckon, a house brew called "Absent Friends" by Pope's Brewery. The service was friendly, chatty and genuine, not something you can often say about your routine 'spoons. The pub is, as you might guess, a former Post Office but also once a telephone exchange. There is a large main room with a smaller more intimate bit to the side, a few booths, fireplaces, eulogies to former PM Stanley Baldwin, Thomas Telford and Edward Elgar, stalwarts of Worcester's past plus various bits and bobs regarding the city's importance concerning the Civil War. This was a jolly good start to a very enjoyable weekend in Worcester and marked up accordingly as the good lady behind the bar saw no reason why I couldn't choose whatever drink I liked with my fish and chips instead of the usual list of dross. You might not pick a 'spoons as one of the better options in a city blessed with pubs as Worcester is but they do serve food all day whereas others don't, I rather liked it.

Fairly large 'spoons, the appeal of which is not helped by a paucity of windows. On the plus side, there is a good selection of 12 real ales on handpump, with offerings including BattleDown Natural Selection (£2.20).