The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon), Leadenhall, EC3

This branch of Wetherspoon's and former bank is a fairly cavernous affair which on a weekday night can be heaving. My only previous visit was on a weekend afternoon in 2014 for one of their festivals. At that time, there were just a few people rattling around. On this Thursday evening visit, it was packed, with tables very hard to come by. However, after much wandering around, we finally grabbed one, leaving just 40 minutes for us to order drinks and food and to exit, as we had our son in tow. Food finally arrived after 30 minutes, leaving us 10 minutes to eat. By this time, the crowds were starting to thin a little and the bouncers seemed a little more relaxed and were happy for us to stay to finish our meals without rushing. The high ceilings here make it all quite raucous. Whilst not a typical City pub, it does attract a few City types, along with others that you would more closely associate with a Wetherspoon's. The real ale and cider selection is listed on TV screens around the bar. There are 4 regular beers here, namely Sharp's Doom Bar, Greene King Abbot & IPA & Fuller's London Pride. On our visit, the 7 guest beers were Bowman Wallops Wood, Cairngorm Wildcat, Pheasantry Black Pheasant, Salopian Darwin's Origin, Dorset Brewing Company Jurassic, Fire Island Buffalo & Exmoor Wildcat. The cider was Old Rosie. At £4.19 a pint, my pint of Black Pheasant wasn't as cheap as I'd normally expect for a 'spoon's. Although, in comparison with other local pubs, that's probably quite reasonable. I couldn't use my CAMRA voucher, as presumably the combination of food and drinks we ordered was cheaper without the voucher, as the pint would have been included with a meal. With a good range of beers, this is an above average branch of Wetherspoon's. However, I'd probably try to return at a weekend when it is a bit quieter and more relaxed.

Pretty much unchanged since last year, except now of course you are free to find your own table. Ordering via the app still seems to be the preferred method, and sections of the bar are roped off and used for staff to take orders to tables. London Pride was available on this visit, as was Divine by Bishop Nick (which in my opinion was the better of the two ales). Still a rather paltry selection for a Wetherspoons. Again, no issues with the food, drinks or service, and the pub is in a grand old building, but it seems the chain is still struggling to get as many guest ales on the pumps as they did pre-COVID.

Several hand pulls at the bar but only one bank was clipped, offering Doom Bar (x2 clipped), Greene King IPA, Fullers London Pride, Brains SA and Rosie's Pig Cloudy Cider. I assume the London Pride may be a permanent fixture and the Brains SA was a guest. Sadly the London Pride was off, so I went for the Brains SA, which was a decent pint in good nick. We stayed for food and on perusing the menu on the app, found that Portobello Star was available on bottles, so went for this with my meal and found it to be very pleasant. In terms of COVID, they were having some issues with the app so reverting to leaving your details the old fashioned way on a slip of paper. You can still order at the bar, but you are encouraged to use the app. I didn't do this for the first lot of drinks as not all the cask ales were listed on the app. There are screens between the booths, and tables are distanced with markers on the floor. No issues with the beer, food or service, and I am assuming the lack of guest ales was due to low anticipated turnover or supply chain issues following lockdown (or both). This is a big grand building, apparently the former HQ for HSBC, with a very impressive interior which has been well described by previous reviewers. One thing that did intrigue me was the presence of what seemed to be a disabled cubicle in the gents toilets - nothing unusual in that perhaps except that the toilets are downstairs with no sign of a lift. If there had been more beer choice it probably would be an 8/10 for me, but based on this visit it's a 7/10.