The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon), Leadenhall, EC3

former HQ of HSBC and now a Wetherspoons GBG 2020 entry. The building - if you look up - is stunning. all marble columns and huge lighting rigs in a cavernously airy room. If you look down, you'll see the usual JDW sticky tables covered in spent glasses and "interesting" carpet. Beer Choice is beyond comprehension - 24 hand pulls advertised on TV Screens. If you use the app, you can only select the regulars. London Pride was in poor condition. There is no doubt I would come again. So much to discover, if I actually get to the bar. 10 for the building/choice. 4 for the quality.

A huge Spoons in a fairly impressive building both inside and out, the former HQ of HSBC and a good amount of the former banking ornateness remains in situ; marble columns, statuettes, rotundas, globe skylights - that sort of thing although the dimness of the interior can make some of it difficult to immediately spot. Absolutely crazily busy on my weekday evening visit, so the oval-shaped island bar in the middle of the place does really help to thin out the queues at the bar. Unfortunately the service was, to put it politely, ‘haphazard’ which meant that when I received a pint of grot it took a fair while to flag down another member of staff to get it replaced (with something that was simply meh rather than actively unpleasant, an NBSS 2). With a maximum of 18 beers potentially on the go at any one time (check the electronic board, if you see it), perhaps my receiving poor ones should not have been too much of a surprise – is anyone there genuinely managing the ale? Unlikely. To get away from the scrum we decided to try and sit upstairs which proved to be a good move as it was far less busy and we managed to bag a seat on the balcony giving us a birds eye view of the whole ground floor. A mixed bag – I’d certainly recommend a visit for the interior but I’d be dubious about ordering ale again.

Impressive building and a larger than usual choice of ales for a Spoons. The one I chose wasn't the best but I may just have been unlucky! I would give it another chance when I am next in the area.

Official site of The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com