The Ivy Tree, Romford

Facebook page of The Ivy Tree - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Ivy Tree - www.facebook.com

Two doors down from Romford’s other Wetherspoon, with only a Slug and Lettuce separating them, this is a wholly uninspiring open plan, square room branch of ‘Spoons, practically next to Romford station. The room has a mix of modern floorboards and the most boring Spoons carpet I've ever encountered. Bar is down the right wall and has a nice dark wood counter and large mirrored bar back with the chain’s name printed across it. A couple of rows of pillars and partitioning wall break the space up a little, but most of these are skewed to the left side of the room, so from most vantage points, the place still feels huge. Some high tables and stools can be found opposite the bar and a few nice banquettes run along the front right and rear walls, but most of the seating is basic tables and chairs. There are half panelled walls dotted with ‘Spoons info boards and a couple of TV screens showing muted snooker with a lounge/R&B soundtrack quietly playing in the background. Lots of bright slot machines further detract from the scene and I noticed a bare boarded area in the middle of the room, which is clearly used as a dancefloor judging by the disco lights and glitter ball above. The pub was remarkably quiet on my Thursday evening visit, in stark contrast to the neighbouring ‘Spoons, although the barmaid said it had been busier an hour or so earlier, before all the West Ham fans left for Stratford. As with the Moon and Stars, there were three regular ales and three guests on at the bar. I tried the Phoenix Double Gold, which was a little tired and warm. The barmaid was friendly enough but seemed a little peeved that my appearance had interrupted her chat with a friend. Unusually for this sort of ‘Spoons, I spotted copies of CAMRA’s London Drinker magazine on the bar. This was a real let down after the much nicer ‘Spoons experience a couple of doors down, and perhaps the fact that this place is more geared up for discos and football fans tells you why there are two ‘Spoons in such close proximity. If you’re looking for a lively environment with music and sport on the TV, this is a reasonable bet, but for a more rounded pub visit, just stick with the Moon and Stars.

This is a Lloyd's No 1, but for all intents and purposes it's a 'spoons. It's a characterless single-room conversion of some kind, with the usual furnishings crammed into it. But it does the trademark traditional breakfast at £3.15, which is a bit cheaper than the other London 'spoons I've visited recently. There were just two guest real ales on in addition to the usual suspects - Terrapin Naked Bliss, which is some sort of collaboration, and Whitstable Kentish Reserve. Both the guests were 5% ABV, which is a bit stronger than I would choose to accompany my brunch, but the Kentish Reserve was a fine traditional brown beer. A couple of decent guest ales isn't bad, it's just that I expect more from a 'spoons. There is nothing special about this 'spoons. You get what you expect in here, with the exception an average strength guest ale.

The World's Inn is Wetherspoons that is close to Romford train station and one of three pubs joined onto each other. Once inside there is a large square shaped room with the bar on the right side,the floor is part carpeted and wood laminate,the seating is mainly normal tables and chairs with some bench seating to the rear which is in bays. The guest beer choice was not too good,i had a drink of Cairngorm Black Gold which went down very well on my mid Thursday morning visit,the other beers noted were Everards Original,GK Abbot x2,GK IPA x2 and Doom Bar. It was very busy with drinkers on my visit. A decent start to my almost full pub crawl of Romford. Pub visited 30/6/2015