Crafty Egg, Redfield, Bristol

Run-of-the-mill 'spoons, with a split-level interior containing few distinguishing features. On the plus side, there was a pretty decent selection from the 12 handpumps, including a range of seasonals such as Brain's I Sea Santa (£2.30).

This poor old Wetherspoons is not the worst by any means but it suffers from the associated stereotypical issues of a lot of outlets in the chain. Poor staff/lack of staff/lack of control/lack of interest. The ale is always in very good condition though the range like most Spoons nowadays can be extremely dull or extremely strong (7% etc). Apparently the loons like it that strong. Which brings the situation full circle. A pity becuase the staff are generally welcoming.

A long and narrow Wetherspoon's pub with a small decked courtyard garden off to one side. It's on two levels with the main bar and dining area being on the higher level at the back, and a smaller couple of side bars off to the sides at the front. It seems a popular spot and was very busy even quite early on a Saturday evening with several big groups of people eating. The loos reminded me a bit of a motorway services area with their floor to ceiling tiling and slightly garish colour scheme, especially the turquoise around the basins. Service seemed a little slow, with just one person serving (a cappuccino!) and about eight punters waiting. To be fair one or two others then turned up, but then the situation just repeats itself. They'd disappear, and a large backlog would build up before they again reappeared. Good selection of beers as you would expect from a Wetherspoon's, with Directors, Abbot Ale, Ruddle's County, Norman's Conquest, Stormstay Premium Ale, Butcombe Gold, Thornbridge Kipling and Exmoor Fox. Ciders were Blackthorn, Strongbow and Old Rascal, plus some very dubious stuff left over from a festival that had lots of bits floating in it. My friend seemed to enjoy it though, although he sensibly left the last few millimetres in the bottom of the glass.