Crafty Isaac Merritt, Paignton

This is a deceptively large former Wetherspoons pub located at the top end of town and benefitting from more of a local’s pub feel by virtue of its distance from the tourists at the seafront. You enter to the carpeted main bar area, with the servery running down the right-hand wall. The bar has a tiled counter front and plain mirrored bar back, with a classic old-school ‘Spoons seating area opposite – all wood panelling, carpet and a row of pillars to break up the sightlines. It’s a pleasant spot with high tables and stools through the centre and a long row of padded bench booths along the left wall, each separated by simple frosted glass partitioning screens. A few tub chairs fill in any remaining gaps, creating an almost lounge bar feel to the space – an impression further enhanced by the décor which includes a collection of old sewing machines, broach and necklace display cases and a number of large panels with William Morris-style prints on them, including several suspended from the ceiling. Moving to the rear, some nice stained-glass windows can be see over to the left, before the room extends into a rear space beyond the end of the bar. This sizable area offers plenty more seats, including a few more booths. The place still feels a bit like a 'Spoons but has done its best to add some quirky features such as a collection of board games and numerous large potted plants to give the place a slightly different vibe. There was also a 70’s pop soundtrack playing in the background, which seemed age appropriate for the clientele and acts as another point of difference from the old chain. Bizarrely, there were three regular ‘Spoons ales on at the bar, along with three others from quite large nationally available breweries, plus a real cider option. The lone barman was very friendly and poured me a very good pint of Greene King Yardbird Pale Ale, which tasted a lot better than I’d expected. The pub was nowhere near as busy as the actual 'Spoons, down by the seafront, benefitting from a much more relaxed atmosphere that was a lot more conducive to an extended session. I really liked this one, which on first impressions, seemed to be yet another ‘seen-one, seen-them-all’ chain pub, but after a short while, revealed itself to be a nice, comfy place with some good seating areas and a few unusual features. I’m guessing that I got a little unlucky with the pedestrian ale selection and could well imagine this would be a good place to settle down and work through the pumps if the right beers were on. A pleasant surprise.

Standard 'spoons with the rear section being slightly raised and both parts have the old-style wood-panelling, peripheral booths and dark wood furniture. More interestingly, there is a really wide selection of real ales in a variety of styles from the two banks of six handpumps, mostly priced at just £1.99.

This is an old school medium sized Spoons that retains the old dark blue and gold JDW signage on the exterior. Inside it's a typical open plan shop conversion that extends back to the right and has a patio on the rear left. The attraction here is the beer choice as there were no unused hand pumps, no duplicates and no available soon. The choice consisted of the JDW Trio Of Doom, Salcombe Gold & Lifesaver, Bays Gold & Crocodale, Cameron's Motorhead Road Crew, Exmoor Stag, Cotleigh Barn Owl, Teignworthy Old Moggie and Dartmoor Jail Ale. I went for the Salcombe Lifesaver (£2.49) which was in excellent nick. I thought this was a very good Spoons and is rightly GBG 2017 listed.

The Isaac Merrit is one of two Wetherspoons in Paignton (Talk of the Town is the other one) and in my opinion this is the superior one. The bar on the right hand wall is separated from booths that line the left hand wall by a central seating area that is split up by supporting pillars. At the rear there is a raised family area and children are permitted until 21:00. The décor follows the usual JDW formula and the all-important plasma screen showing muted rolling news is present. At the rear there is an outside seating area that is open from 09:00 until 21:00. The pub itself is open every day from 08:00 until midnight and cheap food is available all day. The bar is stocked with standard draught and I counted twelve hand pumps in two banks of six on the bar. The likes of Abbot Ale and Ruddles are all available and there was a good selection of local guest beers. I found the staff to be friendly and they were interacting with the locals which made a change for this company’s staff. I first swung by on a recent Saturday night, but it was rammed so I decided to give it a miss and ended up popping in the following evening when it was a little quieter. This is an above average Spoons and worth a visit if in the area.

This Wetherspoon outlet is in the 2012 Good Beer Guide and deserves it’s place there. There were 12 real ales on, Greene King Abbott, Ruddles and 10 guest beers. Popular in a good location, and has a community notice board with useful information on. Meet the brewer nights were being advertised for Friday and Sunday. Due to needing to catch a bus I couldn’t stay long, but did enjoy Arundel New Horizons before leaving.