The Moon Under Water (JD Wetherspoon), Watford

Large and long Wetherspoon's where just about every guest beer was "available soon" which was not very good as their HQ is just around the corner.

This is a fairly typical large Wetherspoons conversion of a former High Strret shop, which means it's got about as much charisma as…… any other Moon Under Water around the country. However, when I worked in Watford some 20 years back, the high street and surrounding area inside the ring road was completely void of pubs and bars serving real ale. And actually, although the town centre has been reformed with many drinking establishments since then, it still remains a desert for real ale. Therefore the difference with this ‘spoons is that it stands out as a beacon of light for those who want to find a decent pint whilst on the high street. There are 18 Real Ale hand pumps along the length of the bar, which usually support in excess of 12 different ales, and several from regional smaller breweries. Including at least two from one of my favourite smaller breweries, The Rebellion Beer Co in Marlow. It is a very very big spoons , and as a consequence does tend to get very busy. But I have usually managed to get served in a reasonable time and find a clean empty table. Visited again yesterday lunchtime and even though I'd cocked up by completely forgetting that it was the first day of the new championship football season and the place was packed with football fans, once again we managed to find a clean empty table in one of the back room areas, was served within 3 minutes of appearing at the bar and our two meals turned up within 15 minutes of that. So in this respect I can't complain. And also I can't complain about the pints of Rebellion IPA and Butcombe Blond I had. In fact the only things I could gripe about was having to drink out of plastic due to it being a match day and I experienced that constand bug bear of 'spoons establishments of beers not being available but the clips not reversed.

Deceptively large Wetherspoons although it was probably not a fair time to assess the place given that it was it was rammed with football fans prior to the Watford v Spurs cup tie. Despite the masses, the staff managed admirably on the service front given that they were swamped with customers. An impressive 18 pumps in all lined up along the long bar with a section devoted mainly to Rebellion beers. Unfortunately it was difficult to tell how many were actually available as many of the clips were not reversed, a task not too onerous even if it is busy and it would have made ordering a lot easier. Forthcoming beers are shown behind the bar. The plastic glasses on match days can't really be blamed on the pub as it is more likely to be a licensing coindition. Apart from the spacious (on non match days) main bar there are a further 3 rooms to the rear and sides, all of similar size, layout and décor. The colour scheme is fairly light and despite the low ceilings, it doesn't feel as closed in or claustrophobic as some of the other similar Wetherspoon outlets. The local historical snippets that Wetherspoons seem to install in all their pubs revolve around the sadly demolished Cassiobury House but there are a few interesting adverts dotted about in particular an estate agent advert for a 1930's semi – price £675, enough to make you cry. Given the circumstances of my visit, the place came across as an above average example of the more formulaic type of ‘Spoons with a far superior beer selection (which is always the main purpose of a ‘Spoons visit anyway). It would be interesting to see how it fares on a non-match day though.

Official pages of the Moon Under Water - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk

Official pages of the Moon Under Water - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk