The Bank Statement (JD Wetherspoon), Swansea

This is a large Lloyds No. 1 bar on Swansea’s busy binge drinking strip. As the name suggests, the place is a bank conversion, which opened back in 1998, around which time I recall fierce price wars between this pub and the now closed Goose and Granite over the road, with prices dropping well below £1 a pint before the police put a stop to it, much to the annoyance of us grateful student types. You enter through a nice high porch into a vast open room with the servery running down the right hand wall. Several recesses are built into the opposite wall with U shaped banquettes fitted inside to create cosy booths. In the space between, the usual mix of seating options fills this part of the room nicely and leaves a gap for vertical drinkers on busy nights. The ceiling is fairly decorative, but overall the pub lacks some of the more opulent characteristics associated with bank conversions. The room extends quite a way to the rear and despite being a Lloyds bar rather than a standard Wetherspoons, I always felt it was a versatile venue that would be acceptable to the traditionalist as much as the Friday night revellers. There are six hand pumps, four of which were dispensing guest ales on my visit, with the remaining two kept for a couple of ‘Spoons regulars. The service is generally pretty good (they appear to have replenished their stock of wine glasses since the previous review) and the breakfast I tucked into was the usual good value, hearty stuff. Whilst I would always pick the Potter’s Wheel over this place for best ‘Spoons in town, this pub still has its good points and is worth dropping into if you’re on Wind Street, especially as a double header with the nearby No Sign Wine Bar.

Official page of The Bank Statement - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk

Official page of The Bank Statement - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk