The Great Harry (JD Wetherspoon), Woolwich, SE18

Located in the centre of Woolwich and taking its name from Henry VII's flagship which was built in the nearby dockyards, this is a large modern Wetherspoons pub that was rebuilt following a petrol bomb fire during the 2011 London riots. The pub comprises two distinct separate areas - a large rectangular main bar and a smaller and quieter lounge to the right of the entrance. The main bar is a simple space filled with the usual varied mix of seating options including a row of high, metal topped tables each with a bank of plug sockets in the middle, which struck me as a good idea in this age when people want to charge various devices on the move. The servery runs along the back wall and has been decorated with some colourful arty touches around the bar back, whilst décor elsewhere includes a series of large paintings all with a vague seafaring theme. A passageway to the right of the bar passes an open kitchen before leading into the lounge. Here there are a mix of padded banquettes and standard chairs and the walls have been covered with various bits of local interest including local photos blown up to an enormous size, an information board about the Woolwich Ferry, a colourful street scene painting and a display relating to Charlton Athletic. The whole pub was absolutely packed on a Friday evening, including a surprisingly large number of loud children in the otherwise peaceful lounge area. The beer range was a little disappointing with three regular ales doubled up and two ciders leaving room for just two guest ales on the remaining hand pumps. I ended up with a pint of Red Ale from a Swedish Brewer whose name I failed to record. It was served in reasonable condition by one of the overworked and thus rather brusque member of staff. Considering that this pub had a £1.3 million refurbishment and opened in time for the 2012 Olympics, it already feels a bit worn and frayed around the edges and whilst the modern styling helps make it stand out from other such Wetherspoons venues, I couldn't help but think that the place is perhaps destined to always be a sub-par part of this particular chain. With a number of other interesting venues opened around Woolwich in recent years, this is no longer the essential port of call it once was.

This Spoons occupies the ground floor of a ghastly office block not far from Woolwich Arsenal station. It is several decades since I had been to Woolwich and to be honest I didn't recognise any of it. The pub has the saving grace of having windows down two sides of it unlike the usual long narrow shop conversion, but that was the only redeeming feature for me as the beer selection was rubbish. There are ten handpumps but five were taken up with cider (1 Available Soon) then there was Abbot, Ruddles, Old Speckled Hen, Caledonian / Stone Session IPA and Elgood's Snickalmas. I went for the Elgood's Snickalmas which was in very good nick but at £2.65 more expensive than most Spoons outside Central London. The best part of my visit to this pub was leaving it and getting the 51 bus over what seemed like mountains and a vast variety of suburbia to get to Welling.

This is a ‘spoons, and is typical of the brand, being functional and characterless. It’s a large shop conversion slap bang in the middle of Woolwich and was very busy on Saturday with families possibly visiting the fair opposite or having a well-earned respite from the rigours of Christmas shopping. Anyway, you know what you’re going to get with a Wetherspoons, and this one doesn’t disappoint.