The Roebuck Inn (JD Wetherspoon), Nottingham

The Roebuck is probably the largest Spoons in Nottingham and in my opinion the best of the city centre ones. The pub is situated just of the market square (ex slab square) on the narrow St James street. Once inside there are separate seating areas either side of the entrance,the main room is to the rear with a large bar on the left side,there are mainly bar stools in the bar area,there is a larger seating area to the rear right,plus more seating upstairs. This is a pub we have been in too many times to mention. There is always a good choice of real ales on the bar,all on my recent visit being £2.15,i had a drink of Magpie Hoppily Ever After which went down well on my Wednesday afternoon visit,most other beers on the main bar front were local,i noted Dukeries Castle Hill,Nottingham Centurian ND,Welbeck Abbey Ten Gallops,Navigation Back of the Net,Milestone Lock Keeper and Milestone Uncle Sam,there were also the usuall Spoons regulars on the front bar area which always seems to be rarely used. This is a pub that i will continue to use on occasions when in town. Pub first visited 25/11/2000 Recent visit 26/8/2015

This is a large Wetherspoons pub just off the Market Square, named for a pub that previously stood opposite on the site of the Malt Cross Music Hall. A large, attractive lobby area with a curved staircase to one side, leads into the carpeted main bar area, An L shaped servery in the rear left corner, has a vast amount of vertical drinking space around it with most of the seating down the right hand side of the room, partly screened by a series of pillars and sections of wall. The seating extends to the rear right, where some comfier options can be found in a slightly smarter space. A massive skylight provides ample light for such a large room and stairs at the end of the bar allow you to get a better view, taking you up to a nice mezzanine area that looks down over the bar. A ribbon of seating runs around the perimeter and there is a small room to one side with four or five additional tables and some Rothko style large paintings. There is also a terrace area here, effectively allowing you to step outside without leaving the building. A final room can be found back down on the ground floor, to the front left, with a part carpeted, part exposed dark wood floor, lots of standard tables and chairs, large, attractive front windows, numerous big mirrors and a bookcase. I noted two banks of hand pumps with a lot of predominantly local guest ales and only a one or two Spoon's regulars. Unfortunately, I was here for breakfast, served with the usual efficiency and good value, so didn't fancy sampling any of the beers at that time of day. I thought this was a reasonable Spoon's pub, elevated by the pleasant mezzanine area which I would've thought would be the best spot to bag a table. The service was prompt and friendly and the customers seemed to be more respectable than the average Spoon's morning boozing types, making it worth a look, if not a session.

ITS a spoons and a bad one there bad or good none in between

Former warehouses in an area of silk mills, executed in Georgian style and now a Spoon's chain pub/eatery, with patio area. The place consists of a four storey build predominantly in plain brick, with stone lintels and moulded doorway. The interior is on two levels - with a balcony over-looking the usual spoons tables below. It is an irregular shaped interior, with much of the soul of the building cut away. The décor is white, green and brick, with a coffee ceiling and a few mirrors accompany the info boards on the walls and the usual silent TVs showing the news. It felt fairly bare. We came here on a Sunday night simply to get food - a functional decision considering the preponderance of quality pubs in Nottingham. We ate and the food was fine. I am not a big fan of Spoons in general, but I actually started to like the place (in that guilty way - a little like Lemmy admitting to owning a 10" remix of the Birdy Song, by the Tweets). I must have hit this place at the right time - the service was friendly and quick, the clientele were not the great unwashed, but all too human and everything I tried beer-wise was on form. There were several beers on, including the Abbot and Ruddles - I tried Magpie's Hoppily Ever After, Grafton's Lady Ruby and Flipside's Porter. I left with more of a smile than I entered, which troubled me - I have since sought absolution from the local priest.

On the whole not bad for a Wetherspoon's. Has several drinking areas and had a good selection of real ales which were in very good form.