The Spectre, Cheltenham

Official site of The Spectre - www.greatukpubs.co.uk

Official site of The Spectre - www.greatukpubs.co.uk

As described below it has a spoons vibe but with added sport/music. 6 real ales.

This place is a bit of a JDW clone only with lots of TVs showing sport , not the friendliest of places , sweary lads by the bar , a couple of 50 something blokes trying to drink themselves into oblivion and even a bloke fast asleep . 8 Handpulls , 4 given over to cider , four ales on Hobgoblin Gold , Blindside , the pubs own badge Spectre and a just OK Bath Gem . I wont bother again

No offence to Helen, but if the Spectre is sophistication, the former Hogs Head incarnation must have been really dire. The Spectre is a Stonegate owned venue. You know those lovely people that inflict Yates, Slug and Lettuce and the god awful Scream venues upon us. To be fair the décor is OK, being plain wood flooring throughout , wooden tables and chairs, and the odd alcove areas with leather cushioned seating. Then there are large screens throughout primarily for showing Sky Sports and a pool table in the area at the back. And actually the drinks choice is OK as well and there is a decent real ale offering on the bar with two banks of four handpumps. GK IPA and Hobgoblin were doubled up but the other four were regional brewery ales and these included Box Steam Brewery Funnel Blower and Bath Ales Barnsley, both of which were well kept. But the cheap plastic food menus festooned around the tables and the cheap drink offers abound and give this place more of a Wetherspoons vibe rather than a Sophisticated bar vibe and I thought it was a Wetherspoons when I first entered. Anyway it was certainly pulling in the crowds on the sunny bank holiday afternoon when the front windows of the pub open out onto the street and the small sectioned off area on the pedestrianized High Street pavement. But for me this place, the Smith and Jones Old Restoration next door and the close by ‘Spoons were all too samey and after one visit , there was no inclination to return to any of them.