The Robert the Bruce (JD Wetherspoon), Dumfries

A nicely-appointed Spoons in a former Methodist chapel (opened 2001). Enter to a high-ceilinged main room featuring a lovely coupola with illustration of said Bruce. To the left up a couple of steps is a small and comfy seating area which provided relief from the draught from the door and was a popular spot. There’s also an upstairs gallery Three guest ales, my Sulwath Galloway Gold was decent (NBSS 3) and breakfast was well-done. Popped back in the evening for a Caledonian Burger which was also nicely delivered. It’s a top quartile Spoons, this one.

Another impressive repurposed building over two floors with the counter at the rear of the ground floor room. Usual ‘spoons layout of two banks of pulls, six aside here, topped and tailed by the standard kegs on T-bars. Due to COVID I ordered via the app and was served in about 4 minutes in a moderately busy pub, on leaving the table was cleared in the time it took for me to visit the upstairs gents and walk back, so good staffing. It’s not large, downstairs is square with a raised area off one end, upstairs is a mezzanine running round two sides. Listed in the 2020 GBG, it is better than at least one of the other six GBG Dumfries pubs in that edition, but two were shut due to COVID.