The Crown Rivers (JD Wetherspoon), Hounslow

Official site of The Crown Rivers (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of The Crown Rivers (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

A branch of Wetherspoon's that is airside in Heathrow's Terminal 5. There is a bar on one wall and a reasonably large seating area set aside for the pub between the terminal's walkways. It really doesn't feel like a 'spoon's. Most people seem to come here to eat, rather than drink. Ales on were Greene King IPA & Abbot, Sharp's Doom Bar, Oakham JHB, Flack Manor Romsey Gold & Beartown Bear Ass. I had the latter, but was not particularly impressed. Prices are higher than normal 'spoon's, as they obviously have a captive audience. There's very little to recommend this place, but it's still the best place for a drink in Terminal 5.

A weird airside Spoons; weird in that there’s a seating area cut off from the main bar by a thoroughfare, was this bar added afterwards when a unit came vacant? Seating-wise it’s perhaps unsurprisingly a fairly uninspired grid seating affair made worse by the COVID perspex booths. Attempts to add a bit of character via some wooden pergola style structure and a brick arch, which, in alignment with the black colourscheme, made it feel almost faintly upmarket. Also as to be expected it’s a reduced menu and steep prices (by Spoons standards). There was no sign of the drink/eat divide mentioned below, maybe this has now gone the way of the dodo because of the Wu Flu. There was cask, three in fact; GK IPA, Doom Bar and Hobgoblin. Being an idiot I decided to go for the least-likely-to-shift Hobgoblin, a pint of the latter set me back £3.89 and was poor, with a hint of old line cleaner (NBSS 1). One upside is that the staff were well-drilled and efficient. I doubt I'd feel the need to drink any cask here again with that line-up unless I was desperate for a beer before take-off!

You really can't miss this pub as it's located smack bang in the middle of the concourse. I spotted something I hadn't seen in a 'spoons before - table service, with a waitress taking food orders at tables. Otherwise it's much like other 'spoons, although possibly the mass of false trees made of fairy lights is something reserved for airports. There were a few ales on, albeit nothing very exciting - London Pride, Doom Bar, London Gold, Adnam's Broadside, and Hobgoblin. They accepted a CAMRA voucher. At least this place gives you somewhere to get a pint of real ale before you head off for somewhere where real ale means nothing to anyone.