Standing Order (JD Wetherspoon), Derby

This place is rather similar to the Crosse Keys in the City of London consisting of a huge high-ceilinged single room with a large central island bar. The appeal of the grand surroundings soon wears off after you take a look through the selection from the four banks of six pumps and then try and get served. Everything is doubled up and the Ruddles is double doubled so half of the pumps are just the boring mainstream GK x 6 & Spitfire, Pedigree and Doom Bore x 2. I noted five guests, two from the rather dull Milestone brewery, Banks & Taylor SOS, a Lymestone beer and Funfair Waltzer. I went for the Waltzer (£2.65) which was in good enough nick but was a rather sweet malty brew. As for the service (or lack of it) if they are going to have a huge island bar like this then they need more than a handful of staff to cover it. The service here was amongst the worst I've ever seen in a Spoons. Part of the appeal of going to Spoons in the London suburbs is that you can reckon on the prices generally being a quid or more per pint cheaper than the opposition. This isn't the case in Derby where it seems to be between 10p and 60p. It's the poor service that really lets this place down and is marked down accordingly.

As Rob Camra says an ex-bank converted to a 'spoons, a sign tells us it is also the site of an Inn called the Talbot. A grand neoclassical building with a fairly magnificent island bar with four groups of pulls dotted around it and yes they are often repeats of other groups. The service hasn't improved any since 2010 either, four behind the bar but not exactly fast workers. The decor is partly large portraits of people associated with Derby, for example the sainted Erasmus Darwin, (who also makes an appearance next door in the Thomas Leaper) and that scumbag Bonnie Prince Charlie who nearly put me off my beer which admittedly was in good nick.

Decided to pop into this Wetherspoon outlet as one of our party was doing the "Spoons Bingo" collecting the ales from the beer festival currently on. We had Bath Hefeweizen Hare and Marstons Mansfield Old Bailey. Different set up with a massive oval bar in the centre of the room, but service was good.