Royal Victoria Pavilion (JD Wetherspoon), Ramsgate

This eye-catching Edwardian seaside pavilion has been thoughtfully restored by the Wetherspoons pub chain following a decade of disuse, becoming the company’s largest pub in the process. The pavilion opened in 1904, operating mainly as a cinema and variety theatre before its eventual closure in 1970, when it was converted to a casino. Unfortunately, a lot of the original features, including the domes at either end of the building and the decorative ceilings, have been lost over time, so that the initial impact upon entering is more a sense of marvel at the size rather than awe of the building. The main bar area is an enormous open plan space with dark wood flooring, the servery along the front wall and an open kitchen over to the left. There are loads of high tables and stools in this area, but it was virtually empty on our Sunday morning visit, making it feel cold and somewhat soulless as a result. Moving to the right, past some basic dark wood panelled partitioning walls and a few simple banquettes, you emerge into another very large space, carpeted throughout and furnished with some curved banquettes, chairs and tub chairs. Several pillars break up the space which seems to act as the child-friendly part of the pub judging by the chaos on display with kids running around, food crushed into the carpet and tables heaped high with no sign of anyone to clear them. Aside from a few decorative light fittings and some half-decent views out towards the beach, there was little to recommend here. Stairs lead you up to a first-floor area with a balcony, lined with muted TV screens, which looks down into the main bar area. There’s a whole load of extra seating up here including some decent padded bench booths, all running around the perimeter of the room, with many giving nice elevated views out to sea. The best views are probably to be found from the sizable upper deck area which offers plenty more seating but was far too cold to test out on a bitter Winter’s morning. The twelve handpulls had a reasonable selection of cask ales, with three Spoon’s regulars doubled up and six guest ales on the remaining pumps. It being early in the morning, I opted to forgo the beer for a change and instead enjoyed a nice mug of tea with my full English. The staff seemed nice enough although were a little short-handed hence some of the uncleared tables. Unusually for a Wetherspoons, signs around the pub advertised a weekly quiz. As with a lot of these ‘Spoons conversions of local landmark buildings, the best thing to come out of this pub opening is the opportunity for the public to explore a fine building that is an important part of Ramsgate’s history. For me though, the place didn’t really work all that well, seeming far too big for a town of this size and having lost a lot of original features, struggled to convey a sense of the building’s past use. It’s a perfectly functional ‘Spoons that I’m sure would be a good spot for a bit of summer drinking, but I can’t enthuse about it much more than that.