S Fowler & Co (JD Wetherspoon), Ryde

Peter Forster left this review about S Fowler & Co (JD Wetherspoon)

This used to be a large department store called Fowlers. Back in 1991 it spectacularly burnt down but was subsequently rebuilt and reopened. However it didn’t last long and after its closure was acquired by Weatherspoons. It is essentially one big drinking room with a couple of smaller areas upstairs and downstairs from the ground floor. There are a few booths to one side but the seating is mostly a mix of high and low tables with a few high chairs in the large shop windows overlooking the passenger flow up and down Union Street. Unfortunately busses regularly stop right outside blocking the view. A nice chrome staircase leads upstairs to the distant toilets. The place was packed out as usual. Since opening it has sucked the custom out of most of the other pubs in town. A mix of types and age groups. Bar staff were efficient but not particularly welcoming or talkative. At least there was no sign of the dreaded Spoons Queue that seems to be on the rise. A decent range of beers. I had a pint of Roosters Yankee pale ale at 4.3% and £2.35. Crisp, slightly biscuity, under hopped but probably okay for style (NBSS 3.5). Sadly this place sells some of the best beer in town but it isn’t somewhere to linger if you are on your own. In this sense it doesn’t fulfil the requirements for a proper pub but the inexpensive pint will always drag me back.

On 22^nd April 2026 - rating: 6
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