Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon), Baker Street, NW1
NW1
NW1 5LD
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Steve of N21 left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
First visit to this one in a long while and it had a few things going for it on the day.
Needed to be close to Baker Street tube and this couldn’t be closer. The small unassuming entrance is the definition of entering a Tardis and the huge internal room spreads over the top of the station.
An interesting bar room that as Aqualung reported below, the official Spoons line would have you believe was the Metropolitan Railway's Company Headquarters in the 1930’s. A colleague with more knowledge on this area than me says it was a high end restaurant called Chiltern Court which closed in the mid 70’s and If you ever watch the documentary ’MetroLand’ with John Betjeman it features at the start. At some point the building was also used as the recruitment centre for London Underground, but that could have been in the space above, that were offices before they were turned into posh flats. Then it was closed for decades, so good on Tim Martin and Spoons for getting it open as a pub.
In that respect It also benefits from spacious toilets that can be accessed without having to go into the bar ( noted for future use).
12 Ale pumps with only two of the members of the Trilogy of Doom taking up three, although Doombar wasted another. But with Thornbridge Jaipur and Titanic Plum Porter alongside interesting offerings from Portobello Brewery, Twickenham Fine Ales and Sambrooks, the line up wasn’t too shabby. And the Titanic Plum Porter at under £4.50 is not to be sniffed at in NW1.
My colleague also commented that it is a favourite at the weekends for the out of town football supporter hoards when their team is playing a London club, and it gets overrun by posh twats ( his description not mine) at close of play on a Lords Test match due to its relatively short distance from St Johns Wood.
None of that for me on a relaxing late Tuesday lunchtime and we experienced decent service levels ( good emphasis on table clearing and wiping) and the Plum Porter was very decent, and the decor is very pleasant to stare at whilst drinking it.
On 15th November 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2236 recommendations about 2098 pubs]
E TA left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
Not Spoons’s best effort, though it was probably quite impressive in its original form as a restaurant. The building is impressive, but the business isn’t. The staff were less than impressive, the other customers a bit weird, the atmosphere distinctly lacking. The gaming machines were off, the TV was showing sports. The ales on draught were the usual trio plus Exmoor Gold, Peloton and Freestyle from Sambrooks, Jaipur and Buckingham Best. No real ciders available, but there was the usual array of keg and bottled stuff. The beer was its saving grace.
On 13th August 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3516 recommendations about 3480 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
A huge Spoons lacking in any ambiance, usual suspect beers with the exception of Saltaire Aquila served in fair condition.
On 20th March 2024
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2151 recommendations about 2118 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Brainy Pool left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
I had high hopes - the main room is very beautiful indeed although it lacks atmosphere. Sadly, poorest Spoons I have visited for a while - staff were clueless and unhelpful, tables dirty, and the breakfast was a shocker - bacon cooked on a radiator, toast stuck together, beans cold etc. perhaps the Oakham Black Magic would have saved the day but it was too early for beer. Doubt I’ll bother with this one again.
On 25th September 2022
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1174 recommendations about 1136 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
Right next to an exit from Baker Street tube,the entrance is rather dull with a low ceiling walk way with a few tables and chairs to the side and in a rear alcove.However the main body of the pub is impressive,a very high ceiling in red with good cornicing and coats of arms .Parquet flooring and impressive globe hanging lights.The furniture is the usual 'spoons mix,some seating booths,high tables opposite the bar and some curved banquettes.
There are two ranks of five handpumps with the trio of doom regulars doubled up (GK Abbot,IPA and Doom Bar) leaving on my trip just three guests Fullers London Pride,Mihi NZ Pale(international beer festival) and Titanic Nine Tenths Below (Cloudy ,tangy,NBSS 1.5,the pint was not finished )
With a very transient customer base ,seemingly no one could be bothered to provide decent ale,even the pricing was at a 'spoons premium .Interesting interior but terrible drinking experience ,this 'spoons can be easily avoided.
On 10th April 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Delboy 20 left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
Large Spoons right next to the tube station. Gets rammed when there is a match at Wembley. From what I could see there was a decent choice of beers but ruined by the curse of the plastic glass!
On 7th June 2018
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1821 recommendations about 1692 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Oggwyn Great left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
Well described in previous reviews , very busy on a Sunday morning with mainly Lincoln and Shrewsbury fans on their way to Wembley .
Service was OK if a bit slow , my Trumans Swift was decent enough to warrant a couple of pints .
On 28th April 2018
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 797 recommendations about 683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nick Davies left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
No, it wasn't a cinema, but the dining room for Chiltern Court, the some-time apartments above the station before they became offices. There are old posters inside the pub advertising them. Anyway, it's had a of a refurb lately, more of a wipe its arse job than a full revamp so it's difficult to tell what they did apart from an huge increase of the high table and stools infestation making usable seating hard to find at busy times, like just after work. And there are fruit machines too. Two banks of handpumps, the guests tend to be on the set nearer the entrance, which annoyingly seems to be where the off duty tube staff like to stand guzzling Wifebeater so it's difficult to see what's what.
It is rather a grand venue, so worth it for that, but it's by no means the best choice locally.
On 10th November 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 578 recommendations about 570 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
Well described below, this is indeed a huge and surprisingly grand 'spoons with striped Regency wallpaper and largely bereft of the chain's usual deterrents such as multiple TVs or games machines, which is reflected in a more upmarket clientele than usual. Or perhaps it's just so large that I couldn't see them.
The ale selection was large but my round of three drinks wasn't especially cheap.
OK if you're a fan of the marque (I only came here as my two colleagues recommended it and we were in a hurry), but otherwise walk up the road to The Volunteer.
On 29th April 2017
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2207 recommendations about 2164 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Metropolitan Bar (JD Wetherspoon)
I don't need to say much about this place as others have described it well. It's certainly more of a TARDIS pub than any other 'spoons that I've been in. The relatively small entrance takes you up a few steps before the full scale of the place is revealed on the right. My party of seven found a booth on the left as we entered that accommodated us easily, and was separated from the main area of the pub.
These 'spoons pubs are jolly useful in providing hungry pub researchers with a bit of cheapish scran when it's most needed. They're not everyone's idea of a traditional pub, but we would certainly miss them if they weren't there.
On 3rd February 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]