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Submitted on Monday, 19th August 2024
With picture contributions to 6104 other pubs
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The Railway Bell (JD Wetherspoon), Barnet
Barnet
EN4 8RR
Reviews of The Railway Bell (JD Wetherspoon) (Average Rating: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Quinno _ left this review about The Railway Bell (JD Wetherspoon)
This Spoons is, handily, only a few strides from New Barnet station. It’s an actual pub conversion; however it’s not that great a job done here, a dull bijou frontage with jumbo rear conservatory out back. A surprisingly large amount of guest ales and my Twickenham Winter Royal was very good (NBSS 3.5), so a marked improvement on that front from the last review and therefore worth its GBG listing.
On 10th May 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5657 recommendations about 5638 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Railway Bell (JD Wetherspoon)
The exterior is not heavily branded but the turquoise paintwork grates.Inside it's a typical spoons with lots of pine high tables,widening out to a rear conservatory with dining type table.All day drinkers abound,it's a melting pot for the elderly and the derilict.
On my visit the ale options were unremittingly dreadful.The regular ales to Doom Bar,GK Abbott and Ruddles Best were supplemented by guests of Marston's brewed Directors,Hobgoblin,Brains SA alongside Sambrooks Wandle and Lees Plum Pudding (a malty mess NBSS 1.5).That line up would give most real ale fans nightmares ,and just how the local CAMRA branch can feature this place in the 2022 GBG is beyond me.But then again ,it's been a regular choice of theirs for years.Maybe it's time to admit there are not that many good ale houses in Barnet and give up most of their GBG allocated slots.
I would just keep walking past.
On 4th December 2021
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2997 recommendations about 2997 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Railway Bell (JD Wetherspoon)
Just over the road form New Barnet station, this is a Wetherspoons pub that makes good use of an existing pub premises, giving it more of a 'pubby' feel than many of their outlets. It's quite a novelty to walk straight into a 'Spoons and be immediately confronted by the servery, as is the case here, where the bar runs along the right hand wall almost from the point you enter the room. Just before the bar, there is a slightly raised lounge where a few sofas and padded chairs are squeezed in beneath the front windows. The servery is predominantly a modern pine affair, split halfway along by a large pillar and with a pub mirror as the centrepiece of the bar back. The usual high tables and stools fill the limited space opposite the bar, whilst tub chairs appear further to the left, screened behind several sections of wall that suggest a probable two bar layout prior to Wetherspoons arrival. A TV on the side wall was showing muted rolling news coverage and there were some fancy light fittings made from twined pieces of wood, which looked pretty good. Beyond the bar, you emerge into a large, bright conservatory-style area which is rammed full with standard tables and chairs, reminiscent of the way some 'Spoons airport bars are furnished. Big windows run in a semi-circle around the back of the room, providing plenty of natural light and looking out to the garden area beyond, whilst an open kitchen can be viewed to the rear right. The usual 'Spoons info boards were present, but in general I felt there was a lot less on show around the pub compared to the average Wetherspoons.
The ten handpulls were clipped with four 'Spoons regulars and six guest ales - five of which were from London-based micro breweries. Several boxes of cider, as part of the ongoing Cider Festival, were available in the fridges. I had a pint of Redemption Urban Dusk (£2.60) which poured very flat and lifeless but retained a good deal of flavour until about two-thirds of the way down. Staff were very efficient and pleasant - not always a given in this particular chain.
I wasn't really expecting anything special from this place but I warmed to it pretty quickly, thanks in part to the friendly staff, good local beer range and comparatively comfortable, pub-like surroundings (something that admittedly wears off the further back into the pub you go). A shame that my pint wasn't in the bet of shape, but overall this left a positive impression and has to be considered a good bet for this part of town.
On 24th July 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3361 recommendations about 3361 pubs]
View more reviews of The Railway Bell (JD Wetherspoon) (9)
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- Official page of The Railway Bell - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk
- Facebook - Railway Bell
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Railway Bell (JD Wetherspoon) - whatpub.com
Oakleigh Park, 1.13 miles, 21 min walk (show)
Hadley Wood, 1.49 miles, 28 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : Yes last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : No - just the usual 50p vouchers - last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Darts : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Dog Friendly : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Function Room : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Live Music : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Micropub : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Quiz Night : No last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
- WiFi : Yes last updated 10 May 2025 by Quinno _
