The Cricketers (JD Wetherspoon), Ipswich

Pub SignMan left this review about The Cricketers (JD Wetherspoon)

This is a fairly basic branch of the Wetherspoons chain located in a slightly strange building with an incoherent, chopped out interior, on the main road around the top end of the town centre. The bar is opposite the front door and is formed into a vague U-shape with handpulls on either side - the regular 'Spoons ales to the left and guests to the right. It has the usual unexciting counter and bar back, although the counter is broken a few times by large structural support pillars, so it doesn't have that drinking barn servery feeling that a lot of 'Spoons have. Good seating areas can be found to either side, with the usual fancy carpeting throughout and some high table and stool options dominating. Better seating can be found by walking behind the bar, to either side, which brings you out into a rear room, also carpeted, with standard tables and chairs in abundance. The anaglypta ceiling has a large central skylight which brightens the space nicely, and there are pleasant stained glass rear doors, local history boards on the walls and a small fireplace to the front right. There's a good, split level patio garden out the back with loads more seating, but this didn't look like much fun in the pouring rain that greeted my arrival.
On the bar, there were the three regular ales and no less than eight guests - not unusual for a 'Spoons back in the day, but a rare sight in these post-Covid times. I tried the Bishop Nick Halo, which was served by a grudging barmaid in a plastic pot with a short measure to boot, and I found that the service in general was prompt but disinterested. The beer was in reasonable shape, suggesting that eight guests might be one or two too many.
I found this to be quite a pleasant, if a little rundown and ramshackle, branch of the chain and didn't mind spending a bit of time in here. The extensive ale range might be a draw, but questions over quality control would temper how I view this as a motivator for repeat visits. On the whole, I thought it was a decent enough 'Spoons that merits a look in passing but is unlikely to be somewhere you'd want to have a longer session.

Date of visit - 8th December 2024

On 28^th March 2025 - rating: 6
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