The Hippodrome (JD Wetherspoon), March

Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Hippodrome (JD Wetherspoon)

My final stop of the night in Cambridgeshire was this Wetherspoon's branch that unsurprisingly was an old cinema. It has also been a bingo hall in between times.

The entrance foyer is quite eye catching and is covered with old cinema posters. Entering into what was the main auditorium, the bar can be seen in a sunken area against the rear wall and where the screen would have been. There is now a frieze above the bar called the March Montage, which captures local points of interest. An information board near the entrance details what can be seen on the Montage.

At the bar itself, there are replica Hollywood Hall of Fame stars on the floor. The large open-plan seating area is carpeted with 2 large art deco lighting fixtures hanging from the high ceiling. The former balcony still wraps its way around the room, but you cannot access it. To the right-hand side is a further small sunken area.

Off to the left is a large outdoor area which eventually doubles back to the street with a fairylit area adjacent to the road. Stairs up to the toilets have pictures of old film stars - Clark Gable, Paul Newman & Clint Eastwood. Near the gents, there is another information panel for Sir Clive Woodward, who was from nearby Ely.

Service was poor here. There were huge numbers of glasses stacking up on tables. Staff had obviously asked to start clearing them up. Despite there being several of them, most were either collecting, washing or stacking glasses back on shelves. Those that weren't were dealing with massive table orders for cocktails and weird mixers for the predominantly youthful crowd. That left just one young guy behind the bar who hadn't got a clue who to serve next, which was getting plenty of people frustrated as he served everybody out of turn, seemingly with little care.

The usual 'spoon's real ales were on - Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Sharp's Doom Bar. Guest beers were Oakham Citra & Woodforde's West Coast Wherry. The cider was Weston's Old Rosie.

This branch of Wetherspoon's is certainly an impressive building. For all of their faults, the chain does do a good job of restoring old buildings. My West Coast Wherry was also a nice beer to finish my day on. However, poor service is a common theme across the chain with staff and managers who don't really seem to care. Wifi did not work here either. In fact, it's a shame that there was mobile data, as I may have got served much quicker!

On 23^rd July 2024 - rating: 6
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