The Full Moon (JD Wetherspoon), Dudley

From outside this looks like it will be a smaller Spoons but inside the narrow room stretches back a long way. It's a bit drab and dark as a result but was doing a roaring trade on my Saturday lunchtime visit. The beer selection was not that great. Although there are twelve pumps four were unused and four took up the two usual GK beers. This left two Lymestone beers, Upham Punter and Jennings Cocker Hoop as an uninvited guest. I went for the Upham Punter which was in good nick but at £2.15 not dramatically cheaper than the Batham's pubs. In fact, the Spoons in the affluent London suburbs of Chingford and Northwood Hills are cheaper than here. The rather average beer selection and dark shop conversion let this place down for me.

As Wetherspoons go, this wasn't so bad, they had a good selection of seasonal ales and the food was okay. We'd spent ages mapping out real ale hostelries for Dudley and totally overlooked all the Lloyds/Wetherspoons! I think there are four in Dudley. But what can you say about Wetherspoons? Some have a range of well kept ales, some don't bother at all, The thing I remember most about our short visit to eat here, was the length of the pub! Is that why the Christmas party in fancy dress needed their own key to the disabled loos because they couldnt manage the stagger to the rear of the pub?

A rather uninspiring terraced half brick and half blue facaded Weatherspoons. The interior is Spoons through and through, being a long narrow room set out with tables for food. The bar is to the left on entry and someway into the pub. The decor is the plain, but different coloured walls, with the usual mix of old photos and prints, with a couple of historic information boards. The service was good, the clientele so few you could almost here the silent TVs with Sky Sports, as there was no music either. Oh, and the food was pretty bland. Beer; tap stuff with Ruddles and Abbots as ever, with three or four more - i had Northumberland Premium Ale which was fine. I wouldn't rush back, but at least the beer was fine.