The King & Castle (Lloyds No. 1 ), Windsor

Being situated directly opposite Windsor Castle I was hoping I might find Liz & Phil the Greek here joining a raucous throng of the Daytime Brigade but no such luck. It must be too expensive even for them. Although it's a large Spoons it is only so because it covers several levels. I stuck to the ground floor which isn't cavernous for a Spoons but did notice that there is a massive outside terrace at the back which on my December visit was empty. The furnishings were much plusher than your average JDW. Although this is still listed as a Lloyds No. 1 in their last directory there is no Lloyds ID externally and it's hard to see how this could be turned into a night club. The only clue to any Lloyds credentials may have been that Sky News was shown on the TV. The ground floor bar has two sets of hand pumps, one with six and one with four. On my visit these had GK IPA & Abbot and cider doubled up leaving Hook Norton AFO, Tetley Christmas Cracker, Doom Bore and London Pride. I thought this was a pretty poor selection compared to the doomed Windlesora. I went for the International Hook Norton AFA which was in excellent condition but at £3.10 a pint should have been. At least it wasn't poorly kept like many of the similarly expensive Spoons beers I've had in Central London. For me this place was just a tourist trap and they are welcome to it. I wouldn't return.