The Moon on the Hill (JD Wetherspoon), Sutton

The Moon on the Hill is one of two Wetherspoons pubs in Sutton's pedestrianised town centre, set in what looks like a former commercial premises, in contrast to the nearby Grapes, which was a pub long before Wetherspoons moved in. The fact that this particular 'Moon' is on a hill is reflected in the pub's multi-level interior. You enter into the main bar area, with the servery midway into the room on the right hand side. A small seating area to the front has the benefit of large windows for people watching purposes, but this area is otherwise fairly bereft of seating, opting instead for ample standing room around the angular bar counter and part mirrored bar back. To the rear there is a raised seating space with loads of standard tables and chairs and views out to a surprisingly green rear patio garden. This is where I always used to sit when I semi-regularly visited this pub ten or so years ago, but I noticed that I'd never explored the lower section in the front left quadrant of the pub, so I took my drink down there to see what it was like. In many ways, this is the nicest part of the pub, with a few high tables and stools giving way to regular chairs and some decent banquette booths along the far wall. The steps down into the room are flanked by a couple of odd looking tree people, the significance of which was completely lost on me, but I quite liked this random quirk. The whole pub is carpeted and boasts some good wood panelling and stained glasswork throughout, helping to give it a bit of the character provincial 'Spoons so often struggle to capture. Several TV screens were doing their regular duty of keeping punters up to date with the latest news. There are two banks of five handpulls on the bar and these had a remarkably good ratio of seven guest ales and three 'Spoons regulars. I tried the pun-tastic Yeastie Boys Nerdherder Pale, served by a no-nonsense barman and in pretty good shape. For all of this, my overriding impression on this visit was of a rather tatty pub with unclean tables and fraying fittings and the staff didn't help matters by being chaotic and disorganised during a fairly quiet post-lunchtime period. When I used to visit this place a decade ago, we kept coming back as it was the most reliable pub in Sutton town centre. Remarkably, ten years later, the same still seems to apply. As much as the place could do with some investment to spruce things up a bit, it remains perhaps the best bet for a good pint and cheap bite to eat in a town content to let the real ale market flourish down the road in Carshalton.

A typically large Wetherspoons with the bar area being split level stepping up and down, large windows to the front, rear and side give welcome natural light, some windows have coloured glass inserts. The usual crammed in seats but there are a number of booths around the edges. The upper level to the rear is overlooked by a pair of unusual tree-men figures forming a kind of arch across the divide to the main bar area. Outdoor seating to the rear with a few "jumbrellas". Unusually for a 'spoons they have bar stools here, I cannot recall seeing them in any other branch, they were fully occupied on Friday with drinkers completely oblivious to the needs of people waiting to be served and needing to see the pumps. I managed however, a pretty decent range too, I reckoned on eight guests plus the usual Ruddles etc, Maulden's Yellow Adder, Bragdy Conwy Surfin' IPA, Otter Admiral, Cairngorm Red Rye IPA, Hanlon's Half Moon, Growler Hell Hound and Celt Dark Age; One escaped me as the large gent sat in front fully concealed the pump! The range is possibly as good as it gets in a JDW, Crosse Keys maybe excepted, perhaps I was lucky, possibly this is standard. The pub certainly seems to have improved no end looking at earlier reviews. Ditch the bar stools though please.

As well as the usual suspects, the real ales on were Welton’s Heatwave; Arkell’s Moonlight; Naylor’s Original Brewer’s Choice; and Independence Ale, which is apparently brewed specially for Wetherspoons by one Tonya Cotter of the Bend Brewing Company, of Oregon USA. As it was 4 July, and the clip sported an arresting image of Uncle Sam, I just had to go for the Independence Ale. It was pretty much as I expected an ale brewed in the USA to be – light in colour and very well hopped. But I thought it was an excellent addition to JDW’s stable and an innovative idea getting an ale from the USA outside their biennial beer festivals. Not bad at £1.89 a pint (or £1.39 for me with my newly acquired CAMRA vouchers). Anyway, this pub has certainly upped its game since Roger’s visit last October (but there was clearly considerable room for improvement). Gone were the unseemly odours, and the tables were all clean and clutter free. But I was in there at 11.40 AM on a Saturday morning. Even then it took 10 – 15 minutes to get served and it may be that when it gets very busy the staff will be overly stretched. It’s a typical Wetherspoon’s pub (but unusually on two levels), with the usual range of high stools/tables, sofas, normal tables and chairs, and booths. Based on my one visit, it’s not the worst Wetherspoons I have been in – just typical for the brand, which means that it is somewhere where you can get excellent ale at reasonable prices.

A spacious but has a rather formulaic Wetherspoons with all the usual characteristics however for all the defence that I can normally muster up for Wetherspoons, this is one of worst I have experienced. The first thing that hits you is that the bar smells like the world spewing championships had been held there during the afternoon. Trying to find a table not piled up with dirty dishes was nigh on impossible on my visit and with only 1 guest beer (which wasn't up to the usual high Wetherspoons quality) selection was pretty poor. Throw in a generally down market crowd and it all adds up to one of the most unappealing Wetherspoons I have encountered. I thought I may have just called on an off day but having read of the pub's reputation elsewhere, it is clear that the problems are an intrinsic part of the pub and not a good advert for the management. This one really does give Wetherspoons a bad name.