The Whispering Moon (JD Wetherspoon), Wallington

This felt like an above-average Spoons - fairly old-school but nicely looked after and lacking the frayed edges so often found. Five guest ales were on and a bonus for a sensible board listing them rather than having to scan sets of pumps. An East London Quadrant Oatmeal Stout was in very good form. I am guessing it is down to the current manager but this one seems to be getting it right.

A relatively small Spoons with an unusual curved frontage (a former Odeon cinema) situated opposite Wallington station. Usual early-90s pseudo-Victorian interior with a couple of raised areas and booth seating – all rather tatty and it desperately needs a refresh. 10 pumps with three guests in Naylors, Pilgrim and Wimbledon, the latter of which was watery and long in the tooth. Could be better with a bit effort.

Standard-issue 'spoons with a partially split-level, 'L'-shaped interior with quite a few booths, etc. Modest selection of seven real ales from the two banks of five handpumps, with a few locals - Wimbledon Quartermaine IPA, Twickenham Naked Ladies and RCH Return from the Ashes (£2.15).

Official site of The Whispering Moon (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of The Whispering Moon (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

A fairly large Wetherspoon's which had a fair selection of real ales on but nothing special.

This is a fairly compact JDW considering that it was once an Odeon cinema, the bar is on the back wall and there are a few booths opposite, some in a raised section. Décor includes several pictures of the former cinema and there are various bits of film related nostalgia, I also spotted a montage about the former Croydon airport which was technically partly in Wallington. Some of the booths had columns of small writing around a central picture but as they were all occupied I couldn't get close enough to read what they were about. Carpeted throughout and with the usual 'spoons crammed in tables, a few second hand paperbacks on a shelf. They also had a pile of London Drinkers on a window cill. A bit light on the guest ales, just Clarence and Frederick's Best Bitter which was fine at £2.20 less a CAMRA voucher, and something called Hop Stuff which I may have tried but the bloke before me had this and it looked a bit hazy. A 'spoons is a 'spoons I guess but this one was ok if not exceptional, it certainly had a better class of clientele to many, mostly older couples eating.

This is a converted cinema right opposite Wallington Station. The exterior was clad in scaffolding on my visit, but it's obvious from the pictures what the building originally was. Inside there's not much evidence of it being a cinema, the bar is on the right and the large room has the usual Spoons furnishings and fruit machines. There are ten handpumps with the two GK beers doubled up, a Pilgrim beer doubled up but available soon, Bateman's XXXB, Everard's Cambridge Belgian IPA, Adnam's Sixpoint Bengali Tiger and Jenning's Cocker Hoop. I only discovered when I saw a drip mat that this place is 2014 GBG listed, sadly the Bengali Tiger (£2.45) which I tried was well below GBG standard, but I'm hoping I was just unlucky. It seems to me that his place is nothing more than a typical Spoons.