The Looking Glass, Warrington

this place now has a huge ‘for sale’ sign outside, so it probably isn’t much longer for this world. On a Saturday afternoon it was a typical rough and ready town centre Spoons, local alcoholics in the bar and dining families upstairs. Five or six interesting guest beers on and I was being pestered by local ‘characters’ as I tried to order a pint. It will be a loss to Warrington town centre, I always found it a characterful Spoons and I hope Tim has a change of heart.

This is a spacious, modern looking Wetherspoons in the middle of Warrington’s retail district, occupying the site of a former Odeon Cinema. You enter the pub via a nice raised front patio area which has a good deal of seating and would no doubt make an ideal people-watching spot in warmer months, as it overlooks the pedestrianised street below. You emerge into a large ground floor room which is carpeted throughout and has the servery down the left-hand wall. A sizeable seating area to the right of the entrance offers plenty of high stool and tub chair options under the long row of front windows, whilst a few more seats can be found on a raised platform to the left, in a space notable for its dark wood panelling and plain mirrors, which give it more of a traditional pub feel. More high tables and stools can be found in a recessed area opposite the bar, although this space seemed rather dark and dingy, populated with what appeared to be the all-day drinking brigade – better to keep going beyond the bar, where a final open space appears full of standard tables and chairs. The servery has a traditional dark wood panelled counter front with polished stone top, whilst the glazed tile and mirrored bar back is set in a huge dark wood frame with some nice carved pediments and topped by a couple of old paintings. The walls throughout the room are a mix of old-fashioned panels, dark painted sections and fancy modern wallpaper. Stairs lead up to the first-floor area which describes a wide U-shape and has a sturdy looking balustrade that allows you to look down into the main ground floor bar area. There are a lot of tables and chairs up here, plus another servery which had just three ‘Spoons regulars on handpull. The usual information boards, including those detailing the pub’s Lewis Carroll links, can be found around the walls here, offering the main source of visual distraction. The main bar had a pretty good ratio of six guest ales, two ‘Spoons regulars and one real cider, with a final pump unused. I tried the Coach House Jabberwocky, which was perhaps a bit past its prime but still drinkable. A bloke next to me at the bar ordered one of the bag-in-a-box ciders from the fridge and watched in horror as the staff found they couldn’t get the cider to pour from the box, causing them to rip it open and squeeze the last dregs from the bag into his pint glass. However, his shock soon turned to joy when they charged him just £1.69 for the resulting gloop! I thought this was quite a nice ‘Spoons with some good, comfortable seating areas, a nice mezzanine level and a decent beer selection, although question marks have to be raised in terms of quality. On the whole, I felt the positives outweighed the few drawbacks and if I thought the quality issues had been fully ironed out, I’d happily call back here again.

Visited just after 5pm yesterday (Tuesday) and the place was quite busy. A mixed crowd in, also seems popular with students. Unfortunately I did have to squeeze my way in past the smokers who were hogging the doorway - I have no idea why they feel the need to do this. At the bar are two banks of five hand pulls, one with the Spoons usual suspects plus Moorhouse's Witchfinder, and the other bank had a cider and the other guest ales. I went for International Orange by Roosters which was pleasant, though the head was a little on the generous side and there was a lipstick mark on my glass. I'm not sure how much the beer set me back, on reflection I don't think I was actually told the price, the lass behind the bar just took my note and gave me my change. In any event it was £1 or under for half a pint, so excellent value. Jabberwocky by Coach House is apparently brewed for this pub and has a regular place on the bar. I had it on my previous visit to this pub and wasn't that taken by it. There is a small bar upstairs and this has three hand pulls offering the Spoons usuals (no guests).