The Capitol (JD Wetherspoon), Forest Hill, SE23

2 visits on 2 successive evenings for a few beers to finish my evening’s off within the last couple of weeks. Arrived at around 10.30pm both evenings and the pub (as always) was still pretty busy. Swift service on both occasions and during these visits I drank Moorhouses Spring Watch @ 3.9% & Weltons St Georges Special @ 4.6%. As a fan of Moorhouses beers this was the slightly better ale. Lovely old cinema, quick service (most of the time), cheap prices for London and convenient for the station and bus routes, what’s not to like!

The Capitol is a large Wetherspoons that is house in an old cinema. Once inside you have to go up some steps to get into the main room,there are a few seats at the top of the steps,the main room looks very grand and is down a few steps,the bar is facing in what was probably where the cinema screen was,there are tall tables and chairs to the right and normal tables and chairs elsewhere. There is the usual line up of pumps on the bar,i had a drink of Trumans Gypsy Queen which was a very nice drink,the other beers noted were Marstons one is 90,Great Newsome Holderness Dark plus the Spoons regulars Doom Bar and Ruddles best. I quite liked this Spoons a lot grander and more civilized than some i have been in. Pub visited 14/5/2016

Set in a majestic old cinema, and previously a music hall I believe, this 'spoons is one of the mosr impressive that you're likely to visit. You enter the orginal foyer (of course) with the ticket office on the right manned by a mannequin in full cinema livery; then up two or three stairs to a sort of interim platform with a dozen or do tables and chairs; then on down three or four steps to the main bar in the erstwhile cinema stalls. This is a massive room with loads of normal tables and chairs and tall tables/tall stools in it, but unusually for a 'spoons they've not crammed in as many as they could have done. The bar counter is at the far end where the screen and stage would have been. What might be regarded as a drinking barn is vastly improved by the richness of the ornate music hall/cinema decor that has been retained. It's certainly a bit different from the majority of 'spoons. The usual cheap food and drinks are available here of course.