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The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon), Leadenhall, EC3
EC3
EC3V 0DR
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
I paid my long overdue first visit to this place the other day, and was duly impressed. This is a vaulted cathedral of a pub. There is a large open space, like most ‘spoons, crammed full of normal tables and chairs with a few tall tables/tall stools at the sides. The majesty of the place is diminished somewhat by the banks of fruit and games machines flashing away in a distracting manner, but I suppose they must be there to make money. The most unusual things here are the TV displays above the bar showing the available ales. This could be very useful when the pub’s busy, but as I was in very early for a traditional breakfast, and being a bit of a traditionalist, I found looking at the pumpclips easier.
There are three banks of handpumps. The two banks at the front to the left of the server were all guest ales with no doubling up as far as I could see. The third bank is tucked away at the back out of sight behind the servery; fair enough as it contained only the usual suspects. You would be very unlucky if you couldn’t find something you fancy drinking in here. My Oakham Inferno was to notch.
For a ‘spoons it’s good. Magnificent it is; cosy it ain’t.
On 18th July 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
Another 8 from me and close to a 9 - for a Spoons! I couldn't fault this place. The service was excellent. Well this was mid-Monday afternoon. Still, the staff didn't hide away anywhere when you went up to the bar. I have to agree with Just a Quick Pint, there was a good choice of ales on. The main area is vast and even the large central oval bar is swallowed up. The full 24 handpumps were all dispensing on our visit, so it was like visiting a mini beer fest. The Southwark Brewery Bermondsey and Dorking Brewery Red India Ale were top notch. Well worth a visit.
On 10th February 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
Big pub that suffers from lack of natural light and guest beers.Supposedly 20 guest beers but only 5 fairly common to Wetherspoon beers on my visit.They do make the effort when the beer fest is on but I have had this problem on previous visits.A very Crosse customer moi.
On 18th July 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
The former headquarters of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to give it's full name and very grand it is.There are marble columns,half globe skylights,wooden paneling and an impressive staircase down to the lavs.It's vast with a very high ornamental ceiling and an oval island bar.Towards the rear of the building there are upholstered sumptuous arm chairs to relax in ,and a staircase to a gallery,shut on my visit. As previuosly mentioned there are 24 handpumps with a TV screen of what's on.On my visit 1 real cider and 12 ales,the number will vary depending on expected demand.My Mordue Belma Red brewed exclusively for Wetherspoons was in good nick from this 2013 GBG pub.
I have been in here afterwork on a Friday when the throng can cause a real noise,but if you visit when not busy,the library like atmosphere reminds you of the importance of this banking hall.Prices are high for a 'spoons,strong ABV pints at £3.15 and the food menu at a premium compared with their other locations.
However it's worth viewing the interior and pondering on the deals that must have been closed within these august walls.
On 19th August 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roy Collins left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
Massive pub which although full had a pleasant atmosphere and service was reasonable.Food was good and delivered quickly.Large range of ales at £3.15 per pint.
On 20th June 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 124 recommendations about 121 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
I turned up here today with high expectations hoping to nail some of the beers I had not managed to find during the London mini festival. There were none on at all. I went for the Titanic Captain Smiths which was presented to me with a head of at least one inch. The barmaid topped it up so that it was just over half a litre but it was rather warm and a bit cloudy. I'm guessing it had been sitting in the pipes overnight and that this pub doesn't use the line cooling systems that other Spoons employ to keep the beer in the lines fresh. It was £3.09 but I expected it to be expensive. I noticed that the glass on the skylights was really filthy but that was probably me being picky because the beer wasn't very good.
I beated a retreat back East via Monument tube and discovered Captain Smiths in the Walnut Tree at Leytonstone where both pints were full, cool, tasty and £2.25 a pint.
This wasn't quite the worst Spoons experience I've had so far this year but was certainly the most disappointing. I expect a lot more from a GBG listed pub.
On 15th March 2013
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
The original Cross Keys was an Elizabethan (the first one, that is) coaching Inn that stood nearby and was famed for hosting bear baiting and Shakespear plays in its open courtyard although probably not at the same time. The current building was opened in 1913 as the London HQ of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation and displays all the opulence and trappings of wealth that one would expect of City bankers looking to throw their wealth around.
The huge interior is a vast cavernous old Banking Hall with marble walls and pillars, rotundas and ornate plasterwork. At the rear, a staircase leads to a small balcony section and behind this is a sizeable room that can be used for functions and private parties. The central island oval bar has 24 handpumps in 4 banks of 6 and you can usually guarantee at least 9 or 10 guest beers at prices that probably won’t be beaten within the square mile. Small TV’s over the bar have displays of what ales are available and the appropriate pump number.
The massive big screen was (and may still be) the largest of its type in London and they regularly show football albeit muted. Due to its size you can normally find a table free somewhere although the place can be a bit hollow when majority of the crowds fade away.
It should be noted that it has limited opening times at weekends (closes at 7pm on Saturday and all day Sunday) but they do sometimes open specially for their regular beer festivals.
Even the most hardened ‘Spoons detractor would be hard pushed not to have something positive to say about one of the more imprsessive branches of the chain.
On 24th November 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
If you took your average High Street Wetherspoons pub and doubled everything in size, you would end up with something approximating this huge 'Spoons outlet. The main room is enormous, with row upon row of seating filling the considerable amount of space between the entrance and the large, oval shaped island bar towards the rear of the room. The interior is pretty impressive even by bank conversion standards, with marble walls and pillars throughout and a nice ceiling with large glass domes in it. Whilst most of the seating is of the standard table and chair variety, there are still plenty of high stools and tables and drinking ledges throughout the room and even a few large, throne-like chairs past the servery area, where a smaller room can be found, as if any more space was required.
The bar houses 24 handpulls, with 19 dedicated to ales and the other 5 used to dispense cider. Each pump is numbered and a full list of what's on can be viewed on TV screens above the bar, which saves you from having to walk round the bar looking for a specific beer. My pint cost £2.70, which is probably at the top end of what Wetherspoons pubs charge for a guest ale these days, but it was in good shape and served by a friendly barman. The staff work hard to keep the place tidy, which is no mean feat when it's full, as it was on my Friday evening visit.
Although there is a sense that this is an impersonal drinking experience, the benefits of the wide beer choice and fine surroundings outweigh it and make for one of the better Wetherspoons pubs in the capital.
On 10th September 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
The Crosse Keys is a very large Wetherspoons that was converted from a very large bank.
The pub was very busy on my visit but i did get served after a few minutes so i car'nt complain about that,there was a great choice of beers on the bar and too many to write down the drink i had was a decent pint but i car'nt remember what it was.
The seating was the usuall spoons type but all these were taken up.
This is an impressive looking pub but i am not that impressed with spoons pubs.
On 22nd May 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Crosse Keys (JD Wetherspoon)
The first impression on entering is the sheer scale of the place, the double storey height ceiling supported on huge marble clad columns, large domed leaded rooflights, the ornate gallery to the rear, this is without doubt a magnificent building. Enormous as it is, this is no typical Wetherspoons barn despite the rows of tables and I noted that the usual 'spoons plethora of menus was a little more downstated in here. The oval bar is in the centre with the 24 handpumps spread around, (note the mosaic floor around the bar). There is no need however to complete circuits reading all the clips as the beers on are listed over the bar on electronic boards. There were 15 on during my Friday visit and my pint of Kennet Valley Ramsbury was in good shape. Most beers are currently £2.60 with GK IPA at £1.99 and Pride inexplicably at £3.05 (do they sell any?)
To the rear of the pub is a seperate wood panelled room, possibly the original bank manager's office. There is a framed print of a map of the Cornhill area pre the Great Fire in here. Up a flight of stairs to the gallery with sofa seating and then into another rear room, again wood panelled and with a framed description of the various City Livery Companies and also a brief biography and portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham, the instigator of the first Royal Exchange.
As others have said the pub is very well staffed and service is efficient. Certainly worthy of a visit both for the beer choice and the magnificence of the building but it is easy to walk past as the building does not look like a typical pub from the outside. Closed on Sundays and closes early evening of a Saturday.
On 9th January 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]