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The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon), Warrington
Friars Gate
Warrington
WA1 1EX
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Brainy Pool left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
An open plan circuit Spoons with understated modern decor. Pretty rubbish interior that I couldn’t settle into though it was full on a Saturday afternoon. Slow service, dead wi-fi, it just felt a bit of a waste of time. The archaeological feature is the only thing of interest here.
On 9th March 2024
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1058 recommendations about 1023 pubs]
Quinno _ left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
Intriguing modern building with a central glass turret. Fairly well broken-up over two levels, nice and light inside. Apparently a bit of the old friary runs through the pub and is visible under some glass flooring by the main bar but I certainly didn’t spot it amongst the throng, my main mission was to bag the final free table underneath the stairs and get the app out. Weirdly this was the calmest pub in town, very genteel despite being almost full and especially funny when all of the guest ales were fighting strength. Talking of fighting strength, my Phoenix Wobbly Bob was in good nick (NBSS 3.5) and went down nicely with the final Xmas pizza of the season. Perfectly serviceable Spoons and I’d be happy to call in again, should I ever feel the need to revisit this tourist hotspot of the UK.
On 22nd February 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
This Spoons was slightly more upmarket compared to the Looking Glass, but unfortunately fairly featureless in comparison. There was a moderate amount of drinkers on our visit watching the Six Nations Rugby on a large screen near the entrance. The customer base in here was middle aged and not a pushchair in site. The staff in here were more relaxed compared to the very busy Looking Glass. Ten pumps on the bar, so I went for the Phoenix Wobbly Bob at £1.99 a pint. We also went for the Adnams Mosaic and the Coach House Blueberry.
On 22nd February 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a fairly large Wetherspoons in what appears to be a relatively modern building that stands on the site of a 13th Century friary and takes its name from a former Friar who was mentioned in Shakespeare’s Richard III. The pub has a large, single room interior with carpet throughout much of the space, dark painted walls, lots of big windows and the servery along the back wall. The bar has a very plain counter and bar back which are very much typical of this chain and have no particularly distinctive features. There is seating in plentiful supply throughout the room, including high tables and stools around the bar area, standard tables and chairs over to the right and some nice comfy tub chairs on a raised platform close to the entrance, which was the best place to bag a seat, as far as I could tell. A smart staircase in the middle of the room, sweeps up to a nicely furnished first floor area which offers plenty more seating. Several TV screens were visible around the pub, but the were all unusually switched off, despite a pretty large Saturday afternoon crowd. The usual ‘Spoons local history boards were here in great numbers and covered characters as diverse as Bonnie Prince Charlie, Joseph Priestly and George Formby. Perhaps the pub’s most striking feature is a section of glass flooring which allows you to look down into an excavated section of the old abbey’s foundations.
I was a little surprised to find as many as fourteen active handpulls on the bar, dispensing five ‘Spoons regulars, seven guest ales and a couple of ciders. The Wetherspoons Beer Festival was in full swing, which perhaps explains the wide selection, and I tried the Ballistic Beer Co IPA, which was a pretty decent pint and perhaps one of the better festival ales I’ve chanced upon in recent years.
This seemed like a pleasant enough ‘Spoons, typical of the chain and only really standing out from the crowd by virtue of the archaeological site it stands atop. The wide beer range would perhaps tempt me back for a second look, but Warrington has several better pubs which would serve you well for a longer session.
On 11th December 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rob Hunter left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
Just a small correction to my previous review, I was back earlier in the week and noticed there are in fact three banks of five hand pulls, making 15 in total. Abbot and Ruddles were duplicated and there were four real ciders on the pumps too. The ciders were more expensive than the guest ales for some reason - ranging from £2.69 to £3.19 a pint - so not outrageously expensive but dear for Spoons standard compared to the ales.
On 26th July 2019
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 750 recommendations about 598 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rob Hunter left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
Visited yesterday (Tuesday) around 5:30pm or so. This feels a bit more "old school" Spoons to me than the nearby Looking Glass and felt more like the "barn" that people often describe Wetherspoon pubs as.
Two banks of five hand pulls at the bar, one offering the usual three (albeit one unavailable) plus Wainwright and Wobbly Bob. The other bank had the guests including two by Peerless, two by Wily Fox (including Karma Citra), and Phoenix Arizona.
My Oatmeal Stout by Peerless was nice enough and was priced at £1.89 a pint or 95p for a half.
The Friar Penketh seems a bit less studenty than the Looking Glass, at least at the time of my visit, with more of the after work drinking crowd and single old men. It also felt a bit grubbier with sticky tables and piles of uncollected glasses. Can't knock the beer selection or the prices though.
On my way to the gents (upstairs, naturally) I noticed there was another bar upstairs. This had the Spoons trio and Wainwright on.
I didn't take to this pub as much as the other Spoons in Warrington, but the beer selection in here seemed better on the day, so all in all they're probably about even.
On 5th June 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 750 recommendations about 598 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
This is set in a modern building on a corner in what seems to be Warrington's club land. I only looked at the downstairs part which is a roughly rectangular room without much depth. The bar takes up most of the far wall. It was nowhere near as busy as the Looking Glass.
The ten hand pumps downstairs had four unused, Ruddles, Doom Bore, Titanic Captain Smith, Hobgoblin Gold, Maxim Maximus and Butcombe Rare Breed. I went for the Captain Smith which was excellent.
Despite the average beer choice I thought this one was OK.
On 17th April 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
Standard-issue 'spoons of the semi-modern variety, with no distinguishing features except the tables are clean and tidy and the staff attentive (as they were on my previous visit some six years ago, indicating ongoing good management). Seven real ales on offer from three banks of five handpumps, including the Caledonian Rare Red Rye (£1.99, and in good form), with three more 'Available soon'.
On 8th November 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
Above average Wetherspoons.
On 27th October 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Friar Penketh (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a large two floor purpose built Wetherspoons, with the feature metal stair winding up from the centre of the room. A second bar upstairs has a lesser choice of handpulled beer but is styled as a "craft" bar and has a broad selection of bottles, some genuinely unusual. Large storey height windows let in lots of light and for a while, dazzling low sunshine. Some wood panelling including a decent bit on a curved wall which is very well finished. The ground floor has a viewing window set in the floor where you can see the North Transept of a medieval friary which once stood on this site, a novel and interesting touch. The upper floor has an area called CAMRA corner where there is information about traditional cask ales and a map showing the location of many NW breweries together with a short write up of each.
A good range of well kept beers were on, they have a house beer called Crafty Friar which is brewed for them by Coach House. This is definitely one of the better 'spoons and one where there is a clear ethos towards cask ale. I was pleasantly surprised here, we came in unplanned, to eat, as the other JDW, The Looking Glass, had problems with the fryers and had little food options available. This is a pleasant oasis among stacks of brash, loud, circuit bars in this part of Warrington.
On 27th September 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]