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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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The William Dampier (Lloyds No 1), Yeovil
Yeovil
BA20 1LN
Pub Type
Lloyds No. 1 (J D Wetherspoon)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 4 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The William Dampier (Lloyds No 1)
Winner of the Daily Mirror "Britains Ugliest Pub" list in 2022.
A touch harshly. There are much worse.
Identikit JDW. Couldn't bring myself to force my way past the smokers by the door.
On 8th February 2022
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1337 recommendations about 1323 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The William Dampier (Lloyds No 1)
As noted below this is a large wide room on the ground floor of a hideous mid 20th century building. Most of the seating is low. A raised area at the far right does little to break the monotony. The entrance is on the corner of Middle Street and Central Road so it MUST be bang in the centre of Yeovil. The bar is on the left as you enter with the Lloyds Disaster Area opposite to the right along with lights, speakers and Idiot Booth.
Unusually for a Lloyds this has two sets of six hand pumps and one of four in between. The set of four is reserved for ciders, although only two were on and anyway they were stored in a chill cabinet over to the left. The remaining twelve had three unused, the JDW Trio Of Doom with Abbot & Doom Bore doubled plus Blindmans Maverick & Mine Beer doubled. I went for the Maverick (£2.19) which was in good enough nick but pretty unexciting.
I went off to visit the nearby Palmers pub but returned to try the Steak Club which was good value at £6.99 and also the Orchard Pig Hogfather cider, even better value at £2.55.
One plus point here is that the toilets are not up several flights of stairs. It wasn't the unmitigated disaster I was half expecting but it's not that great a Spoons.
On 28th June 2017
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The William Dampier (Lloyds No 1)
] Well described by BF, below, I would add that the bench seats were also sticky and unpleasant, making it more desirable to stand than to sit down. It's a former carpet shop and supermarket, named after the local privateer and homo eraticus who first explored bits of what is now Australia. The staff were quite friendly, though inefficient (with the exception of the hard-working manager, who is doing well to hold it all together), and most of the undesirables were too comatose to make a fuss when we arrived. The beer selection was unexciting, Plain Ales Hooker being the only exotic brew available on the 15 handpumps on the counter. The other ale choices were Abbott, Doombar and Ruddles, one pump had a cider on, the rest had 'available soon' clips. Certainly not JDW's best, and I wouldn't make an effort to explore this one.
On 15th April 2017
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3280 recommendations about 3245 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The William Dampier (Lloyds No 1)
This has to be one of the worst of the Wetherspoons empire.Housed in an awful 60's building,you enter into a vast space with a mismatch of pine furniture,a slate and scuffed wood flooring,no internal features,no heating on a cold day and a very poor selection of real ale.It was dirty,tables sticky and looked run down .The mixing desk to one side and large speakers hanging down indicate this Lloyds no 1 might be lively with the young in the evening,and may account for the general condition.The only saving grace was a raised area at the back ,where you can escape the monotony.All day drinkers were dotted about the interior.
There are a total of 16 handpumps from three ranks with GK Abbott,Ruddles Best and Doom Bar doubled up.4 handpumps were unclipped,a further 4 were offering real ale and cider "available soon" leaving guests of Dorset Brewing Knob and Chocolate Orange Porter (flat,£2.10).
Truly terrible.
On 13th November 2016
- rating: 2
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The William Dampier (Lloyds No 1)
The William Dampier, named after the famous explorer who was born in the nearby village of East Coker, is a Lloyd’s No 1 bar and Yeovil’s only Wetherspoons representative. The layout is a fairly simple one – just the one very large, roughly rectangular room with a slightly curving bar counter running midway down the left hand side. The bar back is probably the most striking feature in the entire pub, as it’s a huge affair, towering over those working beneath. The rest of the room holds few surprises with a mix of typical ‘Spoons style seating options running down the length of the room. There are some big windows at the front allowing plenty of natural light in, which is much needed as it get a little gloomy the further back you go. Outside, under these windows, there is a roped off drinking area on the pedestrianised street which was packed full of smokers when I arrived. A raised seating area at the back of the pub leads you to a second entrance and there were several TV screens dotted around showing rolling news. The bar staff seemed pretty efficient on my visit, but they may well have raised their game to deal with a big football crowd. Either way, they were very quick to tidy up once the supporters had left, leaving no trace of their presence behind.
I lost count of the number of handpulls, but I did manage to note the disappointing ratio of three guest ales and five ‘coming soon’ pump clips. The remaining pumps were taken up by ‘Spoons regulars, but I opted for a pint of Cotleigh Barn Owl which was in good nick and value for money at £1.99.
With decent drinking options seemingly limited in Yeovil, this seems like a good bet for a decent pint if nothing else. I’m sure there are certain times when this place would be best avoided altogether, but I thought it was okay for a quick lunchtime pint and would probably pop my head in next time I’m in town.
On 5th October 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
BobOs . left this review about The William Dampier (JD Wetherspoon)
Typical 'spoons - a cavernous converted carpet shop (and, before that, a supermarket) with the atmosphere to match. Now a Lloyds bar (so they could raise the prices) but still the cheapest beer in town. All too frequently understaffed at the bar with enormous queues, especially Friday and Saturday nights. Food is variable - difficult for microwaved frozen pre-packs, but they manage it! Although it is something of a dive (and it helps if you speak Polish or noisy chav) I still come here most weeks as it is, without doubt, the best range of well-kept ales in town at the cheapest prices.
On 10th July 2011
- rating: 4
[User has posted 370 recommendations about 355 pubs]