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The Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon), Paignton
Paignton
TQ4 6AL
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
Just a short distance from the seafront, this is the last remaining Wetherspoons pub in Paignton, and one the town's most likely pubs to be mobbed by hordes of day trippers. The pub has a decent sized interior, with the servery down the right-hand side and ample seating crammed into the remaining space, which is full of pillars, short sections of wall, partitioning screens and other such dividers that are effective in breaking up the large space and avoiding a drinking barn feel. The room has plenty of dark wood panelling throughout, which in combination with the relatively small front windows, means the pub can feel a little dark and gloomy, even on a gloriously sunny afternoon, as was the case when I visited. High tables and stools dominate the centre of the room, but elsewhere, there’s the usual decent mix of comfy seating, including plenty of regular tables and chairs, a few nicely padded bench booths and a selection of inviting tub chairs. The bar has a traditional wood panelled counter front, broken in a couple of places by some large pillars, and following a kinked L-shape that runs almost to the very back of the room, whilst a large pub mirror dominates the bar back. The rear part of the pub is on a lower level and offers a few extra seats in a space decorated with the usual ‘Spoons info boards and some seaside themed art. Several doors on the back wall open out to a two-tier patio garden with high tables and stools on the upper level and picnic benches below, all overlooking a nice large lawn that’s ideal for kids to run around on.
The pub was doing an absolutely roaring trade on my Friday afternoon visit, resulting in a queue from the bar, snaking through the pub. I ignored this and walked up to a separate part of the bar, where a friendly barman quickly served me, prompting many others to abandon the stupid queue system that seems to plague Devon’s Wetherspoons. I had a choice of three ‘Spoons regular ales and four guest options on this visit, opting for the local Salcombe Island Street Porter, which was in excellent shape. They seem to take their ale pretty seriously here and I noticed signs for an upcoming Meet the Brewer event, which is usually an indicator of well-kept beer on the rare occasion you see this in a ‘Spoons.
This place was a little too manic for me, partly because my visit was at lunchtime during the half-term holiday, resulting in kids everywhere and a 45 minute wait for food. If I’d visited at a quieter time, I may have appreciated this one a bit more, as the beer was great and the staff were very friendly, despite the large crowds, but my main memory will be of the chaos, so I might have to chalk this one up for a revisit some time.
On 28th March 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
Looks like an old-school 'spoons, with dark furniture and decor and gloomy lighting away from the front and back windows, but the conversion from two shops (themselves converted from a pair of villas) was undertaken by a previous pub operator before its acquisition in 2010. The central bar area is raised slightly above the seating / dining areas by the front doors and along the rear section (which has a narrow patio terrace beyond). My hopes weren't raised too much by seeing Dartmoor Jail Ale alongside Ruddles, Doom Bar and Abbot on the first bank of four handpumps, but the other set featured Salcombe Lifesaver, Jurassic Gas Tank IPA, Long Man Copper Hop and Vale Gravitas which certainly exceeded my expectations, especially as they were all just £1.99.
On 8th June 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
Paignton's second Spoons dates from 2010 and is a lot closer to the seafront so is likely to attract the tourists rather than locals. Inside it's a roughly square open plan, split level room with the bar on the right and a low ceiling that makes it rather dark. I was here on a sunny but breezy May Saturday so it wasn't being overrun.
This one only has eight hand pumps which had the JDW Trio Of Doom, Dartmoor Jail Ale, Marston's Old Empire, Wild Weather Go Man Go, Hanlon's Firefly and Hambleton's Stallion Amber. I went for the Old Empire (£2.65 but marked at £2.79) which was excellent. This one seemed OK to me but I could imagine it being a nightmare on a sunny day during the school summer holidays. The other Spoons is much more of a local one and better.
On 22nd May 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
GBG 2014 listed JDW but oh my, what an awful place. Enter at street level with a small bar, then up steps to a larger raised area with a relatively low ceiling, then back down some steps to another seating area overlooking a park. Some teenage incompetent serving who clearly knew nothing about anything and had the brain-power of a lobotomised woodlouse. Half a lemonade and half an ale (which took he ages to locate) somehow became a pint of shandy. No son, don’t want that…repeat order s-l-o-w-l-y. Eventually it sank in but of course for extra comedy he poured the lemonade without checking for ice/slice combo and managed to spill half of the ale before it made its way to the counter. No extra marks for the other staff member who had evidently given up and was hiding elsewhere. Numerous tables were cluttered with long discarded food utensils; those tables that were clear had a residue of ingrained stickiness akin to an unwashed cooker hood after two years use. The carpet was littered with rubbish. The flashing lights from the numerous fruit machines against the low ceiling made the place feel like a cross between a disco and a 1960’s LSD trip. The Wi-Fi didn’t work. Ale-wise, three guests though ludicrously all 5%+ abv. What a dump but sums the worst elements of Paignton up perfectly. Now second in the list of the worst Wetherspoons I’ve ever been in which is some feat given the Bright Helm was the lowest of the low. At least the ale I eventually ended up with was relatively drinkable. The only reason this place is the talk of the town is that people with any sense are trying to avoid it.
On 2nd August 2014
- rating: 2
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
Talk of the Town is a Wetherspoons pub that opened in May 2010 and is located just off the esplanade on Torbay Road. I popped in on a recent Saturday evening when the pub was half full with tourists and locals of varying ages. This is a large pub with a bar up some steps on the right hand wall that faces the main body of seating which is split up by supporting pillars. There is also a sunken seating area at the rear by some back doors which I think lead to a small outside area that faces a park.
The usual standard draught is available and I counted eight hand pumps. One of these was unused and three others were drawing Spoon’s stalwarts leaving four guest beers. Food is available during the day and the usual cheap deals are all available.
I found the service to be reasonable, but I did visit this pub again later in the week and left after waiting over ten minutes to be served at the busy, but not packed bar. The problem seemed to be that the staff are allocated zones to work and when someone orders a hot drink the barman/maid disappears for an age and the other staff do not have the wherewithal to fill in the gap.
Like most JDW establishments, I would have no problem returning for another beer or two but I wouldn’t stay all evening and would avoid at peak times.
On 25th April 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5251 recommendations about 5219 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
Large Wetherspoons between the station and the beach, various seating area, usual menu, though the food wasn't brilliant, friendly, busy and all typical Wetherspoons.
On 1st October 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ale Monster left this review about Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
A newly refurbished Wetherspoon’s pub that was originally a couple of guest houses which were built around the 1890’s, it has one large square room with lots of dark wood panelling, several large supporting pillars and the room is on two levels. The long bar counter is against the right hand wall and there was a nice cast iron fire place in the middle at the back of the room. There were a couple of large flat screen TV’s showing sports news and the usual Wetherspoon’s offering of interesting local history framed on the wall. At the back of the building are double doors that lead out on to a small patio that overlooks a large public park.
Regular ales are Green King Abbot Ale and Ruddles County with four changing guest beers from local independent breweries. On this visit they were Bays Devon Dumpling and Topsail, Hunters Gold and Otter Bitter. I tried all the guests and they were well kept in my opinion.
This is a better than average Wetherspoon’s which was clean and tidy due to the recent refurbishment; the staff were all very friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend this place for a drink due to the good selection of good quality local ales.
On 13th October 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 199 recommendations about 199 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
mick parkinson left this review about Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
went in a few times 1st week of july whilst on holiday,value for money,freindly locals and bar staff
On 13th July 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 14 recommendations about 12 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Daz Gould left this review about Talk of the Town (JD Wetherspoon)
Good location,Very Busy on the day we visited But had only 2 bar staff working. Took ages to get served.
On 5th July 2010
- rating: 4
[User has posted 30 recommendations about 30 pubs]