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The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon), Dunstable
Dunstable
LU5 4GP
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)
Large and modern branch of Wetherspoon's situated in a retail park just to the east of Dunstable town centre. It feels quite spacious and much brighter than most old-style 'spoon's.
Customers here were forming an orderly queue for the bar. Most were ordering meals. So, I'm not sure if this is the 'done' thing here, or whether these particular customers decided to create a queue. I duly joined the back, in any case.
For beers, the usual suspects were on - Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Sharp's Doom Bar. In addition, there were 3 guests from Kelchner - Masquerade, Local Is Lekker & James Blonde. My Masquerade was a little cloudy, but just about drinkable. Real cider is no longer stocked, or at least was not apparent.
On 29th September 2021
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a mid-sized, open plan Wetherspoons set in a modern building close to a large college campus and Grove Park. The room roughly follows a C-shape, with the usual ‘Spoons carpeting throughout and a familiar mix of high tables and stools, standard tables and chairs and one or two comfier banquettes and tub chairs here and there. Unusually, the high tables aren’t lined up directly opposite the bar, as tends to be the case in most ‘Spoons, with that honour going to some tables and chairs formed into booths by the positioning of Covid screens. An L-shaped servery can be found down the right-hand side of the room, with a plain wood counter front embellished with a few stylish inserts and a basic bar back that has been given some cursory decorative flourishes. All of this sits underneath a vast, curved wooden canopy which looks a bit like a gigantic bus shelter, although I feel this description does no favours to the dramatic effect of the whole thing. The room has large for to ceiling windows down two sides, which help make it feel light and airy inside, whilst the walls are painted mostly in red or other such warm shades and decorated with large mirrors, abstract art pieces and the usual muted TV screens. A very large, elaborate wall-mounted arm has been used to hang a pretty big light feature at one end of the room, whilst you can find a life-size statue of the eponymous Hollywood actor sat on a horse at the other end of the room, next to the stairs leading up to the toilets. To the left, doors lead out to a good-sized patio seating area with lots of picnic benches, many of which are sheltered by jumbrellas or small gazeboes.
There were three ‘Spoons regulars on the handpulls alongside two guest ales from the Kelchner Brewery from nearby Ampthill. I ordered a pint of the latter’s Masquerade Red Ale from the waitress who was despatched to my table despite me being sat right opposite the bar and perfectly capable of giving my order to the lady behind the bar without having to get up and approach the counter (as were the rules at the time of my visit). The beer turned out to be nothing special and was perhaps starting to turn a little, with most other customers seemingly favouring lager and bottled beer.
I quite liked this modern building which I thought helped the place stand apart a little from the usual shop-converted branches of the chain. However, it did seem a little too sterile, even by ‘Spoons standards, and didn’t exactly help its cause with sub-par beer and a cluttered, messy feel to the layout. I may have caught this place on a bad day, but I left feeling I could quite happily have dropped this from my itinerary without feeling like I missed out on much.
On 17th August 2021
- rating: 5
[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 Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)
Large 'L'-shaped 'spoons named after the Hollywood star nearby before emigrating to America with his family. Housed in one corner of the large modern Dunstable Centre development (with BBC Three Counties and the Grove Theatre as neighbours), this has a towering ceiling and full-height windows so feels light and airy. Some external tables can also be found overlooking the Grove House Gardens. Not much doing on the two banks of five handpumps, with the Cairngorm Trade Winds (just £1.89 on a Monday) being about the best of three beers and a cider as alternatives to the trio of Ruddles, Doom Bar and Abbot.
On 21st July 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a JDW situated on a corner location as part of a modern development which also houses the centre for BBC Three Counties radio. Unusually for the brand there is lots of natural light, courtesy of the two elevations having full height glazed curtain walling however as on this occasion there was an enormous virtual monsoon taking place we did not benefit.
Poor for a 'spoons as regards guest beers, only three I made it, repeated over both banks of pumps, we all went for the Purple Moose Elderflower Ale. Four pints for £7.60 with four vouchers was a redeeming feature of course.
Cavernous inside and very noisy due to poor acoustics and unchecked children, decor includes unusual metal objects fixed to the walls, large mirrors, exposed services plus a statue of Gary Cooper mounted on his horse.....certainly one of the more dubious associations of Wetherspoon pub naming.
Busy, functional and adequate, nothing more.
On 2nd October 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)
This place is definitely not one for the lover of old pub interiors. The building itself newly built in 2008 is picturesquely positioned opposite a massive ASDA supermarket and looks more like an out of town branch of B&Q or PC World than a pub. Inside it's a large single room which at least isn't dark as there are ceiling to floor glass windows all around. If you move around the bar to the right as you enter there is a staircase inevitably leading to the toilets. At the base of this staircase there is a sculpture of a cowboy character astride a horse which I assume is supposed to represent Gary Cooper an actor with very tenuous links to the town.
The bar has two banks of five hand pumps On my visit these had the two GK beers, Doom Bore, Broadside, Elgood's Cambridge IPA, Vale Red Kite & Gravitas, Wold Top Wold Gold, Stonehenge Pigswill and Red Squirrel Hopfest.
I went for the Elgood's Cambridge IPA (£2.20) which was in good nick but quite a boring pint which made me wish I had gone for the Wold Top beer.
This place is GBG 2015 listed but is also a Lloyds No 1 according to the Spoons web site but that also says that they close at 23:00 daily.
All the branding is Wetherspoon so maybe they wanted a Lloyds but couldn't get the late licence.
It had a full selection of beers with Locale options so gets my vote despite the hideous structure and location.
On 10th April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Adam Croft left this review about The Gary Cooper (JD Wetherspoon)
Large selection of real ales and foreign beers at very reasonable prices.
This is a 'Wetherlloyds' outfit which turns into a nightclub atmosphere after 9pm at weekends. Also serves very good food and is great for a midweek drink.
On 29th January 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 30 recommendations about 30 pubs]