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The Corn Exchange (JD Wetherspoon), Arbroath
Arbroath
DD11 1HR
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Corn Exchange (JD Wetherspoon)
Nice enough Spoons, ale was ok, usual set up but nice building
On 2nd May 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Corn Exchange (JD Wetherspoon)
After trusting Scottish rail with some of my hard earned pennies to take a Sunday trip to Arbroath from Dundee for the day and a morning spent exploring the Abbey I really fancied fish and chips and a pint of ale for a late lunch. That was proving almost impossible because Arbroath must be one of the worst real ale desert towns I have had the pleasure to visit when suddenly, almost by accident, we detoured through the market place passageway to discover the Corn Exchange, and immediately decided to enter with the knowledge that they serve real ale and always have fish and chips on the laminated card of ‘spoons edible delights.
And I fully appreciate that is where I went wrong. Years of visiting Tim Martins empire has taught me to set my expectations as low as possible so that the mulleted ones employees and establishments would have trouble to limbo dance under them. So it was totally my fault to have raised expectations and for that I fully put my hand up.
Firstly let’s look at the the pub building itself. Externally it is a fine piece of 19th century stone architecture and has a very attractive front vista for a pub building. But sadly experience of other Wetherspoons establishments in Scotland tend to have the interiors as something of a disappointment compared to the outside, with any period features or original structures having disappeared or been removed. This is also the case with the Corn Exchange and the full bland formulaic usual ‘spoons interior decor was there with absolutely no local branding from what I could see, meaning that I could have been anywhere in the country and specifically back in my local ‘spoons in Enfield, except that that has a bit more local character and that is a cr*p shop conversion.
Secondly the ale range was a bit weak compared to other ‘spoons with only two banks of four pumps and four of these were taken up with the dreaded Doombore and Abbot house ales and a cider. But still this left Caledonian Deuchars IPA , Redemption Hopspur , Lancaster Black stout and the usually excellent Phoenix Wobbly Bob, which in comparison with the rest of Arbroath is still a choice bordering on a cornucopia of liquid delights.
Thirdly, only one person working the bar, well it was gone 2.00pm so be reasonable, but fortunately the British ability for forming an orderly queue was being demonstrated and it wasn’t long until it became my turn in front of the pumps displaying the dreaded Doombore and Abbot. It was at this point that the fun really started.
Me: “I’ll have a pint of Wobbly Bob please”
Bar staff: “We haven’t got any”
Me: “Yes you have, it is on the other set of hand pumps.”
Bar staff: “It’s all gone”
Me: “OK, is the Deuchars IPA still on ?”
Bar staff: “Yes”
Me: “Great, I’ll have a pint of that and the fish and chips please”
Bar staff: “Got no fish”
Me: “ So I am in Arbroath, a major sea side town and you have no fish?”
Bar staff: “No”
It was at this point of the proceedings that I cut my losses and went for the all day breakfast, the same choice as my good lady.
I have to say that the speed at which the all day breakfasts appeared was truly impressive. Unfortunately what was not so impressive was the way my Deuchars IPA died in the glass. In hindsight I should have necked it, but wanted to string it out with the food so took my time over it. The first third was very good, the second third was not so good and the last third was truly awful, thus displaying a mark of cellar management that is sadly nowadays not just restricted to Wetherspoon’s.
Bemoaning this fact produced the alternative view from my good lady that the breakfasts were very good (agreed) and her cup of bottomless tea was fine and I should give the place a break and stop being a moaning old man.
I weighed up the possibility to argue the point that it would be a very dark day indeed when a ‘spoons establishment couldn’t produce their cook by numbers all day breakfast and she had actually made the tea herself from the machine, but probably made the right decision not to and to accept the label duly given.
And indeed why should I moan?, I had been fed and watered. It wasn’t the beer I wanted or the food I wanted, but I had been fed and watered.
And for those of you who have your gold Wetherspoon’s experience badge you will be pleased to learn that a plus point of this one is that the toilets are on the same floor as the bar and not somewhere in the basement or the attic. And of course the big plus is that it is one of the very few, if possibly only places you can get a real ale in town.
On 26th August 2019
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Corn Exchange (JD Wetherspoon)
Grand-looking building, now converted for a second time (the intermediate stage being the Olympia Picture Palace that opened in 1912). Nothing special inside, unfortunately, with no clues about its previous incarnations in the various seating / dining areas. Not much choice from the two banks of four handpumps either, with only the (Sinclair) Atlas White Corries (£1.99) being of much interest.
On 18th February 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Corn Exchange (JD Wetherspoon)
This Spoons is set on part of the ground floor of this old building. It's smaller inside than the exterior might suggest consisting of a wide rectangular room with the bar to the rear and a raised area to the left. The fixtures and fittings are all fairly typical. I got here before Beer O' Clock on a Thursday but by the time I left in the early afternoon it was quite busy with people coming in for food.
There are two sets of four hand pumps here but the choice was poor with three available soon and one unused leaving just Abbot, Doom Bore, Redcastle Tower IPA and Banks's Sleeping Giant IPA. I went for the Tower IPA (£2.09) which was very poor and the Sleeping Giant (£2.09) which was OK.
This is another GBG 2018 listed Scottish Spoons let down by poor choice and quality of the beer. It's a shame as I quite liked it as a Spoons.
On 18th September 2017
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Corn Exchange (JD Wetherspoon)
This Wetherspoon features in the 2010 Good Beer Guide, and the Wood's beer was fine. Service was prompt and the food was good too.
On 17th August 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
William Purnell left this review about The Corn Exchange (JD Wetherspoon)
CAMRA Tayside Pub of the Year 2009
On 20th October 2009
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 218 recommendations about 205 pubs]