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The Quarter Jack (JD Wetherspoon), Wells
Wells
BA5 1SY
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The Quarter Jack (JD Wetherspoon)
There are good JDWs and bad ones – this falls into the latter category. The staff were unwelcoming, unhelpful and inefficient, meaning it took almost half an hour from entering to the first taste of beer. We were informed that it is normal to pay for your beer then wait while they serve a large party with food before bringing you your sole purchase, a pint of ale, while the person whom you paid goes off shift leaving the service for someone else to deliver. Also delivered was a lecture on how they queue the orders on a screen which was not visible from where we sat. There were 6 ales advertised on 2 banks of pump clips, but only two actually available – Ruddles Best and Abbot – both in poor condition. This one did not run like clockwork and did not chime well.
On 12th July 2021
- rating: 4
[User has posted 3285 recommendations about 3250 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Quarter Jack (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a mid-sized Wetherspoons pub on the edge of town, located in a former furniture and antiques store. Entering via a small front patio garden area with some basic garden furniture facing a moderately busy road, you find yourself in a wide seating area across the front section of the pub. This area has a mix of carpeting and extremely scuffed floorboards, with a odd layout over to the right, where bare brick walls broken up by partitioning create a series of partly hidden spaces that offer a bit more privacy than you’d expect in your average ‘Spoons. By way of contrast, the left-hand side is much more open, with plusher furnishings, wood panelled walls and a glazed screen partitioned side room. Standard table and chair seating fills most of the front section of the pub and there are a few nice arty bits on the walls along with the usual ‘Spoons local history boards, although even these have been presented more smartly than in the majority of their other pubs. The room narrows a little as you approach the bar area, which sees the servery run along the right-hand wall with high tables and stools through the centre of the room and bench booths down the left side. The bar has a modern counter and bar back, both of which have been quite brightly lit, making it a strong focal point for the room. Some more standard seating options are available towards the rear, as the pub kind of peters out somewhat in this fairly nondescript space. Doors to the left lead out to the beer garden that has some really cool looking seating built into some upturned giant rings.
There was a decent Friday night crowd in when we visited, but we were able to find a table without too much fuss and found the staff extremely helpful and attentive, in sharp contrast to several other Wetherspoons visited post-lockdown. The ‘Spoons app listed a limited ale range comprising three ‘Spoons regulars and just the one guest ale. I found it impossible to look past the Theakstons Old Peculiar at a mere £1.69 a pint and found myself sinking a couple of these over the course of our visit. We’d also decided to have some food here as well and the dishes were the usual cheap and cheerful fayre.
This place really impressed with its excellent service and smart interior, both of which put it well ahead of the average Wetherspoons. It’s a shame that they fell down somewhat with the ale range, which I’m presuming was reduced to reflect the smaller customer turnout in the post-lockdown world, although I enjoyed my Old Peculiar very much. Overall, I really enjoyed this visit and thought this was one of the better pubs from my few days in Wells.
On 25th November 2020
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Quarter Jack (JD Wetherspoon)
The Quarter Jack is just over three years old now. It consists of a T shaped room with the wide part at the front and the main area where the bar is on the right being long and narrow and the paed patio with the sedtions of tunelling as shelters on the left. I noticed the food clubs here were a bit expensive but the other food prices looked about average. It was doing a reasonable trade on my Thursday afternoon visit
The bar has two sets of five hand pumps which had three available soon, the JDW Trio Of Doom doubled up leaving a solitary Everard's Ascalon as the only ale option worth bothering with and it's a beer that was supposed to commemorate St George's Day the previous Sunday! I went for a cider instead, Sam's Cheddar Valley (£2.40) which was a proper orange cloudy Somerset cider that resembled a pint of tomato soup without the red food colouring.
This seemed like it could be a decent Spoons but the solitary viable ale option makes it a joke for me and a complete waste of time. I certainly wouldn't return.
On 28th April 2017
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Quarter Jack (JD Wetherspoon)
A new Wetherspoon’s opening in a building that was originally part of the bus depot but has been empty for some years, this has been in the planning for a considerable time having met with much opposition from locals NIMBY’s who want to see Wells remain a sleepy backwater rather than progressing in to the 21st Century. Much of the opposition seemed ill informed, including the neighbours of my in-laws who were vehemently opposed, despite having never set foot in a ‘Spoons.
It consists of one single L-shape room with a long bar counter on the right, although there is also a small snug off to the left with a glass partition. Décor wise it follows the recent JDW formula, with a slightly more contemporary look than some of the company’s older outlets. The central area has a pale parquet wood floor with trestle style tables and black leather chairs. Elsewhere the flooring is a mixture of carpet and tiling, whilst the paintwork is mostly battleship grey. There is also some exposed brickwork and quite a lot of dark slatted wood panelling on the walls as well as a number of pictures of the local area and notices regarding the local history including details of an old river that runs under the pub and the clock on the nearby cathedral from which the pub takes it’s name. An unusual feature was the “cellar” at the rear of the pub which was a sectioned off room with glass walls providing a clear view of the stillage.
Food wise, the menu offered the usual extensive range and my Pulled Pork Burger with Barbeque Sauce, Fries and Coleslaw was tasty enough and very good value I thought at £6.89 including a pint. It’s early days yet as this was the first Saturday of opening, but overall I was quite impressed. Staff seemed friendly and on the ball and this is a welcome addition to the local pub scene. The only downside was the temperature which could definitely have been a few degrees warmer. It’s seemed odd to have the air conditioning on, but not the heating, in the middle of January. Hopefully these are just teething problems.
Beers on tap were the usual Abbott Ale, Ruddles Best and Old Speckled Hen. These were joined by Bishop’s Finger and RCH Pitchfork. London Pride was apparently coming soon. Ciders were Strongbow, Stowford Press and Thatcher’s Gold.
On 27th January 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Jonathan Wilde left this review about The Quarter Jack (JD Wetherspoon)
Further to Blackthorn's addition of this soon opening Weatherspoons I thought I'd do my own reccie only to find staff training day so without a ticket was allowed in and handed two free drinks and a meal voucher, best start ever to a visit. Pub is large open plan L shape building with the bar to the right as you enter. Numerous high tables down the centre with normal tables looking out onto the outdoor area. 10 handpumps in two sets of 5 serving the same at present but this may change once it's actually open.
The garden itself is an interesting place with some hanging chairs and seating booths made from large concrete pipes.
On 18th January 2014
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 365 recommendations about 347 pubs]