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Image posted by Aqualung .
Submitted on Monday, 9th October 2017
With picture contributions to 1729 other pubs
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Detail Pages
Royal Victoria Pavilion (JD Wetherspoon), Ramsgate
Ramsgate
CT11 8LS
Served areas
Reviews of Royal Victoria Pavilion (JD Wetherspoon) (Average Rating: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
E TA left this review about Royal Victoria Pavilion (JD Wetherspoon)
Very comprehensively described by others below, this was an enjoyable visit to an historic building which has been put to good use. The ale selection has diminished though, the choices being Trio of Doom, Kirby Lonsdale Radical, Darkness Prince of Ales and Coach House Blueberry Beer. The young staff were functional, there were a few drunken idiots trying to cause trouble, but otherwise it was fine. I'd be happy to come back, though I suspect it gets pretty busy during the Summer season.
On 11th April 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3285 recommendations about 3250 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Royal Victoria Pavilion (JD Wetherspoon)
This eye-catching Edwardian seaside pavilion has been thoughtfully restored by the Wetherspoons pub chain following a decade of disuse, becoming the company’s largest pub in the process. The pavilion opened in 1904, operating mainly as a cinema and variety theatre before its eventual closure in 1970, when it was converted to a casino. Unfortunately, a lot of the original features, including the domes at either end of the building and the decorative ceilings, have been lost over time, so that the initial impact upon entering is more a sense of marvel at the size rather than awe of the building. The main bar area is an enormous open plan space with dark wood flooring, the servery along the front wall and an open kitchen over to the left. There are loads of high tables and stools in this area, but it was virtually empty on our Sunday morning visit, making it feel cold and somewhat soulless as a result. Moving to the right, past some basic dark wood panelled partitioning walls and a few simple banquettes, you emerge into another very large space, carpeted throughout and furnished with some curved banquettes, chairs and tub chairs. Several pillars break up the space which seems to act as the child-friendly part of the pub judging by the chaos on display with kids running around, food crushed into the carpet and tables heaped high with no sign of anyone to clear them. Aside from a few decorative light fittings and some half-decent views out towards the beach, there was little to recommend here. Stairs lead you up to a first-floor area with a balcony, lined with muted TV screens, which looks down into the main bar area. There’s a whole load of extra seating up here including some decent padded bench booths, all running around the perimeter of the room, with many giving nice elevated views out to sea. The best views are probably to be found from the sizable upper deck area which offers plenty more seating but was far too cold to test out on a bitter Winter’s morning.
The twelve handpulls had a reasonable selection of cask ales, with three Spoon’s regulars doubled up and six guest ales on the remaining pumps. It being early in the morning, I opted to forgo the beer for a change and instead enjoyed a nice mug of tea with my full English. The staff seemed nice enough although were a little short-handed hence some of the uncleared tables. Unusually for a Wetherspoons, signs around the pub advertised a weekly quiz.
As with a lot of these ‘Spoons conversions of local landmark buildings, the best thing to come out of this pub opening is the opportunity for the public to explore a fine building that is an important part of Ramsgate’s history. For me though, the place didn’t really work all that well, seeming far too big for a town of this size and having lost a lot of original features, struggled to convey a sense of the building’s past use. It’s a perfectly functional ‘Spoons that I’m sure would be a good spot for a bit of summer drinking, but I can’t enthuse about it much more than that.
On 30th March 2020
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Royal Victoria Pavilion (JD Wetherspoon)
I will concur this really is an impressive Wetherspoons, which all came as a bit of a surprise to us. After parking the car in the East Cliffs car park on a glorious late August afternoon we were walking across the expanse of sand that is Ramsgate beach aiming for the town centre when we came across this fine example of Edwardian seaside architecture glinting in the sun. But more importantly it was being extremely well utilised with the upstairs balcony facing the beach overflowing with people enjoying themselves.
Enticed inside the sheer size of this one is difficult to take in until you fully explore the place top and bottom and even more difficult to describe in print and do it justice, but if I say we were lucky enough to grab an outside balcony seat upstairs which had just been vacated and our table number was 437, you will get some idea.
Things I liked about this one were:-
A) The building itself. This really is a fine piece of seaside Edwardian architecture originally built to celebrate the reign of Queen Victoria and full marks to Wetherspoons in prolonging it’s life as a building to be enjoyed by the public. And the almost 360 degree outside upstairs balcony affording great views of the beach to the back, the town to the front and the Marina to the side is truly impressive.
B) As a non-smoker I liked the way there was designated smoking areas at the two extremes of the outside balcony thus leaving a sizeable middle portion smoke free.
C) The hoards of black shirt clad Staff that swarmed about the various areas of the pub serving and clearing the multitude of tables so that the usual ‘spoons scourge of dirty tables and piles of empty glasses and plates was not seen here.
I agree with some comments below that it would have been nice if the available beers had included some locales, but there are plenty of Kent brewery beers available in the other towns pubs and what was on offer was far from shabby. These included Hanson’s Firefly, Ringwood Old Thumper, Coachhouse Brewery Coachman’s Autumn Ale, Celt Citra and Veterans Brewing Tracer Amber ale and the couple we tried were in good nick. A fine spot to while away an hour or so waiting for the towns Micro’s to open.
On 4th October 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
View more reviews of Royal Victoria Pavilion (JD Wetherspoon) (6)
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Dumpton Park, 1.25 miles, 24 min walk (show)
Broadstairs, 2.47 miles, 47 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Beer Festivals : Yes last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Beer Garden : Yes - Three outdoor areas - last updated 08 October 2017 by Aqualung .
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Car Park : No last updated 07 October 2017 by Aqualung .
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Darts : No last updated 07 October 2017 by Aqualung .
- Dog Friendly : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Function Room : No last updated 07 October 2017 by Aqualung .
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Jukebox : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Karaoke : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Live Music : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 07 October 2017 by Aqualung .
- Micropub : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Pinball : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Pool Table : No last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Quiz Night : Yes last updated 30 March 2020 by Pub SignMan
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- Real Cider : No - July festival only - last updated 07 October 2017 by Aqualung .
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
- WiFi : Yes last updated 28 July 2017 by Aqualung .
