'Spoons

[Pirahna]

[Taipan]

The Leading Light in Faversham has the bogs on the ground floor as does Royal Victoria Pavilion in Ramsgate and The Opera House in Royal Tunbridge Wells. The Corn Exchange in Bury St Edmunds has the bogs on the 1st floor but so is the bar.

[demographic]

I've built one, well technically its a Loyds Bar but its still owned by the same knobend.
It's one of the places Ive worked on thats still good looking about 16 years later with no refit.
Lot of oak and wallnut.
The William Rufus, Carlisle.

[KungFooBob]

I've built one, well technically its a Loyds Bar but its still owned by the same knobend.
It's one of the places Ive worked on thats still good looking about 16 years later with no refit.lot of oak and wallnut.
The William Rufus, Carlisle.

But the bogs, they're upstairs, right?

[Yorick]

I've built one, well technically its a Loyds Bar but its still owned by the same knobend.
It's one of the places Ive worked on thats still good looking about 16 years later with no refit.lot of oak and wallnut.
The William Rufus, Carlisle.

But the bogs, they're upstairs, right?

I don't remember any pub ever, with bogs upstairs.

[KungFooBob]

My local 'Spoons the bogs are down stairs, but (although not proved by this thread) I'd say 90% at least of 'Spoons have the bogs upstairs. It's a very specific 'Spoons thing.

[Bigjawa]

I find that highly suspicious, much like blokes who claim to never watch porn.

There's only 3 in Norn Iron.

There's one 5 or 6 miles from me. It was a well known paramilitary dive back in the day when I was in it on occasion,but not since it was taken over by Wetherspoons.

When the Rangers club in Sandy Row was being rebuilt, they all decamped to Spoons, not knowing that a load of Markets men drank there. It got very interesting, very quickly.

[wheelnut]

The one in Stafford (the old Picturehouse) had bogs on the same level as the bar. It's been well over 20 years since I was in there and I am in no hurry to go back. As should be apparent.

The one in Hexham, also an old cinema, has the bogs on the same floor as well.

[DefTrap]

Fairly sure I've never been in one either. Not purposely avoided, I'm quite a fan of boozers as a rule.

[mangocrazy]

Fairly sure I've never been in one either. Not purposely avoided, I'm quite a fan of boozers as a rule.

You probably also like well-kept beer, in that case. 'Spoons are famous for buying short-dated beer on the cheap, but it doesn't seem to bother most of the clientele.

[KungFooBob]

It might be low rent, they might sell short dated beer, you might have to walk for three miles for a piss, but...

It's proper cheap and you can order on the app and not have to deal with real lives human beings.

[demographic]

I've built one, well technically its a Loyds Bar but its still owned by the same knobend.
It's one of the places Ive worked on thats still good looking about 16 years later with no refit.lot of oak and wallnut.
The William Rufus, Carlisle.

But the bogs, they're upstairs, right?

Bogs are upstiars, well apart from the disabled access one IIRC.

Standard setup when you work on those jobs is they give the people the main contractors (in this case McGoff & Bryne) don't know the back of house areas first and as they realise you're alright and not prone to expensive fuckups you get better jobs on the front of house areas.
It was quite a good job with a decent gaffa who knew his stuff, way better than some of the feckless chancers that run some sites.

To be fair to the pubs, they're usually a nicer environment than a lot of local bars.
Still not a fan of the owner, hes a right twerp.

[mangocrazy]

It might be low rent, they might sell short dated beer, you might have to walk for three miles for a piss, but...

It's proper cheap and you can order on the app and not have to deal with real lives human beings.

There was no such thing as 'the app' the last time I was in one. Plus I drink wine, so the beer was of no real consequence to me, apart from the unfortunate fact that the wine was uniformly rubbish. But to be fair, that's true of a lot of pubs.

[Taipan]

[636mick]

The Coronet in Holloway, they are upstairs as I recall. Had brekky there a year or so ago. Old converted cinema, lovely place.
There’s a Spoons in Daventry but I haven’t visited yet, I stick to the village pub.
Love the app, means I don’t need to interact with anyone!! Also got my boss to buy us a drink, just texted him the table number, brilliant!!
Nearly forgot, went to Spoons in the NEC when I was working at MC Live, the bogs are on the same level, does that count?
Mick

[KungFooBob]

Regards the App.

There's the Spoons Game.

You post on social media the name of the pub and your table number and wait to see what random strangers on the internets order for you.

It seems to work best if you've got massive tits (and are female).

[Yorick]

Regards the App.

There's the Spoons Game.

You post on social media the name of the pub and your table number and wait to see what random strangers on the internets order for you.

It seems to work best if you've got massive tits (and are female).

Who dare mention her ?

[Buckaroo]

The Old Pond Cheshunt: shithole pub, didn't use the toilets so don't know what floor they're on. That said, some clientele obviously thought the doorway was a urinal.

Spoons? Nah, not for me.

[demographic]

Oh and as everyone seems very interested in where the bogs are I might as well mention that in the maybe four Wetherspoons I've been in the cisterns were always behind the bogs, accessible from a service area through a little doorway.
In the Lloyds bar in Carlisle its maybe three foot wide and you can go through it to access a (unused at the time I built the place but that was years ago now) large loft room up a ladder.

The Woodrow Wilson down the road (think one of President Woodrow Wilsons parents was born in Carlisle, hence the name) has the same little cistern access service void but I've not worked on that one.
Generally a well thought out design to minimise damage by the clientelle and lessen people snorting coke of the tops of the cisterns.
Oh and the bog walls are generally covered in plywood/OSB then plasterboarded after so its not so easy to punch holes in the plywood and it allows all the Johnny machines, hand dryers, soap dispensors, tampax dispensors, bog roll holders yada yada better fixings.
Or at least thats how McGoff and Bryne did them round the country.
They were significantly better planned than most bar fits I've worked on as most of the others were a bit Build and Design (in that order) rather than design and build. If you see what I mean.

[Greenman]

I used to like a spoons but started boycotting them after covid and tbh just can't afford to eat out anymore, even at spoons. I used to go the Kingswood Colliers quite a lot as it was a street away from my flat back then, ham egg and chips and a pint for under a fiver, now you are looking at over 12 quid for the same thing, probably due to the war in ukraine or some other made up nonsense to use to push up the prices dramatically.

I have been to all the spoons in Bristol, i think all but 2 have their bogs on the same floor as the bar.

Kingswood Colliers - Kingswood - Bogs Downstairs
The Jolly Sailor - Hanham - Bogs downstairs
The Van Dyke Forum - Fishponds - Bogs downstairs
The Berkley - Park Street - Bogs upstairs
Knights Templar - By Temple Meads Station - Bogs downstairs
Commercial Rooms - Corn Steet - Bogs Upstairs

The Duke of Wellington in Minehead is my fav Spoons, massive old building and fairly cheap accommodation.

I have been to a few in Wales too but can't remember their names, one had won awards for the toilets, they had fucking marble floors and glass doors, it was a bit out of place for a spoons, i think that was in Roath too so not fitting for the area.