I visited the UK’s biggest Wetherspoons – I found pints under £3 and it has striking difference to other pubs
AS soon as I walked up to the UK’s biggest Wetherspoons, I knew I was in for a treat.
The huge venue spans two floors and has a massive outdoor veranda.
Standing outside and looking up at the huge boozer, I was excited to go in.
The Royal Victoria Pavilion, which was first opened in 2017, is in Harbour Parade in Ramsgate, Kent.
It has a whopping 907 tables and can host more than 1,500 punters across 10,000 sq ft.
The pub employs 100 staff, which is double the amount that the average Wetherspoons pub has.
Wetherspoons proudly describes the pub as “striking” and it certainly lives up to that.
Now, any Spoons fan knows that the pubs caters for everyone, whether they want a full English and a coffee or a boozy night out, and at bargain prices too.
But The Royal Victoria Pavilion truly does take it to another level.
What’s it like inside?
The pub has all the alcoholic drinks you’d expect to see on the menu at Wetherspoons, including Corona to Guinness, a selection of wines and cocktails too.
The difference is, at this venue, you can enjoy your drinks with a stunning sea view.
And punters are spoilt for choice – with the option to sit beach side on its ground-floor terrace, or upstairs on the veranda overlooking the harbour.
The price of a pint varies from £2.94 for a Bud Light, £4.57 for a Corona and £5.03 for a Leffe.
Wetherspoons prices vary from branch to branch, with a pint of Corona costing £4.74 in Leeds and £4.97 in Central London. The Royal Pavilion falls somewhere in the middle.
The Grade II listed building was a former concert hall and assembly rooms and has previously been a nightclub and casino.
The inside feels a bit like you’re on a very grand cruise ship, with a staircase reminiscent of the one Rose (Kate Winslet) walks down in Titanic.
How to save money at Wetherspoons
WETHERSPOONS is known for its low prices, but there are ways to spend even more money at the chain.
Every year, Spoons holds its Tax Equality Day to highlight the benefits of a permanently reduced tax bill for the pub industry.
It usually takes place in September, and last year it fell on Thursday, September 14.
As well as its 12-day Real Ale Festival every Autumn, Wetherspoons also holds a Spring Festival.
Wetherspoons is known for its meal deal offers that run all week long.
These include Tuesday’s Steak Club, Thursday’s Curry Club and Fish Friday.
For example, a standard curry club meal with an alcoholic drink is between £8.55 and £9.19.
Outside of the deal, you would expect to pay around a fiver more for the same meal.
You can enjoy bottomless brews all day in participating Wetherspoons pubs by buying one hot drink.
The offer includes Tetley tea and a range of Lavazza coffee including a flat white, latte, cappuccino, and Americano.
Prices start from just 99p but they can vary depending on your location.
Despite its grandeur, the pub is bright and welcoming and the staff are warm and friendly.
It has a laid back atmosphere, much like a proper seaside boozer, with the chatter of punters and a mixture of holidaymakers and locals.
You can definitely tell which customers haven’t been to the pub before because they were excitedly looking for a table outside in the sunshine and scanning the vast menu.
The regulars seem to know exactly what to look out for and have no problem navigating their way around the endless tables to the bar or to the toilet.
I definitely did get a little lost at some points.
One thing that caught my eye immediately was the fact there were two bars – one downstairs and one upstairs meaning you didn’t need to worry about tripping up a step and spilling your pint.
Despite it being just before midday when I visited, it was still pretty busy.
There were holidaymakers looking to make the most of the sunshine and football fans gearing up for the next Euro 2024 fixture.
You don’t feel like you’re in an overcrowded boozer which can be the case in some Spoons, because all the tables are neatly organised and there’s plenty of space to walk around.
How does it compare to other Wetherspoons?
Any Wetherspoons regular knows that one of the drawbacks of the chain is that it’s easy to spend way more than you intended with its easy table-ordering system.
Well, that would certainly be the case in this pub.
It’s easy to get distracted and continue order while you watch the world go by and take in the sea view.
The Wetherspoons app is free to download and lets you order straight to your table.
On the app, you can view the vast array of food and drink options on offer.
You simply download the app, find the boozer, select what you want to order and pay via Apple Pay on an iPhone or Google Pay on an Android.
Plus a trip to this pub isn’t likely to break the bank, because it has all the deals you’d expect to find in any branch of Wetherspoons.
If you visit on a Monday, you can get a pint of £4.09 pint of Carling for the reduced price of £3.49 – a 60p saving.
If beer isn’t your thing, you can get a single Gordons gin for £2.49.
The prices are part of Wetherspoons weekly Monday Club, which returned in May and runs all day on the first day of the week.
I ordered freshly battered cod and chips for £13.60 with a pint of Corona – a deal that can be bagged on any day and at any time.
As I walked around, I was surprised by just how much of the original building still remains.
There were two things in particular that were most impressive compared to the smaller Wetherspoons I have been to.
One was the seaside architecture and the way the building has kept its character,
The interior definitely makes it feel like you are getting a unique experience, rather than visiting just another pub in a chain.
The other was the vast outdoor seating area and the sea view, which is arguably the most impressive thing about the whole pub.
Parents will be keen to know that pub is also family friendly and you can visit with children until the early evening.
The pub’s manager Chris said that customers could come in for their breakfast and a coffee and end up staying for lunch and dinner too.
And I can certainly imagine that it’s easy to get lost watching the world pass by and lose track of time.
Wetherspoons opened its first pub in 1979 with a branch in north London and now it has 809 branches across the UK.
It comes after Wetherspoon boss Sir Tim Martin revealed to The Sun that is is planning to make up to 50 new “Super Spoons“, like the branch in Ramsgate.
Work on its branch in Newcastle is now underway, underway which will include a 26-bedroom hotel and 3,000 sq ft beer garden.
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