The flower-bedecked front of Wetherspoon Pub, Hatch End. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Problem
Where to get two meals and drinks for under £20?
What to eat and drink in a pub?
Answer
You can eat two main courses and a drink and share one dessert, or maybe two, for twenty pounds in a Wetherspoons pub. That's good for budgeting if you are short of cash, counting the pounds, or the drinks, and don't want to run up a big bill. It's also great for counting calories. They don't add twelve and a half per cent service to the bill, or even ten per cent like some restaurants.
You don't even have to go to the bar to order, nor leave your drinks with strangers when you go to pay. Instead you can order and pay in advance by phone from your table!
The price is great for a date, no risk of running up a huge bill. And ladies, if you are in any trouble on a date, you can go into the ladies toilet and read the advice and then inform the staff.
Plus a large choice of drinks. I could order a Prosecco, a zinfandel, red or white wine by the glass, beers, teas and coffees and soft drinks, much bigger choice than many.
The branch we tried was one I knew well in Hatch End Broadway on the Uxbridge Road, a long linking road around the north like the M25 and the North Circular road. Three generations of my family have lived nearby in different eras and we and other Londoners often pass through on the way to Edgware, Harrow, Hendon, Kenton, Northwood, Northwood Hills, Harrow and Wealdstone, Pinner, Stanmore or Uxbridge.
The Hatch End branch has a garden at the back. We opted for the garden. However, first we saw smokers, so we moved further into the garden, then it started to rain so we went back inside.
The pub is called the Moon and Sixpence. The menu explains that several pubs use the name moon inspired by the fictional place, The Moon Under Water described by George Orwell in the Evening Standard newspaper as the perfect pub.
Food We Ordered
My dining companion (son, aged over 21) wanted coke (with no ice) because he was driving. The coke offered was Pepsi. I was delighted to find a rose wine, Zinfandel, included in the drinks included deal.
The menu was so long it took us ten minutes to read it all. I ordered chicken with jacket potato.
Chicken with jacket potato, peas. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Sunday brunch at Wetherspoons pub. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Our other order was the Sunday brunch. It was just like the picture, a hearty British breakfast, two eggs, sausage, tomato. What made it a brunch rather than a breakfast? The late time, I suppose. Plus the addition of chips.
I was disappointed not to see the traditional Sunday lunch of turkey and roast potatoes. On the other hand, we managed to order 'lunch' at gone 4 pm!
Tips
Water was help yourself at the bar. Grab it on your way to the table, so you don't need to stand up again nor send anybody else to get it.
You might want to order at the bar to pay cash. While there you can check on the menu choices, or have a quick chat. Make sure you know your table number because when the food is ready they will bring it to your table.
I asked for apple crumble, then saw carrot cake at fewer calories and changed my order. The person taking my order asked me if I wanted the dessert with the main courses or afterwards as a dessert, and I said afterwards.
The carrot cake was a little dry but still very good. I supposed the thick creamy icing helps keep cake moist and protected from the air and offsets any dryness. The best part was the nuts. From a health point of view, I do like some vegetable and nuts. Carrots are sweet.
Carrot cake. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Accommodations and Pubs All Over Britain
The Weatherspoon pub magazine is worth a read. I learned that some of the pubs have accommodation at very reasonable prices. Plus of course you can buy good breakfasts, coffee and snacks all day, lunches, and dinners until late.
Quirky Pubs
Weatherspoon pubs are individual and feature people and places of local interest.
ZULU
For example, have you seen the film Zulu, and the other film from the same period, featuring the battle of Rorke's Drift in South Africa? The film features Michael Caine, in the first major role which made him famous. The film was made in 1964.
When was it set? January 1879, at the time of declining and ageing PM Benjamin Disraeli back in Britain. The blame for the loss killed him. He died in April 1881.
Anyway, a Wetherspoon pub is named after another person who got the blame for that military disaster; his descendants are fighting to have him exonerated.
More information from:
www.jdwetherspoon.com
Getting there:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ (for driving, walking, landmarks etc)
http://www.londonbusroutes.net (buses, tourist routes etc)
https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/ (train routes, times, ticket prices, weekly cards, discounts etc)
http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/sightseeing-tours/top-london-tours
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/world/ (trips, tours, offers: London; England, Scotland, Wales)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts on Hatch End, and restaurants worldwide. Please bookmark your favourite posts and share links to my posts with your family and friends.
