J D Wetherspoon Pubs

[Gorilla]

you may have seen these pubs all over the UK, they're buying up a lot of old pubs and making them part of the Wetherspoon chain. the booze is cheap which is always a good thing

they also serve food in most of their pubs, and nothing on the menu is marked as suitable for vegans. but i checked out their website and apparently their vegetable Wetherburger is vegan. that's the only main meal, the only other things that are ok are the bowl of chips, side salad without dressing and potato wedges minus the sour cream. they do a curry night on Thursdays, but the veggie curry isn't vegan, although apparently the poppadums and mango chutney are ok

i have emailed them to ask if they could mark on their menu that the veggie burger is vegan and if they'd consider making another of their veggie meals vegan as well. in the meantime though if you're out somewhere and stuck for food but stumble across a Wetherspoons it should be OK to have the burger.

their website is www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk , click on food and then check out the food facts - additional info section. there is a feedback section to fill in if you want them to make more vegan meals!

[Kevster]

Ah weatherspoons i e-mailed them a while ago to tell them to get some decent vegan bottled ales in, as most (or all?) from the tap aren't vegan,

K

I guess they're still 'thinking' about it

[Gorilla]

well yes the draught ales may not be the best for vegans but being a Becks drinker myself i'm sorted

[Gorilla]

Wetherspoons haven't replied to my email. i guess they don't take their vegan customers too seriously. looks like i'll have to try writing again, and if anybody else wants to get on their case too (in a polite way of course!) that'd be helpful!!!

[snaffler]

Becks & Holstein Pils you can't go to wrong most places sale them.
Some places sale Badge Beer which is vegan as it IPA (Indian Pale Ale)

[Tofu Monster]

cheers gorilla. there are two wetherspoons near me. i don't actually like going to pubs, but any ideas for eating out are always useful.

[PeteNorth]

thanks Gorilla, that's useful. Wish i'd thought of using that signature myself too - might have to borrow 'Sugar rots your teeth and gives you brain damage'.

[Kevster]

I guess every country has its day, but perhaps avoid JD Wetherspoons:

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/offers/australia_day/

[Cloudy]

Hmm nice one, not had a veggie burger for ages, might give it a go. We have one here but I never go in usually due to the types you get in there

[Gorilla]

thanks for the link Kev, i know Wetherspoons probably aren't the best places to eat anyway being a large chain and all, just something to bear in mind.

Cloudy i know what you mean, some Wetherspoons are a bit dodgy but round here they're mostly full of old men spending all day drinking half a pint of mild, LOL

[Kevster]

Moi, set foot in a Wetherspoons?!?!?!

[Gorilla]

Also, Wetherspoon's vegeburger, fries and onion rings are vegan.

i knew about their veggie burger but i didn't know their onion rings are vegan. i just had a look at their vegan list on their website and it seems a bit bigger than it used to be the last time i tried to eat in a Wetherspoon pub though, they'd run out of veggie burgers and said all they could offer me was a plate of chips

[RedWellies]

According to Wetherspoons' web-site, the burger,fries and onion rings (as well as a few side dishes from their "curry club") are vegan, but as there seems to be some dispute, I will call them tomorrow to double check.

[Mr Flibble]

Also, Wetherspoon's vegeburger, fries and onion rings are vegan.

It's a fairly recent thing (last few months) and some outlets will still have old stock. My main concern is that having known people who've worked for wetherspoons, the standard of their culinary skills are not much higher than mcdonalds. Just because the food comes from the wholesalers vegan, I'm not confident it still is by the time it reaches the customer. For example, i doubt they keep a deep frier only for vegan products. They may have one for vegetarian products only, but that means they're still cooking things with milk and eggs in. I've yet to take the risk.

[Gorilla]

well, Wetherspoons isn't exactly the height of culinary good taste is it it's cheap and cheerful, so i wouldn't expect it to be particularly stringent on vegan standards

the chilli is listed on the menu as containing Quorn btw

[RedWellies]

I spoke to Wetherspoons' head office and am waiting to hear back from them. In the meantime, I called my local branch and their list said the burger DID contain egg. I'm not sure which listing is correct, so probably best to avoid eating there at all...after all, if one thing is wrong, how many others could be?

Mr. Flibble, I take your point about the cooking methods. The best thing is to ask the individual establishments I guess.

[Gorilla]

i won't be eating in Wetherspoons anymore either, as they don't seem too concerned about vegan customers.

[Pob]

We stopped eating at Wetherspoons when I was an omni - something always went wrong:

Had to wait over an hour and a half for a meal once - they forgot our meal 3 times - despite 2 of those reminders being to the manager. By the time it came we were full on beer, so ate a couple of forkfulls and left (we got our money back).

Discovered something blue in a burger (melted plaster?). Refund for everyone on that one.

On top of that you generally have one or other of the following to contend with: cold food, nuked food, what you want isn't available, etc.

Price and choice of real ale is about the only good thing about Wetherspoons - but since most draft real ales aren't vegan it isn't much of a draw to me anymore.

[tabitha]

We are going out to lunch at our local Witherspoons pub. I will of course ask when I get there, but I read somewhere that they were making their veggieburger completely vegan. Has anyone else heard this. Otherwise there will be jackshite to eat and I may as well have a big breakfast!! You cant order anything separate cos its all pre prepared somewhere else. and before you ask its not me that wants to go there its all the meat eaters cos its cheap.

[RedWellies]

Tabi, The burgers, chips and onion rings are confirmed as being vegan. There was some confusion due to incorrect lists at the pubs but head office has confirmed that their website is correct and the above mentioned foods are vegan. Enjoy!

[Frank]

Hi,

Please note that their head office do make mistakes.

BVV had their second birthday party there and I organised the menu based on what was on their website. I also questioned their head office with various food including the burgers before the event. This went to their supplier who confirmed everything was in order.

On the night we found out that the bun with the burger WAS NOT vegan and God bless a member of their staff for going out to Tesco's to get some vegan bread.

He was a vegetarian whose girlfriend was vegan. If he was not on that evening then up to 22 people would have been upset when they found out.

I have contacted Witherspoons over this and I am still awaiting thier reply...

In the meantime - have the burger without the bun. Their samosas and onion bhajis are vegan too as was one of their curry's.

If they bring something new out and state it's vegan you can always ask to see the ingredients on the packaging before you buy.

It is nice that they are making an effort and its nice to eat in a non smoking pub too.

Frank.

[sugarmouse]

I agree abotu the customer service nt being the best...but then it is so cheap i guess they skimp on staff training and understaff!
their head office make mistakes re.what is gluten free as well i had to email them to ask for a coleiac friend once and they replied with confirmation, then replied again with an apology and stating that after 'double checking' they had found that the said product wasnt wheat free.sorry i cannnot remember what it was now.overall i think you get what you pay for in terms of food/drink and service, i always remember goin there when i was at university and havin to wait ages at the bar!but also i found it a good place togo when by yourself and wantin to read/study.the pubs are usualy big and you wil be left alone..i agree abotu the clientelle being 'amusing'..for want of a better word!Lol

[tabitha]

The bun was inedible anyway - over microwaved. I sulked and didnt eat much of anything. It took 1 hour to come out and it was all crap.

[VeganJohn]

I can't abide eating in pubs due to the fact that there is smoking. Most Weatherspoon's seem to be full of dirty old drunks anyhow lol!!

[RedWellies]

. Most Weatherspoon's seem to be full of dirty old drunks anyhow lol!!

Don't call Tabi that you rude boy!!!

[RedWellies]

The bun was inedible anyway - over microwaved. I sulked and didnt eat much of anything. It took 1 hour to come out and it was all crap.

That's a shame, the couple I've eaten in have been fine.

[tabitha]

Well there isnt in this one, its just that everythings been over microwaved by teenagers. I just really object to paying for crap food. I could do things better and Im an awful cook.

[VeganJohn]

hee hee

[Risker]

It's been a while now but I used to work at a wetherspoons, at the time the chef told me that if you order chips on their own then they are vegan, however if you order them with a meat burger then they are cooked in animal fat. This was a few years ago though so don't know if it's

I don't go to wetherspoons myself since my local one is generally full of chavs during the evening and generally people who are out for a few pints and a fight. I go to a nice local pub where we do the pub quiz once a month and they're happy to make me some vegan food if I ask. They have heineken on tap too, which is nice.

Having just looked at the wetherspoons website I think it's very good of them to have that dietary requirements page.

[sugarmouse]

aww i love and miss local pubsi hate busy nasty pubs in town.and yes i realy like that website!

[Tiggerwoo]

I think by reading this post then I've been pretty lucky...... popped into my local today as was rushing about trying to drop the bf to work after getting Tigger back from the vets and was actually pleasantly surprised.

2 veggieburgers, chips, onion rings and 2 bottles of water, piping hot and within 10-15 mins brought to our table by a very polite barman that could have passed for working in a 5 star hotel for his polite attitude, and for only £9.

Only thing is, am not a big junk food eater...... think the last time I had chips was about a year ago and portions could have been a bit bigger, but was pretty impressed.

Have just been on their site, they seem to now have a couple of curries on their curry club listing now, the vegetable and spinach pakora or a vegetable bhinda.egetable & Spinach Pakora
Curry Club----Vegetable Bonda


Curry Club----Vegetable & Spinach Pakora
Curry Club----Vegetable Bonda

[Frank]

''I have contacted Witherspoons over this and I am still awaiting thier reply...

In the meantime - have the burger without the bun. Their samosas and onion bhajis are vegan too as was one of their curry's.''


Witherspoons have now responded stating that their veggie burger bun is vegan and that some pubs were working on older information. They also sent £20's worth of Wetherspoons vouchers - towards our next visit.

That was quite reasonable I thought.

[Jamie]

Wow it's a shame you guys have had such bad experiences. The Spoons's in Harlow is fab - I love it. And I'm so glad the onion rings are vegan too cause I love onion rings but had avoided them cause I wasn't sure. We have never had a problem there - the food is always hot, quick, cheap, and efficient. Although I don't know if they still do it, but they used to stop serving food at some stupid hour like 6pm... so you couldn't really have a dinner there. It's nice for a vegieburger lunch though. It opened within the last few years so is still quite nice and new and modern - I could imagine that one opened up from a 'normal' type of pub wouldn't be so nice. I also really admire their decision to make a lot of the pub non-smoking, too. It's a really nice family place.

[Antonia]

Considering they're a chain of chav pubs, Wetherspoons aren't too bad. They're pioneering the way for non-smoking venues and have been very helpful on the two occaisons I have written to them.

The first was to complain about staff allowing smoking in the non-smoking area (I saw one of them putting ashtrays out, asked him what he was doing and he said 'it's after 5.30').

The second was to enquire about which of their food is vegan. They sent me a very thorough list of all their menu items and what dietry requirements they adhere to.

When I was in Cornwall a little while ago I was strugging to find a good place to have dinner, so I suggested to my friends that we should go to Truro (the only city in Cornwall) as if nothing else it would at least have a Wetherspoons (a safe backup), but there wasn't one. I guess they haven't yet taken over the world.

It would be interesting to know what other chains provide safe 'backups'. I wrote to lots of companies asking about vegan food. The best and fastest response I got was from Beefeater. I was so suprised, I thought they'd think my letter was a pi$$take.

[Jamie]

Considering they're a chain of chav pubs

Thanks!!!

The Spoons's in Harlow is fab - I love it

[the_red_star]

There are probably other places i would prefer to go but, they serve alcohol, it's cheap, they sell vegany friendly food, it's cheap - it's all good really..

[Antonia]

Thanks!!!

I didn't mean offence Jamie. It's just all the ones where I live are always full of chavs, blinged up, shouting abuse at everyone and boasting about how their 3 year olds mimick their smoking (I kid you not). They're the only pubs I don't feel comfortable in, in the evenings. There's always fights breaking out and stuff.

[Gorilla]

the Wetherspoon in Hove is quite an 'old folks' pub, it's usually full of elderly men who spend all day with half a pint and a pack of cigarettes. i have been in a few that are a bit rough though, i think it depends on the area.

[sugarmouse]

i think it depends on the area.

i tihnk this aswell..in a weird way i mean the one in preston is a nasty dingy pub ..its ok during the day i guess but i still dont like it cause it takes u so long to get served!
i think they do get rougher folks in because they are so cheap.

[scruffyhead]

i tihnk this aswell..in a weird way i mean the one in preston is a nasty dingy pub ..its ok during the day i guess but i still dont like it cause it takes u so long to get served!
i think they do get rougher folks in because they are so cheap.

It can be quite rough due to the aspect of it being so cheap! it is near the town center, i wouldnt expect it to have vegan food, sure you could have a salad! but cheap beer is what they cater for and the more they sell the better, you always get the drinkers of preston going in there at 10.30 in the morning, and that was before the drinking times changed recently!!

[Risker]

I had a nice meal in my local wetherspoons this evening, veggie burger and a pint of strongbow for £3.99

[s.london posse]

I'm so glad that their veggie burger is vegan, and their onion rings

[Risker]

Going to try to get down there on a Thursday one of these days for curry night. Only problem I found was that someone I was with had leftover poppadoms with their meal. I wanted to eat some but the website says 'spicy poppadums' are vegan, I asked if they were spicy and the person eating them said no...

[Shisha Fiend]

Wetherspoons is the posh pub round where I live!

[s.london posse]

''Wetherspoons is the posh pub round where I live!''

i have to admit that they are usually full of chavs and teenagers in my area due to the cheap alcohol but i don't let that put me off not when there's a vegan burger waiting for me.

risker, i can see your dilemma i cant see why the spicy poppadoms would be ok but not the plain. and why oh why can thay not make a vegan curry

[Risker]

Any idea what it's called shisha? You could use the dietary requirements page to work out what it's got in it. http://www.rfbrookes.co.uk/Web/FoodF...splay?OpenForm

These things on the curry club menu are vegan;

Curry Club----Mango Chutney
Curry Club----Onion Bhajis
Curry Club----Peshwari Naan Bread
Curry Club----Spicy Poppadums
Curry Club----Teardrop Naan Bread
Curry Club----Vegetable & Spinach Pakora
Curry Club----Vegetable Bonda
Curry Club----Vegetable Samosas
Curry Club----Yellow Basmati Rice

I used to work in a wetherspoons and they can be very versatile with the food, I suppose you could work out what you wanted out of those and ask them to make it for you (as long as their not too busy, they usually are though)

It might be easier to pick a meal that contains a couple of vegan items and ask to switch the main part of the meal for something else, they should do it.

I'm going to go on a Thursday soon to see if I can get something. (I might see if I can liberate a curry club menu)

[Troutina]

Wow their naan bread's vegan!!

I still don't feel like I can trust them though...

[aubergine]

I got really I'll after eating one of their Veggie burgers with no mayo.

Made me wonder quite what they could have done to it

[s.london posse]

i havent had a pashwari naan for 7 years, i cant wait to go
shame im working this thursday night, i'll have to drag my mates next week...yum..yum..

[Jamie]

I don't think a pesh naan without honey would taste as nice better off trying to make your own and sticking agarve or maple syrup in for that sweet syrupy yumminess!

btw it's pretty much the posh pub where I live too! But it is really nice in there though - perhaps cause it was new, and it's sort of in the town centre rather than a residential area. I've never been in there to drink - only to eat, and they have a really large, clean, and atmospheric dining area. Loads of old people as well as young and families go there too. It's more casual to eat there than in the beefeater pubs & rests which are the nearest thing around here. And such good value for money!!!

God you're making me want to go there now!!! But since I ate half a pack of ginger nut biscuits in one go yesterday while reading Heat magazine I'd better not.