Railway Pubs

[Mikey C]

Titanic now have a cafe / bar on Stoke station - called "Bod". Available both trackside (platform 1) and streetside - with a barrier down the middle for revenue protection purposes. Makes it difficult to see what beers are being displayed in the other half of the pub ! Train departure times are shown on screen - but only in the railside half.

Sounds good. Are any other railway pubs partitioned like this, so that trackside and streetside can use it BUT separately?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Sounds good. Are any other railway pubs partitioned like this, so that trackside and streetside can use it BUT separately?

Can't think of any pubs that do (Huddersfield Head of Steam wouldn't be too hard to arrange this way if the owners desired it) but the Costa Coffee at Wakefield Westgate is split between paid/unpaid sides. Can think of a few other cafes that are, but I'm unable to remember where. Darlington perhaps?

 

[bearhugger]

Can't think of any pubs that do (Huddersfield Head of Steam wouldn't be too hard to arrange this way if the owners desired it) but the Costa Coffee at Wakefield Westgate is split between paid/unpaid sides. Can think of a few other cafes that are, but I'm unable to remember where. Darlington perhaps?

Yes the coffee shop in Darlington is split.

 

[Spamcan81]

The Harrogate Tap on the eponymous station had a good selection of ales when I was there last.
Also a nice cafe and bar in Keighley station, Cafe Choux Choux. A couple of cracking ales on when I visited in August. serves ale from 10:00 a.m.

 

[camflyer]

Sounds good. Are any other railway pubs partitioned like this, so that trackside and streetside can use it BUT separately?

Shame they didn't do this with the newly opened Old Ticket Office pub at Cambridge. I often change trains at Cambridge and some of the connections can be long but you regularly have a jobsworth on the ticket barrier who won't let you through so that you can go the to M&S or grab a quick pint.

 

[boyaloud]

Can't think of any pubs that do (Huddersfield Head of Steam wouldn't be too hard to arrange this way if the owners desired it) but the Costa Coffee at Wakefield Westgate is split between paid/unpaid sides. Can think of a few other cafes that are, but I'm unable to remember where. Darlington perhaps?

Costa at Newcastle too.

 

[boyaloud]

Ah okay. I'd never seen it advertised or discussed by anyone before the nationwide launch in March last year. Was it just a "down south" thing for a while or something?

No, in the Manchester area it was at the Ford Maddox Brown before anywhere else. It was in the one in The Gate in Newcastle too. Various random branches, it seemed!

 

[Mikey C]

Shame they didn't do this with the newly opened Old Ticket Office pub at Cambridge. I often change trains at Cambridge and some of the connections can be long but you regularly have a jobsworth on the ticket barrier who won't let you through so that you can go the to M&S or grab a quick pint.

That's really annoying. Maybe the pub should be encouraged to have a word with the station management

 

[yorksrob]

Shame they didn't do this with the newly opened Old Ticket Office pub at Cambridge. I often change trains at Cambridge and some of the connections can be long but you regularly have a jobsworth on the ticket barrier who won't let you through so that you can go the to M&S or grab a quick pint.

I would write a polite letter of complaint to the station authorities.

 

[johnnychips]

^ Are there a lot of tickets through Cambridge where you can’t break your journey or something?

 

[Wolfie]

I must admit, I agree. It might be different if it had wonderful architecture or a view of the trains, but neither of these are true.

All I can say is that the Spoons in Leeds can get annoyingly busy at times, so if you just want to get a quiet pint whilst waiting for a train, it can fit the bill

Last time l ventured into the Spoons on Leeds station l found the EDL there in numbers.. Exit stage left at speed...

 

[yorksrob]

Last time l ventured into the Spoons on Leeds station l found the EDL there in numbers.. Exit stage left at speed...

It does, at least, have a fairly transitory clientelle.

 

[gtis]

Last time l ventured into the Spoons on Leeds station l found the EDL there in numbers.. Exit stage left at speed...

Hi
I have been there once during the TDF
It was busy but not too busy as most where outside
What do you mean about EDL
Neil

 

[Wolfie]

Hi
I have been there once during the TDF
It was busy but not too busy as most where outside
What do you mean about EDL
Neil

I pitched up in Leeds mid/late morning, planning to have breakfast at the Spoons, only to find 50+ EDL (English Defence League) types in there behaving exactly as you would expect - fascist, racist comments etc etc.

It seemed, from comments made, that it was a regular haunt for at least some of them.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

The Beer Station directly opposite the exit of the Southbound platform at Freshfield is a convivial little micropub worth a visit - it does close early (at 9pm) though.

 

[OwlMan]

Never thought I would see "Wetherspoons" and "quality restaurant" in the same sentence !

I have no objection to a drink in a Wetherspoons though, so may pop into the new St Pancras one next time I have a wait for a train, rather than wandering over to the Parcel Yard.

I usually drink at Sourced Market in St Pancras

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Sounds good. Are any other railway pubs partitioned like this, so that trackside and streetside can use it BUT separately?

Only canned beer available but the small café/snack bar at Yeovil Pen Mill is accessible from front of station and platform separately.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I usually drink at Sourced Market in St Pancras

At £5.80 a pint to sit on a bench in the middle of the lower concourse area (unless lucky enough to get one of the four stools near the counter) - am not usually a Wetherspoon fan but they do offer a far bigger choice of ales and at around a whole £2 to £3 a pint less.

 

[sheff1]

I usually drink at Sourced Market in St Pancras

I went there once, just after it opened, aiming for a swift half before getting the train. Can't remember the exact figures but they were advertising something like £4 a pint. When presented with a half I was asked for ~£2.80. When I queried this they said a half was not half the price of a pint - something I have never encountered before nor since in the UK. Needless to say, I declined their offer and went without..

 

[Spartacus]

While I've been plenty of places where the price of a half isn't half the price of a pint (after all some costs barely change, no matter what the drinker is buying), I've never encountered anwhere with such a variation from the 'half price' when buying a half.

 

[mark-h]

When I queried this they said a half was not half the price of a pint - something I have never encountered before nor since in the UK.

This is not allowed in Scotland (along with multibuy offers).

For spirits Wetherspoon's include a mixer in the cost to make a double less than twice the cost of a single- would be interesting to order a straight single for half the price of a double.

 

[martinsh]

The Beer Station directly opposite the exit of the Southbound platform at Freshfield is a convivial little micropub worth a visit - it does close early (at 9pm) though.

Also useful as a toilet break after going drinking in Southport !!

 

[SSp]

I went there once, just after it opened, aiming for a swift half before getting the train. Can't remember the exact figures but they were advertising something like £4 a pint. When presented with a half I was asked for ~£2.80. When I queried this they said a half was not half the price of a pint - something I have never encountered before nor since in the UK. Needless to say, I declined their offer and went without..

You've not been in many pubs! This is standard, and commercially acceptable.

 

[IanD]

You've not been in many pubs! This is standard, and commercially acceptable.

I have been in many pubs and tend to drink halves if there is a big selection of beers available. I wouldn't call it standard except where a half is rounded up to the nearest penny or 5p.

 

[sheff1]

You've not been in many pubs! This is standard, and commercially acceptable.

I can assure you that I have been in many many thousands of UK pubs and, other than at at Sourced Market, have never encountered anything other than "rounding" to the nearest 1p or 5p.

If you find Sourced Market type variations as "standard" then clearly you are drinking rather different establishments to me.

 

[PaulHarding150]

Just googled pub price list and found these:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?saf.....1.0.0....0.XfNd-6NqoLc#imgrc=ZD2N02_W_6F4mM:

http://glasgowhootenanny.co.uk/drinks-menu/

https://www.google.co.uk/search?saf...0k1j0i30k1.0.tIDcLkfGKp4#imgrc=Vl9-yT9JNasjdM:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?saf...0k1j0i30k1.0.tIDcLkfGKp4#imgrc=w4fcWd5Fn9ZfTM:

Out of curiosity, if you only normally drink halfs how do you know what a pint costs?

Do you think your local pub(s) charge the same for three large glasses (250ml) of wine as they do for a bottle?

 

[IanD]

Out of curiosity, if you only normally drink halfs how do you know what a pint costs?

It used to be a legal requirement for pubs to display the prices of the drinks they sell and many still do. This may have been on a pump clip or on a list displayed where it can be seen from the public side of the bar. Wetherspoons generally display their prices on the pump, other pubs favour the other route (especially where there is a big turnover of beers on offer).

I think it is a requirement to sell smaller measures at a proportionate price to the larger measure (eg for beer £4/pint=£2/half=£1.35/third) unless the price of each is clearly advertised (as in some of your examples).

 

[PaulHarding150]

I think it is a requirement to sell smaller measures at a proportionate price to the larger measure (eg for beer £4/pint=£2/half=£1.35/third) unless the price of each is clearly advertised (as in some of your examples).

I'd like you to point me in the direction of the legislation requiring that.

 

[IanD]

I'd like you to point me in the direction of the legislation requiring that.

Dunno, maybe it was a local thing.

 

[PaulHarding150]

Dunno, maybe it was a local thing.

Could you point me in the direction of what powers local authorities have regarding setting alcohol pricing?