please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Obviously recently renovated. Clean bright interior. Didn't have any food but the beers were in perfect condition. The one thing that really sets this place apart is the beer fridge. La Chouffe, Kwak, Chimay?? Belgians in a Whetherspoons? As well as those, they had a very broad selection of craft and international beers. Flying Dog, Sierra Nevada, Einstock, Little Creatures. The list goes on. After the other comments here, this place was a pleasant surprise.
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Credit where it's due, Wetherspoons pubs can and do stock a good range of locally brewed ale beside the usual corporate drop, and their venues can be an attractive addition to the business and legacy of an area (the Peter Cushing in Whitstable is a choice example).
The Golden Lion is not one of those pubs. It's a long, narrow dark place with an atmosphere of total intertia clinging to the walls. Staff are sullen and not capable of pouring a proper pint (have had constant duff finishes on ale served here; bottom-of-the-barrel perhaps?), food is gradually and indifferently served (a vegetarian breakfast was served as a full English replete with sausage and bacon by clueless staff), the punters are to a man decrepit soaks. This is at the lowest end of Wetherspoons pubs. Higher standards can be maintained by chain pubs, and this place needs a bloody good bucking-up; having said that, its puttered along in desultory fashion for years now, so the locals must be happy with it, and the management can't be persuaded to make things any better.
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Not a bad place to go, drink is obviously relatively cheap and they have a better selection of beers than most places near by. They have a fairly large beer garden with outdoor heaters although this is always packed when the weather's nice.
Yes, you'll see a few morons when you're there and the staff aren't always what you would call 'on the ball' but there are some interesting characters around and due to the lack of music being pumped out, you'll be able to have a conversation!
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Not a great pub.
tanky - 16 Nov 2011 19:18 |
full of Rochester low life,beer and cider were running out as we asked for them, left the pub and went to the Eagle instead
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Much like the other reviwers have stated - crap. Lousy food, slow service, endless queues at the bar, beer badly kept (the lagers all taste like rusty metal), questionable clientele and rowdy. Best off walking by, but on the other side of the road, as there will probably be some 18 year old prat being sick just outside...
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went there friday (not my idea). bought a drink...poped out side for all of two minuits and when i turned round to go back in the bouncer on the door said they were closed. i told him i had a drink inside, it was my friends birthday and my girlfriend were still in there (my girlfriend needed to come home with me in a taxi and had no money). the idiot still wouldnt let me in and another bouncer come over as well. had to wait on the pavment and wasnt allowed to finish the drink i just payed payed for. wouldnt even fetch the manager. should be sacked
Dont go there its crap there are loads of good pubs about and other places open late. poco locos is only 10 min walk and they have live music.
Dont think because its cheap its good. the beer is badly kept and end of the line and the food is mediocre. Northforland, two brewers, Men of kent, coopers arms take your pick they dont have nuckle dragging idiots on the door, and steal your money.
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Is handily placed on the High Street if you need a wee between other pubs I found out the other day.
Apart from that...its a Wetherspoons, so what do you expect?
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Dodgy food and noisy
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Absolutely bog standard Wetherspoons establishment. Full of fruit and quiz machines and a full range of clinetele all enjoying the cheap prices. A nice touch however was the computerised poker machine, which for �1 per player, went down an absolute treat despite the lack of money winning opportunites.
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Best thing about this pub is its' open an extra hour to midnight after the decent pubs close. Watch out though, they ring the bell for last orders so quietly you could find yourself with a depressingly empty glass before your journey to the kebab shop!
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Just don't bother! Dirty and threatening atmosphere! Stay well clear!
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Bad service, taken out comfortable sofas to make more eating space. Often loud and rowdy. Gone downhill in last 12 months. Change menu for Festivals so locals have to pay the extortionate prices for rubbish as well as the tourists.
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Visited this wetherspoon recently a few times and since they closed a while ago because of the state of the kitchens it seems to me that the food if anything tastes worse than before.
Ok its adequate food not great but the prices are good depends what you want and the beer is pretty good if its actually available, the last two times i ventured into there all the ales were off as they couldnt seem to get them through to the pumps the bar staff are straggly looking students who obviously through no fault of their own dont really know what they are doing.
The service at the bar is ok if they dont have to serve more than about 2 at at a time after that it gets hopeless and if you go in at weekend expect a helluva long wait for a drink etc.
Being relatively cheap you get some of the local old sots and dregs go in there so adds to an atmosphere of slight menace the beer garden is ok tho when warm enough to venture out but the sating is weird and doesnt allow much standing space if you cant get a seat to be honest it has gone downhill overall the cutlery is often dirty and they dont clean and clear away the tables enough.
Dont think will be using it s often i think the novelty of this chain of pub/bar whatever they call themselves is wearing thin.
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Is this the worst Wetherspoons in the country? Simply dreadful with an atmosphere that could errupt into violence at any moment. Poorly run with dirty tables and bar top awash with slops.
The earlier review is quite correct about its temporary closure. Venture in only if really desparate!
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I'm not sure how accurate the previous comment about this pub being shut was, but it was very much open when I visited during the Sweeps Festival on 4th May.
Much like any Wetherspoons, the beer was of a high quality (Nethergate Umbel Magna in this case), but the clientele and general ambiance was seriously lacking.
There were a couple of redeeming features, most notably the decent sized beer garden (and my own personal favourite - a proper pub sign - which is usually anathema to Wetherspoons outlets), but given the number of other Rochester pubs offering good beer, there really aren't enough reasons to make me want to come here again.
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This pub has just been closed down following a visit by health and safety inspectors from Medway Council. Do not eat the food here (or at the kebab shop on Star Hill). Surprising such a well known company would let their kitchens get in such a sorry state. Gets a big fat zero.
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Seems to have gone even further downhill.
Used to have very helpful bar staff and managers that actually had a knowledge of beers and wine (previous bar manager Lesley), now mainly students earning a meagre pound or two.
Toilets can get very wiffy, cutlery always stained, bar top always wet and glasses hazy.
Not a place to venture to of an evening, aim to leave by around 7 ish to be safe.
Fine if you need a quick, cheap breakfast and there is always a good ale or two on but this is not a place to linger, shame.
My rating is boosted by the great price of the breakfast and the ales only.
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Unexceptional Wetherspoons, selling a reasonable pint but offering little in the way of atmosphere. The central section along the main part of the bar is particularly narrow which must make things difficult at busier times of day.
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i have been drinking here for the last 18months and it has gone through a number of management changes. Agree when it is busy you can wait to get served but the staff are very friendly and the managers seem quite keen to please - love their charity night efforts
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Sunday mornings are best time to visit spoons like this as the beer goes down well with excellent breakfasts - you'll miss them when they're gone !
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In a town packed with numerous quality pubs, this Wetherspoons comes over as a bit bland and contrived. There had been a Golden Lion pub here until the 1920�s but the premises had been a succession of shops until Wetherspoons got hold of it, extended sideways and backwards and hijacked the name. One thing that Wetherspoons do well is keep a local theme and the plentiful maritime pictures and displays about the rich history of the Medway towns feature prominently. I was especially pleased to see a local Chatham beer (Shipwrecked) as one of the guests amid the usual selection and as ever the quality was excellent. The pub extends quite a way back and with its fairly low ceiling can feel a bit claustrophobic but there is plenty of seating, a few snug areas and beyond the flagstoned rear section is a garden for the sun lovers and smokers. The silenced plasma TV, quiz and fruit machines do little to raise the dampened atmosphere. I have been if far worse but like most Wetherspoons it is worth popping in for the guest beers, then moving on.
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Got tired of waiting to be served by bored looking staff and walked out. This was midweek when it wasn't particularly busy. I don't mind paying more for attentive friendly service.
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Situated at one end of the high street, The Golden Lion is a slightly scruffier than average, though be it, pleasant enough �Spoons for an afternoon drink or a bight to eat. It can however get rowdy in the evening and as suggested in the previous review, I�d also recommend staying away on Friday or Saturday evenings. It gets EXTREEMLY packed.
HTM69 - 31 Jul 2006 16:39 |
A JD Wetherspoon pub. Often dirty and untidy. A no-go area on a Friday or Saturday evening because of the noisy lager drinkers who stand ten deep at the bar. Slow service. Fewer and less interesting guests ales than the average JDW. Poorer cooked and served meals than the average JDW. The only plus points are that the beer is cheap and - to be fair - is served in decent condition. If you want a local JDW, the ones in Gravesend and Maidstone are better.
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