Is it the best pub in town?

Is Spoons getting everything right or is its town centre competition simply naff? Secret Drinker finds out.

The Apprentice had offered to buy me a pint and for several reasons, too boring to explain here, he said we should meet in Ashford. This left me with a serious dilemma but he said it was fine and we should meet at The Spoons. This was a first for me but I hadn’t got a better suggestion so I found myself in the County Hotel on Ashford High Street on Easter Monday. I’d arrived early and was in first so had plenty of time to assess my surroundings.

In my experience Wetherspoon pubs fall into two categories – they’re either wellfashioned from interesting, historic buildings and turned into decent places to visit, or created from less salubrious establishments which are not desirable in the slightest. So what were the early signs here?

The County Hotel offers the usual gargantuan space with a plethora of tables and plenty more private booths too. There were the odd few ‘Spoons’ old blokes’ dotted about but the majority enjoying the pub brought the average age down considerably, to a point where even The Apprentice said he felt a bit old.

There is absolutely no doubt this was the busiest place in Ashford on a Monday evening – whether this is because the County Hotel is a great place or because the quality of the opposition is about as rock bottom as it gets, I’m not sure. Prior to the appearance of my companion, I challenged myself to find the gents in this maze of a place, though I should have known, this being Wetherspoons, they were of course up a large flight of stairs.

Like the rest of the pub, the facilities were spacious and the customary yellow plastic pyramid warning of wet patches was in place. There

were two subtly different shades of green tiles and overseeing all that goes on in the toilet was an eye in the sky – I couldn’t see a sign announcing CCTV was monitoring all areas of the gents, which really should be present.

By the time I got back to

ground level my drinking partner was in and, despite the offer of a pint, I found myself in the seat after all. He went for a Punk IPA at £4.11 and I chose a Cowcatcher Pale Ale from the East London Brewing Company at just £2.74.

I did consider an Old Legover,

at the same price, and even tried a taster of the Salcombe Seahorse, which had a good flavour too, but the smell put me off.

There is usually a Monday Club, which makes the drinks even cheaper, but this being a bank holiday, it wasn’t in operation. Although the usual Monday hours did apply with midnight being The County’s closing time – not bad for Easter Monday.

The youth of Ashford clearly feel this is the best place for a night out in town and I found myself in a very small minority by approaching the bar to buy a drink.

The Apprentice decided on a Guinness for his second pint and purposely ordered it on the App to see how long it would take – for those interested, it was a fraction under three-and-a-half minutes, though the head was fully settled by the time it was delivered to our table. And, as for paying cash, don’t even get me started – the barmaid’s first reaction to hard cash for my second pint, an Old Legover, was a very definitive ‘No’, though she did relent when I asked nicely a second time. I’m pretty sure this was the first time I’d encountered humour in an Ashford hostelry.

Some of the youngsters surrounding us were choosing to stand up but when a barmaid passed to collect glasses she asked them politely if they would take a seat and they dutifully complied.

I’m sure there must be livelier evenings but everything

was very restrained and peaceful on this occasion – maybe everyone was on their best behaviour for the religious holiday?

We weren’t eating, although food was being served, but I glanced at the menu and was treated to a brief history of this place.

The building dates back to 1710 when it was a doctor’s home and medical practice. It didn’t become an inn until 1890 and it was another 36 years before it was named the County Hotel. It passed into the hands of Wetherspoon in 1998.

So, having thought about it, I’ve decided this one falls into category #1 – this pub has been fashioned from an interesting, historic building and is well worth a visit.

All the real ales I could see were £2.74 a pop. Advertised on a leaflet on our table was Monday Club, which offered even cheaper prices, but it wasn’t an option for a bank holiday