The Crosse Keys — Restaurant in London

🚇Monument 🍺 £4.89 Carlsberg ❤️ A magnificent City Wetherspoons pub. . The Crosse Keys is located in the heart of The City of London just opposite glorious Leadenhall Market. The nearest tube is Monument, Bank station is also close by. . This grand Wetherspoon’s pub opened in June 1999 in a former Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. Designed by W Campbell Jones, this Grade II-listed building opened in 1913 and featured the largest banking floor in the City at the time. This pub takes its name from The original Crosse Keys pub that stood on this site, the pub was destroyed in 1666 in the great fire of London then rebuilt and burned down again in 1734. . The interior of this pub is as grand a place that you’ll ever drink a pint in. Wetherspoons retained much of the original opulent interior, including marble pillars and fireplaces and a magnificent glass dome above the stairwell. Other standout features are the light fixtures and the beautiful curved servery at the far end of the bar. . Like the pub, the beer choice here is vast. There are multiple cask ales, a few craft beers and a host of familiar favourites. I took it easy and ordered a Carlsberg, my pint was well kept and cost just under a fiver. There is the usual extensive food menu available, Fish & Chips costs £10.60. . I arrived at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon and the pub was absolutely packed. I was lucky enough to find a seat near the entrance to take stock of this behemoth of a boozer. There are no TV’s or soundtrack, so all you could hear was a wall of sound of conversations that carried across this impressive setting. . You can say what you want about Wetherspoons pubs but the do create some wonderful boozers in stunning locations. . ℹ️ Info correct on visiting 08.04.23

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We stayed at the hotel next door (check out my review of CQ Hotel if you're looking for a good value hotel) and rather than pay for a breakfast there, we decided to go to The Crosse Keys instead. They serve breakfast daily until 11.30am.

It's a large building with lots of space, plenty of tables and a central bar area at the back of the premises. It was very clean & the staff were friendly. The lady who served us was wearing a body worn video (BWV), because like many other places, they'd experienced a number of spikings. So the introduction of BWV is designed to help stop this from happening, so I think this is a good move and Weatherspoons should be applauded for this 👏.

We arrived late morning and ordered a porridge, two traditional breakfasts at £4.95 each and one large breakfast at £6.95. Each extra item was 65p. So not bad value at all as all came with a hot drink with free refills. The food arrived promptly, was piping hot and was exactly what we'd ordered. Condiments were available from a central area and the hot drinks dispenser the same. A convenient stop for breakfast. Both Embankment & Bank underground stations are both easily reached inside 5 minutes on foot with the Monument landmark & sky garden also nearby, and the River Thames and the Thames Path...

We had a few drinks then I went to order food. I requested a gourmet burger and then I wanted the Goumets steak but instead of peas,tomato, mushroom I asked for salad, Kelled ( spelling?) said I couldn't have it, I replied that I had made this swap in Wetherspoons all over the country, she said, well thats other Wetherspoons, a member of Kitchen staff passed the bar and they said yes they could do that swap, I paid and sat down. The food arrived, the Steak had tomato on the plate and no salad to be seen, the server took it away when I complained then my partner took a chip, he said its cold, I bit into one of his onion rings that was cold, his burger was cold too, the server came back, I immediately said, this food is cold too, take it away and find a manager, I want our money back. What happened next shocked me, no apology, no offer of a fresh meal cooked, the person organising the refund simply said, they would need my card to do the refund. Could I approach the bar! They were obviously used to this happening, so much so they actually forgot to apologise even! We've had drinks here many times, bar is always clean and drinks reasonably priced for where the pub is situated. Will never attempt to...