The Watch House - JD Wetherspoon — Restaurant in London

THE WATCH HOUSE, aka THE STICKY BANISTER A summary of three separate visits 14/5/24 early 31/5/24 evening 6/6/24 afternoon

Apologies to the few good staff members, you know who you are

I have drank in Wetherspoons from Glasgow to Ramsgate, from Bristol to Newcastle. Dundee, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, Norwich, Norfolk you name them. But this one?

Absolutely rude, arrogant, and lazy staff. It took three staff to serve me one beer, the sheer effort was clear on all the faces in attendance. You get what you pay for, cheap and cheerful, all that rubbish. You want something for your hard-earned money, much more than this terrible experience, trice? I need to do this as I was told about its legendary service and quality staff. Tables with empty glasses, plates, cutlery, and unwanted food, clearly customers fled a while ago. The room behind the bar must be the staff room where they can huddle and visibly use mobiles and chit-chat. I'm sure they can see customers waiting. The toilets are disgusting including the disabled ones. Fruit fly problems as perusal with a Wetherspoons drinking HOLE, they are not on the menu, just landing on the discarded food and circling your pint sometimes taking a swim in it The sticky handrails leading you up to the toilets are a bit worrying, you can then follow your nose. One cubicle was unusable and the others barely so. Filthy doors and obviously no cleaning routine in place. We need another hand basin and dryer in the corridor after using that toilet. I don't know about you but I always check the toilets before I eat out anywhere. My friend chose to eat so I can not comment about the the food here. It looks and smells like every other Wetherspoons menu, just basic fare, cheap, and arrives frequently at room temperature and on rare occasions scalding, but a warm lager will put that right. I didn't want to spend any more time there let alone more money, but I will be back no doubt ...No, 3 times is more than enough and fair for a realistic and completely honest review Slashing prices is the Wetherspoons mantra in the media, slashing quality, and service, and inadequate or no staff training is the result. It's the low quality of barely competent staff that is to blame here, ' they set themselves such low standards and fail to live up to them '. They are truly local pubs for local people, who know little and care nothing about quality food, drink, atmosphere, politeness, and customer service, I fully understand why certain brands and brewers will not supply the Wetherspoons chain, the chain cheapens a good product Lewisham or Royston Vesey. Nothing genteel about this place and most definitely not in any league I know of, a league of its own certainly. We must do better people. Well, I am off to use the toilets around the back of the center, I can't face that awful sight again. This is the worst Pub, not only Wetherspoons but the worst pub in the southeast of England To Be Continued

Cheers KF ( an original customer from the late 90s )

P.S.. Wasn't this a Richards clothes shop...

I ordered breakfast and the place was quiet. After 15 mins I asked what was happening. A diva like ponce told me he would find out. After an additional 5 minutes I had no word back. The ponce walked past me and I asked him what was happening. He said he had nothing to report. Whatever that means. My food finally arrived after 22 minutes and the egg and toast were cold. By now I could not be bothered complaining. I did however send an official complaint about the service from the ponce who was both socially and educationally challenged enough not to be able to distinguish a direct question about tardiness against any personal slight. He even lied to me and said the food came in less than 20 mins when in fact my receipt proved it otherwise. The ponce is clearly unable to work in an establishment of any higher quality and exercises his diva like qualities as soon as someone simple enquiries about late food.

Be warned. The organisation demonstrated how utterly inept they are by replying to my detailed conversations complaint by issuing me with an outright ban on the premises. Not that I shall be returning to this grott hole populated by tramps, alcoholics and members of the criminal underclass and lower echelons of society.

Simply banning someone who makes a genuine complaint is how dictators have traditionally dealt with their political objectors.

The place smells of stale urine and dank old mans body odour anyhow and is only somewhere you would go if you were perversely...

198–204 High Street, Lewisham, London, SE13 6JP

The Watch House Green was Lewisham’s original village green where, for centuries, soldiers camped, preachers proclaimed and criminals were caged, whipped or put in stocks. This land was privatised and sold and now lies under the pedestrianised shopping area between High Street and Lewis Grove.

A framed passage about The Watch House.

The text reads: This J.D.Wetherspoon pub is named after the old village green. Known as Watch House Green, it is now covered by the shops and offices that stand between the High Street and Lewis Grove.

Watch House Green was the centre of the old village of Lewisham. Soldiers camped here, and itinerant preachers drew a crowd. It was also the site of the cage, where wrongdoers were locked up overnight, and the location of both the stocks and the whipping post.

The village green was built over after the enclosure act, which made common land available for development by selling it off to private landowners.

The largest landowners, such as Lord Dartmouth, obtained the lion’s share of enclosed land, and had the greatest influence over whether an enclosure act succeeded in their neighbourhood. In this area the opposition was considerable, yet Lord Dartmouth’s agent was able to assure him “I have no doubt but by perseverance we shall carry our object, for though there are many persons against the measure their property is...