Waterend Barn - JD Wetherspoon — Restaurant in St Albans

I have been in this pub many times over the years. I live in Hertford and usually go to that restaurant but I fancied a change today as I was shopping in St Alban's. I went to the bar to order drinks and the staff did not know the drinks I was ordering, they need retraining if you ask me.

I then discovered that it is only offering a limited menu due to weather conditions, not to judge here but if you can't handle heat then you shouldn't be cooking in a kitchen! They were only offering small burger meals and pizzas, and they couldn't even get that right!

Our pizzas were served undercooked, when we showed a manager he asked what he would like him to do, he's the manager! He should know what to do!

Also, there is no adequate air conditioning inside, I'm a severe Asthmatic and should be able to eat in comfort without dripping with sweat.

Staff need a serious switch around and retrain as service is painfully slow and having to point out names of drinks to them and explain what they are is appalling!

Update: I have just found out that the air conditioning is broken! I'm no expert but I believe that they shouldn't be able to operate under certain temperatures due to help and safety concerns.

Such a beautiful building with character has been let down by poor management and untrained staff, I will not be coming back and shall stick to my local. Not as aesthetically pleasing but at least the food is actually cooked and the staff know the difference between...

TLDR - Weird unjustified dress code, dirty tables, unbothered staff and awful food. The story of the only spoons I've ever been disappointed with.

Went here for my friend's birthday only to find I wasn't allowed in because I was wearing trousers that had drawstrings to keep them tight. Yes. You've read this right. Anything that is or resembles tracksuit pants are not allowed to be worn. When I called upon the manager to explain why this is, all she said is "this is what works for us" but refused to explain why it was a rule. She was really unhelpful. Being with friends, I managed to get one of them to bring a pair of trousers for me to allow us in. Needn't bother. Table was mucky as anything and when the member of staff came to clean it, she wiped half of it and walked off leaving the other half covered in salt and discarded wrapped and glasses. Staff delivering drinks seemed p*ssed off and were unresponsive when we asked for anything. I ordered a spicy meat feast pizza and it was AWFUL. So dry it was actually squeaking against my teeth as I ate it all whilst not really...

A lunchtime visit to "The Barn" was quite a revelation. I'll start with the food as the American style double burger was not bad. Presentation was uninspiring but then I wasn't expecting a gourmet experience. The jacket potato with cheese was also unexciting to look at but the meal itself was far worse. The potato itself was hot enough but that has more to do with the manufacturers of the microwave than the abilities of the kitchen staff. Even so, the hot potato wasn't hot enough to melt the meagre portion frozen grated cheese. There was no butter on the potato either. The meal came with a beer and a soft drink so the price would have been reasonable had the meal also have been reasonable. Sure, the drinks are cheap in Spoons but that attracts a certain type of customer. Are there any other food outlets in which the ignorant pigs at an adjacent table would think it acceptable to deposit their empty glasses, used cutlery and condiments on the edge of our table whilst we were still eating? And as for atmosphere, there is more...