The Whalebone - Reservar uma mesa

This is 2 stars only because the ale selection is good and the pints cost £2.50. I rarely pop in here tbh but occasionally I think I 'll just call in to see what beers they have on and get a cheap pint. I always regret it. This is not a pub, it is a large canteen where everyone has gone for cheap food. The absolute worse thing, much worse than the dirty plates and glasses left everywhere, is the bar service and the way that people for some bizarre reason queue at the bar like you would queue at the till in a shop. The bar is massive with plenty of space to stand at but an orderly queue is always formed behing one of the tills and I find it infuriating. This is not how a pub works. The awful queueing system is probably a symptom of the awful standard of bar service and inept bar staff here and is probably the only way the single member of bar staff is capable of know who is next to serve. You are never greeted with a smile and a hello like a normal pub but its just a who 's next or a shouted can I help anyone directed towards a line of people queueing away from the bar. The dirty glasses everywhere in this pub are even on the bar, there is no point in taking your empty glass to the bar on the way out as it will just sit there for ages with no attempt to clear it up, its as if someone on bar service feels it is beneath them to clear away empty glasses. There are much better pubs in Downham, The Crown which is a proper pub and a much nicer drinking experience and The Live and Let Live which is also a proper pub where you can watch the football and like the Crown the bar staff there know proper pub etiquette. Having said that you can get a late drink in this shameful canteen like wetherspoons when the other pubs have called last orders so swings and roundabouts.

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Theres no need to order food here as you can take your pick from all the food thats on the floor under the tables. The place is generally filthy including, on occasion, the glasses. Some staff are pleasant but all are miserable. The real ale is hit and miss. I took a beer back because it was off and it was replaced with the same beer from the same barrel. Guess what? That beer wss off too so i left i. The food is ok depending on what you order and having a beer slammed on the table spilling it with no apologies is a charming touch to the surroundings. I've been here a few times with each visit being worse than the last one. I wont be returning. I travel and pop into many wetherspoons...or use to. All of the wetherspoon pubs are pretty much the same these days which is a shame.

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My wife 's curry was lovely but the onion bargees were stone cold in the middle, I took them back to the bar, found a boy waiter, explained the problem, he looked confused and walked off with them, I had to point out we are on table 22 otherwise how would he know where to bring them back to? He never returned! Went to the bar but my wife had finished her meal by now so I accepted a refund. It would really be nice in this situation to hear someone just say sorry about that sir but it never happened, just a curt it may be 2 days before your money gets returned

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Stopped here for drinks before going on to eat at The Cave. Really nice historic building with lots of info on the area’s past on the walls. Nice service. Nice layout with lots of different areas to sit in. Great to see charging sockets in the walls at the booths to charge my hubby’s phone. Very pleasant and busy place.

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This place is a brilliant little restaurant for Downham market! This place has the best breakfasts in Norfolk and some of the best lunches too!

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