The Sawyer’s Arms

Neu für uns war die Wetherspoon-​Lokale, die wir in Exeter und Dover
besuchten. Wohl die preiswerteste Art, Essen zu gehen. An den langen
Theken der sehr geräumigen Gaststätten wird mit Tischnummer das Essen
aus der vielfältigen Speisekarte bestellt und bezahlt, die Getränke
nimmt man gleich mit. Die Steaks und Burger, aber auch diverse
Fischgerichte, werden dann zum Tisch gebracht. Tim Martin eröffnete 1979
in Musell Hill nördlich von London sein erstes Pub, im Jahre 2011 wurde
das achthundertste in Ripon eingeweiht. Diese dargebotene Speisen und
Getränke sind wohl überall gleich. Sehr empfehlenswert!

The Sawyer’s Arms was only recently bought and refurbished by the Wetherspoons chain, and is a vast improvement on the rather grim hole it replaced.
It’s fairly roomy, with a good sized bar, plenty of tables and additional seating outside for nice weather and smokers.
The pub follows all the usual conventions of the Wetherspoons chain. The slightly stuffy faux-​library interior is present, as is a large LCD TV mostly showing nothing but BBC News 24 on mute with the live subtitles on. Needless to say it’s a Wetherspoons pub, so there’s no music and no jukebox.
As with all Wetherspoons, the bar is very well stocked with beer, wine and sprits and is very reasonably priced. The real ale is particularly good, with many delicious brews like Abbot Ale and Tribute on tap.
Foodwise, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the £2.99 and £3.99 value meals are surpringly nice (the cottage pie and spicy tomato pasta in particular), but for the most part the main menu is distinctly average. They do know how to cook beef though, and the steaks and burgers are very juicy indeed. If you ask for a nice pink medium rare you get it, and not shoe-​leather grey like many other pubs.
All in all, The Sawyers Arms is an entirely average, entirely decent English pub that looks, feels and operates exactly like a Wetherspoons.