Becketts Bank

It’s a Wetherspoon’s. We all know what’s going on here.

Le lieu est vraiment très sympa ! C’était une ancienne banque et ils ont réussi à garder le charme d’il y a quelques décennies.
Il y a deux étages. Celui du bas avec le bar pour boire un verre et quelques tables hautes et celui du haut pour manger avec vu sur l’étage inférieur.
Nous avons manger un burger qui était pas mal, pas le meilleur mais bon quand même. Ils nous l’ont servi dans une assiette tellement grande que le burger et les quelques frites paraissaient ridicule dedans. Dommage.
Point négatif que j’ai retenu, ils faut commander au bar. Même pour manger. Quand vous arrivez vous vous installez, vous retenez le numéro de table indiqué dessus puis vous devez descendre commander. Ensuite, il faut remonter à votre table. Et si jamais vous voulez un désert ou une deuxième tournée, rebelote. Pas top comme système.
Deuxième point négatif, l’ambiance est cool, relax, décontractée MAIS ça manqué cruellement de musique. Vraiment dommage.
Point positif quand même, ils ont un large choix d’alcool et une carte bien diversifiée !
(Leur cheesecake au beurre salé était très bon !)

Well above average Wetherspoon pub housed in a stunning historic building.
The pub is named after the bank that was once located in the same building. The menu of course is JDW 1−0−1, I had dinner there a couple of times while in Leeds. Edible food, just nothing special.
The drinks selection is even better than at most other JDW pubs in the area. Good range of real ales, tons and tons of other drinks available. The décor is far above average for a Spoon, though of course the usual JDW patrons will try their worst to bring everything down to their level, hen parties and male drunkards included.
Just a five minute walk straight up the street from the railway station, this is one of Leeds’s most recommendable pubs — crowd notwithstanding. Does get ULTRA-​busy on weekends though.

I went in here for a few cheeky after work drinks with a friend as its cheap and cheerful and always has a good relaxed atmosphere.
The bar was very busy but we manged to get served really quick by a very helpful and friendly member of staff. We asked if they had a sweet rose wine and straight away the bar tender went off and came back with some samples of their rose wines!
We were really shocked by this as it is something you may expect in a high end resturant but not in wetherspoons. I was so impressed by this member of staff, he was attentive and he listened and helped us as much as he could. It really showed me that even when the bar is very busy the level of customer service does not slip, in particular this member of staff was going above and beyond his duties.
The overall look of this place is nothing special however it does the job. Should you want a big group table or just prefer to get lost in a book in the corner of the room then you will surely find a place to suit you.
I will be going back without a doubt even if it is just for a mug of the delicious Lavazza Coffee they serve!

Coffee is great and taste exactly like a beautiful morning. But went there for the pancakes and it was a shock. Bits of burnt dough raped with syrup.

not a bank but i often pop in to make a deposit.
between you and me — and the entire tinterweb — i’m apprehensive about taking a morning after dump at work for fear that the chod bin in the Gents might have the same tendency to pack up when you need it to function most a la the office photocopier, leaving your huge steaming log for your esteemed colleagues to see and stinking up your workplace worse than that IT guy with BO who works in the basement. on my lunch i dash over to Beckett’s Bank, straight through the doors on the right, down the stairs and into the gents where i can be at peace to squeeze out a teddy bear’s arm. and who cares if it doesn’t go down when you pull the handle? wouldn’t eat or drink here though, just in case one of mine has got lodged in the U-​bend and backs up the drainage system.

The thing about this Unilocaling lark is that you suddenly realize just how few places you actually frequent on a regular basis.
I like Wetherspoons because I can buy a pint and then disappear into a corner. Log onto free Cloud and check my emails and get myself all worked up playing Candy Crush! (Bloody hate the damn game. Please send me another life!!)
Anyhow!
Wetherspoons does what I want it to do!
Although I will say that I have stopped eating here as the last few times my order has either not arrived or been cold.
I like a bargain but not when it comes cold, or not at all! (Sure there’s a joke in there)
As I read what I have written I think I am trying to talk myself out of popping in for a cheap quick one.
When I look at the likes of Friends of Ham, I would rather pay a little extra and know I am going to have an enjoyable experience.
Sorry Mr Spoons, I think I’ve been poached by FOH and the like!
Laterz!

Now this is where you go to get your night started just because its close to everything on the headrow and the prices are right. Other than that this is a pretty unspectacular bar nothing really bring people into this place only that its JD wetherspoons and the prices are what they are. Double up for a pound blah blah blah you know the deal so get here early to get the night started then move on to other bars that are better and keep your night going.

I like it, a nice big spacious pub right in the city centre of Leeds, very handy as it’s just a 5-​minute walk from the railway station.
There are screens in there for current news and sporting events. The food is good and not overpriced, there is plenty of varieties of beers from around Europe, the staff are very friendly.
My only issue is that I’ve been left waiting for long periods to get served (10 – 15 mins) as it can get very busy at times.

There are two entrances into this pub and I do not suggest going through the entrance to the far right, it smells of sick and probably is the hotspot of people throwing up on a Saturday night.
This place is just vile at night; I would know I’m lucky enough to live above it. Now if you’re looking for a cheap, hearty meal knowing full well its been microwaved this place will suffice I suppose. The menu is cheap, varied and filling however the dreaded mix of locals, décor and that sick smell do not do it for me.
This place is full of locals, well I don’t suppose they live in the city center but you know the typical pint drinking, baldhead, wolf whistling type. Day and night this place doesn’t change, the same people the same deal. Only difference is that of a night it is horribly packed and people literally fall out of the door.
The only thing it’s got going for it in my opinion is it’s location, just off Greek Street at the heart of Leeds city center it is perfect for a quick drink or two and a bite to eat. Although I suggest you extend your budget to about £8 a head and go across the road for something a little more acceptable food wise.

Damn, you’d think this was the only bar in the city for how packed out it gets. The night I went there were people actually drinking out on the stairs on the way into it due to lack of room inside the place. Beckett’s is a Wetherspoons, which is often seen as a word of contempt in trendy circles these days, but it’s a place that serves a purpose, and that purpose is cheap enough booze, cheap enough food, little fuss and few thrills. If you want to pay £10 for a meal, and £3 for your pint, then go somewhere else is the general impression. If you want trendy music and a place to sit, then go somewhere else is the second impression. Long and short of it is, it’s a pre-​night out start point, or point on the way. The drinks are always cheap enough to warrant the environment, and like Jonny said, the lack of music is surprising considering the volume of the place. There are at least 50 people shouting «what?» simultaneously at any given moment after the hour of 9pm. There’s that funny mix of people in Beckett’s that accompanies any Wetherspoons, students, young couples, professional city workers dishevelled in their suits, older blokes enjoying a pint with buddies. General consensus from the beer guzzling boys was to avoid draught, and buy it in a bottle, I was on my trusty soft drink, and the rest of the girls opted for the spirit and mixer offers. Beckett’s isn’t offensive if you’re not expecting swish city hotspot, and it’s not half bad for an early bite to eat on a budget.

If you are looking for simplicity in its widest form, then I suppose Becketts Bank would be that venue. The venue itself is pretty limited in its décor, albeit the many alcopops and drink offer related advertisements and so on.
The food on offer is certainly basic, you can almost hear the microwave in action on ordering, and there are some very standard choices on offer. Most items come with chips, and there are the basics: burgers, lasagne, etc.
Even music has been stripped from Wetherspoons pubs, which might hint at the attempt of encouraging culture and discussion, but in reality there have always just been loud crowds of people shouting over each other and getting ever more wobbly from all the 241 offers.
Essentially, if you have a need/​desire for booze and a limited fund with which to purchase said booze, this is a real winner. Even saying that is difficult since, of the times that I have purchased their real ale, it has been mostly off (cloudy), which really adds meaning to the phrase — what you pay for is what you get. All the other things that I like to associate with my booze — culture, conversation, cracking live music — are distinctly absent. So, not my favourite place in the world.

Two young lads. Limited budget. Pre-​gig beer and grub? ‘Spoons? Sure.
As much as Wetherspoons have a reputation, it’s cheap and the food — if you’re not so fussy — does a job. This one, one of a few in Leeds, is in a prime location on the Park Row strip leading up to the O2 Academy from the train station and was the first point of [grub] interest as we made our way up to see Franz Ferdinand last Tuesday.
My lasagne was as tasty as a microwaved lasagne can be (quite tasty, for the record) while the beer comes cheap — especially if, like my mate, you plump for the beer and a burger offer.
It’s always busy, surprisingly loud bearing in mind there’s no music and isn’t by any means somewhere you’d go for a ‘nice’ drink. For a quick pint and a quick bite, it does a job. Not perfect. But easily worth three stars.

What you’d expect from a Wetherspoons — average (but very cheap and ideal just before payday) food, bargain booze and no music.
Good place for work nights out because it’s big enough to fit everyone in.