An Edinburgh Wetherspoon pub has been named 'one of the best in UK' so we thought we'd take a trip down to see if it is really worth it.
On a sunny lunch break, an Edinburgh Live reporter popped down to the grand Standing Order on George street - and they were left surprised.
It's no fuss, no frills, just some floral plates like your gran might have and an affordable burger and chips. I don't think I would ever 'crave' a meal out at the chain, but if I'm out in the city centre with a tenner left for dinner, I wouldn't turn my nose up at it.
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Wetherspoon, or 'Spoons' as it's more commonly known, is often the go-to for those watching the pennies. The drinks and food menu are pretty much the same no matter where you go with only a slight difference in price depending on location.
The Standing Order is located on George Street in a former bank and has kept some of the original grand decorative features. Making use of the huge space there are tables and seats packed in amongst four rooms. The tables suitable for food are marked with menus.
No stranger to Spoons, I prepared myself for a disappointing meal after a 'sad' burger in another branch in another town. But what I was served was far from sad and left surprisingly impressed.
Walking in, the place was chock-a-block. It's the school holidays and the sun has been out. I managed to find a free table in the sea of people and claimed it with my coat. Though you can order through an app, I went up to the bar to order a pineapple and lemonade and the vegan gourmet fiesta 'beyond meat' burger - a vegan burger with roasted vegetables, salsa and guacamole.
The bar was busy - I was bracing myself to be served by a flustered staff member, but the staff seemed calm, collected, and in control.
The server told me they had 'run out' of the fiesta burger but he went down to the kitchen to double check and returned quickly. He explained it was only the salsa and guacamole they didn't have were happy to serve it without and I asked for chipotle mayo instead. Gourmet burgers come chips and onion rings and all in all, it came to £10.80 in total.
After winding through the tables and, like traffic, waiting for people to pass, I returned to my seat, to take in the decorative ceiling. I'm not often pedantic, but for the purpose of this article, I set a timer to see how long the food would take. I've been to other Wetherspoon bars before and sometimes the food comes out so quick, I wonder how it could have been cooked.
In this instance at Standing Order, it took 23 minutes, which I would say was average for any other restaurant. It was then I noticed that the condiments station was tucked behind a table so it was quite awkward to get to and felt like I was disturbing the family of four as I reached over the salt and mayonnaise.
But that was soon forgotten as I tucked into my food. And honestly, I was surprised. The veggie patty is from the Beyond Meat brand and it imitates a beef burger and the veg was colourful, tasty, as were the classic Spoons' chips and onion rings that had thick crunchy batter on them. I looked at the burger, sort of thrown together, I didn't know what to expect. Taking a bite, it was tasty- probably helped by the chipotle. The only downside was the bun as the bread was dry and crumbled.
One thing you can't fault Spoons on is the portion size, in my opinion. I couldn't finish everything off the plate and walked away feeling full. Was it the best veggie burger meal I've ever had? Probably not - but to my surprise, it was the best meal I've had in a Wetherspoon pubs for quite some time.
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