Wetherspoons, the Great British Breakfast & baked beans in ramekins
There are still complaints about Wetherspoons decision to stop serving steaks and grills (including gammon) from 14th May.
Now however a new issue has arisen. The question of how baked beans are served (primarily in Spoons breakfasts which are available until noon). It’s about whether they should be served in ramekins or not.
Previously Tim Martin has said that it was one of the most debated issues at Wetherspoons HQ. According to Martin if the beans are served on the plate they go cold, but if they are in a ramekin they can be too hot.
However since the introduction of a new menu it appears that ramekins are now de rigour.
Does this matter? Spoons have nearly 800 pubs. Some comment on the always interesting ‘We Love Wetherspoons’ Meta site suggests it’s all about portion control.
When I posted an earlier version of this I was rather surprised by the interest. Leaving aside the humourists at the Daily Mash, who think serving beans in ramekins signals the downfall of civilisation, the reality is that breakfast at Spoons has become something of an institution (for clarity I usually prefer a banana).
The greasy spoon cafe is still with us but Wetherspoons has just under 800 pubs which open for breakfast from 8am to Noon. As usual in Spoons prices are modest. A small breakfast- sausage, bacon, egg etc costs under £3 in most pubs. Bottomless coffee is around £1.50 and is drinkable.
You can of course have a beer, but Tim Martin has noted recently that the most popular item on the Spoons menu is the fairly recently introduced tea and toast.
For those still focused on the beans in a ramekin issue each serving has 126 calories.
I note all this not because I am in 2025 a huge fan of Wetherspoons but because when media analysis about how atomised and alienated Britain is, I think of Spoons and query it. Of course Farage is often pictured in Spoons clutching a pint of beer. I dislike the man and hate his politics (I used to work with similar in the City of London in the late 1970s and 80s and you don’t forget) but he is an astute vibes reader. Farage likes fine wines (not available in Spoons- the wine is well chosen but not top notch) but knows that being spotted in Spoons sends a message that he is not the very wealthy grifter which he is but actually just an ordinary bloke.
Some boycott Spoons due to the Brexity views of Tim Martin and I visit only occasionally myself (I do boycott Brewdog) but even if you only glance through a window you’ll see that much human life is to be found there in. The left shouldn’t be ignoring them, although the ramekin question is a detail
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