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The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon), Kingston Town, Kingston Upon Thames
Kingston Upon Thames
KT1 1QT
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Old Boots left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
A biggish ‘spoons wide and thin in a grand building. Rear counter with two sets of six pulls, all different festival beers at one end, the standards including Jaipur but also both Doombar and Ruddles at the other. It is GBG listed and a wall near the counter is covered with pump clips. Quite nice ceiling and columns as befits a former music hall and cinema. Camra says there’s a bar upstairs but I didn’t check it out.
On 16th October 2026
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 4293 recommendations about 3953 pubs]
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
The traffic roars around the one way system outside,the interior is thus an oasis of calm.The initial section has seating booths to the left and a two level seating area to the right with dining style tables.A dog leg gets you to the long servery opposite which are a series of height tables before the interior then widens out,again seating booths to the left,the rest an array of dining style tables.The loos are on the ground floor with a good photo collections of famous Kingstonians such as Roy Plomley,Dave Swarbrick and Sandy Denny which allows a first floor space for 200 seats.
The bar has two ranks of 5 handpumps the left side offering the Trio of Doom plus guests Bishop Nick Martyr and Thornbridge JaipurIPA (£3.20),while the second rank just offers guests which on my trip were Kirkstall Three Swords,Loch Lomond Bonnie & Blonde,Acorn Old Moor,Stewart Ka Pai and Loddon Talon APA.I thought that was a decent list,conditioned well and hence would make this worth a visit for the ale if caught having to shop in central Kingston.I would certainly revisit.
On 16th January 2026
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3261 recommendations about 3261 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
After a lengthy bus journey from Carshalton, I was desperate for a wee and being near the bus stop, this branch of Wetherspoon's was an ideal stopping point before meeting friends in a nearby hostelry. Indeed, there was also just about time for a swift half before moving on.
The King's Tun is a typical branch of the chain with the usual mix of alcoholic old blokes and a handful of shoppers. I'm not a shopper, so I guess I must fit into the former category.
The usual Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Sharp's Doom Bar were all on. 6 Guest beers were Pheasantry Black Pheasant, Thornbridge Jaipur, Oakham Citra, Loddon Dragon Fly, Adnams Ghost Ship & Hook Norton Old Hooky. There was no real cider that I could see.
I stayed on the ground floor of this former music hall/cinema. As you would expect, it's quite spacious. With its central location and plenty of real ales, this will always be a popular option for the Kingston drinker.
On 17th March 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3626 recommendations about 3624 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
Just a short walk from Kingston station, this large Wetherspoons started life as a music hall called the Kingston Empire, before going through a variety of uses and eventually ending up part of the ubiquitous pub chain. The place essentially has a two room layout, connected at the rear by the bar area. The right hand side has a split level seating area comprising, for the most part, standard tables and chairs with a row of nice banquette booths along the left hand wall. The area is smartly appointed and seemed quite calm and quiet, despite being packed out, with not a single spare table to be found. The servery runs along the rear wall and has a few limited seating options opposite. The bar has the usual marble counter and dark wood bar back hidden under a vast quantity of tinsel. The left hand side of the pub is larger than the right and therefore offers a fair bit more seating in a bare boarded room which has a nice tile floor strip running around the front section. More banquette booths run along the right hand wall and standard tables and chairs fill up the bulk of the remaining space but there are also some very comfy looking tub chairs here and there which are worth grabbing if you get the chance. The decor is fairly plain with a few portraits on the walls and several TV screens showing rolling news coverage acting as the main visual distraction, although the smart ceiling lamps are hung from some rather attractive roses. Stairs to the rear lead up to a first floor seating area and second bar, although I didn't get round to exploring properly.
I think I counted twelve hand pumps on the bar which had six guest ales, four 'Spoons regulars and a cider or two. The service was a little slow, but I eventually managed to get hold of one of their overseas guest ales which poured a little cloudy but cleared eventually and was a decent enough drop. I also enjoyed one of their half-decent curries as it was curry night and as usual it came nice and quickly and was perfectly passable.
This fairly run of the mill 'Spoons outlet doesn't really stand out from their countless other pubs but arguably offers the best ale range in central Kingston. This, combined with it's convenient location near the shops and station, makes it a pretty safe bet and certainly worth a look when in Kingston.
On 13th January 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3387 recommendations about 3387 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
Formula spoons,canteen seating set up, 12 hand pumps split between the ordinary, slightly less ordinary and a couple of decent beers, Oakham Citra was very good as it should be, but the disinterested service in these places piss me off.
On 1st October 2017
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2410 recommendations about 2373 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
Yes, ho ho Tim Martin, a pun-tastic Spoons near Kingston (Kings-tun, geddit?) station, converted from a cinema via a shop. A staple-shaped interior with upper level. Looks like a late 90s opener as there’s nothing special décor-wise, cream and reddish pink shades with little natural light at the rear where the bar is situated. Two banks of 6 pumps with a fair selection of non-standards, six in all and a strong line up from the likes of Saltaire, Dark Star and Oakham. My Saltaire Triple Choc was in very good form and served up by a relatively friendly barmaid. A pretty decent visit given the handicaps, if this is the (new) norm I'd pop in again. 6.5
On 5th July 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 6368 recommendations about 6346 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a large Wetherspoon's split into two seating areas with a further bar upstairs (with a lift going up). Although I don't really like the pub I have been lucky to get a decent real ale on most of my visits.
On 2nd March 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a Lloyds No 1 that was in former lives a supermarket, cinema and music hall. It's a huge barn of a place with an upstairs bar that I didn't investigate.
There is a garish and unwelcoming bank of 5 fruit machines dominating the centre of the room which gives the feel of a casino rather than a pub.
There were 12 pumps, two having Abbot and IPA (no Ruddles) and very disappointingly four uninvited guests, Jennings Cocker Hoop, Brakspear Bitter, London Pride and Doombar. The six proper guests or Locale beers were Jaipur IPA, Loddon Bamboozle and Hullabaloo, Wadworth / Chelsea Sunset Red, Tillingbourne AONB and Twickenham Vanguard.
I went for the Jaipur IPA which was cloudy and in poor condition. Given this place is GBG listed I found the beer selection and quality wholly disappointing.
On 21st September 2013
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
This is a large pub even by Wetherspoon’s standards. Everything you expect in a ‘spoons is here – cheap food, cheap drink, standard furnishings (although this one has more than its fair share of tall tables and tall stools), and all day drinkers. It’s the traditional ‘spoons drinking barn; this one is housed in a former cinema and in fact still has some of the original floor tiling at the front. There are also far too many one-armed bandits scattered around the place as well.
It’s a standard ‘spoons. Most people either love or hate them, but personally I can either take them or leave them, and this one is handily placed near Kingston train station.
On 14th August 2012
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2629 recommendations about 2544 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Kings Tun (JD Wetherspoon)
As Roger says, huge even by Wetherspoons standards, but also a formulaic dull layout with rows of small tables filling one area, very little natural light due to the depth of the place from the street. A few reasonable guests on last night, in good condition too, Loddon Ferryman's Gold, Thornbridge Jaipur, Phoenix Navvy and something from Mallard. Efficient and polite service but there was a bit of an issue with finding a clean glass for the first round as they kept coming out looking like they'd been rinsed in dirty dishwater. Soon rectified though. The pub does however act as a pre-club fuelling station for the hordes of young people who frequent the couple of night clubs over the road, especially around the weekend evenings. As for Roger's query about ale competition in Kingston town centre, sadly nowadays this place will win hands down as there is now very little in the way of decent choice since GK got its mitts on The Druids and The Ram.
On 18th September 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1715 recommendations about 1688 pubs]