Opera House - JD Wetherspoon in Tunbridge Wells

This was once one of my favourite spoons in the country, it is such a shame that is now turned into one of the worst, and in such a beautiful building. It seems massively under staffed, the tables are not cleaned and empty glasses just pile up , and it took 15 minutes to get a drink served at the table. Sort it out Tim this place needs to be saved.

You wouldn't want that falling on your nappa.

What a lovely building. Staff were friendly.

Bad service, long wait around half an hour.

Fantastic building, old theatre intact ,functional theatre ,dramatic atmosphere . One drawback nowhere near enough staff! Be prepared for a long wait @

A beautiful old theatre and lovely pub ruined by the poor management. On a Friday night the drug taking in the venue is rife but it’s overlooked by the staff yet one of a group of 15 45+ years olds returns a drink because they are unhappy and the whole table are refused service before being removed from the pub.

I like Wetherspoons, but they don't belong in a building as magnificent as this. Flashing gambling machines against the backdrop of the ornate opera house stage and stalls is just wrong. No music inside, funny smell, smokers loitering in entrance.

Food cold, mash potato smeared over plate to look bigger. Given this place so many chances with food and I'm afraid to day its getting worse each time we come

Today at 2 pm (18/10/24) , me and my friends visited opera for lunch. We really had terrible experience from staff side. There was a female waitress who was extremely rude and racistic to us. We came and sat on a table which had left overs from previous customers. We waited a bit after our order, as there was no response from staff side. We requested them politely to clear the table. The female waitress ignored us initially , then even after requesting again she said NO ! and rudely demanded us to change the table after placing order. As we already settled with everything ,we waited until the food get served but she rudely served the food with disrespect by placing the food with all the left over. We were shocked with such disrespectful manner and request her to clear the table. Then ,she ignored all of our request and started to pick about the shoes we worn and commented on the dress by saying it REPEATEDLY . THAT WAS REALLY RACISTIC !! As we questioned it she walked off . Then in a minute she came back and stacked the food together and asked us to walkout of the pub and she shouted that we are no more invited to the pub saying she is the incharge of the pub and she is licensed to say that.we questioned her about this attitude and she said that we have trespassed and shouted at us to leave the pub. She threatened us that she will call the police and we agreed as we are happy to explain the situation to them but the moment we agreed she changed her attitude and started shouting us to leave the pub repeatedly and she will provide the refund. We were the frequent customers as I have been living in tunbridge wells for the past 4 years. This was a shocking experience for me and my friends. Hope this will be escalated and please make sure that the staff’s are trained properly to deal with the customers respectfully. ( If any authority comes across this post please check CCTV camera for clarity )

What’s the point of the app? Waited over 25 minutes to get a drink. Husband complained to the Manager she said they were busy! but plenty of staff just disappearing into the kitchen 3 at a time, one staff member serving at the bar. The second bar is never manned. Still took another 8 minutes to get our order. All the time we were there from 15:30 to 17:50 not a single table was cleaned. We had to clear and clean a table to use it. And then clean our glasses once our drinks turned up. I wouldn’t trust to eat here either 🤢 Every table as far as we could see was dirty and full of glasses plates and sauces. The staff are like Zombies, miserable and very unhappy. Please!! 🙏🏼 Clean 🚽 The female toilet is atrocious 🤮 Don’t just get the staff to sign the log sheet! Clean it.

Waited over 20 mins for a drinks order on the Wetherspoon app, on complaining was told curtly they were understaffed, not really 2 or 3 staff wandering about looking lost with 1 poor sole struggling behind the bar, so not understaffed just badly Managed me thinks!!

Very expressive establishment, the old opera house, unique pub for a chill out and drink. Once a year the pub is turned into an opera where boxes and stalls are sold to the public which is nice. All food and drinks are the same as usual Wetherspoons pubs.

It's a Wetherspoons, so food is as expected from this chain (IMHO it has a good quality, for the price). We ordered throughout the APP, but the service was good. The atmosphere itself, was one of best pubs I have ever been to. It is built into an old theatre, keeping most of the old architecture and artifacts. Just look at the pictures. It's simply amazing.

This is a seriously impressive transformation. What a fabulous building. As you can tell from the name it's an old Opera house & the stalls seating has been left in situ. We sat at a table on the old stage & were wowed as we looked around us. It's a lovely pub. Certainly in my top 5. We only popped in for a hot drink. We ordered using the app & waited 12 minutes for 2 x empty cups to be brought out. We got fed up waiting & my wife got cups from the bar, went to the drinks machine to find out no coffee options were available. Bit disappointed Tim. Wonderful building though. We are told this Spoons has a live band once a year & you can sit in the stalls? If true that would be amazing?

What a fabulous wetherspoons. Very impressive. Everywhere was very clean and tidy. The staff were all very polite and smart. The food was very good as it always is at wetherspoons. I had the new Korean chicken which was lovely. You always get what you expect, but the atmosphere here made it even better. An especially nice feature here is that they put a proper opera on once a year which we will definitely be going back for. Wish we lived closer, this would be our regular.

What a lovely building, breakfast was great and nice atmosphere

Awful, food came out late and not all together and when it came it was over cooked and cold. Never expect too much from a weatherspoons it’s normally cheap and cheerful, but I don’t expect to wait an hour in a half empty pub for food to arrive cold. Oh and don’t order the Korean chicken bowl it’s tiny and it says it comes with chips but that’s not a side bowl of chips it’s in the bowl with the few chunks of chicken that your given more of a light and I mean light snack than a proper meal. Staff were friendly enough.

Such opulent surroundings for a spoons. Very nice

Last Sunday afternoon, the reliable barman Tye, was left on his own with a 16 or 17 year old, who cannot serve or deliver alcohol, waited over 65 on the app for drinks, during this time 2 line managers appeared, 1 picked up her bag and vanished, the other looked at a till, then walked off, very poorly managed and no sense of mucking in

Spectacular Opera house really is quite wonderful...pity the food wasn't. Reasonable wait of 12mins we received the food. It looked like it had been dropped with literally no thought over what it looked like. The burger was shrivelled cardboard - the Korean bowl was 1/3 of its photo. Up there with one of the worst Wetherspoons.

Fabulous location, interesting history, well done weatherspoons for preserving the building.

Food came out before the drinks, even when the place wasn't at all busy. Food was disappointing, the chips tasted like they had been sat out for a while, but the biggest red flag for me was the peas. As evidenced by the photo, a fair few of them were brown and the first and only forkful of them made me want to gag. Peas are one of the easiest foods to cook and this place can't even get that right...

Very disappointed the food I ordered was supposed to have coleslaw was not informed when I ordered that they had run out not offered a alternative. Also ordered ice cream again not informed by bar staff.Get your act together whether spoons l

Beautiful place to eat in, so good how Wetherspoons have kept the decor. Great service and food as usual. I ordered the southern fried chicken wrap with chips and a coffee which came to £4! Be warned though, the spicy chipotle sauce in the wrap is very very hot so you might want to tell them to put it on the side separately!

Got poor experience at this grand looking place. Fish was so dry, i could not cut or chew. The size of the regular fish is a joke. Been a customer for many years, never left hungry and disappointed as I am today. Surely not coming back.

Sorry one star is too many, we didn't even sit down..rang to book a table and were told, they don't take bookings, but, at the time we wanted they wouldn't be busy and getting a table wouldn't be a problem,what a joke...we were 4, one in a wheelchair, all the tables on the street level were taken by just drinkers, the only tables available were down steps, so you missed out on 4 meals,sweets and drinks, won't ever bother again

Had a quick drink here, the decor was amazing

I only had time for a quick drink at the Opera House, but it was enough to appreciate its unique atmosphere. The building itself is a marvel, with soaring ceilings, ornate balconies, and a lingering sense of the stage it once held. It's quite a contrast to your typical pub, and it makes for a memorable setting to enjoy a pint. While I didn't try the food, I'm sure it's the standard Wetherspoon's fare, which is perfectly adequate for a casual meal. The service was a bit slow, but the friendly staff made up for it. Overall, the Opera House is a fantastic spot for a drink in a truly unique setting. It's worth stopping by just to soak in the grandeur of the building.

Had to wait for drinks, food came before then when I ordered on the app. Although it's a lovely old building it appeared a bit shabby,dirty and everything on and including the table was sticky.

The decor is nice. The bar manager is rude, has the inability to smile, no essence of customer service, turned her nose up at any children close by.

Not the best place. Old, dirty and sticky 2 Star from me

Meh it's a wetherspoons what do you expect

We have frequently used wetherspoons this summer due to good value for money which we cannot fault. On this occasion in Tunbridge Wells the food came really quick but the drinks came after we finished eating and it wasn't really busy as it was just after 1.30. But staff were very pleasant and apologetic.

I went there with my family for English Breakfast last weekend and that was a mistake. Most of the empty tables were dirty with used dishes and rests of food on them. We chose one of the tables and were waiting for somebody to clean it, but nobody was coming for quite a while. Finally a waitress turned up and without any greeting told us off for having a pram with us. We asked politely where we can put the pram. She said nothing. She kept repeating that we need to take it out of the way and when I asked where it can be put she turned around and went away. We moved the pram closer to the main entrance, took our seats and kept waiting for cleaning the table. The same waitress came again. That time she didn't like the way my husband's chair was positioned - it was apparently blocking access to another empty table. He moved the chair. I asked the waitress if we could have the table cleaned. She snapped out that she is not a cleaning service. I asked if she could call somebody from the cleaning team, which she took for an attack and said that I was being rude and she was busy. She went away. We moved all the dirty dishes from our table and placed them on the table next to us and we cleaned the table ourselves. Food was reasonably priced but mediocre in taste. The Opera House is a beautiful place indeed so we go there occasionally when we have guests so they can see the building. That time the guests weren't impressed. I have an impression that under the current management this place is getting worse and worse. We were there on a Saturday morning, so I expected crowds there, but nothing like that - only a couple of tables were occupied. Still the very rude waitress considered herself super busy.

Eating out in the UK is never cheap. It’s better not to spend money on a banquet with old friends given the circumstances! "Don't be afraid, I'll go with you to the Great British Glue Wok!" Is the giant plastic wok coming to the UK? It turns out to be an analogy. That's what a British fast food restaurant chain is talking about! When I arrived in T-shirts and shorts, it turned out to be Opera House with a history of over a century! Is it a surprise arranged by an old friend? It's time to go back and change into a drinking shirt! "Coming in!" Scared... I braved my way in and found out that inside an elegant ancient building, there was a restaurant that combined a bar and a cafe, called Wetherspoon. This restaurant chain is located all over the UK. Most of its locations are in quaint properties with inconspicuous signs. From the outside, it looks like a high-end restaurant. Menu food is at its peak, price is a weapon, cheap food is of good quality, and beer is available downstairs for a minimum of two pounds. Coffee or hot chocolate, unlimited refills for £1.56. My friend’s daughter drank six cups and was very satisfied. There were many beers, so I asked the waiter to recommend them, and he asked me which one I wanted to try. Feel free to give me some advice and pour a small glass to try. I tried three of them and I'm already drunk. I am fascinated by the world, talk about thousands of miles, talk about the past and present, and play two games of slot machines when I feel like it. Spending ten pounds to spend an entire night, how can a Hong Kong giant plastic wok do that?

Got to be the best looking inside of any pub your likely to see, A great feel to the place, food was the usual spoons (get what you pay for no more) staff were above average, not great for disabled visitors, must try this pub just for the experience.

Absolutely amazing wetherspoons. I can appreciate why this often comes top of their list. It's an experience just to be inside.

As Wetherspoons go, this place is pretty darn good. It's a beautiful building and it's wonderful that Wetherspoons appear to be maintaining it and preserving it's character.

Absolute skip. Avoid unless you have no other option.

Avoid this dump.. food rubbish cold, food order wrong, staff young female young male serving food did not care got very moody and just did not want to be there, young male got very aggressive in front of my children which up set them, lady manager shouted at people standing in wrong place at bar even though there was no sign to say don’t order here.. young female waiter texting on her phone in corner when there was food waiting to come out, tables very dirty not cleared or cleaned and it was not busy at all, toilets well.. there just was not useable total filthy .. when I asked to speak to manager ref the 45 min wait for ice cream that then came out like soup runny she said if it’s a complaint I’m not interested ! I know there all probably on min wage but you really need to get workers in that actually want to work .. there was 4 other tables having to complain about the same issues.. really surprised the place is still open

Excellent quality/value/service/food on a busy Saturday night. Stunning interior - saved from its fate as a defunct bingo hall by Wetherspoon in 1996. Recommended.

A smashing wetherspoon pub. Being an opera house, it has kept all of its charm. Staff are always so busy yet polite.

I like this Spoons. The atmosphere is great as it is an Old Opera House. The food is spoons food and often depends on who is cheffing. Great for a cheap drink and dinner. I've always had good service. There is even a bit of outside space now (not pretty but does the job)

Wow what a building, the old opera house. Still intact with the stage, circle and boxes, beautiful decor and chandelier

Waited 45 minutes after ordering food on the app which was pretty grim when it did arrive (minus the peas). Service terrible (not their fault as they’re probably on minimum wage and don’t give a ****, but it really comes across - they are miserable). Cutlery still had old, hard food stuck on it. Shame as it’s a really lovely building.

Very interesting place interior has been preserved as it was.great selection of drinks

For a Spoons this is always nice and clean. And the foods not bad for the money (better than McD) beers good too

This is a really nice wetherspoons pub. Beautiful architecture inside and out. Friendly and welcoming staff and a good choice of beers and food, at a fair price

It's spoons - reasonable food & drink at sound prices 🍺

Absolute fantastic decor at this pub. Never seen anything quite like it. Affordable food and drinks. I highly recommend a visit.

Visited with some friends for lunch on Saturday. We had soft drinks and my friends ordered burgers and chips and I had veggie patty and chips. Food arrived nice and hot. Good for the price, very tasty. Four empty plates so we were all happy. Staff very friendly and efficient. Clean and tidy, tables cleared quickly. As a bonus you eat in an opera house which is absolutely stunning. Will return soon.

Amazing food in such a beautiful sarrounding.

Very nice inside nice pint of greene king i p a. Good service staff friendly

Your standard weatherspoons fare, what makes this unusual is that it's in an old opera house so worth a visit for that. No beer garden.

Our 1st ever visit to this venue. The decor is amazing. The fact they have held regular opera's here

Excellent Wetherspoon pub great decor

A very nice building and the history is good within the opera house. Although it is a wetherspoons and we did go in on a Friday night. So it was full of young people who we were probably old enough to be their parents. It was during the Euros so they had that showing on the big screen. Getting a table was pot luck and took a good hour for the glasses to be cleared from the people before us (but it was a Friday night so no complaints from us at least we had a seat). The app wasn't working in the evening which I can understand why, did mean we had to wait to be served at the bar, and we probably didn't push as hard as some of the others to get the bar staff's attention. You know what you are getting with spoons, probably some nice history if you read the information around the place.

What a lovely building. Wetherspoons do so well preserving this wonderful architecture

Was the worst food I have in wetherspoons

Interesting setting for a Wetherspoon. Table service using the Wetherspoon app is the way forward, bar takes too long. Shame there aren’t many windows.

Upon my visit to the Opera House, I was absolutely stunned by its beauty. Unfortunately, the staff behaviour did not match this beauty in any way, with the exception of a delightful young man named Tom. I watched a young man be denied a drink simply on account of his ID, which was an Irish Driving License. The two women delivering the drinks were obtusely adamant that his ID was fake, because “it did not have a UK flag on it”. They were exceedingly patronising to this man, who barely required the “Challenge 25” policy, and these waiters insisted that his ID must be a fake. I have never before seen or experienced such prejudice in a Wetherspoons, and I am frankly shocked and disgusted by such behaviour. These women were beyond rude, and one even condescended to state that she was being “kind” in offering this man a refund or a soft drink after refusing him his cider, and that she “didn’t have to offer him anything”. This, as I am sure one will know, is not a kindness, but a legal requirement. They refused his drink simply because they could not recognise an ID from outside England. Having frequented many Wetherspoons with my partner for years, we have never before witnessed such disgraceful and prejudiced behaviour. I am incredibly disappointed to have to submit this complaint, and will have to seriously think before returning to another branch of this company, as it is clear they lack any training that might be required for the role.

Lovely classic spoons but in an opera house. Located in the town centre and the atmosphere and building is genuinely insane. It is ever so pretty and let’s say the classic shots were good as usual. You are able to get a box to have your meal in which is again insane but nice spoons.

Better than most wetherspoons, friendly staff and quick service.

A beautiful Weatherspoons in the old opera house!

Steak was undercooked and heavily seasoned, chewy and fatty! Service OK but not much of smile!!

Great place to have a night out on a budget. Decent food for the price and cheap booze is a winning combination. Nice to see some younger staff more involved with the business and working hard. Spoke to an older lad named John whom I assumed was the manager, he helped me pick out some drinks for our group and was a consummate pro. Only downside is the beer garden needs improvement.

Don’t eat there food saw a guy touch there bum under pants, made me feel disgusting

A super interesting place and surprisingly cheap. The selection of beers 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 But of course the most impressive thing is the place to breathe so much life into an old theater and make it shine.

Usual Wetherspoon's fare but in glorious setting.

A good friendly wetherspoons in a really regal looking old theatre. Multiple screens showing the football ⚽️. The staff are really friendly and helpful and this lends to the overall feel of the pub.

Lovely old theatre building . Food nice service very good. Plenty of seating.

We ate there on a day when it was unexpectedly busy. Despite being busy, the service was amazing. We had some issues and the waitress, Jess, was fantastic at sorting it all out. Having service like that is very impressive and also important as it made all the issues okay. I actually thought she was the manager! I think the side potions and vegetables on the plate could be more generous. It’s a pity there are no vegan puddings, other than the fruit. It’s not very imaginative! The building is really lovely and quite spacious inside.

Went there for a drink on the 12th June b4 going to see Jimmy carr I wanted a lime & vodka but the lad didn't seem to know what the hell it was tryed to explain to him whst is was but still didn't get it so ended up having orange and vodka with ice instead bit disappointed but it's a lovly place been a few times food is nice and cheap the staff is so friendly if you never been I would strongly recommend

Had breakfast it was very good, amazing building worth the visit. Ps service was very quick and efficient.

Great old opera house. Food arrived quickly, plates hot and food hot. Problem with the gents urinals but overall a very impressive public house.

MY MATES WERE HERE&THERE SAID THE FOOD WAS GREAT, 👍 WELL DONE 👍

Hard to get in to with a pram. The buzzer for the wheelchair entrance was ignored and so had to carry the pram up the main stairs, past all of the smokers immediately outside the entrance.

Still no wine glasses as all broken in glasswasher because wrong ones ordered yet again. I spoke to the manager and asked if I could bring my own but no go. Very shoddy especially as every other pub/bar manages to order glasses without thin stems.

Beautiful venue, service varies but is usually ok, food has gotten worse lately though.

The usual Wetherspoon fare and ales but in an amazing setting. Worth a visit

Our friends sent us drinks and the staff made us pay double for them thinking we didn’t pay, outrageous, and then didn’t get multiple of our rounds not arriving. Disgraceful

Great atmosphere to catch up and enjoy night out with your mates.

Wetherspoons #122 visited. Wow! What an impressive branch of Wetherspoons. The Old Opera House of Tunbridge Wells that has been sensitively converted into a branch of Wetherspoons. Building wise, this rates within my top five branches visited so far. The Old Opera House is situated on the northerj side of the town centre, a walk uphill from the train station. The pub has two bars. The main bar situated underneath the old seating balcony area. Another 'Stage Bar' situated on the old stage. The pub was very busy on my visit. On this occasion ordered a pint of Leffe Blonde, 11" Ham and Mushroom Pizza and a side salad. Total cost was £13.66 (Pizza and pint £11.37 and side salad £2.29). The pint of Leffe Blonde arrived within a few minutes of ordering. The Pizza took a little longer than usual, arriving about 16 minutes after ordering on app. Unfortunately the food was not the best I've experienced. Side salad looked prepared in a hurry, half full dish and the salad dressing missing. Pizza was OK though, missing the rocket, which seems to be an increasingly common occurrence in various Wetherspoons branches. Food rated as 3 stars as a result. A bit more care and presentation could have been 4 stars. Also ordered a pint of Red McGregor ale after my meal. Beer was in good condition. £2.63 a pint. A sign reads that the lower boxes on the side are available for dining reservations, with no deposit, or booking fee. Very highly recommend a visit if you are in Tunbridge Wells. This is the first Wetherspoons branch in which I have rated 5 Stars.

Visited last week, sadly we didn't order any food as planned. We left after one drink as the whole place smelt of puke and wasn't very clean, not an enjoyable atmosphere to eat in which is a shame as normally I love a Spoons!

Popped in for breakfast. Not the greatest. Food was lukewarm, toast was toasted one side only. Price is good, but would be better if the food was hot.

Took 45 minutes for just a wrap to arrive asked a waiter whats the delay 20 mins in oh the kitchen is very busy !! No explanation!! Waited another 10 mins aprox went to the bar another waiter did explain due to the lunch time being busy thats what the delay is for !! Ive complained on there forum but not heard anything yet !! Kind regards John ✨️

Every time I visit , they get my order wrong . Which isn’t a huge problem. But the staff have a “ I don’t care attitude “. No apologies . Just plain rudeness. Here is a tip, try and employ staff that want to work there and have trained customer service or some politeness . I Won’t be going back .

What an atmosphere. Spectacular surrounds with amazing value food and drink. A really lovely night out. Puddings are nice too

Interesting for a Weatherspoon, as located on na old opera house. Standard is as expected very decent.

First off, it's a Spoons, so the usual great beer prices (mostly under £3 for a pint). That apart, the best thing is the incredible building! Even if you're a teetolaler pop in for your favourite beverage and admire the architecture.

It's a great pub. Delicious food. Would recommend

Great period architecture, once a year they still have an opera.

What an amazing setting, most of the opera houses original features remain.

Magical place, great waiter who showed us around the 1st floor.. Not enough words to describe the beauty of this opera..

Great place, clean and not too crowded,opera house used for operas once a year!

Never go in this Pub,used to be Lovely Place.Rude Staff especially Deputy Manageress. Food cold or Nuked. Drunken Staff hang around,in Particular the Male Cleaner. I travel to Wales a Lot for Family.On the way went in Shrewsbury Wetherpoons and 3 around Aberystwyth.Lovely hot Food and Pleasant Staff.

Only 1 star for the food as I did not order any. Otherwise a good place for a few drinks

Lovely atmosphere with original stage area and viewing boxes. Beautiful central chandelier. Do visit you’ll love it

Loved this building!..Amazing!..My friends wanna go now!

The food was cold and there was a pigeon flying around , which completely put us off of our food definitely won’t be going back here again