The Mechanical Elephant - J D Wetherspoon in Thanet - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

I can honestly say out of all the Wetherspoons myself and my family have been to. This is by far the worst of them! I was stood at the bar for over 35minutes. I get that it was busy, however people were pushing in, but what’s not acceptable is just drinkers/regulars being served before other customers who have been stood at the bar waiting like an numpty to be served! There was a girl whose name I think way kaylie? Or something with “lie” on the end who blatantly ignored me and went across to serve the drinkers, she said I’ll serve you in a moment. Then George who was serving the drinkers eventually came across to where I was standing right in front of the till point and decided to serve me. I had in my hand a receipt, however on the back of that receipt was my families food orders they wanted. I think I was being ignored as they thought I’d maybe previously ordered and was maybe complaining. I started reading the orders out and George said is that your food orders if so I’ll just take it as it’ll be easier. Which was fine however, some drink flavours were not on their and meal alterations were also not on there so I still had to explain, so it wasn’t really saving any time trying to be a clever Alec! We then waited a further 35 minutes for our food. This should have been advised at the till point. We then had a little one fall asleep as she was overtired and over hungry. This was not a pleasant visit, and quite frankly my 3 year old niece could run the bar area better. As for the toilets, they were a right state and absolutely stunk like stale urine all out by the toilets up the stairs. I’m glad I don’t live locally to give it another chance as I just think it’s a sinking ship. Worse Wetherspoons by far! Will not return even if I was in the area again.

Taking into account the cheap prices and general expected Wetherspoons offerings, we were really happy with our evening visit. Food and drinks were served very quickly with friendly service. The portion sizes and food quality were decent and there was the option of a lovely seaside view from the balcony tables. The kids were brought their snacks very quickly with the drinks before mains were served which was great. Not a fancy place for dinner but perfectly good for a cheap meal with lots of tasty options.

Weatherspoons is always a place to go for a great pint of whatever and a welcoming atmosphere. I never feel rushed or felt I need to vacate. The food is ok, not great, but great value. The real ale is simply amazing in quality and price. The coffee is pretty good too with a variety of choice and all at an amazing price. The best food is always the fish and chips always hot and freshly cooked. I just wish they would provide the tartar sauce in a squeeze bottle instead of endless sachets!

The windows need a good clean, they were black and dead flies. The food was of poor quality. The bar tender got my order wrong and then dropped ice on the floor. He picked up the ice and put it back in the same container ! The worst Wetherspoons we have been to.

Been there a couple of times. Staff ok, food ok.

Took grandkids here for something to eat which was OK but certainly nothing special. Would I go again probably not as Rsgate wetherspoons far more friendly

Food arrived ages before the drinks and only after chasing it up. Very few staff available and the one's that were, were extremely busy. The quality of the food does not vary much between different wetherspoons, it is cheap and edible. You get what you expect and what you pay for.

Only allowed plastic cups for health and safety...

Was really busy due to a festival nearby but drinks were good, and delivered quickly to our table via the app

good around, staff were very good, and the beer prices.....well worth a visit

Not the best tbh , dirty and tired

OK for a spoons but as with most of them, they need to wipe tables down before serving food

Nice spoons, was very busy when I arrived but service was good and would come back for sure

Didn't eat here place was dirty ,unpleasant place to go ,couldn't wait to leave after just one drink ,beer was very unpleasant

Bar service was shocking. Around midday so not too busy on a Saturday but had plenty of staff working including 8 stood behind the bar… I was stood at the bar for 15 minutes for some reason before anyone served me. We also tried ordering through the app and our drinks were just sat on a tray on the bar, again for about 15 minutes. We went and got them ourselves because it didn’t seem like anyone else was going to bring them.

Nice spoons on the seafront at margate,plenty of space and all the usual food and drinks expected. Free coffee fill ups all day too

What is there not to like? food cheap and ok for what you pay. quick service in a busy pub prior to Simple Minds concert at Dreamland. Under £15 for large bottle of ice cold Prosecco. Nothing to be disappointed with, only the dark gloomy ladies toilets in the basement, but I didn't go to the pub to spend time in the WC. The staff were working flat out as the English Footie crowds were around and the pub was very busy.

Food and prices were great, staff were friendly and efficient, early in the morning so was quiet.

It's a Wetherspoons so you know exactly what you're getting. it's got cheap food and cheap drinks, it's perfect for after the beach.

It's the little things that matter in life. Had the traditional breakfast today and it was faultless. Well cooked bacon and creamy scrambled egg. So many restaurants serve scrambled egg too dry. The staff at the Elephant deserve special mention. They are friendly and keep their cool even when completely over-run by football fans, Mods and Rockers, Dreamland racers and even bolshy underage drinkers whom they have politely refused. Working shifts and dealing with the public is challenging even in quieter times but their style shows when under pressure.

Incompetent staff, dirty tables. Cheap though.

This is the most unattractive weatherspoons I have ever been in. Located in a really good position. Come on spoons you can do better than that. Service was quick and staff friendly. Cheap as chips as you expect from a spoons but could do more with decor.

Not sure what we would have done of a night in Margate as the pubs in the old town are over priced and dull as far as I could see. This is the only pub on the front in the main area of Margate. Had dinner and breakfast here - the breakfast could have been warmer but was good quality and the usual very good value for money choice of meals that you get at a spoons. The usual excellent choice of beers , wines and spirits at very affordable prices.

Not one of the best, poor service

Good food and drink Staff are friendly and helpful

Nice fun and cheap food and drinks

I had classic burger hubby had boneless chicken basket. Food was pretty good and excellent value. We also had sticky toffee puddings with ice cream which were good too.

Had to clean our own table and waited for an hour for food say they are understaffed well then they should employ more staff or tell you before hand how long you have to wait they take your money which quick enough when food finally turned up I had fish and chips..that is what I ordered I got chips and peas with a plate full over over cooked batter the hardly any fish I think they must have cooked a gold fish instead of cod not worth the money my local chippy would put these to shame

Very cheap, nice atmosphere, food is ok. 2pukd definitely visit if in the area again. They looked like they needed more staff.

Great pub on the seafront, ordered through the bathroom the food was mega quick and cooked nicely. Bar staff were mega busy but pleasant looked after us well all weekend for scooter rally

Came in at 11 o clock in the morning and ordered on the app. Waited 16 minutes to get 1 drink. Lady bought over my drink and literally slammed it down on the table, no customer service at all. Not the first time I’ve had a bad experience with this person. Never seems enough staff for the footfall. And when there is, they all stand at the end of the bar talking. The manager is very good, but when he is not around, the standards properly drop!

Popped in for a quick meal and a pint before Bryan Adams at Dreamland. As always, very good value, chicken meal with a pint for £10.50 Not a bad Spoons at all.

45 minute wait for food, very under staffed

Always good stop of for bight to eat and cheap drinks b4 a concert

We did go at a very busy time and waited for over 40 mins for the pint I ordered on the app went and got another from bar in between. Asked about pint and a lovely lady sorted it for me.

S#it Need to work on the people skills

The balcony here by the sea is an absolutely lovely way to enjoy a cheap pint! However unfortunately when we came there was lots of items out of stock on the menu. For breakfast you could only order porridge and eggs Benedict. However -the staff were fab.

Cheesy chips had mold on top, pointed it out to a staff member and they said "It shouldn't be" and refunded me £5. Not disappointed by the refund but definitely by the response.

This review is only about this visit, on other occasions it has been acceptable. 45 minute wait for food only for it to arrive stone cold; they did refund the bill though. The upstairs areas was plagued by flies.

Excellent venue for a family meal. Very well priced and both children and adults liked the things they had.

Excellent service. Good atmosphere by the sea.refill heaven. My mate had half a Guinness. Highly recommend.cant wait to return.

Good food and lovely atmosphere.

Bog standard spoons. Ideally situated for Margate

Great staff especially jake who made sure we was happy very polite waiter

Stopped by on a Wednesday lunchtime in half term, not that there were many families in. What do you expect from a ‘spoons? Well, better than this. A couple of empty tables on the ground floor needed clearing and that didn’t look likely to happen anytime soon so we headed upstairs. Ordered 3 portions of fish and chips on the app. Every table upstairs was waiting for food. Bad sign! Drinks arrived eventually, short measures as expected. Food took an eternity. Fish, chips and peas (without the peas, for some reason). Other tables around us sliding had items missing or incorrect. Average taste and small portions, but again as expected. Look, it’s cheap. But it’s not cheerful. Usual story of not enough staff. The place is not kept clean, the tables are not cleared quickly and the food takes forever to arrive and when it does it’s not all there.

Unfortunately got our very simple food order wrong multiple times :/

You get what you pay for cold food slightly grimy tables and chairs really wish they would warm the beans up instead of tasting like they fell straight from the tin.

Usual delivery of good beer and food at reasonable prices.

We arrived here on a very busy day. We ordered from the app and it still took ages to come. The burger was terrible but the all day breakfast was good. Place seemed dirty and dark. Not the best experience for us.

5* boozer great staff and pukka views from the terrace over looking the beach

Excellent food quality and service. Very cheap too

Great food, fast efficient service, great value for money

Bad atmosphere. Bad service . Much nicer places to go in Margate

Grabbed a cup of tea on balcony overlooking the beach great view

The worst weatherspoons I have been to. Staff standing around chatting. Waited 40 minutes for dessert to be delivered to table, having chased it twice. Was only a couple of scoops of ice cream with biscuit crumbled on top. Wouldn't eat there again.

We had a very enjoyable afternoon, friendly pub,good service,nice beer and good food

The most impressive thing I can say about this establishment is the name. Inside very dirty too many customers were the worse for wear from drinking too much. They were loud and swearing and made us feel uncomfortable. A good range of cask ales

It's typical Wethespoons cheap beer cheap food what's not to like

Two breakfasts I had were well cooked, nice hot plate too

Speedy service, had breakfast with extras and unlimited coffee.

The food was nice and the staff were very friendly but me and my mum were waiting a while at the bar so I could order and pay for our food and drink because they were short staffed,they definitely need more staff working there.

Very handy Wetherspoons on the sea front. Good basic food and drink for the money. Staff were pleasant but rushed off their feet, we had to fetch our drinks off the bar.

Popped in for a pint, typical wetherspoons staff friendly

It's a slightly more down market than usual wetherspoons. Good place for cheap food and drinks. Service can be a bit slow but during the day the atmosphere is friendly enough. Not been here late evening

Visited recently with friends on a day trip to Margate not really a drinker so pub for me ain't nothing special I don't really go in them yeah no worries have a pop in if you're down there

It’s Margate so don’t expect anything different from most Spoons. Smelt absolutely foul earlier of BO and old beer - not pleasant. Some wait staff unfortunately need to learn person hygiene; I get it’s a relatively physical job but a few of them absolutely hummed. Other than that, like any other spoons

Best Spoons on the entire planet! Madgate Crew Represent!!

Good food, good price, nice freindly staff..

Good cheap food and beer, atmosphere very nice and nice staff.

Standard Wetherspoons, great value at a central location

Great value for money , and a great Spot right on the seafront, the only reason it didn't get 5 star's was the slow bar service.

Bit grotty. Dirty tables/chairs . Needs some TLC. Flies 🪰 🪰 🪰 buzzing around 😳. We had a quick drink and left. Toilets 🚻 very clean .

Popped in for breakfast before getting coach to Amsterdam, very nice food and nice coffee, would have liked bacon 🥓 cooked a little more but that's just me ,found it hard going down stairs to the toilets,as l have a damaged knee,

Like taking a stroll through the dole office, but the food was alright, toilets were clean and the staff only slightly thick

Good food ,active staff ,loads of drinks to choose from,been back there many times

Emma, Jake, George great service and brilliant staff definitely will back and would recommend

Emma, Jake and George gave great service

2 breakfast and bottomless coffee for £14. Absolute chuffin bargain and well tasty

Great food and great prices. I had a steak and chips and a drink and all for about £12 bargain!

Nice place very buisy good prices

Personable friendly and efficient bar man- highly reccomend

Good place to eat and have a coffee or a drink

It is a Weatherspoons so prices are good. Toilets were clean which means everywhere is usually clean

The only thing put me off was young two or three year old screaming

Possibly the worst spoons … in the world

Called in with friends for a great value full English Breakfast. Sat on upper gallery of this remarkably large, welcoming pub. Obviously a popular venue.

The place stinks and the beer tastes like bleach. Absolutely shocking.....

Sticky tables and menus, and service with a frown. If all you care about is the price, and you are prepared to overlook the dingey atmosphere and rude staff, this is the place for you.

Unlike the poor reviews our experience was very good. Had breakfast twice which was excellent and hot. One evening meal which was also good. The staff were friendly and I even complimented them for their service and food.

Average Wetherspoon on Margate's rather drab seafront. Breakfast and coffee fine but service was a bit slow! Maybe staffing is an issue there. You tend to get session drinkers in there at all times of day!

Excellent relaxing and warm food good cosy atmosphere 👌 😊

Just like every weatherspoos, but this one is upgraded to a beautiful seaview terrace in front of the sandy beach.

We met up with my son for a meal on a horrible wet windy day. It wasn’t packed in this spoons. Felt chilly in there. Asked the bar man if they could clear/clean the table after he took our food order, which he did. Waited over half an hour for food. Went up to the bar to find out where the food was. Man said ‘you’ve only waited 7 mins, there was a half hour wait’. No way was I told this, even when he cleaned the table. The food arrived. Fish and chips and two steak meals. Not nice at all. It was like they’d over cooked them and then left them standing. We ate bits of meal as we were hungry but we won’t be going in that particular Spoon's again.

Cheap and cheerful. Not much character

Thursday 14th December 2023 this pub was visited This weatherspoons is well run and tables kept clean pleasant and helpfully in doing things we're the staff today the client's drinking in the pub were mainly locals The pub would definitely have got 5 stars today if there were more guest handpumped ales on offer today

Friendly staff. Food served without having to wait too long. Shame we got egged from a passing car while sitting outside

Unbelievably upsetting visit to this pub. After a fun evening I went to the bar only to be told I have to leave by a manager. I asked why and she said I touched someone inappropriately. I was shocked and asked to see the CCTV of this only to be told it’s confidential. I do believe the manager spoke to me in a loud voice in order to create an embarrassing situation for me. I most definitely will be lodging a formal complaint as this was a very awkward situation for me. Lucky I have a video of said manager and her unfounded accusations.

Unbelievably hostile staff members. Avoid at all costs! The drinks are what you expect but management has turned the place into a horrible environment.

A nice Wetherspoons located on the seafront in Margate, handy for the local attractions. Usual offering from a Wetherspoons for food and drink. Staff were friendly and the service was quick. There's more seating available upstairs and the toilets downstairs.

Very disappointed I find it very noisy and food nothing special.