The Rochester Castle in Hackney

Christmas is coming and yet Wetherspoon still doesn't want to invest in staff, it's impossible to order at the bar... there isn't enough staff, I ordered from the table and it took more than 45 minutes, unbelievable, despite speaking to the waiter... and to top it off, in the soup I ordered, there was a piece of plastic, 🤮 I can't imagine what else I ate, what it had... this Wetherspoon is terrible, I still don't understand it, because some Wetherspoons are clean and have normal delivery times... not this one. 😠

poor planning on my behalf but i forgot to check the wheelchair accessibility before going. my partner asked if they have step free access to which he was asked "what's that?", the staff then spent 5 minutes searching for the ramp while i sat in the freezing cold. when they finally put the ramp out it slid out of place. they DO NOT HAVE AN ACCESSIBLE TOILET because "the pub is old". my chair would not fit into the regular bathroom. it is absolutely appalling in 2024 to not have an accessible bathroom in a wetherspoons. safe to say i will not be going back. also the place just had weird vibes, did not rate it

1 star until they get a second coffee machine. 3 out of 4 times I have paid for a coffee to get a broken machine and no coffee. It’s a joke

Well above average Spoons in Stokey, with a good selection of well-kept real ales and all the rest. Lovely building and beer garden, good for a quiet read and a pint. A decent beer garden, rain or shine. Cheaper than most local Spoons at £2.40 odd for ales. Bargain!

Have been here a few times now,last time they took my drink to the wrong table,this week I ordered a jacket potato that was very dry and had hardly any baked beans

Good old reliable wetherspoons get what you pay for. Cheap and cheerful!👍

The foods ok shame about the service cheap lager but no atmosphere

Most unsalubrious. Please put some newspaper on your seat before sitting as there are many customers with incontinence. On the plus side, it's CHEAP AS CHIPS! Well worth a visit

It's a 'spoons, what more can be said? Did a job for a Sunday hangover breakfast and coffee. Ridiculously cheap, which was reflected in the quality. The lad on the bar was helpful.

Well kept friendly staff great prices would recommend to anyone

Very grumpy server,no manners impolite.also they need to change the cooking oil.nothing worse then dirty oil...

good onion rings. very average spoons. ugly carpet.

Toilets are very shabby especially gents cubicle

Great place, needs lighting turned down a notch tbh, the pitchers Great bit less ice ill have next time

I had a traditional breakfast with extra mushrooms and hot drinks. I enjoyed an American pale ale (see photos) for a bargain of £7.10. Service was too laid back whilst ordering breakfast. The bar service improved when a dual heritage female of staff started serving (I didn't get a name). Historical building with an interesting connection to classic pop bands. Some interesting original features, too.

Cheap booze (yeah that's a great selling point here!), but everyone seems really nice and the atmosphere is lovely.

Every time I go here they have problems with the card reader or the app or whatever. Could Wetherspoons head office please give this place some work.

Best spot in Stoke Newington to drink cheap beer with real local

A beautiful summers day, and we went into the Rochester Castle for a couple of beers. We went into the beer garden, where a black female employee of the pub, was having a heated argument with a man. She was shouting and swearing at the top of her voice, and we really felt uncomfortable with the situation. She just wouldn’t relent, and made it known, she’d worked there for eight years, and was “scared of nobody”…. We finished our drinks and left. I don’t think we’ll be visiting this pub anytime soon.. Very embarrassing for such a good pub…

The people in here today are a lot more rubbish than usual.

The food was terrible, and the wrong order served . The manager was indifferent to our complaints. Normally, food and service are very good . Will stay away for a while .

A good pub situated on a high street in a town that is oozing gentrification and price tags to prop it up. However this true spoon does keep its prices low and is more noticeable in places such as this where pints elsewhere are astronomical. With the food selection I can only write as a vegan and like most places this spoon does offer vegan fodder. I recommend the jacket potato with salad as it comes with a drink as well so good bargain. The vibe here is great amongst the users and they are friendly and in general very pleasant. My experience at the bar is less than satisfactory as the bar staff don't know who was next in line and just serve anyone, even though you have been waiting. On occasions they have preferred to serve a regular punter before me, even though I was first up, which is extremely annoying. This lack of etiquette at the bar though is remedied by using the app, even of it is to get an empty cup for coffee so that is now the norm rather than be ignored. The majority of the staff are friendly and helpful. Update on 1/12/22 With my recent experiences in some spoon pubs this one has come out better. Some the staff are terrible and cannot be asked to clean away tables, wipe them down and are quite rude. The service here is excellent, very polite, very attentive to the table cleanliness and are quick with the drinks to table. My only major gripe here is the selfish , normally regular, customers that hog the booths on their own. A couple of the booths fit 6 to 8 people easily and yet it is occupied by one person drinking a cup of tea. Just like hotels booths should charge a single occupancy rate as this is just selfish. Families and groups have to perch round tables causing movement issues for punters navigating aisles and carrying drinks. A surcharge of £10 per every half hour would be nice if just one person occupies a booth.

A safe place. Wonderful food. Friendly staff. A great and very safe place to meet in Central London. FreemanfilmsUK.

Top spoons for real ale selections and quality, interesting old pub building with garden, good service

Very cheap! The beer was good and the food was as well! The service is a bit slow, but it is worth it!

Lovely watering hole I go with my father in law it has a great Irish community and I would recommend it

Good place to drink, but I ordered a large barbecue and the truth is that it was not big enough, the waitress who brought it to me seemed like she didn't feel like working, but everything else was pretty good, good prices and a good atmosphere.

Very helpful and attentive staff. As I used crutches staff offered and carried drinks to table and arranged furniture.

Standard Wetherspoon, the advantage with this one is their slightly cheaper food / hot drink prices.

Friendly & good value, typical Wetherspoons pub.

“This is a great wetherspoons. I’ve been to way worse wetherspoons.” “I like how well lit this pub is. We would be super depressed if we were sitting in a dim pub.” “I appreciate a pub with booths. And this has booths.” “THIS IS A FOUR STAR FOR WETHERSPOONS.” “It’s the price that makes it.” “You get what you pay for. We got more than what we paid for.” “The quality of the food isn’t good but at regular London prices you get what you pay for, and this is decent for what we paid.”

Normally I would have only given it 4 stars, but the beer prices are so unbeatably cheap that I give it a bonus star. On site you meet a mixed crowd from young to old and the bar staff are quick to ensure that you get the beer you want quickly. Highly recommended if you are in the area and you're looking for a good selection of beer for unbeatable prices!

Super cheap, super busy pub with many local visitors who come there almost every day to chat and spend some time. The layout is superb with those private separate tables. Board games make our evenings fun)

It's a smelly old boozer , staff can't pour a pint , food half burnt half frozen, I know it's the only cheap pub in area but it not cheerful

This is a great little place, (its not little) great atmosphere, friendly staff and acceptable, accessible toilets, plenty of room for wheelchair users and a great drink selection, I would recommend if you like real everyday people.

Would have been more had it not been for the cold chips and the lack of customer service from the young member of staff. Thank god there was a senior member of staff who knew what customer service meant and managed to change the chips for fresh HOT ones and we could enjoy our meal.

Food is usually good here But l had half a chicken It was so dry and wet very disappointed Wont get that again Besides that it is an ok pub Friendly staff and cheap drinks

Sod Brexit and sod you sir used to love this one but no more enjoy your ‘progress’

Some staff seem more interested in having private conversations instead of actually serving

A good meeting place to meet up with friends and have a bite to eat

Quite liked this spoons… Love it more when they stock random (especially amber/red ales)! This was such a welcomed tipple!

Please don't close down this place is the best!

Cheap and cheerful. Friendly service and clean.

Typical JD pub, we had a spicy pizza and two drinks for £15 so a bargain for London. Good old down to earth stuff.

if i could give 0/5, i would tossers

Nice spoons decent breakfast a pint served with a smile, what not to like

Pints always pulled good friendly staff

Good friendly pub which has allot of history. Diverse pub with a friendly atmosphere abd local people.

Great staff, open fire, big pub. What more could you want.

Oldest spoons in existence apparently

The best and only thing about this pub is the open fire.

One of the cheapest Wetherspoon in London with pints of ale just over £2.50 Food is standard fair

Great staff, great prices, friendly and comfortable atmosphere

Staff here are lovely, however the atmosphere and ambience is probably the worst spoons I've been to. We came at 1pm on a Sunday and it honestly felt like a retirement home, and smelt like one too. The food is what we have all come to expect from wetherspoon so no complaints there. I wouldn't recommend.

A great Spoons with interesting history!!!

The best pub in Hackney , maybe London indeed

Nice garden at rear Great prices

Cant beat a pint of Guinness £3.06 bloody £6 in the irish bar up the road & im irish but thats to much, Rochester is a great pub

Service and food fine but full of real "cream crackers"

Lovely pub. Cheap drink and food. Friendly barstaff and nice garden outback.

Not many times I give a Wetherspoon pub 5 stars. This pub was such good value with prices cheaper than Wetherspoon pubs out of London and the staff were great. Good selection of ales as well.

Nice place to go for pre drinks before a night out.

For the price you pay, it's an absolutely fantastic deal. Cheap booze, cheap food that ain't half bad, and the staff are a nice bunch. Best place to drink for your average geezer.

Really enjoyed our visit to The Rochester Castle, lovely pub steeped in history. Lovely food and great service.

Excellent service by Joni and Rianne. Best times and amazing service with quality.

Cocktails were £5.64 for 1 Liter! It was really good

30 minute wait on drinks orders, 20 minute wait at the bar, but barely anybody there. So slow.

Sunday last,4 tables left with discarded food . Children allowed to run amok all over the pub. Noise unbearable. Service lacking. We have been 5 times b4, and all has quite good. But Sunday was awful.

I tried the Espresso Martini today, totally yummy. But their real ales a brill too.

The staff are very friendly and helpful.

Freindly old style spacious pub with outside smoking area close to areas for good walks near Stoke Newington abney park cemetery, the location of Amy Winehouse back to black music video... Enjoyed a cold pint of Stella.

Decent relaxed spot in the day time. Got s beer and a burger and

food was fine, although i asked for a beef burger and randomly got a chicken? staff are friendly but also laughed at us whenever we had an issue (in hindsight it was our fault). The whole pub was very messy but also I don’t blame the staff cause they were so understaffed I feel like it’s a managers issue! Customers were interesting and had a lack of banger, probably never coming here again. God save the king 👑 🇬🇧 💯 adamwashere

A standard spoons. £3 a pint and a great drop of Guinness. Beer garden. Exactly what it says on the tin. Worth a visit.

Great Location. It's also the very 1st Wetherspoons.

Really good beer, & really rude staff.

Very busy pub, and very loud atmosphere is OK The food is good and the drinks are cheap 2 jugs for £11

in the morning no one took the order, the girl was outside. when asked when she could serve us, she began to be rude, and returning inside the pub went to the staff room, and not behind the bar. 13.05.23 8.30am

Brilliant with Guinness at £2.99 for a pint but the barmaid today has not said please or thank you once. If you don't like your job or are in a bad mood, perhaps the service industry is not for you. Utterly unbelievable, her surly and dismissive attitude.

You know what you’re getting into and what to expect. Great value drinks. Cheap and decent food. Sloooooow service here which is rare from a Weatherspoon.

One of the oldest wetherspoons pubs and it has a rich history with music and bands that used to play there in the 1970s. A busy pub with a decent selection of rotating cask ales. At times there might be a few of them not available. There is a small outside space at the back. A couple of television screens if you want to watch the news. A few fruit machines if you want to lose some money. The staff can be steely at the best of times but they'll get you a drink without swearing at you which is a plus. Come and soak up the history whilst enjoying a cold beer.

Great atmosphere and drink is good price

Big Spoon's with a big selection of ale's was worth the trip 🤗 all the way there on Saturday and it was hazard taped with a sign saying from today closed until further notice?.

Sitio ideal para tomar una buena pinta a un precio estupendo. Mucha variedad de cervezas, comida correcta. Si quieras vivir la expresión de un pub inglés auténtico y no para turistas no puedes dejar de ir.

Good pub good service and good stuff, i like that pub.

It always has a good vibe, no horrible background music, only the voices of genuine human interaction without mobile phones in majority of cases. Food is honest but straightforward, fair, and very affordable. Haggis neeps and tatties for Burns week, an excellent meal for under £7 with a soft drink under £8 with an alcoholic beverage. Nothing bad to say really. Toilets are terrible too many oldies missing the urinals.

Best Wetherspoons in London, immaculate vibes always

Nice pub very reasonable prices But heating not on and was very cold I know times are hard but a nice break in a warm pub is much needed Many thanks PS Great 'gents' with excellent feel-up potential

Cosy friendly pub with a good selection of ales and attentive staff

A really beautiful pub - inside and out. Staff were lovely and the pub was clean and tidy with the usual seating options throughout. Skylights and lots of glass provide an abundance of natural light. The original (?) tiling on both walls as you enter are wonderful. The breakfast (with eggs) was excellent as was the Guinness.

This branch of W needs a little updating, but it is the only pub in the area where you can get four drinks for under a £10 ,

OK not to back but need staff and need manager who work.

Nice lunch. The burgers were really good

Cheap drinks staff are very welcome

First trip to a 'Spoons since the Referendum. Five stars for the fish and (salad instead of chips), food and price tag were great. Also props to the really lovely staff... in spite of my being a bit of an annoying customer (asking loads of questions & bit needy) they were all v kind, esp the tall guy who escorted me to the Condiments Table with such good humour - wish I'd got his name. Thanks again :)

Fav pub in Hackney, always real

The Rochester offers Spoons in all it's local glory, day-time boozers, mostly older sit glasserly about the small round tables while a homeless man snoozes against the corner. Sensible and cheery staff manage us reckless layabouts, clearing tables with humor and patience. A few more furtive drinkers keep themselves to themselves but generally the mood is expansive and on the right side of the problem drinking equation. Better than the Mare Street Shed, smaller and with a architectual quality that lends quality to the experience matched by a reasonable selection of tipples. Enter if you dare!

Racist pub. A group of traveller people were having a quiet and friendly drink, and were refused service for no reason. Then the police were called on this group even though they hadn’t done anything. Really disgusting behaviour from the staff on this occasion.

First time visiting here. Really great pub with a warm atmosphere. Great service and a friendly vibe. Will come back again. Used their App to order food and drinks and had a great service.

Good old boozer and crazy of all kinds never a full moment in the rochester