The William Rufus in Carlisle

Great service by the staff on a very busy night. Thanks to the young lad Dexter who was looking after our table.

Stafff are just lovely even under the Christmas pressure. Had a great night out

Nice place to enjoy a drink as its my very first drink in Carlisle after a long journey. Quick service and plenty of seating. Atmosphere wasn’t bad either. Location is great just 2 mins away from station. Full of local people, may be because their favourite place.

Food was terrible. Ordered chicken,mash and gravy. The portion of mash wouldn't have been enough for a 5 year old asked for more was told I'd have to pay extra. Gravy boat doesn't even cover the baby sized portion of mash and processed peas were warm. Chicken was nice.

Food is always cooked well. Exactly what you expect of a spoons. The staff are exceptionally great and happy to go above and beyond. They make you feel like a local even you aren’t. Cracking spot to grab a bite between trains.

Still a great place any day of the week. Good for sport and food. Drinks very competitively priced. Staff always helpful and friendly. Nicely decorated for Christmas.

Top spoons this place doesn't shut till 2am so great result all round give it a try

It is a nice place where you can enjoy food, drink (and party at night , most of the people are gathering at night to party). It's very nice to go as a couple or as a group

Food was good, great value for money

Conveniently located only a stone's throw away from the Carlisle train station, and named after William II (the son of William the Conqueror) who build the Carlisle castle 👍

Lovely bar with very friendly staff made very welcome

My sister and I had lovely pizza here tonight, lovely Manager here was on hand to resolve my order thanks very much for accommodating us and going an extra mile.

Its a spoons. Good value. They are all the same

Price of drinks are not bad then food wasn't to bad either the staff are friendly and polite

As always Witherspoon never disappoints

Typical Witherspoon's good value food with pleasant staff, suggest the staff tap the coffee machine screen as they walk past to see all working.Big issue with the app payment system, often says you need to find alternative means of payment, that order not received, so one orders again pays by other means, then findout you have ordered twice. Ensure you clear your orders once staff confirm it's been received.

Great pub went there 3 nights running served very smartly barman was serving someone advised that I was next to be served and remembered my order LOTS of other ‘spoons could teach their staff that’s how to treat customers will be back

Delicious breakfast and very quick service.

Ordered pizza was burnt on outside and not nice on inside. couldnt even cut it with a knife into pieces

Good service at a reasonable price, food was also good,

Not the best of spoons we’ve been in

Only called in for a couple of beers, but I really liked the place and would definitely call again

NICE PUB. CHEAP DRINK £1-99. PINT OF JOHN SMITHS.CIDER. BUD LIGHT LAGER ETC. NICE BEER GARDEN. GOOD STAFF.

Nice pint of bitter. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff

We were caravanning in Penrith and decided to catch the bus to Carlisle and had to try another Wetherspoons we hadn't been to before. I had the Lemon and herb Chicken Char-grilled in a lemon & herb glaze served with Coleslaw, garlic & herb dip You could choose a Side salad; Mediterranean salad, Spicy rice, Mashed potato or Chips. I chose the chips and it was £10.83 including a non-alcoholic drink. My husband chose the BBQ chicken melt which was a Char-grilled chicken, Cheddar cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce and you could choose a Side salad; Mediterranean salad, Jacket potato; Mashed potato or Chips. Like me he chose the chips and it was £12.36 including a pint of Guinness. We both enjoyed our meals.

Inattentive staff and surley manager Chris. Asked for service and was studiously ignored. Not at all busy but staff happier to talk than serve.

Cheap n cheerful, just passing through.

The food was very nice , and the price for the meal deals is excellent , good atmosphere and very busy

food was as generic as you'd think, fills a hole and is cheap. great service and decent atmosphere

It never ceases to amaze me how people on TA like nothing better than slating Spoons but they're always in one. Jaci D and her lack of pronunciation visits one month, gives two circles and is back the next to give one circle? We like a traditional ale so here we were, two pints of Abbot, 25% more expensive than my nearest branch but half the price of my nearest Greene King pub, the company that make the stuff! Unusual for Spoons to have big screen footy so a bonus to see the lunchtime kick off. Slight issue was the wait for service but in fairness they were rammed.

My food was lovely however my friend's food was burnt, over cooked and cold

They had a spicy Korean chicken with chips it was very tasty

The staff are a credit to this establishment. Food was fantastic great pint as well . Thursday night is noisy so avoid if you are after a quiet drink lol .

My latest visit here, the service was quite remarkable - more something i would expect at Rick Steins' - maybe Mr Martin has sent them all to charm school! Smaller selection of real ales than the Spoons a few doors away, food was served quickly and efficiently. Tables were all clean etc..

Avoid the Steak Had Steak Med/rare more of a medium received this steak was possibility the toughest grizzliest piece of steak ever chips were nice though definitely not sort the £15 cost

The pub was nice and clean,ordered the food through the Wetherspoon app which meant we could order what we wanted Special when drinks are included 😉

My friend was served an end of bottle, vinegary glass of wine and the staff were very reluctant to change it for a fresh one.

Wow, such a little hidden suntrap at the back. Lovely staff, clean and lots of little extras, food was great and drinks were such good prices, 7.98 for 2 gin and tonics !! Thanks

If I could give this place 0 stars I would we have never been here before I ordered the chicken madas it had blood in it come on guys just why the manger Amanda give us our money back she was a legend

Excellent service ( I used the App ) great atmosphere. I'd return often.

As usual very good value for the money. Worth going 👏

Very clean spoons Quick when ordering on the app. Food was very hot. Staff were friendly and polite. Toilets are up 2 flights of stairs.

I got rice and not chips , poor effort, no very clean and the all day brunch my wife got was almost untouched, not be back

As normal with weatherspoons, great value. We found a quiet corner. The service was quick.

Was in carlisle for the races.. clean reasonable priced pub..

Food and drinks both great price. Good atmosphere on the weekend. Quiz on Thursday aswell

Unfortunately, I chose to visit the day England was playing football ! The food was good that day, but I've had better. The service was good. We had the app, so things were delivered to the table. I didn't stay that long.

Great pub. Went there before going to Carlisle races and went back there afterwards. Handy for train station. The only drawback was - as with many Weatherspoons - is that the toilets are upstairs.

I called in for some breakfast to The William Rufus on Wednesday 17th July, on the late morning. Service was very good, all of the staff were pleasant, attentive and never stopped working. The staff are a credit to the pub - it was nice to visit a Wetherspoons where staff smile and engage, and after visiting quite a few, I think this is one of the only ones I’ve been to where this has been the case! Food was cooked thoroughly, and I very much enjoyed my traditional breakfast. I was checked back on, and my plate was cleared promptly when finished. Unlimited coffee was good quality, priced very well, and the staff member gave me a fresh mug for some tea after I didn’t fancy another coffee. Which was very kind of her. The whole pub was clean and tidy. I will be back if I visit the area again, perhaps to try the lunch menu this time.

A struggle by Oliwia to put a round of two drinks together. Nice touch that wetherspoons had later opening hours due to football being on. Nice looking premises.

Enjoyable lunch. Great service

Normally acceptable here but was very poor. On my most recent visit I had gammon and mashed potatoes, gammon was overcooked and so thin and the mashed potatoes were obviously microwaved and left in to long as it was all stuck together and hard round the edges. 3 eggs but no Pinapple available to order unfortunately very disappointing visit.

Noisy sports bar clueless bar staff as in most Wetherspoons if anyone from Wetherspoons ever reads this let me advise them especially the management STOP your bar staff from asking who’s next ask or train them to use their eyes to see who’s next especially if there are only 2 or 3 people waiting

Typical wetherspoons. Staff are helpful and friendly 😊

Cheap drinks , cheap food , what more could you want 😂

Just ordered 2 meals had to send them back twice they were both cold no apologies for the food

Nice typical Wetherspoons pub with friendly staff and good service at great prices.

We ordered 2 meals had to return both of them due to being cold ,sent them back twice did not what to risk it again no apologises

Nice beer and there is an outside seating area. Also nice and clean toilets

The only pub in Cumbria that serves Scottish beer. I enjoyed a Tennent's here which is one of the best Lagers in my opinion.

Nice pub good layout plenty of seats food was realy good

Nice sized spoons, decent outdoor area, you know what to expect from this popular pub chain, and this one delivers

Family and friends get together as there were 11 of us we decided on spoons, all of us said the food was great, and speedy considering it was busy. 😀

Nothing better than a good ol' people watch in 'Spoons... Arrived 11.000am and started off with a Breakfast muffin and cup of tea. A good half dozen in already having a bevvie. In fact I felt like a bit of a snob waiting till 11.30 to have a jar. Old girl comes in, no messing gets a Stella. 12.00 and the place is half full, bloke with his arse hanging out of his jeans plays the machine, and does allright it seems. Vast array of people, oldies, young 'uns, families etc. Couple of undesirables but probably had that said of me once upon a time. Staff outstanding, literally never stopped any of them catering for the needs of hungry/thirsty punters like myself. I have a great vantage at the table beside the door. I truly hope the Wetherspoons heirachy acknowledge their efforts. Toilets other side of Cumbria. Great couple of hours, and well done staff!!

Perfect spoons experience....but with hot food! Helpful, friendly staff, great service.

I'm having a few days away walking the coast path and have eaten here a couple of times. Seems on both occasions to be busy even in the early evening. One critical point though there are not enough bar staff.

It's wetherspoons, so it is already a great place. One disappointing thing is that the reception for wifi was poor, so I couldn't use the app.

Usual wetherspoons , however I rated the service low because the staff seemed to be in a world of their own customers waiting to be served but the staff busy talking with each other and when they finally decide they want to serve I find it annoying that rather serve those who have been waiting a while they serve the one customer who waltzes up and mediately gets served 😡

Never phased,always on the ball. Well done to the Manager and the Team :) Due to my work I travel a lot and visit different Weatherspoon restaurants. This is definitely one of the best in the UK.

Nice Wetherspoons with friendly staff however my warm cookie dough sandwich was cold!😶

Eggs were chewy which is new! A large pub only feet away from another spoons!

Cheap Meals for a Comfy place. Although many people are coming in everybody is polite and the staff were easy to approach with. We both ordered the steak with 5 chicken buffalo wings. It was good!

Usually decent food in this Spoons but the American cheeseburger I had the other day was pretty poor. A sad little burger bun on my plate with the measliest amount of ketchup and what I think was meant to be American cheese. Served with the grand total of 12 chips. Spoons isn't the value it used to be and certainly not with portions like that.

Nice food and a lovely pub. Brilliant staff as well. And of course really cheap

Always enjoy visiting, The food I have had is of an acceptable standard for the price you pay. The wait times are slightly longer than I would like. The service is good. My only drawback is the size of the venue to the staff ratio. They do their best to get there as fast as they can. The atmosphere is always amazing regardless of the time. Great place. Would recommend.

Great prices, great staff. Good wee beer garden.

A nice mixed crowd of cumbrians and others enjoying the delights of what Spoons has to offer which in my opinion is value for money

Busy pub. Good service and great beer.

Doormen make it an intimidating place i rarely go in

Popped in for a drink only, busy, bar lady wasn't exactly falling over with enthusiasm! But we can all have bad days!

Time after time wetherspoons serve lukewarm beans, I'll never buy my coffee till you serve hot food!

This pub is always busy and sometimes the food is great but sometimes it's not. I used to like a sirloin steak from here but the quality has dropped significantly and the staff don't seem to know how to cook a medium steak.

I love this place. Cheap, tasty and atmospheric.

Had a great Breakfast here.i got the large Breakfast and found it big enough for me and I'm a big eater. For once even the beans were quite warm which is a rarety for a wetherspoons Breakfast.will definitely come back.

Eaten and drink in many Wetherspoons....this pub was no different ...Good value food and drink...Well recommended

Excellent food, reasonably priced, served by friendly staff.

Excellent Eggs Benedict and perfect Abbot Ale

Spoons it is what it is, reliable friendly boozer with reasonably priced food and drink, you know what you are getting here, always busy and sometimes hard to get a seat so a popular place in Carlisle. Free WiFi.

Very quick service by friendly staff. Went for breakfast midweek.

Central location reasonable food good value

We went to the William Rufus Wetherspoons on Saturday when we was out in Carlisle and the food was great we enjoyed it and the service was great too!

Excellent it was nice but too busy and not homemade chips

Great pub quiz on a Thursday night at 8

William Rufus or William ii King of England as he was known to his mates died in August 1100. And that, by pure coincidence is the last time the table by the door at the pub was last cleaned. Billy never married or had kiddywinkles leading to many, many rumours swirling around the country at the time regarding his sexuality. Well, it was the twelfth century after all, how times have changed. Killed by an arrow in a hunting accident, he was a complex chappy, right up ‘til he was slaughtered/accidentally killed. I’m going on a bit, mainly because there really is that much to report about the William Rufus as in the actual Wetherspoons pub. It’s a short arrow shot from the Woodrow Wilson up the road and the pubs merge into one entity really. Nice enough, simply average Wetherspoons pubs that do the job and give you what you expect. Just duck when the arrows start flying.

Service was very quick .very pleasant experience highly recommend

Food was good. Coffee was 5* Recommended.

Very good prices and plenty of space. They show sports during the day and music in the evening.

Another Wetherspoons like the restaurant at the end of the universe. Stuffed full of Carlisles finest. Food on the lower side of low. At least the carpet wasn't too sticky.

Food can be variable, tables can be left for some time before being cleared. Being able to chat without background music is good, however, it can get noisy when the fireball is on or the races

Very cheap drinks and food. Massive portions and very tasty.