The Counting House - JD Wetherspoon

You walk into what feels like a cathedral of cheap pints, where ornate plasterwork and towering columns make even your third pint of Ruddles feel dignified. This isn't your typical soulless Spoons – the original banking hall's grandeur somehow survived the corporate makeover, creating the most architecturally impressive place to neck a curry and pint for under a tenner in the city centre. Sure, it's still Wetherspoons with all that entails – sticky carpets, the usual suspects nursing their morning pints, and that distinct aroma of fried breakfast at 3pm. But there's something properly special about drinking surrounded by such Victorian splendour on Reform Street. The staff keep things moving efficiently, the prices remain gloriously ridiculous, and you can actually have a conversation without shouting over deafening music.