Wetherspoons is opening a massive new pub at Paddington Station

JD Wetherspoon is plotting another mega-pub for London, with plans to open a huge new boozer inside Paddington Station.

As reported by The Standard, if approved, the proposed venue would take over more than 3,600 sq ft across two floors in the station’s former ticket hall, complete with a mezzanine level and direct access to the Bakerloo line. Yes, your pint could come with a side of Tube announcements.

The new pub would be bigger than Wetherspoon’s recently opened Captain Flinders at Euston, though slightly smaller than Waterloo’s The Lion and The Unicorn, making it one of the chain’s largest London sites to date. According to consultation documents, the venue may be called The Post Room, although that name hasn’t yet been officially confirmed.

Paddington is just the latest stop in Wetherspoon’s increasingly obvious love affair with major transport hubs. Recent openings include The Sun Wharf at London Bridge and Walham Green in Fulham Broadway’s former ticket hall, while Westminster Council has also just approved a large new bar next to Charing Cross station. Add in a recently opened Wetherspoons near Paddington at Merchant Square, and the strategy is clear: follow the footfall.

The company is currently consulting with local residents and businesses ahead of submitting a formal planning application to Westminster City Council. If it goes ahead, commuters can expect the familiar Wetherspoons formula, cheap pints, all-day breakfasts, cavernous interiors and odd carpets, dropped straight into one of London’s busiest stations.

The move comes at a moment of cautious optimism for pubs more broadly. Earlier this month, the government announced a 15% cut to business rates for every pub in England, part of a wider support package aimed at bars and music venues.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves approved the relief after warnings that tax hikes and rising rateable values, alongside the end of pandemic-era relief, could prove devastating for the sector.

For Wetherspoon, though, the message seems simpler: wherever Londoners are passing through, there’s probably room for another pint or two.

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