A huge new £2.8million Wetherspoons pub opens at this major UK train station next week

If you’re one of the roughly 250,000 people who commute into London Waterloo each day, you’ll soon notice something very different at the train station, as the transport hub is about to get a refreshing new addition.

As well as the numerous shops, cafes, and restaurants already on offer there, a brand new Wetherspoons pub is set to open next week, meaning it’ll be easier than ever to grab a cheeky post-work pint.

The Lion and the Unicorn, in The Sidings which was formerly home to Waterloo’s Eurostar terminus, will be welcoming punters from Tuesday September 3, after the popular pub chain invested a whopping £2.8million into its development.

Its name is inspired by the Festival of Britain which was held at the nearby South Bank in 1951 and showcased British achievements in the arts, architecture, science and technology.

Similarly, ‘Spoons bosses say ‘the attitude to light, colour and innovation at the festival (the complete opposite to pre-1951 Britain) have all been adopted in the design,’ and the interiors even incorporate sketches shared by family members of the original architects and graphic designers.

Known as the ‘social side’ of Waterloo, The Sidings features a number of other businesses such as Nando’s, Brewdog, Blank Street coffee, and a Lucky Voice karaoke bar.

The neighbouring Brewdog pub is an impressive establishment, boasting a giant slide and a secret speakeasy bar inside, but this new Wetherspoons will also offer customers a unique drinking experience — especially if they’re a fan of trains — with floor-to-ceiling glazing offering views of the concourse. 

The Lion and the Unicorn will be wheelchair accessible, set across a single level, with children (as long as they’re accompanied by an adult) welcome up until 9pm throughout the week.

Open from 6.30am until midnight Monday to Thursday, from 6.30am until 1am on Friday and Saturday, and from 7.30am until midnight on Sunday, it’ll serve a full food menu from 11.30am to 11pm every day and a breakfast menu from opening to noon.

Wetherspoon regional manager, Barry Brewster, said: ‘We are looking forward to welcoming customers into The Lion & the Unicorn and we are confident that the pub will be a great addition to Waterloo’s social scene.”

Sian Evans, management director of LCR property developers, added: ‘The Sidings at Waterloo is set to become one of London’s leading leisure and entertainment destinations.

‘The new Wetherspoons pub will provide another great reason for people to visit.’

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We’ll have to wait and see how prices at the newest London location will fare against others in the capital, after two of the chain’s pubs were recently revealed to be the most expensive Wetherspoons in the UK for a pint, charging an eye-watering £7 for a Corona.

But this might not be the only change to Waterloo that’s made in the future, as ambitious plans to revamp the station and parts of the surrounding area were recently unveiled.

The proposal aims to make the station far more pedestrian-friendly by knocking out ‘barriers’ to movement and turning traffic-heavy Cab Road into a ‘piazza’ accessible only by foot.

Concourses would also be widened and unused underground arches would be converted into shops and restaurants.

The designs were drawn up by architects from Grimshaw, who designed the western wing of the station with its iconic curved glass roof, completed in 1993.

This comes after plans for a revamp to another busy commuter station were shared, with more than 2,100 people objecting to the proposed changes to London Liverpool Street.

The public, local authorities, Historic England and Westminster City Council all raised concerns about the project, with some branding it ‘ugly and uninspired’.

It’s not cheap either. Liverpool Street’s new look will cost £1.5billion, with part of the Victorian station being knocked down and a 20-storey tower built above the neighbouring Grade-II* listed former Great Eastern Hotel.

This article was first published on April 6, 2024.

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