Viral food blogger says Lincoln has the best Wetherspoons in the country

A pub owner and live video blogger from Teeside who has visited over 25 Wetherspoons bars across the country believes Lincoln has the best one he has been to so far.

Craig Harker, 34, has owned The George Pub and Grill in Stockton-on-Tees for around eight years. It became famous in the local and national media for its calorific food and serving the biggest steak of 220 ounces.

The page continues to grow and has over 200,000 followers, and as people started becoming more and more interested in Craig and what he was eating and cooking, he launched another Facebook page called Dad Loves Food which has over 20,000 subscribers.

He reviews bars, takeaways and hotels in different locations across the UK, usually ending up in at least one Wetherspoons pub during each visit, where people always send him drinks and also random food items such as peas or eggs on their own.

As his reviews are streamed live and unedited, they have caused some controversy and he was previously kicked out of three Wetherspoons in Manchester in just one day.

Lincoln, on the other hand, he said was far more welcoming during his visit on Monday, June 28. He chose Lincoln as it was roughly halfway between his home in Teeside and Wembley, where he was heading to watch England play Germany the day after.

Craig described the Square Sail Wetherspoons pub on Brayford Wharf North as the best one he has ever been to – watch the full live stream from The Square Sail here.

Craig usually travels for his live videos with his friend known as Butty Lad. They were sat in the Hawley Arms in Camden, famous for being Amy Winehouse’s local pub, when Craig spoke to The Lincolnite about his trip to our beloved city.

He chooses to go live on Facebook in each venue to give an unedited and real picture of his experience and the service he receives.

He told The Lincolnite: “That is the best Wetherspoons I’ve been too. It was cleaner and smarter than 90% of the others we have been to. The Lincoln accent also came across smart and friendly, and the staff in Wetherspoons were great.

“The food was good, people watching the live video sent us drinks, and we ordered drinks for other tables, and there were nice views (of the Brayford) outside too.

“Lincoln (Square Sail) handled it well and when they realised who we were and what we were doing they were very accommodating and I can’t praise them enough.

“My friend lives in Lincoln who used to play for Lincoln United (Matt Wilson) and I really love the history of the place.

“Lincoln is beautiful and I love the accent and the history. The city reminds me of York and I will definitely be coming back again in the future.”

After a good night out, Craig always likes to finish with a kebab and he went to Lazzari’s Takeaway in Lincoln, to review the food. He said it was an authentic traditional Turkish style kebab and really tasty.

https://www.facebook.com/GeorgePubAndGrill/videos/1931004663721715

Craig was happy with his stay at the Tennyson Guest House in Lincoln.

He stayed overnight in Lincoln and booked a £45 stay at the Tennyson Guest House in Lincoln, adding: “It was cheap and cheerful and I had no complaints. It was all self-service and did what it said on the tin.”

He streams live via the pub page, and posts more humour, banter and content on the Dad Loves Food page. It took him eight years to reach 120,000 followers, but then over the last eight weeks alone that number rose by another 80,000.

Dad Loves Food blogger Craig Harker (left) with Butty Lad (right) when the duo met the lead singer of Reverend and the Makers Jon McClure.

After leaving Lincoln, Craig stopped at a services on the way to Leicester and reviewed a roll over burger, where he also happened to meet the lead singer of Reverend and the Makers Jon McClure.

Then he rushed down to London to Wembley as he had tickets to watch the memorable and victorious match for England against Germany at Euro 2020.

The father of three said: “That game was emotional. It wasn’t good to watch for around 70 minutes, but the last 20 minutes and after that was as emotional as my kids being born.”

Craig is also a big believer in doing positive gestures for other people. Whenever he stops at any drive-thru anywhere in the country, he always pays for the food of the car behind saying “it’s nice to be nice”.