Mystery of the Wetherspoons red plate and what it means if you get one

There’s only one place you can go for cheap food and bevvies that is a UK staple and that’s Wetherspoons.

The great thing about Spoons is that you know what you’ll get when you walk through the doors and over the decades-old carpet, dark varnished furniture and elderly punters.

It’s a good time.

But what happens when you sit down, your food comes and suddenly you’re faced with something unexpected?

It can be a strange experience.

Wetherspoons' tableware usually tends to be a distinctive blue pattern… but some people have been given the shock of a lifetime when greeted with an unsightly red plate in front of them.

The red plate has left punters confused. (Reddit/u/diddyd66)

The red plate is a strange occurrence, with a few people over the years claiming to have received one, but what does it mean?

Those who have been affronted by one have swiftly taken to social media to ask WTF is going on?

One person recently wrote on Reddit’s subreddit r/mildlyinteresting about their boyfriend’s experience.

She posted a picture of the red plate and captioned it: "My BF got a red plate in Wetherspoons."

Redditors were quick to hop on the theory train and immediately took to the comments to speculate.

Have you ever seen a red plate in Wetherspoons? (Reddit/u/sven3067)

One person said: "If you get the red plate in Spoons, take it to the bar and you get a free drink.”

Another added: "YOU GOT THE RED PLATE."

Others claimed to have never seen a red plate at the eatery before.

On another thread, someone else said that although uncommon, red plates have been in pubs before and it’s not such a shock.

While a former Spoons worker claimed to have never seen one while at work.

Someone else joked: "I think you've accidentally wandered into an alternative dimension."

While one user asked: "Are you their millionth customer?"

Well, they’re all wrong because a Wetherspoons spokesperson told the DailyStar what it really is all about.

They said: "Wetherspoon did trial a red plate in a small number of pubs for use for children’s meals, to ensure all children’s meals were served on a cold plate.

‌"The company has moved on since then and just launched a melamine plate for the whole children’s menu which is in line with the design of the children’s menu.

‌"But there will be stock of the old red plate in circulation, until they break.

‌"No plan to change from the standard blue patterned plate any time soon."

LADbible has contacted Wetherspoons for further comment.