please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Not all hand pumps on, Tribute, Doom and G K IPA and a Golden Hook Norton... A wide variety of bottled ales, I tried the Cornish HSD, not bad but not as good as the hand pumped version!
|
Pretty decent place with 3 Green King beers matched by 3 guests. Had a pint of Trueman Swift which was fine but very expensive (£3.90).
|
Very smart, a little bit touristy, but 6 real ales. On my 10-pub crawl round St Albans the pint of Lancaster Bomber I had in here was by some distance the best pint. Food looked a bit pricey at £11.95 for 2 courses, but it is St Albans.
Definitely worth a visit and far superior to the BeechHouse across the road.
|
not as good as it thinks it is. Gets overcrowded and slightly up its own what-not
|
A dreadfully overpriced pub , ridiculous really (r they in central London), God paid less for a beer in the Savoy bar! Awful ripoff of a place. A very lazy pub with idle staff. Shame really as nice location.
|
Yeah, the front bar is small, but I found it friendly (maybe because it's small?) with interesting beers on tap, as well as a huge bottled selection. Wouldn't go overboard about this pub, but it's not bad and worth a visit.
|
Not a bad place at all. Little bit on the small side and certainly not cheep but worth a try. Bar staff very pleasant.
|
Only came down this end of town because its where you can get a cab. Decided to come for the novelty value of a facebook check in. Mappiman is in the Cock. A few punters, beers was OK. Nothing to mark it up or down.
|
This was one of the Pubs we went in on yesterdays Pub Crawl as it was one of the last it was very busy late evening. There are around three or four Ales on Tap But the bar area is far too small with everyone standing around it. But Its still as the last poster said at busy times there is nowhere to stand Or sit down and have a pint yet the bottom Bar was totally empty and all the tables were set for food. In my mind this is just laziness as they could easy clear half these tables in the evenings allowing drinkers to sit down for a beer and gain easer access to getting served at the bar. I'm sure if They done this they would get more customers in the evenings as we were barely able to get in the pub so had one quick Pint and left. Had we been able too sit down we would probably stayed till closing time.
|
Best head over the road to The Blacksmiths.
|
Pub No.8
Poor pub
Poor beer
Ok service
Not recommended: 2/10
|
Lots of bad reviews below this one - not 100% sure why.
Sure it's not really a pub, but you should go to The Lower Red Lion or The White Lion if you want a proper pub.
The bottom end of the high street is bereft of decent pubs. This one is the best of a bad bunch.
|
I experienced the same rudeness that moriarty123 did. Everybody was told last orders were at 1 and kicking out time was 1.30 and then at 1.10 the lights outside were switched off and a fat man approached the table and started rudely intimidating our group and insisting we leave immediately before returning to drink with his friends. Does anybody know if this is the "ghastly Aussie manager" that other reviews refer to? This pub was once pleasant but now seems to have a pub fight every night. Rude staff and violent locals squashed in with a posh eating area make this a very odd pub indeed.
|
Food here used to be good and I used to go there at least once a month for dinner. Last Saturday went for dinner again, expecting the usually dependable menu with burger & steak options for my other half, and something interesting from the frequently changing menu for me. Sat down, had a look at the menu and the burgers had gone...and there wasn't a single main course that I was interested in trying; and I am pretty easy to please as I will eat most things. Also, quite a few starters were priced over �10 which is quite ridiculous as it is after all a pub. Had to leave disappointed and visited a bar just up the road for 2 lovely burgers @ �10! Will probably give this place one more try only.
|
Beer generally good, though limited choice, decor ok as well in there.
Had the 2 course lunch for �7.95 many times but had to stop recently. The food on this offer used to be great but the last 3 times pretty poor and last time absoutely awful. Firstly I was overcharged for the food. Secondly I had to go find somebody twice for my main course which even after chasing was more than 3/4 hour after the starter was finished...not what you when on a quick lunch deal. Finally when the main arrived the battered fish was so over cooked and dry it was staggering....
Is a shame as when they get food right is great and good value...they just get it wrong too often for me.
|
Although this pub has a nice lay out and it's good to have somewhere to go for a drink before bed time after a meal somewhere else, the customer service and staff are dreadful. One of those places where they think they are doing you a favour by serving you. They are rude at closing time which they announce by marching round the pub shouting "drink up or we'll take your drinks off you!" they then try to do exactly that by taking drinks you haven't finished and threatening to call the police as you try to wolf down the drink that they served you just minutes before, whilst the staff and their friends stand at the bar smirking as they sip their pints. They need some lessons in manners. This place doesn't deserve your money, go somewhere else, anywhere else, in fact stay in with a cup of cocoa!
|
I like this one, decent beer, good service, and really good food.
|
Had sunday lunch here a couple of weeks ago.
The food was fine--not outstanding but above average for sunday lunchtime.
Service was a bit slow but delivered with a smile; you have to blame the management rather than the staff--not enough people .
Beer was excellent.
|
Serve a crap pint of Abott in here.
|
It is, in fairness, perhaps worth pointing out that this place, the Green Dragon in Barnet and the Pied Bull in Enfield are all owned by the same people. Then its worth looking at kisska27's comment history below.
Not that anyone with vested interests in these three pubs would pretend to be a punter to boost the favourable reviews or anything...perish the thought.
There are plenty of proper, great pubs in St. Albans. A place laid out with so much cutlery simply cannot be named amongst them.
|
The Cock Inn is a perfect place to chill after work; it�s clean and tastefully decorated. Lovely back garden. The bar is small but even at its busiest hour you will get served within 3-5 minutes. The staff is friendly and very helpful. Set lunch menu �7.95 for 2 course meal is a bargain, all food is cooked fresh, the meat is sourced from an award winning north Yorkshire supplier. Dinner for �9.95 is a STEAL! I just love the busy atmosphere of the pub while enjoying a perfectly cooked steak and a glass of Malbec.
I strongly recommend this pub for after work drinks, or a business lunch!
Decent service, honestly priced & quality food, good choice of wine and beer - what else could you be looking for?
|
I found this place clean and tidy and the service was OK. There were four hand pumps serving GK beers plus Batemans XXXB as a guest. The issue I have with this �pub� is that during busy times there is nowhere to stand and have a pint, almost every bit of space is taken over by tables for food. They have a restaurant area round one side but then this seems to overflow into what should be a drinkers bar. Consequently drinkers congregate at the small bar meaning it�s difficult to get served.
|
great selection of real ales and late opening...great pub!
|
Does it still have the ghastly Aussie manager?
|
i love this pub!!itsd great fantastic people great atmosphere, great staff good music great food, maybe you have to wait a little but its great
|
So there you have it in the previous comment - The Cock's target audience!
Not surprised it was anonymous, "the finer things in life"!! My aching sides!!
|
I found this pub to be friendly and the staff helpful. The Food was great restaurant standard, and not the norm 'chips with everything type'
If you want a nice meal without the bog standard chav type atmosphere then this place is ideal for people who prefer finer things in life. Nice to see a pub in St Albans catering for others rather than loud 'burger n chips' louts.
|
this tiny pub has been converted into a restaurant-bar. The restaurant is over-priced and the bar frequnted by drunks. manager could do with customer service skills.
|
I actually like this pub, but I must say I have only been for the lunch which is only �6.95 for two courses, which was nice but i was not fussy for that price.
I found the staff really friendly. Oh and i had nice roast dinner once!
|
I foolishly re-visited this place recently. The ales are still pretty much OK, although horribly overpriced. The real problem with this place is the suited tossers bellowing into mobile phones who clearly feel well at home here. Maybe you will too, if that sounds like your bag.
|
The food is very good, the garden is nice, it's not a bad bar. But it is expensive, one danger sign (of a pub that wants your money!) is that when you order a vodka and coke (for example) the coke comes in a little bottle that you are charged �1.50 for. Get's a funny mixed crowd, one hand you have trendy St Albans 30 somethings but you still get people who drank there before it was revamped (3 years ago) - dirty old men!
|
The Cack, more like.
Crap beer, indifferent service.
I am prepared to accept that the food MIGHT be good, but this place is a "cash cow"of the worst possible kind.
Mind you, the Blackmiths Arms over the road is even worse.
|
The food in here is superb. Not sure about the layout, bit cramped. But generally a good place to meet.
|
Some decent-ish overpriced ales to be had here, albeit in a completely soulless environment. Public order problems as well, apparently? Great.
|
This used to be a great pub, however it has really gone down hill, beer tastes like lines haven't been cleaned for years, full of drunks at the weekend and poorly managed. The only good thing I can say about the place is that the food is still good. I don't know what has happened but come on Cock, get your game in order or risk losing your last few loyal customers.
|
I was interested to read the reports below, since I happened to pop into the Cock yesterday afternoon when the fracas was at its height. From my coward's vantage point near the door, it seemed to me (a) that the 2 blokes shouldn't have been served in the first place if they were this drunk, (b) a few other customers were also very intoxicated, and (c) when a member of staff did finally intervene, he didn't act decisively but launched a tedious harangue; there is nothing a drunkard likes more than a good argument, so the nonsense continued.
I fled to the Boot.
Imagine my horror when shortly afterwards one of the yobs tottered into the Boot, plonked himself down at the bar and ordered yet another drink. Luckily it soon became obvious what state he was in, everyone (including the barstaff) turned away, and soon the fool slid off the bar stool, banged his head and staggered off. Good riddance.
But the root of the problem lay in the Cock's not dealing with the drunks in the first place and allowing a bad situation to get worse. St Peters Street is full of dodgy characters and - as other people have said - they will exploit any pub that is weak enough to let them gain a foothold.
Anyway, that's how I spent yesterday afternoon!
|
I have frequented this pub 2-3 times a week for the last 6 months or so, and I am disapointed to say, it has gone really down hill during the last month or two. There is a new manager, I think he was promoted from assistant and he just has no control over the place, people get far to drunk in the front bar, the staff are usually to busy chatting to serve, and the real ales are always off, to top it off there is just never any atmosphere in the place anymore. I hear the last guy has taken over a place in hemel hempstead, I am not sure where though. The cock sure as hell misses him.
anonymous - 24 Jul 2006 13:06 |
Mid-Sunday afternoon (3.30pm) in the Cock and the situation is ludicrous. In the restaurant and the side bar everyone is politely eating and drinking. In the front bar several drinkers are so far 'gone' they can barely stand - and it's only 3.30pm! The atmosphere is very unpleasant. How on earth did this situation arise? Needless to say there's only one, harrassed barman to deal with everything. For a pub/restaurant with such long opening hours, the Cock really does need to get its staffing sorted out. Otherwise the drunks will move in in force and the whole place will slide downhill.
anonymous - 24 Jul 2006 08:46 |
The food at The Cock is very good, there's a short bar menu featuring a truly magnificent burger and a more extensive restaurant menu which is well cooked and pleasantly, if anonymously served. For a pub the wine list is astonishing, an immense range on offer, heavy on decent European stuff and almost all available by the glass which would seem like commercial suicide. What's a bit odd is they're obviously going for a sort of gastro pub/wine bar sort of vibe but have a plasma screen stuck on one wall of the bar meaning if there's a game on 25% of the smallish bar is taken up by public schoolboys in achingly new Chelsea shirts pretending to know about football.
|
Strangely-shaped pub. It only takes a couple of twots to hog the bar and you have a struggle to get served. Worse, the number of barstaff seems to have cut back and often there is only one serving, even at busy times. They do their best, but from a customer's viewpoint this pub is often a bit of a struggle. The restaurant part looks fine, but for a casual drink I rarely bother with the Cock any more.
|
Rather awkward feeling of being in a confined space in bar. Nice food, handy to meet as by the big roundabout.
|
Food quite good according to my wife - though bar staff tend to ignore you whilst doing important things like moving glasses around. Beer OK. We walked out after being ignored for the second time.
|
Nice enough pub but full of people that take its name too literally
anonymous - 7 Sep 2005 14:09 |
Cool pub, even on a rainy Thursday lunchtime, when I visited. The choice of drinks includes 4 ales, lots of wine and 11 malt whiskies. Divided into smoking and non-smoking bars, with a separate eating area too.
anonymous - 21 May 2005 14:41 |
Recently refurbished and very stylish, The food is amazing and the wine list is out of this world.
anonymous - 27 Oct 2004 23:26 |
The place to go in St Albans if you want a glass of Mexican red wine - very extensive wine list. Has become very popular since recent major re-fit
dee - 27 Oct 2004 19:05 |
Donovan did his first gig here apparently. Not sure how much its changed since the 60's, the Hogshead over the road always seemed more appealing.
|
Place did indeed close and reopen - has kept name The Cock but complete refurb. Back is a moderately trendy restaurant, garden is nice enough (insect repellent candles and all) and front bar is trendy enough without being in yer face. Ideal evening is to turn up here at about 9ish, then on to Bar 62 up the way as that has a late licence.
Richard - 7 Sep 2004 01:06 |
Pretty sure this has now closed and re-opened as something else, but I haven't been to St Albans for a while now.
Used to be an amazing place though
dpiom - 31 Aug 2004 16:14 |
