please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Its been closed for Ages!!
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this pub is history but rumours are that it will be opening again soon with a very new and trendy concept... i for one salute it and look forward to seeing what can be done with it all!
i miss the Albert!
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Come on! Remove this from the list, this is pub history now.
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Walked past here on Sunday evening and it was all closed up - was told by a local that he'd heard it's closed. Which is a shame, it was a decent pub.
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Met up with a few chums here prior to Christmas and I must say that I was very impressed with the changes within and fine selection of ales. Well worth returning to. Only fly in the ointment was the allowance of a few low life in; one with bull terrior. Refuse them entry! And they will go away; otherwise, you'll lose the bread and butter beer drinkers that you wish to cater for. Just say "No", pond life can always find somewhere else to drink.
anonymous - 20 Feb 2009 00:00 |
Pleasant Ozzie couple. Place, obviously been done up. Better off, getting a few cans in and watching a good Cd at home however. Nothing to write home about.
anonymous - 5 Nov 2008 20:23 |
Not sure what South London Lion is on about, unless he's some kind of genteel old chap terrified by life and noise in bars...! Nothing wrong with the Canton or the Wheatsheaf (former is a great pub, latter a bit dingy but friendly enough)...problem with the fenti is the upitsownarseness, but even thats been better lately. ANyways...the revamped RA is very nice, decent beer nice staff and cosy atmosphere...food isnt spectacular for the price but thats no great shakes. Its a bit off the beaten track which is what's caused trouble for the past tenancies, so hope this one gets a decent shot at a lifespan. Definitely worth repeated visits!
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Lived in the area for a while now. Was always a Fenti regular but their prices and attitude drove me away. What do you know, a few blocks away sits this gem of a pub. Looks like new landlords, new interior, new exterior, money well spent. Great beers like Tribute and lagers so cheap. Cobra at �2.90, bargain tho my mates drink the Peroni. Great food and they dont rip you off. Will be back every sunday for my roast and to watch the sport. Great Pub!!
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Agree with the friendly staff review, but the place was deserted on Friday. Interior is pleasant, but a bit tatty and dirty - could be easily rectified. No food at all on offer at the moment. The Bombardier was horrible, barman replaced without complaint, but the replacement was off too - probably not shifting quickly enough. All in all it is not a bad little place.
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Very good pub. Always has two real ales on, and bar snacks are good value and filling. Staff are great and friendly, and there is a good pub garden for the warmer weather.
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Top pub - everything going for it!!
Especially now that the smoking ban is in force - not a problem here having a beer garden which are not all that common nowadays.
Bloody Marys are an artform too - keep it up folks!!
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what a find! everything is right about this place,happy,friendly,english staff,a comedian for a manager,quality ales,special cider,best bloody mary,awesome food,games and a proper garden,6 hours flew by!
anonymous - 3 Sep 2007 21:08 |
Bar staff seemed very friendly.
anonymous - 23 Jul 2007 17:03 |
I've lived around the corner from the Albert for a couple of years but only discovered it about 9 months ago. This is because it's slightly hidden off the main road. Once you stumble across it you'll find it
hard not to keep going back. The staff are out of this world, really friendly and fun and really enjoy what they do. i've struggled to keep
my custom at the fenti now due to the short tempers of the quiet & frustrated staff. walking into the albert always puts me in a fantastic mood, you're always greeted with huge smiles from all the
staff. the food is good, a little over-generous & they do some really nice beers including kroney blanc, heineken & their equivelant light lager, amstel. & they do a mean sherry shot
bloody mary - in case you're asking what makes them taste so good!
they've got loads of board games for all ages stashed on a shelf and fussball & even a nice big garden that gets the sun all day. the albert draws a crowd of all sorts and most of all people are friendly,
they won't sit clicky to their tables, you'll always get a friendly hello. highly recommend this pub, held my birthday celebrations here last month & all my mates are in agreement - i hope it keeps up the good work.
anonymous - 30 May 2007 15:31 |
The beer is good and the food is good. One of the best pubs in the area. I really recommend it.
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Friendly, lot cheaper than the Fentiman Arms and superior food makes this a nice pub to spend the evening in.
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This is a real gem in South London. Decent drinks served by genuinely friendly staff. I come here with friends that have completely different tastes and for once no one complained! I like the decor but this makes no difference - you can't fault the friendly atmosphere which makes this a pub to enjoy for any occasion.
anonymous - 23 Mar 2007 00:05 |
I've been going to this pub regularly for about 8 years now and it must have changed hands about once a year in that time. The current incarnation is straight out of the "How to build a gastropub" manual. I agree that the staff are really good, but the beer is only ok and the food is not up to much at all. Big plus points are the comfy sofas and loads of magazines. However, you'd get that in a doctor's waiting room.
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Don't bother going in to play darts, as there isn't a board. Beer pretty poor too.
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I can't agree with the negative reviews here. It may not be the most exciting pub in the world but the Royal Albert is a great place for a quiet drink and spot of dinner. Classy, relaxing and lively enough to while away an evening.
anonymous - 22 Jul 2006 15:10 |
the beer garden is finally open again...
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Although the Albret has undergone a massive period of change, I couldn't agree less with the comments posted here. The staff are great - a real team of genuinely nice people who go out of their way to make your time there enjoyable.
In addition, the wine list is great, the food is finally back on track and the bands on a Thursday night are of a really high standard.
The garden is not in operation yet (as the flats above are still not complete) and I admit it's a shame they lost the games room, but on the whole the Albert's staff and atmosphere have re-instated it as my favourite pub in the area. Give it another chance!
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Agree with Moose - this pub has declined so much that its not worth the bother. Maybe this is the plan of the owner- to make it unviable as a business so that they can sell it off.
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Following a recent visit I have revised my rating from a 9 to a 5. What made this pub attractive -the beer garden, pool tables, darts and good vibe- have been replaced by standard features that can be found in any pub. I used to really enjoy coming to the Prince Albert in the summer months but now I dont think I'll bother: in the words of one of my friends: its nothing special and certainly not worth spending premium pub prices on
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I think the pub company are more interested in the money they can make for the sale/ rent of the flats above the oub and are only continuing to provide a pub because they could not get change of use planning permission as the local authority rightly does not want to see local amenities removed. Oh dear what a dreadul pub it is though - go to the Canton, the Priory Arms or another pub instead - this pub is not worth going to
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I couldn't agree more with the last two posts. What a sad waste. In the space of a year this pub has gone from the best to the worst in the area. We used to come here 2 or 3 times a week and enjoyed the garden, the pool & darts, great food, good service and great atmosphere.
All of this is gone. There's also some joke of a 'manager' behind the bar who seems to care more about sneaking glances of himself in the mirror than serving customers, most of whom seem to have wisely gone elsewhere. I will be doing the same.
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Hey Guys
I am really disappointed to hear that the good ol' Albert has finally be turned into a the cr@p place as stated by gnuts. I used to work there from Dec 2004 to May 2005 and thought it was absolutely great except for some (I am sure that you could guess who they/he is.
I cant believe that they got rid of the pool tables especially for more accommodation (very bad accommodation I might add...1 working bathroom between 16 people) but I still loved the people!!!
Also sorry to hear about the food...I was a big fan of it and it was really good 90% of the time, what a shame!
What a damn waste of the best english pub I have never know!!
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Oh dear... What has happened. This is a classic case of putting profits above a good pub (when was it ever different you might ask?).
The revamp has stripped the pub of all the memorable features. The great upstairs games room with two pool tables has gone; the darts board has gone; the character of the pub area has gone - replaced by bland wall colour and spartan pictures; the food menu has pretty much gone; the fruit machines have gone; the nicely mixed clientele has gone; and most of all the jewel in the crown, a wonderful beer garden enclosed by high hedges has gone.
Why even bother keeping the pub downstairs?? Why not just convert the whole pub into flats. I understand that the landlord wanted to close the whole place, but I suspect planning permission wouldn't have been granted for a change of use due to the character of the pub.
The staff are still cheery and do a good job, but in the space of a year the pub has gone from being great to less than average.
Boo hoo. There are no other good pubs in the immediate area. The Fentiman is overpriced and full of sloanes; the Canton is dirty and serves terrible food. I think the Hanover is the only decent pub left; but certainly has its limitations.
gnuts - 16 Feb 2006 12:44 |
And the one member of bar staff seemed to be very overworked
anonymous - 21 Jan 2006 23:55 |
Defintely not as good as it used to be. They are still not serving food but they do have London Pride on tap
anonymous - 21 Jan 2006 23:53 |
And no real ales
anonymous - 17 Jan 2006 20:09 |
...But no food for two more weeks
Interior seems to be much the same as before but 'library' area seems to be more spacious
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Albert REOPENED on 23 December 2005 promising more of the same but better...
anonymous - 27 Dec 2005 21:00 |
Loss of the Albert being felt by those of us in the local area - now we are faced with Fentiman Arms or Canton Arms both of which arent as good as the Albert.
Pub seemed to be doing alright I thought - it always seemed to be fairly full when I went in on week nights. Does anyone know when its going to reopen?
anonymous - 23 Sep 2005 14:22 |
Apparently the owner actually wanted to shut the whole place and convert into flats but has not been allowed to - possibly as is an original pub in a character area. Explains why despite having the potential to be a complete winner (and still my favourite pub in the area) it still falls short of being consistently good.
Really needs someone who loves pubs to take over. Removing the upstairs room - with pool etc - is just scandalous
gnuts - 23 Sep 2005 14:02 |
Sadly its just closed down for a few months while they build flats above the pub - also means losing the pool tables upstairs :((((
This would be why the beers were running low..
Suggest as alternatives:
The Canton Arms (South Lambeth Rd)
The Fentiman Arms (Fentiman Rd)
The Greyhound (Clapham Rd)
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Agree staff can be very clueless
anonymous - 22 Jul 2005 10:00 |
Seemed to have let itself go a bit
On a recent visit of the nine or so draught beers available at least four were not available, food service was slow, house wine was dreadful and staff seemed to have little idea of what was going on.
Still a good pub - could just do with changes to make the staff a bit more reponsive to customer demands.
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Excellent pub, last time I had food it was surprisingly good despite the wait. Quite pricey, especially the �1.50 a game pool table!, but still good atmosphere and pretty much everything you'd want.
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What has happened recently? The food quality has gone markedly downhill (cold food anyone?).
This is still a great pub though. Let down purely by ever changing staff. Only the ever consistent staff (seen on weekends) sort you out.
gnuts - 29 Jun 2005 21:45 |
Good good good - only gripe is that staff turnover seems to be high and some of the staff seem to be better at their jobs than others
anonymous - 7 Apr 2005 17:39 |
Almost perfect local - if only had newspapers and more lights in the back 'library' area would be perfect. Agree with previous contributer that service can be a bit variable at times but on the whole v good.
anonymous - 14 Mar 2005 16:37 |
Service receives seems to be a bit variable - depends very much on which member of the bar staff takes your order as to how quickly you get served drinks.
Food can take a long time too - again seems to depend on who takes your order
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The Blues on a Thursday has been great. A really good double bass/harmonica(and vocals) combo are great.
Jim - 14 Oct 2004 16:22 |
Nice place but still a little quiet. Blues on Thursday night (excellent), free drinks first Friday of the month, very good food. Get down there.
CJ - 8 Oct 2004 17:32 |
beach volleyball, pool, darts, a library and a lovely ambience. what more do you want?
basey - 27 Jun 2004 08:59 |
Watch out for the occasional Friday night late openings when the pub is open to 1, with a disco playing top tunes, and they bring around trays of free shots - which seem like a good idea at the time but are can be a source of regret next morning - they ceratinly lead to a good night
Jaykay - 11 Jun 2004 11:34 |
Refurb has made it much better with food menu vastly improved. Including dj on selected nights and late opening to 1. Still retains 'library' facility at back and in the summer now there is a beach volleyball pitch in the back garden; hopefully bikini clad beauties will be there on the hot days
Simon - 7 May 2004 13:58 |
Quite good selection of bar games including darts and 3 pool tables!
ed - 17 Feb 2004 18:11 |
The food is really good. Although would agree with the previous comment, there are a few weirdo's in there that sit there saying nothing! However the pub is a lot better than it was. Hopefully more and more people will go, giving it a better atmosphere.
PT - 13 Feb 2004 13:31 |
Recently re-furbished, which was badly needed. Making a real effort to get people in. Yet to see what their menu will be like. Could be good competition to the Fentiman and Canton Arms.
JZ - 3 Jan 2004 13:24 |
