please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Good grief, why would you come here?
A lack of atmosphere and not a place to have a drink, after all, it is an hotel and not a pub.
One beer was in the process of being changed, so I had the Oakham's Scarlet Macaw.
This was in a worse state than the one being cleaned. I advised the staff to make this their next job.
So it was a pint of Gold Bear's Ford Prefect. The replacement ale was 3 Brewers Mild.
Although a good choice of real ale I suspect it needs to be consumed quicker to avoid going off.
The range of food choice is poor. I was charged a £3.50 service charge just for the bar-girl to type in my order.
I told her she can take that off (which she did).
A barman was also present but between them English was not their first language.
Maybe okay for a resident late evening, otherwise not for the general public.
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This was the 9th of our 11 pubs on our crawl around St Albans, and I really liked it. And that's not due to any clouded judgement either. The wood-panelled side bar was really cosy and traditional. The house bitter was superb. The bar staff were friendly and chatty. In the next bar there was a wedding reception with some really good vibes. I'll definitely come back here.
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Was our base on recent trip to SA. Couldn't fault the accommodation (bit pricey, but you're paying for the history and closeness to the abbey etc). Great breakfast. Serve residents till early hours.
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I would never have thought to go in this place looking at it from the outside, especially as there are so many great pubs in St Albans but a friend took me in and I would definitely recommend it.
Don't be fooled by the outside, once indoors there is a real traditional pub feel to the place and not the hotel-bar type atmosphere I thought it might have. My friend and I sat in those two golden thrones, excellent place to enjoy a nice pint.
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18 of us gathered here for a friend's birthday meal for which they set up a long table in the atmospheric back room. I wasn't involved in the arrangements but as far as I could tell nothing was too much trouble for the friendly and attractive staff. The food was excellent without being showy, just what you'd hope from an above-average pub restaurant.
Before and after we spent time in the cosy 2-room front bar. Landlord Christan was a godsend for this beer drinker - insisted that I try each of the THREE IPAs on tap (Brewdog Punk, Adnams American and a citrussy, super-hoppy 6% Oakhams Green Devil) but was also happy to run to the cellar to draw a lifesaving pint of weaker beer later on! Late licence for residents, though they seemed pretty liberal with it for everyone there.
As a bunch of friends and family generally 35 and older it was exactly what we wanted. Not to everyone's taste, but I wish it was nearer where I live.
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in today, 4 guest beers on including there exclusive house ale;prices reasonable for location and camra discount here. friendly helpful staff,food looks good,nice place for a read or chat.
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Pub no 19
Nice pub
Ok beer
Ok service
VERY expensive
5/10 (not recommended)
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popped in last week and was pleased to see adnams/brewdog and 2 other beers on ,had old rosie cider �4.20 a pint;price made up for though as i got to sit in a gold throne whilst drinking it in the back bar and stared at a suit of armour as others had cream teas.
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Don't know why but there is no atmosphere here.
Strange because it is a listed old coaching inn reputably haunted.
The staff are friendly the beer always good and my wife considers it her favourite pub in St.Albans so why is it half empty whenever I go in? Anyway when in St.Albans do go in and if you live here please visit....you will not be disappointed. Deserves to be more popular.
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The place is going through some changes... They are trying to put a fancy restaurant in the back. Bar area is cosy. Beers OK. Atmosphere lacking.
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This certainly looks the part - the front bars are wood panelled all over and look like they haven't changed in a while, although some more generic modern features do intrude. Sadly, the beer didn't measure up to the surrounds: four real ales available, which I suspect is probably too many to keep at good quality. We opted for Canary Pale Ale, from the Green Jack brewery: it tasted rather tired and was served too cold. I'd suggest cutting down to maybe two ales and focusing on how they are served.
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Pretty, well completely, dead when we visited. Beer OK, food took forever, a shame as the building / location are good.
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lovely old building, nice food and polite staff. dogs are allowed, and its a great place to escpae the crowds and traffic in st albans.
not too dear either, unlike the grossly priced overdraught..
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Service ok, beer is reasonable. Could do with a bit more atmosphere though.
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Don't know how this one has managed to avoid getting into Bite for so long. Traditional coaching inn , the front part certainly hasn't changed in decades, so it's avoided the refurbishers as well as Bite. Beer range fine, good mix of customers, well worth a look.
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