please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Beehive was another new St Albans pub for me on our short tour of the city's hostelries yesterday. Similar to the Farmers Boy, it had the rugby on TVs. But there was much more space to enjoy a drink here and there were also more staff serving. The 3 ales were Tring Side Pocket For A Toad & Ridgeway & Wadworth 6X. Friendly enough place. But it did feel a bit too modern for my liking.
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Just got back from a lively evening at the Bee Hive. A man is seen being gunned down on TV. A man struggles against a machine that he is strapped to; He grabs a man's neck. This continues until an assistant repeatedly injects him with a sedative. A man kills four other men by breaking their necks and shooting them; He grabs one, puts a gun to his back, and fires, making a bloody bullet wound in his chest. He then shoots another who flies back and leaves a bloody smear on the wall. He also hits a man in the face, causing blood to spurt out. A man uses an innocent bystander as a human shield; The man is shot many times, leaving a bloody mess. A man shoots and kills three men at the top of an escalator; Gory wounds are seen as they are shot. A man throws a bloody corpse at two other men. A woman shoots a man repeatedly with a machine gun; Bloody wounds are seen and he falls to the floor. A man shoots a woman in the head; Blood is seen leaking from a bullet wound. Two women fight, punching and kicking each other.
A woman charges at a man and stabs him with a knife; We see his face contort in pain and he screams. Later, he is seen dead, with a lot of blood on his clothes. A woman is shot in the chest; Blood splatters onto some TVs behind her. A woman is shot in the back and dies. A man is shot in the chest/shoulder, wounding him.
Many people are seen passing out due to a lack of oxygen. Two men fight on an elevator; One of them holds the other off of the elevator, which gorily slices both of his arms off. You can see him falling, with bloody stumps where his arms used to be. The man who held him off throws his arms away.
A man has his head bashed by a rod causing a bloody mess or cuts on his face. Another man is hit by the same rod but it pierces through his neck causing blood to spurt out violently. A man gets a drill put through him, you don't see this but the you see the drill covered in blood after being in the victims body.
The beer was good and the atmosphere excellent, but expect an action packed time.
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This place is ok but nothing special. Same goes for the beer choice. On the expensive side.
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Refurbished town centre local. The 11th venue on our 11 pub crawl round St Albans. I can't remember much except it had real ale, but I went for a Bloody Mary, and appreciated the fact that the barmaid gave me the ingredients and let me make it myself - it was excellent. Pub was OK but didn't stand out. The nearby White Hart Hotel and White Hart Tap are preferable.
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Lovely boozer. All walks of life frequent .. and all ages. You can have a great band on a Saturday , or a DJ night which is rare for St Albans. Land lord seems active in the real ale side of it. So if you need some funky house with a few hobgoblins you will love it lol.
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Only worth visiting if you dont have skysports
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This place on London Road has gone through the hoops over the years. It used to be the meeting place (in a room upstairs) for the St. Albans branch of the Socialist Workers Party. It had a spell has 'the place to be' for students & teenagers in the late 80's. Now it's rather large & neglected during the afternoon - but it does have the excellent White Hart Tap to compete with down the road. The barmaid told me, though, that last Saturday night it was so busy they completely ran out of glasses. Barman 'C' has just moved here from the Blacksmiths Arms, so the atmosphere will soon get a bit better.
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Serves til 12 on a Friday, a mix of cocaine youth and fuddy duddys...wipe your feet when you leave...
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This pub condones the sale of fake dvds in its pub and the beating up of people who oppose this.
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Soulless pubco pub. OK if you like that sort of thing.
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Dodgy bar man has moved on to O'Neills. Bar still terrible.
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Feels like a real pub that could be in a chain. Thought food was pricey but beer ok. Lots of tv screens so if you want to watch sports its a good place to go. Never been in evening so can't comment about then.
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Attended the music quiz on a Monday night at this pub. The quiz was excellent, and I quite liked the pub: three ales, and the Black Sheep wasn't at all bad. I was less impressed by the food: it's reasonably good value, but ultimately pretty basic pub grub. The interior of the pub was roomy, but perhaps a bit featureless.
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I popped my head around the door on sat night - it was dead. All the rugby/football crowd must have gone by then. This WAS a decent pub - years ago.
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Been back to The Beehive, absolutely rammed for rugby and football, but still got served a decent pint of black sheep in good time. Looks like the quiz has moved to monday nights, curry nights on wednesday, and steak night on thursday.
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had a roast dinner here a few months back very nice would come again
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Reasonable pub, beer OK, food OK, but there's better close by
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unfortunately they've brought back that crap music quiz on a Tuesday...stay clear..the dj is a t****r
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not particularly busy at the moment, but then new boss id trying new things out, which is good to see!
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Went in last Friday night. They had a DJ for someones birthday. Music was great and the atmosphere was lively. Great music, Great beer. This back street boozer is definately on the turn.
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Not really a ringing endorsement, then. I'll skip this. a pub from the past.
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Been in again this week and it's a bit better but quiet. Looks like the new landlord is trying to tidy it up and get things happening again. there is signs for a dj and quiz night so hopefully will get busier. Bitter was excellent this time, all three on offer (Bombadier, Adnams and Duchers) and decent price unlike some down the road. Might give this boozer another try soon.
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Not very impressed. went in a couple of fridays ago and had to wait 10 mins to be served!! Bombadier on tap was ok but not worth the wait. been in on different occasions now and not all as bad, however is lacking something? Rumour has it that a new manager is taking over soon? I love bar staff gossip. Hopefully for the better.
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not atmosphere
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What was that white powder on the toilet cistern, cif or flash?
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I am the person who was attacked here at Easter. I complained about people selling fake dvds. My punishment was to be repeatedly kneed at the back of the leg. i have not had proper movement since then
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By the way, where's Hertsboy gone?
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Correction hertsboy, they HAD that in the Gari. It's gone now. Does ANYONE listen to RV??
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radio verulum...aaagghhh1 They have that on in the Garibaldi.
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see stonch.blogspot.com
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The Hertsboy pub would be raised from the dying embers of the Beehive and would have the following:-
- 6 real ales + the usual lagers, Guinness etc
- No cocktails
- No Radio Verulam
- Strict over-18s policy (to stop my sons from gatecrashing :-)
- Comments/Suggestions book
- Wicked food
- Clean toilets
- Polite barstaff (including that guy from the Arctic Monkeys! I know who you're referring to, and he's a good lad).
Er, that'll do for now. It would give the other pubs a run for their money, anyway.
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terryadinfintum. the hertsboy, i like the sound of that!
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This pub is DEAD. I know somebody who was there on Saturday night and there were only about 10 people in the pub, including bar staff!
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I'm thinking of opening a pub called The Hertsboy. His omnipresence and sharing of opinions on BITE is quite useful overall. For myself, I've never seen any trouble or DVD swapping in the Beehive, and some of my mates rave about it. (They're very law-abiding by the way.) I just think it's rather average, and the Bombardier ale is nothing special.
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the beating up of a guy on that Good Friday is not acceptable either. He should have done what I would have done in that situation - said nothing and reported them anonymously to the police/trding standards.
Hertsboy....in a St Albans pub near you! Don't do anything you shouldn't!!
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The ubiquitous hertsboy here.When I first started to go drinking about 5-6 years ago this was an ok pub. it has gone downhill since then. Here's why.
1)too expensive and too limited a range of drink
2)the refurb was a mistake. it lost its old charm
3)It doesn't know who to appeal to and in the end appeals to very few.
4)the bar staff/management not as nice as before.
If people think it's okay to sell fake dvds in pubs think about this
a)it is taking a business away from legitimate sellers of dvds.(pubs can't be on the moral high ground regarding supermarkets making them go out of business if they do the same with dvd sellers)
b)often what is sold is porn
c)picture/sound quality is poor 9for those who aren't persuaded by moral arguments.)
The bar man of this pub could look like the lead singer of the Artic monkeys if he plastered himself with foundation/concealer. ouch!
b)
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I vote for the barman who looks like the lead singer from the Arctic Monkeys! He's cool.
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The Good Friday incident reported below by the ubiquitous Hertsboy was, I hope, a one-off. I popped in here last night (Saturday) with some friends and the pub was fair enough. Good buzzin' atmosphere, beers OK and the barstaff were reasonably attentive (although could try a bit harder). I have also experienced some very good food in this place. So ... not bad at the moment, but surrounded by strong competitors. 7/10
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The police were called to this pub on Good Friday. the bar man allowed a chinese man to sell fake dvds. A customer intervened and was beaten up by customers - under the nose of the bar man.
this pub should lose its license.
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I was here on Saturday night with a few mates. It has gone downhill even further since my last visit! A zero rating!
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Used to be a great great pub. A really sad day when it was refurbed into a bland nothingness
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This used to be one of the dirtiest pubs I'd ever seen. It's now condsiderably cleaner but not much improved in any other way. There's nothing much wrong with it but nothing hugely right either. You can get a late drink here without being surrounded by the type of egregious ringpiece attracted to some of the other late boozers in town and the garden's big for the summer but it's pretty average.
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This pub has had a number of management changes, revamps and renovations over the past few years with the result that it has no real identity. Decent and popular pub for watching sports, well kept real ales, even if they are not that inspiring, and a nice patio area outside which is poplar in the Summer. Used to be a real dive, it�s an OK pub now but you need to have something special in St Albans with its many excellent pubs.
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Lack of atmosphere since refurb. Actually this pub has being going downhill over the years.
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Now no Strongbow on tap. Just wrong, quite frankly.
anonymous - 24 Jul 2007 11:07 |
I think this pub is in "Tall Toad" mode. Let me explain.
1 There was once a pub in Brighton called Cheers. It was noisy, smokey, down-to-earth, but very popular.
2 It was suddenly sold, renovated and turned into a bar called The Tall Toad. This was clean, sanitised, smoke-free and totally without any customers.
3 The Tall Toad went out of business and a pub came back, known as the Branch Tavern. Like it or not, the pub was a success and as far as I know still thrives today.
Aesop's fable here? If there's no market there'll be no buyers. I fear that the Beehive has moved from stage 1 (above) to stage 2. What happens next? Oh dear oh dear oh dear.
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The 'renovation' has ruined the place. I shall have to look further afield for a drinking den which will entail at least a further 40 yards walking. Bad times indeed.
anonymous - 4 Jul 2007 09:51 |
Following any pub makeover, the key to its intentions lies in the music that gets played. Yesterday was a dire, 80s, Thatcherite dirge of Spandau Ballet, the Blow Monkeys and (agh!) Barry Manilow playing to a small group of 30-something males dressed in ludicrous shorts. So far so Mokoko.
But credit where it's due. The staff are as welcoming and diligent as ever, the menu looked fine tho' I didn't sample it, and there was a reasonable choice of drinks. And of course the pub's been cleaned up - good! If this is what the punters want then fair enough.
But this particular punter headed instead to the welcoming embrace of the Garibaldi, White Lion and Boot, of which more anon.
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Not renovated - devastated! It needed a clean, but not every ounce of character removed. Now just another St Albans clone pub. Even the sign has gone! (like me now). Shame - the staff seem friendly!
anonymous - 30 Jun 2007 15:49 |
Have people's prayers been answered? This pub is under new ownership and currently being renovated.
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Went there on Friday night. It's a dump, no other way to describe it, dark and dirty. While I was there a large group was asked to leave the garden for bringing in cans - that's the kind of people who drink there. Staff are very friendly and drink is reasonably cheap. The Guinness is the worst I've ever had, it doesn't taste like anything I've ever drank before! Toilets could do with a clean. I bet that when the smoking ban comes in it will struggle because the smell of smoke is masking a lot of odours!
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Rather jolly. But being a dalek I felt a bit out of place last night, when most people were dressed in school uniforms. Aren't human beings strange! But I slurped some Adnams Broadside and that was quite nice.
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Good music in this pub! The food's good, the beer's OK (nothing special), and most days there's a good atmosphere here and you can just be yourself. Some St Albans pubs are a bit uptight and neurotic, but this one isn't. Avoid when there's a big footie match on the telly, but otherwise pop in.
PS Every time I'm in here "Over Rising" by The Charlatans gets played at least once. I find that a bit spooky.
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I paid �2.39 for a pint of Bombardier in here yesterday! It's always nice when a pub doesn't automatically "round up" its prices to the next 10p. Good food menu too, although this isn't the best pub in the area.
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Used to be pretty good, homemade flavoured vodkas etc. Now it seems to be on a downward spiral.... PULL UP, PULL UP!
Alright for watching the football if you are in that part of town, otherwise dont bother....
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A bottle of Demestos and a cloth wouldn't go astray. Terrible Guinness (even by English standards).
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This was a brilliant pub ... till it changed owners. Now it looks (and feels) more like a trendy wine bar. Pitty.
anonymous - 25 Jan 2007 21:02 |
Always worth a visit. Good mix of locals, 'different' teenagers, lads and girls on the razz and people having a couple of quiet pints.
They ditched the excellent juke box for Sky TV, but now they show football so I can't complain.
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Yes, pegerton, but come off it!
P Egerton is the licensee at the Jolly Sailor. Coincidence? Hardly.
anonymous - 14 Jul 2006 21:11 |
has improved under new manager and is getting more like good old days when Paul used to run it (Believe he now owns the Jolly Sailor so must visit that). Nice beer garden
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Oh dear, I've heard many stories of The BeeHive ... and I guess they live on in the student population there - which now is at the swotty end of student (and swotty rebel in the garden) and damn are the bar staff snappy!
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This pub is OK. I have drunk some exceptionally good Adnams in here and most other customers seem to be enjoying themselves.
anonymous - 30 Jan 2006 20:27 |
Great pub, easy to get served...good staff and the crowd is friendly enough as well.
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The Bee Hive. St. Albans institution. It's gone downhill a bit lately from the really good old days, but it's still the place to go on a Friday night and bump into most of the people who I still know in St. Albans. Cheap drinks, incredible garden.. it's just a shame what they've done to the indoors bit. Possibly the best ceiling in the world is now dull and white. Funny to think I've been coming here for the last 8 years. Definately still the best 'lively' pub in St. Albans
anonymous - 14 Oct 2005 14:14 |
The service at this pub is apalling. It took over 20 minutes to take my order and over an hour to receive my food which did not come at the same time as the people i came with. There was no apology and the "manager" of the day was very rude and argumentative. The food was not worth waiting for but was edible.
anonymous - 13 Jun 2005 10:14 |
I agree with Little Martin and the Rubbertoe-man!
(See you two next week!)
maladie-de-la-vache-folle - 22 Sep 2004 00:48 |
argh! has it been refurbished? used to be a favourite! gorgeous rock dudes, and yes being able to have your own cd on the jukebox was class!!! noooo! what a shame =(
Mel - 7 Sep 2004 16:54 |
Having been drinking in the Beehive for over 10 years I have seen the place go from sawdust on the floor place where you could really relax to somewhere heading upmarket.....so if that's the case can we have some locks on the toilet doors and a toilet seat in the left hand gents toilet....it's been broken for months....
Like the idea of the free �20 round on a Friday night at 6, 7 and 8pm
Alan Laing - 23 Jul 2004 15:03 |
Getting better each and every day! Got excellent food and cheap drinks menu!
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Place has improved a lot since the change of landlords. Good food, cheap drinks (compared to the rest of st albans!) and drinks promotions every now and again.
Little Martin - 23 Jul 2004 14:42 |
used to be the best pub in the world! I worked there for three years and there was a real sense of comunity. people could put their own CDs on the jukebox! referb has cleaned the place up but the atmosphere has been lost as a consequence. Still, nice enough.
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Since the refurb the place has been lighter and cleaner - lost a bit of the 'grungy' atmostphere in the process but still friendly - and at least you can now breathe the air. Live DJs on Friday used to be quite dance-driven - now a bit funkier. Only problem is that they've stopped doing Miller and the bitter is often off.
Richard - 29 Mar 2004 23:49 |
Often brash loud music, cliquey clientelle, probably good for late teens to early 30s.
Allan Stewart - 18 Mar 2004 00:47 |
Quite a big place, decent jukebox for younger people (I am a student), bar staff very friendly, but dodgy pints
dpiom - 11 Mar 2004 20:14 |
It's under new management and has recently been done up. There is a good atmosphere and sometimes live djs at the weekend. At weekends the place is usually packed so it sometimes takes a while to get served at the bar but the people are friendly and it's usually a good night out.
anonymous - 29 Dec 2003 17:17 |
Cool place. Under new managment and the bar staff make the place more vibrant. The atmoshere is most sincere in the whole of Hertfordshire. In the pubs i have drunk in, i find a virsitile crowd where everyone gets along. Good week ends !!!
Carlos - 28 Dec 2003 19:53 |
Suffers from its design and positioning which means that the few low windows attract almost no sunlight. A dull and dreary pub, might well get busy in the evenings, but for me it's the sort of pub that I decide only to have a half in as soon as I walk through the door.
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One of my favourites. This pub has a buzzing atmosphere and great music. Also outdoor area with table tennis. Quite studenty though...
Melanie - 29 Apr 2003 22:40 |
