please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I notice the comments here are quite old. Public bar still a good old school boozer (haven't been here for many many years). Good quality pint of Youngs. Friendly barstaff. No more expensive than any other good boozer in St Albans, as far as I can see, and cheaper than the more up-themselves places.
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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.
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back a year later for next beer fest but this pub has priced its self out of the market at �3.80 for standard beers ( same price would get oakham black baron 8.8% at the nearby blacksmiths arms or �3 for more interesting ales )
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beer and sausage festival here this weekend;food very good and beer well kept 16 ales on, very clean , good friendly staff, mix of clientele, will return as i heard good things about sunday roasts.
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Beer is getting very pricey here. Now one of the most expensive in Snorbens, despite not even being in the town centre.
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No-nonsense boozer with a good local following. Beer is the dull products from Wells & Youngs. Might go back when the Winter Warmer is on.
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@manx_888: There is a bell in the lounge bar for attracting the attention of the staff, although admittedly this particular feature is not well advertised! The staff are generally efficient, although sometimes it is a bit understaffed which can lead to a longish wait, particularly if someone has to go change a barrel. In additon to the Wells offerings Youngs Bitter and Special are always on, and there is always a (frequently-changing) guest. Unfortunately Charles Wells never owned the car park opposite and had no say in it being sold for housing. The public car-park in Townsend Avenue is only a few yards away and is free in the evenings.
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Popular pub that is always full on football nights, sometimes too full as you can't get to the bar or if you can, the bar staff are chatting with locals and it can be difficult to attract their attention, especially if you are in the seperate lounge bar which is linked to the public bar by several steps. Beer quality is generally good though for what it is (I am no fan of Wells beers though) and I am told the food is pleasent although I haven't tried it myself. They used to have car parking opposite but this has now been sold for housing. There is a quiz night Tuesdays which is well patronised although the bar staff sometimes struggle with understanding or pronouncing the questions which can make things difficult when you are trying to work out the answer!
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Good honest pub handy for St.Albans football club which is where I was heading for after here. I wouldn't complain if the kick off had been postponed. It is the sort of pub it is difficult to leave. Friendly people inhabit the large public bar here and they come from all walks of life. Good beer I had Charlie Wells Eagle Bitter.....when in St. Albans go to this pub. there are unobtrusive TV screens for the footie and a decent food menu here. Any pub crawl of Snorbens ought to include this one.
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Decent boozer, good beer, good for watching England footie matches in this one!
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had sunday lunch here today very nice and very quick very friendly
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Haven't been in here for years & chose a day when the England rugby international was on the TV so the atmosphere was a bit strange! But there was a quieter bar with no TV so we could have escaped it if we wanted. Agree that it is probably more of a locals pub but was OK.
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Pretty decent locals pub. Attractive exterior and interior and a friendly welcoming barmaid.Don't normally rate the Wells-Youngs beers finding them a bit bland, but the Winter Warmer was excellent.Found the TVs in the public bar distracting, but were clearly popular with the locals. You ca escape to the quieter lounge.Was my first visit and would probably go back - the food looked pretty decent.
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Sorry, that should have been Everards Equinox in the last review.
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A Charles Wells pub with four hand pumps but a strange pricing policy. Eagle Equinox at 4.1% was a wallet busting �3.20 whilst the 3.8% Eagle IPA was �2.80. Perhaps like Fullers they charge a premium for �non-house� beers, either way it's an expensive place to drink. It�s a decent enough pub with a comfortable lounge bar to the right and a larger and livelier public bar with a number of TV�s showing live sport. Quite a diverse clientele and a friendly place if you don�t have a locals complex.
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Really good pub, even better since the refurb.
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In response to batchwood, I never mentioned anything about the manager and staff, so you my want to spend some of that hard earned money on some new reading glasses..
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Now re-opened after a complete refit. Hardly recognisable as the same pub. More beers, more extensive veggie-friendly menu and bar snacks, same friendly, energetic landlord and staff. If sludge doesn't like the footie supporters in the big bar, he can always go into the quiet, civilised snug bar: this is exactly why pubs always used to have two bars and why it's great that the JS still does.
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I have to say that as someone who has recently moved to the area and been welcomed by both the manager and his staff that the comments by Sludge are completely unfounded. The staff are warm and welcoming, the locals friendly and chatty and the beer and atmosphere add to the pleasent surroundings.
If the pub did have this sort of clientel I for one would not be going in there for a pint and would find another establishment to pass on my hard earned money to.
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Not a nice place and a lot more appealing now that it's closed. I can now walk past without copping 'hard man' stares from the clientele who sit outside comparing the stains on their 'Lampard' and 'Rooney' replica shirts.
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Currently closed under refurbishment. Due to open early July. Bringing the pub back to St Albans. Real ales, real furniture, real food for real people
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Popular with your usual footy fans and chav types. Landlord is a bit grumpy and the pub looks dated and tired, like the regulars who come here. Not sure if I'd want to eat here either after walking past and seeing the kitchen staff puffing away on their fags by the entrance..that put me off a little bit.
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Had a few in here after a xmas do - tremendous. Decent beer, and the elderly gent glaring at us all night because we were sat in "his" seat was an added bonus!
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Most of the negative comments about the Sailor are understandable, but Paul has been utterly transforming the place during his tenure so far, and the total refit which is imminent will complete the job.
Excellent beer, very friendly, lots of activities, good-value food every night. Tatty but not for much longer. Hard to fault the Jolly really.
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My friends love this place but I ahve to say I don't like it. It feels like drinking in a working man's club or the British Legion (how I would imagine them to be having never been in either). Pool table, darts etc for "sports" lovers. Drink in there is fine.
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This place has really grown on me in recent months. The non-smoking bar is quiet, comfortable and has a suitably maritime aspect (plenty of wood panelling etc.). The service is always excellent (try ringing the bell if no-one is behind the bar) and tasty, inexpensive food is available at lunchtimes and early evenings. What�s more, now that the dirty Digger has his grubby hands on English Test cricket coverage, the Jolly Sailor is a good place to watch the match, mercifully with the commentary turned off! Very good. 8/10
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I go in the non smoking side sometimes,it is quiet so they have a bell to for you to ring if you need serving ,and they always come in promptly.
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Others have mentioned the 'quiet' and 'morgue'-like non-smoking saloon bar. Perhaps this is because it's impossible to attract the bar-staff's attention from there. No service equals no customers: simple as that...
anonymous - 26 Jan 2007 09:16 |
The cricketers turned into a curry house just last year,over the last five years it was a pretty poor pub that had a sucession of poor managers,and finally an awful refit that killed it off.I expect it will return as pub one day when the trendy curry house thing finishes.( although did have a lovely curry in there last summer)
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I lived in St Albans in the late 80s and popped into this pub occasionally. But I must confess I am really posting here to ask what happened to the Cricketers round the corner? It was my local back then when I was but a young lad! It doesn't seem to exist anymore as far as I can see and I'm curious as to what happened to it. Can anyone say whether or not it's still going or what happened to it?
anonymous - 18 Jan 2007 16:03 |
I like this pub,traditional well run,well kept beer,including a regular guest and now have a decent telly to watch the football.Also note the quiet saloon is no smoking.
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Nice atmosphere, Bombardier well kept.
Singer on Sunday eves (Alexis).
Quiz on Tuesdays.
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Quite a good all-round pub. A bit boisterous when the footie's on the telly, but everyone's friendly enough.
There are 3 real ales as well as the usual lagers etc, and a good, varied menu 7 days a week.
The decor is a bit drab, but that's a minor quibble really. An easy 7/10.
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Nothing special, clientelle and staff were fairly friendly but could do with a refit though.
anonymous - 30 May 2006 17:36 |
No smoking lounge bar and smoking bar with pool sport and music. meets all needs excellant. Good range of beers
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Pub has changed hands at the turn of the year. New landlord is ex O'neill's / beehive landlord and has transformed the place. Excellent to watch sport or just chill out. good sounds played and food soon available. Don't take my word for it try it out
anonymous - 29 Apr 2006 22:56 |
Two bars, and never the twain shall meet. This can create problems if you're in the "snug" and the barstaff are engrossed in Sky Sports in the other bar. But it's a nice enough pub, and the available beers are a most interesting selection of Bombardier, Ice Breaker (4% wheat beer) and Eagle IPA. Worth a visit if you're passing by.
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sort of boozer we are running out of,good beer,darts ,pool and no prentension.
anonymous - 31 Aug 2005 14:50 |
Bit of an old mans pub. A bit run down, but locals are friendly enough. The front no-smoking bar is like a morgue.
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Pretty rough when I went in, friendly enough, just run down.
Has a pool table
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i play darts there and they do very good food after the match is finshed the land lord is very nice he also likes to play cribbage aswell and he poors very nice beers
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Dull. Beer ok, nothing much to recommend it. Once got chastised for moving during a darts match... someone told me that their front bar is now non-smoking, but I haven't been to confirm.
Allan Stewart - 18 Mar 2004 01:00 |
small, manky, but with atmosphere... lovely staff (family owned). Can be a nice place for a beer'n'chat. Avoid the Theatre Breaks staff though...
Melanie - 29 Apr 2003 23:14 |
