please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Good looking gastro-pub sited a safe distance from the main drag. The sterile atmosphere was made up for by extra friendly service, and there were two good ales on alongside fancy lager and mulled cider. However, this pub is so arse-achingly expensive that I could never recommend casual drinkers to visit. I'm no tightwad, but I resent paying over �4 for a pint of beer.
Also I wouldn't bother trying to strike up any conversation with the 'locals'. There were a few couples picking at their meals like forensic food critics, and a tragic middle aged man in designer knitwear playing a game on his phone.
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Attractive corner pub with green tiling on the outside and large Charrington windows. The interior has lots of wood panelling. But the windows on 2 sides allow plenty of daylight in. 4 handpulls are available and I guess that they normally stock Youngs Special, Wells Bombardier and 2 guests. However on our Monday evening visit, there were no ales on at all. I can only assume that all had sold out during a beer festival they had held over the weekend. Addlestones is the only cider of note. Although the barman did say that they used to hold a couple of real ciders in polycasks on the bar. He said there may be plans to re-introduce these at a later date. A bit of a disappointment after visiting the Southampton Arms. But I will bear this one in mind if ever in need of liquid refreshment when I'm in Camden.
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The beer, black sheep, was good here but the food left much to be desired. Old, reheated and over cooked with poor, grumpy service . Shame as it is a good location and nice building. G
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Reasonable selection of ales including Black Sheep and Ruby Mild. Decent-sized space and doesn't seem to be totally given over to dining although there does seem to be a slant in that direction. Toilets are very clean which may seem a funny thing to post but it's sometimes quite a rare thing to find. Bar man called last orders at 10.30am though which is a bit odd. I know it was quieter and he was probably keen to get home but I'm sure he was being paid until the pub shuts so you have to stick it out!
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I popped in just before xmas. A decent range of ale's were available and the service was good. The interior is nice and clean.
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Good for what it is - that being a gastropub of the Camden Luvvies variety. Have to say the beer was top form (Redemption Pale) and it is better than many others of the genre. Not really a pub as such though. Nice enough and I would have an ale there again but wouldn't be a place I'd make a night of it.
anonymous - 29 Oct 2010 18:11 |
Quite a nicely redecoraded old venue, good range of beers and nicely organised pub quizz on sunday evenings.
The food menu is more like a middle range restaurant menu rather than a pub one...
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So once again a Noog has a birthday and there was much to Noog, and lo, this was the place to visit. Have been here twice before so have a good view of the gaff now.
Nice open interior, and quite quiet as it's well away from the skanks that fill most Camden boozers. Its a bit Gastro-ey, but not smack you in the face so. Upstairs is laid as a resturant with tables and stuff. Some even have drawers in which to hide knifes and forks if the whim takes your fancy.
Beer: Redemption ale was supped by all, and there was happiness. After a while (10 pints perhaps) someone got a cloudy one, but this was replaced and the necessary work was carried out to change/clean/whatever. Overall a good pint of sessiony stuff that seems looked after. Tasty.
Food stuff: Hello, this is rather nice, and a right proper bargain if you have a 2for1 voucher meaning mains are about a fiver. Triple fried chips no less! That's Noog joy you can hear.
Staff were actually friendly, so not sure what the others are chattering on about.... As for the MTV people and their review, can you *please* just stop fulfilling your naff snorty stereotype everywhere you go? It's sooooooo 1996. Tsk..... luckily none on the night we went......
Verdict: Enjoyed. Return likely.
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Quite an awful experience!
Bar staff were pretty bad with no enthusiasm or sense of urgency.
Nice selection of Ale's but badly kept! It's first time i've had to get a refund on an ale in London and i've lived here for 6 years!
Weird atmosphere as if the clientele had been paid to be there, very sterile!
Won't bother stopping here again!
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As well as Twickenham ales they are now stocking the brews from the new Redemption brewery in Tottenham. Obviously if you have a brewery beggining with a T and ending with ham they will sell it .
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Had a truly memorable time here on New Year's Eve (and for all the right reasons, I hasten to add).
Food was excellent as was the service and whilst I enjoyed the wine cellar on the evening, my partner was on the ale concentrating on the Strong & Dark (Twickenham Brewery), that he reported to be very good.
Party games and a quiz were the order of the night, and whilst our grey matter didn't quite compare to some (so no prizes for us!!) we did have a wonderful time and made new friends (those we tried to copy off - which was most tables, to be fair).
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This is one of my regular and favourite haunts when I'm down in Camden, and I had the distinct misfortune of being in the Albert when the MTV crowd were in there a while before Christmas (as described below in another post).
Whilst I fully appreciate that Christmas is a time for parties and general frivolity, I would find it very difficult to describe the MTV crowd as anything other than base animals.
I was booked into the restaurant with my elderly parents, and the entire evening was wrecked by the behaviour of a minority of their party, who seemed to feel as though they could carry on as they saw fit to the detriment of everyone else around. Quite how the police weren't called is a bit of a mystery. If I had been working there I would have thrown them out very early on. They were simply disgusting, and we were certainly not the only people to feel this way - I saw a number of others voicing their concerns about their behaviour.
Perhaps their very frequent visits to the toilet and a sprinkling of something other than snow put them in a particularly aggressive and very disruptive mood.
Not only did a number of them square up to the manager, who appeared to be handling the situation very well, I might add, but when we left the restaurant and came down to the bar area, they verbally abused my elderly mother who was forced to leave in tears.
If this is what constitutes a good night out for these people, perhaps they should chose to go elsewhere in future, as I'm sure that none of the other patrons that night felt their debauched behaviour was particularly amusing or pleasant.
After discussing the incident the next day on the telphone with the Albert we received a voucher for a free meal for four, which was fair in my opinion, however I feel that perhaps it should have been the MTV shower that should have paid for this....Disgusting people!
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Our time at this venue should have been filled with happy memories of a wonderful Christmas/Leaving party for one of our MTV colleagues who is returning to Oz/NZ. We were a party of 17 having drinks downstairs before heading upstairs to the restaurant section for dinner (which we had pre-booked), followed by a return downstairs for further drinks and fun. However...
...Unless you are a relatively inexperienced restauranteur/publican you would surely expect a party of this size to be rumbustious and out for a fun evening of enjoyment and frivolity. Under the circumstances, perhaps it would be wise when taking the money from such a large party, to accept that they are unlikely to be mute and akin to attendees of a prayer meeting???
We were greeted from the outset as though we were in the wrong establishment. Pained expressions from the waiting staff suggested that we were not entirely welcome (unless perhaps we sat like church mice and politely observed that this is an establishment which plays on its gastropub credentials and is a cut above the usual Camden hostelry). Well frankly, it's not a cut above anything in the vicinity, or anywhere else!
The food is decidedly average. The service mixed to say the very least and the attitude of the staff maudlin and barely tolerant. I do not enjoy being tolerated. It is intolerable (as Stephen Sondheim once observed). Hostility should not be an integral part of hostelry. Being told that you should quieten down because you are upsetting other patrons (a Quaker-like table of 4 in an otherwise empty room) is utterly ridiculous. Being forced to engage in a discussion about the levels of raucousness and enjoyment which are acceptable is ridiculous. Being corralled downstairs to a holding area (from which other patrons were quickly ushered without any clear explanation given to them) is equally ridiculous.
Thank goodness everyone in the party was intent on making the most of our time together and enjoying eachother's company, otherwise the atmosphere in this pub would have ruined the evening. It was disappointing that such a fuss and nonsense was made. An effort to appreciate the reasons for the gathering (which were communicated quite clearly in advance) and a little buy-in from the staff instead of pervading an air of frostiness would have been a fantastic boon, but alas it was not in evidence. I worked in hotels for over 10 years, and possessing that archive of knowledge and experience enables me to say with some confidence that this outfit could have done a lot better. We were not swinging from the chandeliers, breaking furniture, smashing glasses or engaged in strip routines on the bar counter. No police were called. There was no food fight. We weren't telling bawdy jokes at the top of our lungs.
Prince Albert, get a life. Lighten up and accept that you are a venue for entertainment and enjoyment, not a police cell, a school room or a church.
It gets one point - because the toilets were clean!
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Great outside, really bland inside. Tick box wannabe gastropub menu. Im not trying to be overly harsh because there is nothing really bad about it, it just doesn't appeal to me in any way.
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I like this place.
Alright, it may not sit comfortably in the 'pub' category and would probably describe itself more as a 'gastropub', but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The area already has The Golden Lion, Constitution and Camden Arms no more than 50m away, and so is more than adequately provided for in that respect.
The Albert, on the other hand, appears to have chosen to concentrate more on food, and it's pretty decent stuff. My self and my wife ate there last Thursday and both ate from the set menu that offered two courses for �9, and represented excellent value for what we ate.
So in the context of the area, The Prince Albert fills a very real gap, in my opinion. They also really do have some of the best restrooms in the area.
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They have just had a very nice beer festival featuring eight ales , three bitters , three golden ales, a wheat beer and a porter . The Kentish Reserve was superb as was Dr John's Panacea and the Orange Wheat beer . The toilets are probaly the best in Camden .
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Not a bad pub but not cheap! Bought a pint of Tuborg and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and it cost �9.55! That was �6 for a 175 ml glass of white wine, so that puts this in the "too expensive for a pub" category in my book! Not even a large glass. I assume they sell a lot of food!
GaryM - 15 Jun 2009 19:29 |
A few seconds walk from the Constitution, the Prince Albert initially looks like �Trad Pub +� what with its wonderful Charrington�s branded green tiling, which I guess must be around 100-odd years old. So I had high hopes for the place as I crossed the threshold, a nice outside front garden with a well-developed hedge to separate it from the road.
Once inside, the first thing I noticed was the place has taken a turn towards pub bistro food � the clientele were a rather more yuppie lot than those I�d just left behind at the last place, plus the pump music was of the trendy muzak kind. The interior is clearly quite new, though a couple of older features remain and at least it isn�t an IKEA-pine refit bar.
There were three ale pumps (one was off) serving Black Sheep and Downton Mild as well as an impressive array of lagers. Sadly, both of the ales were expensive (�3.30 p/p!) and both were hazy, with the mild in particular not tasting great. I suspect that the Mild was at the bottom of the barrel and the Black Sheep hadn�t dropped properly � very poor cellarmanship!
The menu sounded nice, pricing average for the area (give me a falafel wrap from the takeaway opposite the tube station any day!). I noticed over my reading that the couple opposite me were having an issue with the food � wrong order I think. So I didn�t get a great impression of that.
The toilets were pretty fabulous though, well-worth a visit.
Overall I�d say stop here once, grab half a lager which gives you a few minutes to admire the exterior and use then quickly use the top-notch facilities before moving on.
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This is almost a great pub...almost. I made two visits over the weekend and had a pint of Black Sheep Bitter on my first visit. It was on the turn, cloudy and a hint of sourness. On my second visit I tried the Lurcher Stout. This was a tasty pint, but there was so much sediment in the beer, a friend suggested I filtered it thorough a serviette! Sunday lunch was a tad expensive, and not very hot! There was no vegetarian roast on offer, and in spite of a blackboard and table menu offering chips, they are not available on Sundays! Better cellarmanship and slightly better food supervision would make this pub excellent.
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great grub and the beers not bad either!
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Nice and airy interior, laid back atmosphere. However, utterly disappointing dining experience. At �9.99 the beef burger and chips better be the best in Camden but they are clearly not. Average at best, and coming at a size that one would expect off a children's menu. Good selection of beers, but again massively overpriced. Nearby Grand Union is poncy and not my first choice of pubs in the area but at least they do burgers that are worth their money.
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I was disappointed upon entering as the frontage led me to believe that this was a good old traditional pub rather than an up itself gastro. The barman got my pint wrong and a barmaid tutted at me when I sat down at a table she was about to clean. When I apologised and stepped away from the table, as I hadn�t seen her loitering behind me, she walked off as if she hadn�t heard me. Maybe she is a little mutton!
Broadside, West Berks Full Circle, Black Sheep, Tuborg, Ichiban, Addlestones, Carlsberg, Staropramen and Stella were all available from the bar, although it may be pot luck as to which one you receive.
I found there to be no atmosphere to speak of (early Friday evening) and I wouldn�t be returning even if the service was 100% better.
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I find the other reviews a bit odd, particularly about the restaurant food. I've eaten there twice in an evening and, apart from it being a little bit cold by the window, had a lovely time. The service the first time was great, a little less great the second time, but the food was excellent both times. And I'm vegetarian so normally complain heartily about the lack of invention at pubs and restaurants. Yes it's expensive (I probably wouldn't bother with the bar snacks for that price) but personally I thought it worth it. My friends tell me that the Sunday roast is even better although I'm yet to experience that. I thought that cost-wise for beers at least, it's on a par with most other places in the area. I shall certainly be going back. Next Sunday in fact, to try the brunch.
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I like this pub for a few drinks in the week or on the weekend if you dont fancy somewhere mega busy and loud in Camden....
2 for 1 food on a Monday is a bargain for the price. Unlike a couple of reviews on here I think they food is generally v good, if a bit overpriced when you're not on half price Monday, especially the cheeseboard. Upstairs is a proper restaurant which I had a great sunday lunch in a while back. Could do with improving the music tho!
nice toilets!
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Went to the Prince Albert with high expectations, and had them all expertly crushed. Service was disinterested verging on insolent ("Hi, do you know what time the live music starts?" "No idea." <wanders off>). There was pretentious literature on all the tables pronouncing the place's rare character and "eclectic interior", the latter description presumably written by someone who thinks having both tables *and* chairs in a pub is a generous concession to the punter.
My main complaint was the food, however, described in the blurb as "fine dining". Whatever one's opinions on the gastropub revolution, you at least expect to get something edible. I opted for the "sausage and mustard mash with onion jus", the description of "onion jus" on reflection being a very bad sign indeed.
It's hard to cock up sausage and mash with onion gravy. If one were to try, however, the Prince Albert provides a handy tutorial. First, select overspiced, under-meated sausages with a rusk content higher than the average kindergarten and the texture of insulating foam. Then bake the crap out of them until they form a thick, impermeable coating of gnarled filler that goes "bonk" when you hit it on a table. For the mash, eschew actual potatoes for the main part, preferring instant mix with Coleman's mustard powder added. It can be challenging to get the right lumpy consistency with mix, though, so you may want to have some elderly chopped potatoes on hand to lend the necessary gravitas to your meal.
Finally, as any fule kno, onion gravy is exactly like a strip tease - less is more. Indeed, if you provide little enough "jus", your victim--sorry, "customer"--will have no idea how good it was, and will give you much benefit of copious doubt, having already been wowed by your prowess with the humble potato. Serve at a tenner for fun and profit; rub hands together evilly, possibly cackle once or twice.
In summary, I give the Prince Albert three out of ten, this being the number of times the urinals overflowed in our presence.
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Yes I smell a rat as well - four glowing reviews by four reviewers who all joined on the same day. What a coincidence - it comes to something when a pub has to write its own reviews and i'll eat my hat if this place gives free champagne to anyone! Had a few expensive pints there and it was ok - but nothing to write home about. The Constitution round the corner is leagues ahead.
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I'm almost certain the pub itself is decent for drinking, unfortunately I was eating there as well. Pork belly should read pork scratching. The food on Monday night was simply dire. The single waiter did his best but failed to mention the elements of the dishes that would be missing when the food arrived. One can only assume the chef was having a night off. Eating there was an unenjoyable and consequently expensive disappointment.
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Five people posting very complimentary reviews on the same day and it's all their first and only pub review on the site.
I think I smell a rodent.
Been meaning to go here since it reopened, but can't resist the nearby Constitution. It doesn't look too bad to be honest, a bit gastro'd up perhaps, but almost certainly an improvement on what was there before.
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went here on a date a couple of weeks ago...nice atmopshere with helpful staff...and the food was great too, would definately recommend this pub..
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The Prince Albert has something for every one, and it has been achieved with effortless style. We had a choice between the Crown and Goose and The Prince Albert, we chose The Prince Albert and are very happy that we did - it's got excellent service, good food and is a great place to visit again, again, again and again. We live nearby and have confidently decided we'll be visiting The Prince Albert on a regular basis. Trust me you have to visit this place at least once and you'll know what I'm talking about.
Few pubs can give so much and succeed, but here they do, so sit back, relax, and, as if by accident, be entertained by the energy and good vibes surrounding you. Five star * * * * *
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Had a leaving do for a friend at work - had a brill time.. Lovely relaxed atmosphere, helpful staff - would highly recommed it to all..
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Best Pub ever! Went out with some friends there, few nights ago, we had a great night, the food was excellent, the staff we really polite and helpiful, really enjoyed the night, a place I would definetly recommend, with a terrific atmosphere. Just round the corner from the tube so was easy to get back.
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Had a wonderful night there last night.Took some friends to celebrate my engagement and when the staff relized what we were celebrating they treated us to a bottle of champers!Upstairs in the resturant the food was excellent and the chef came around to check all was O.K.Overall i can really recomend this pub and only hope the standards are kept up.Brill
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having recently eaten here i can say the food was of good quality and reasonably priced. the real ale was excellant but somewhat expensive .
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I have never subscribed to a review site - until today that is. But, I had such a disappointing evening at this so-called gastro-pub last night, that I feel compelled to inform other prospective customers.
I had arranged to meet a dear friend inside the pub - our plan being to catch up on the past month's news while eating some decent food. If we wanted to be deafened by loud rock music and served by surly, 'couldn't-care-less' staff, I know plenty other pubs in Camden that could fit this bill. The Prince Albert, however, excelled at both.
When we asked if the music could be turned down, as we were trying to have a conversation (not an unreasonable request, given the place is now marketed as a place to eat) the barman had to ask me to repeat myself 3 times, as he couldn't hear my request!
The music was turned down a notch for about five minutes, before being racked up louder than before. As we were the only two customers in the whole of the pub, I have to assume the music (a Bon Jovi number!) was being played to entertain us. We weren't. We left.
Starving, and with our ears ringing, we dragged our weary bodies over to Crown and Goose where we inhaled a quite decent meal in civilised, quiet surroundings
anonymous - 12 Sep 2007 17:00 |
I was disgusted at the food I was served it was awful we requested a medium steak and a ceaser salad when I received my steak it was RAW I asked for it to be cooked correctly it came back to my table RAW.
The salad my wife ordered was not cleaned it had traces of dirt everywhere!
We was so annoyed we do not intend to go there again as the service was ok but the food is not cooked correctly!
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Went there for Sunday roast last weekend - absolutely top notch. Good food, reasonable price and killer desserts - plus ate out in the garden. Will be back.
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The prince Albert has recently been re-opened. A restaurant has been added to the first floor and they also serve food in the bar.
Visited last friday evening and enjoyed the atmosphere. great to see this great location re-opened. Bravo
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Now open! Went there recently and they were giving away tasty bits and pieces from their menu...impressive. Place looks great too, and comfortable!
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Someone is looking for a kitchen team for it so might not be flats but another gastro pub. Last time i associated gastro with pub food it was a bad thing
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looks nice in the photo, but it is now closed and being converted into flats.
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What a surprise...Lovely friendly local. Good guinness poured correctly by friendly bar staff. Also great home cooked food. The atmosphere was brilliant and if i'm every in the area again I'll def visit. What a joy to find a real pub in these days of chain managed pubs who couldn't care if you return or not.
A GENUINE PLEASURE.
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Friendly, unpretentious, great place for a quiet drink.
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A decent enough local, although I don't recall any ale when I visited sometime last year. I sat outside too, so am gutted to learn there's a good jukebox to be found. The leader of the local Hells Angels was drinking in there when I was there (my girlfriend knows who he is from a previous life as a barmaid at another pub) and his stunning bike was parked outside. The best bit though was two disgraceful old drunk slappers who decided to sit on it. I was watching through my fingers and waiting for it all to kick off but he didn't see them and I didn't witness a murder.
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love this pub, laid back, ordinary, good jukebox, not bad prices, a little outside area to sit that doesnt get too full
matt - 8 Oct 2003 09:12 |
Will pop in - noticed speckled hen beer on hand pump the other day. A full comment will follow once I have visited the pub.
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Clean,quiet and comfortable.
John Dee - 5 Aug 2003 19:53 |
