Waterend Barn, St Albans - pub details
Address: Waterend Barn, Saint Peters Street, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3LE [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 26482) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
St Albans (0.5 miles), St Albans Abbey (0.7 miles), Park Street (2.1 miles)
Chain: Lloyds
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> Current user rating: 5.6/10 (rated by 61 users)
other pubs nearby:
O'Neills, St Albans (0.0 miles), Slug and Lettuce, St Albans (0.0 miles), White Swan, St Albans (0.1 miles), Boot, St Albans (0.1 miles), Cross Keys, St Albans (0.1 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of Waterend Barn, St Albans
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 82 shown - see all reviews
| Hi, been a regular here again for the last year, beer standard good (try before you buy offered ) prices £2.50 guest ales upto 7.2% good range reliable food, a big "dont queue walk upto the bar" sign installed. dedicated eating area helps corral children & their unruly parents hehe so overall very good pub. THUNFAN007 - 11 Apr 2018 12:25 |
| This has been a pretty good pub for beer over the last year or two. There is usually an interesting range and because they get through loads of it, its usually pretty good to. BUT - of late they have taken to use sparklers (see my comment later) so your beer will look fine when its poured but will be flat 10 minutes (if you're lucky) later and taste a bit sour i.e rubbish. They hope you'll assume its some other problem and wont take it back. I noticed the uniformity of the bubbles and slightly creamy looking head (give aways of the sparkler) so I asked the staff why they have started doing that and they said "because we've had trouble with flat beer". Didn't exactly fill me with confidence. They will take it off if you ask. The staff in here are nice and its so busy they do a pretty good job generally, just such a shame about the poor cellarmanship resulting in the unwelcome arrival of the sparkler. I my experience its just not been necessary the beer here is usually good and the price is right. I cant recommend this business whilst the sparkler persists and, of course, they cannot qualify for the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. They deserve to be there, they do a great job selling decent ale at good prices, but they have shot them selves in the foot. For those who might not know. SPARKLER - a small plastic cap perforated with tiny holes which screws onto the end of the swan neck of the pump. The pump forces the beer through the holes, effectively pressurising it a little. The effect is short-lived and after a few minutes the beer is COMPLETELY flat and virtually undrinkable. The tell-tale signs are an over uniformity of the bubbles forming a creamy looking head and swirling of these tiny bubbles beneath the head as its poured. It looks a bit like Guiness. Unscrupulous landlords use this device to make old or substandard beer appear to OK. A little cellermanship would remove the need to con the public with these devices Triathlete - 26 Nov 2016 10:34 |
| After a long walk and a stop-off for a drink at the Six Bells, my wife and I decided to head into the middle of town for another drink and something to eat. This is a rather unusual Wetherspoon's occupying a couple of historic timber-framed barns that originally stood in completely different places. One was at Water End, not far from Brocket Hall, and it was dismantled in 1938 and rebuilt here in St Albans. The other barn was originally at Little Hormead, near Buntingford, before being brought here and added to the one from Water End. The main room in the pub is an impressive showcase of the large timber-framed structure as well as a pleasant place to drink/eat. Arriving on the late side on a Sunday night, we found that many of our preferred meal choices were not available. Nevertheless we found something we could eat, and the barman was very apologetic. The beers we had (Bateman's Dark Lord and Nethergate Ruby Mild) were both very good. beermann - 5 Apr 2016 14:56 |
| Visited on Easter Sunday mid-afternoon. Very busy but not chaotic. More upmarket than your usual 'Spoons - brighter, cleaner and quieter (noise wise). I do not agree with Stevens review (five below). He should visit Wetherspoons Full House, Hemel Hempstead - even Mr Martin would cringe! Back to Waterend. Slightly disappointed with the choice of ale. Last day of the beer festival and only one ale available from the list. The usual three uninspiring regulars, plus one guest and about five with "available soon" labels on them. Worth another visit, hopefully with better stocked beer. fugglehops - 2 Apr 2016 21:27 |
| I was surprised to see that my previous review of this place was 4 years ago! In the interim I have used The Waterend Barn on a number of occasions including my stag do! Overall the place has improved, they seem to have got rid of the smelliest and most repulsive old men and dole queue scroungers and overall the presence of this type of person is now less noticeable. Food quality generally seems good but is not so good at busy times - Saturday afternoons are still a bun fight with tables getting dirty and queueing at the bar. Beer is still of reasonable quality and well priced. My tip to avoid the crowds is to go in the Blenheim Room (right at the far end of the bar) where there are a few Chesterfield chairs and tables for two if you want a more intimate atmosphere. The toilets also seem to have had a makeover which adds to the improvements made here. manx_888 - 10 Jun 2015 18:48 |
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