ReviewLocated near the central shopping area of Woolwich and the River Thames is the Prince Albert – a basic old style free house known as Rose’s.
It doesn’t look desperately inviting from the outside – and being situated in a street with more than its fair share of fast food outlets and several boarded up shop fronts doesn’t do anything to change this initial impression.
My recent Saturday lunchtime visit – in the area for Wednesday’s match at Charlton – commenced with me being thoroughly vetted and sniffed all over by the pub dog, admittedly not large or fierce, but which is a discouraging start in my book.
The pub is a basic, but comfortable, unpretentious single bar with carpets, comfortable seating and much wood panelling. Frosted windows bearing a red rose motif are a reminder that the pub was once owned by E J Rose & Co, a small group of London free houses. It appears to be very much a locals pub, favoured by the more mature drinkers. In one corner is a dartboard. Music from an earlier era was playing on the jukebox, contributing to the rather time warp feel of the place.
Décor wise, of particular note, are several murals depicting local river scenes, including one featuring the nearby Woolwich Ferry. In the same corner of the room, most notably, may be found a largish glass tank, housing not fish, but a pair of salamanders who I learnt are called Ronnie and Reggie – after those splendid former East End role models, undoubtedly.
Reinforcing the basic, old fashioned style, food consists of crusty rolls behind the bar, wrapped in clingfilm and served on paper plates.
There’s 6 handpumps with 3 beers on ( this seems to be normal ) when I visited – Hobgoblin, Cock of The Walk from Williams Alloa Brewery and Flash Flood from Phoenix Brewery. The Flash Flood – a pale citrusy bitter – was really good, but the Cock of the Walk was slightly uninspiring. Both beers were priced at £ 2.90p. The pub is listed in CAMRA’s 2011 Good Beer Guide.
This is the type of good honest unpretentious community local that I like ( minus the dog ) and whilst I don’t think it’s a pub worth going any distance to visit, I’d probably call in again if I was in the area.