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Prince of Wales, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
AB10 1HF
Pub Type
Belhaven (Greene King)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Prince of Wales
The Prince of wales is a traditional backstreet pub that boasts of being established in 1850. There is seating along the front windows and up the left-hand side. The bar runs up the right and faces a beer shelf for vertical drinking. At the rear is more seating and an open kitchen. I didn’t spot any menus, but I imagine the Belhaven cheap pub grub menu is in operation during the day. The bar supports a standard keg range and I counted eight hand pumps. These were drawing GK Abbot Ale and IPA, Belhaven 1719, Cromarty Rogue Wave, Orkney’s Windswept, Redcastle Brewery’s The Laird Wheat Beer and The Headstock. My visit was on a quiet Monday night, so it wasn’t very busy, but I imagine it gets very busy during the day being so close to the shopping centre.
On 15th July 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5254 recommendations about 5222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Prince of Wales
Tucked away down a backstreet but not too far from the bustle of city centre life, this is a decent old-fashioned looking pub that has had a bit of a corporate style makeover. You enter into the main bar with the servery along the right-hand wall and some well stocked seating areas opposite. The bar has a long dark wood counter which runs a surprisingly long distance into the pub and the bar back has a few nice etched glass ‘Prince of Wales’ mirrors. Bare floorboards cover the majority of the pub and these look nice in combination with the high dark wood panels that line the walls. The left-hand side of the pub has been split up into a jumble of spaces by numerous partitioning walls and pillars yet somehow still gives the impression of being one big single room. The effect is to create numerous little semi-secluded seating areas, mostly furnished with basic tables and chairs, although some high tables and stools can be found too and there are nice banquettes along the side wall. Further back, there is another seating area with an open kitchen on the back wall underneath some pleasant stained-glass panes. Beyond, comfy banquettes run under nice bookshelves and patterned wood panelling. There are lots of slot machines throughout the pub and a number of Tv screens too although the latter were all turned off on my late-night visit.
The bar supports a good number of handpumps which were offering Windswept APA and Weizen, Redcastle Tower IPA, Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, Orkney Dark Island, Morland Old Speckled Hen and something called Sam’s Swalie which may well have been a house beer. I had a pint of the APA which was in decent nick and I think this place probably has one of the most extensive ale ranges, outside a Wetherspoons, in the whole city.
This is a fairly decent place which can’t quite shake off that corporate feel, despite the fairly pleasant interior. I felt that the pub worked well as a bolt-hole for those looking for a quiet spot in the city centre and with the wide ale range available, it certainly is an appealing place to stop off for a quick pint or two.
On 13th July 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Prince of Wales
Hidden down a narrow side street off a busy shopping precinct, this is a fairly traditional, old fashioned ale pub full of characters and a few auld wifies. The dark (in a good way) interior is rambling but possibly best described as a 180 degree spun F shape. There's a long bar to the right on entering with separate offshoots to the left, with dining taking precedence at the far end where there is an open kitchen. The main drinking strip is fairly narrow and I found it difficult to bag a seat just after midday. Eight pumps with seven on; Orkney Dark Island, GK Abbot (!), Ruddles and Scrum Down, Cromarty Wee Heavy, Windswept APA and Jarl Maverick (good nick). A nice atmosphere inside and the barmaid was on good form, bantering with the regulars. If I didn’t have a list of other places to bag in a short space of time, I would have stayed for another. It should be the default pub visit if you’re in the Granite City for a couple of pints.
On 20th March 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Prince Of Wales Bar
As noted below this is an old pub tucked away just to the North of the main Union Street. As you enter there's a long bar on the right and areas to the left. One big plus is that I didn't see a TV screen. If there was one it was definitely turned off, a great relief after having to endure a football match in the JDW.
This is one of those pubs that illustrate how Greene King have turned a corner as of the seven beers available from the eight hand pumps only one was from their Belhaven brewery. The seven beers were TT Landlord, Belhaven Kittiwake Pale, Fyne Hurricane Jack, Inveralmond Lia Fail, Burnside Wild Rhino, Jaw Surf and Cromarty Hit The Lip. I went for the Hurricane Jack (£3.70) which was in excellent condition and certainly the best kept pint on my visit to this part of Scotland.
The only downside was that I sat near a table of gobby English students but I could have moved! This was easily the best of the three "proper" pubs visited in Aberdeen and I wished I had left time to try some of the other Locale Scottish beers.
It's GBG 2018 listed.
On 18th September 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Prince Of Wales Bar
Dating from 1850, this is one of the best known pubs in Aberdeen and also one of the most easily missed being tucked away down a passage just off Union Street. I have been told that the pub was in danger of being closed down but was saved after a long campaign and hopefully its future is now a lot more secure.
Inside is an unexpected collection of rambling rooms and alcoves that makes the place feels quite compact despite actually being quite a large pub. The low ceilings and dingy lighting all help to create the intimate ambience and the bare floors, paneling, barrel tables, pew seats, old brewery mirrors, original fireplaces and a thankful lack of any soft furnishings or modern intrusions help to retain its traditional, old fashioned interior. I also didn’t note any TVs or speakers for music and certainly nothing as intrusive as a pool table. The bar itself is said to be one of the longest in Scotland although squeezing in somewhere along its length to be served can be an ordeal at the busiest times.
At the rear is a food bar and whilst we didn’t eat, the place does have a good reputation with main meals in the region of £6/7. On the beer side of things, it is part of the Greene King empire but there were 8 ales available on my visit, 4 from the better end of the GK range (Speckled Hen, Abbott, St Edmunds Ale & Tolly Cobbold Phoenix), 3 guests (Stewart Pentland IPA, Theakston Old Peculiar and Phoenix Hopsack) as well as their own Prince of Wales Ale brewed by Inveralmond (who frequently seem to do special beers for pubs in the region).
The customer base was a good mix of ages and everyone seemed to mix in quite comfortably with no hints of any menace or intimidation. This is what these days is generally referred to as a Real Pub and long may it survive as such.
On 23rd July 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Terry Algier left this review about Prince Of Wales Bar
Great pub with an extensive lunch menu and excellent selection of Real Ales. The Mac N' Cheese is to die for! Best I've ever had!
On 26th April 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 20 recommendations about 20 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
George Howie left this review about Prince Of Wales Bar
Recently bought by Belhaven (who are in turn owned by Greene King - bah!) in August 2007, this pub still has the best selection of Real Ales in Aberdeen although Grrene King products are appearing frequently (Abbot, IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Ruddles County etc.). Sill great bar lunches served daily and until 4pm on Satrdays and Sundays. Hopefully the new owners will tidy up the toilets, the disgraceful carpet in the lounge and the boot seat covers which have all seen better days. Apart from that, the pub is still highly recommended with its long bar, mixed clientele and great atmosphere with no TVs atall.
On 26th September 2007
- rating: 10
[User has posted 8 recommendations about 8 pubs]