The Royal George, Bedford

A prominent and traditional looking pub on the High Street, this used to be the main road in to Bedford at one time before the A422 was re-routed but is now a quiet road with no passing traffic so it’s good that the pub has managed to survive. It’s had a very contemporary makeover at some point, probably quite recently, and whilst I don’t know what it was like before, any character that may have been there has now been eradicated. It really didn’t have a pubby feel to it at all, although it is of course difficult to pin down exactly what that would consist of. The pub was presumably two rooms at one time, but has now been opened up with just a partition wall between the two halves and the bar counter at the back. The décor is contrasting shades of cream and a deep pink paintwork with modern, co-ordinating chairs. Flooring is wood strip and there was a brick fire-place to one side with a wood burning stove and a couple of low leather sofas in front of it. Some old maps and black and white photographs were in one corner, but on the whole the décor is quite minimalist. Food wise, the menu offered a concise selection of “chef’s favourites” which were your usual pub grub options such as lasagne, fish & chips or ham, egg & chips, and these were mostly priced around £8. If this was the chef’s favourite food, it seems odd that he only came up with five of them compared without about fifteen pizzas which are obviously something of a speciality. Although the selection included the usual margaritas and meat feasts, many of the options had an Oriental twist including a Thai Beef, Bangkok and an Aromatic Duck. These were mostly around a tenner. I went for the Chicken Curry Pasta from the small specials board (so small this was the only thing on it) and whilst this too was a little unusual, it was nonetheless a tasty dish in a creamy sauce and I quite enjoyed it. Beer choice was somewhat disappointing with Doom Bar being the only real ale available, although there was a second pump on the bar, so there may perhaps be others on occasions. Somehow I doubt it though. The solitary cider was Aspall’s Suffolk. This is a tricky one to mark – on one hand the food was a little unusual and very good, and the landlord was efficient and helpful, if a little over eager at times. On the other hand, this is a pub review website, and in terms of pubbiness, it does fall a little short.

The first record of the Royal George in the Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service is from 1814. Unfortunately it looks like it wont make its second centurian birthday as it shut down early last year and remains closed.