The Goat, St. Albans

A good sized, traditional pub just off the High Street, it no doubt misses out much in the way of passing trade and casual visitors, and was in fact almost deserted apart from our group on a recent Friday afternoon visit. It consists of a couple of bars along the front of the pub, the left hand one being more of a public bar with bar billiards and a darts board. There was also a large plasma screen on the wall, although fortunately this was not in use on our visit. An extensive selection of board games were piled up near the bar and there was also a small shelf of books. Décor wise it’s quite traditional with a few tiles on the floor around the bar, and red patterned carpet elsewhere. There was also some wood panelling on the walls. To the right was a smaller bar that felt much cosier, with thick beams on the ceiling including a few strings of fairly lights, and a large brick fire-place. A small TV was mounted on the wall above this which looked slightly out of place perhaps, but this too was turned off. A further bar was at the rear, although I did not investigate this other than checking that the beer selection was the same as on the front bar. Food is apparently offered, and although I did not see a menu I did notice a board advertising some Thai options. Beers on tap were Tribute, Bombardier, Youngs Bitter and Redemption Big Chief. Ciders meanwhile were Old Rosie and Stowford Press.

A tardis pub with a much larger section behind the island bar,handpumps on both sides but do walk around before choosing to see the full range.On my trip that meant a real cider,St Austell Tribute,CW Bombardier & Youngs Bitter and the excellent Redemption Big Chief which seems to be a regular and sufficient for me to always call in ! The decor is worn but welcoming with lots of wood panelling and traditional furniture.Sunday carvery and evening Thai meals are available and there are some benches in a rear courtyard for good weather.One of several small terraced pubs in this part of the city,worth visiting on any crawl.

Another low beamed traditional back street pub with an older clientele. Tribute, Bombardier.Eagle bitter and Big Chief which was good.Dull and quiet.

A characterful old building, with furnishings and atmosphere to match. There are four hand pumps on the bar, serving Youngs Winter Warmer, Wells Eagle IPA, St Austell Tribute and Redemption Big Chief. I didn't fancy the latter, with its NZ hops and 5.5%, and ended up with anonymous Eagle, at a suitable strength for a pub crawl. My notes made at the time say that this was not as good a beer as I'd had at the nearby Garibaldi, but then it is Charles Wells Eagle, after all. There's a nice homely, scruffy feel to this pub, with (slightly) battered sofas near the (gas) fire and piles of board games for anyone who feels unable to make conversation.

I spotted five hand pumps on the bar at the Goat during my recent Saturday evening visit and these were drawing Titanic Iceberg, Eagle, Youngs Special, Tribute and Old Rosie Cider. There were also four draught lagers available alongside Guinness and Stowford Press cider. To the right of the bar is a fireplace surrounded with sofas and there is also a plasma screen for showing Sky Sports. The larger left hand side contains another fireplace along with a dartboard, bar billiards, a second plasma screen and more board games than I could count. The front bar is duplicated behind were the same drinks are available, but this faces a large area that is used for dining. The food looked and smelt good and it doesn’t break the bank coming in between £6 and £12. There is a stairwell to the left of the pub that is mainly used by smokers, but there is an advertised beer garden that I did not visit. I liked it in here and would have no problem returning, but I will allow myself more time on the next visit as this corner off the London Road and Holywell Hill is where the quality St Albans pubs are (that I’ve visited anyway).

Visited in May 2010 Situated slightly further up the road from The White Lion is The Goat, a pub which, externally at least, with its white washed exterior, looks similar in style to that pub. The pub has a large single bar, but with distinct areas. The small central bar area has old beams, with hops hanging down and several sofas to one side by a large inglenook. The main area on the left looks like it could be an extension to the original building and which, despite the presence of a bar billiards table, dartboard and largish TV, has a rather traditional drawing room feel to it. Notably, there's several old West Ham 1960's team photos and a seriously large collection of board games. The pub is much larger than it looks from the outside and extends back a long way into a food orientated area, but still with a pleasant and traditional feel. On my recent lunchtime visit, beers on were Bombardier, Wells Eagle IPA, Youngs London Gold, St Austell Tribute plus Elgoods Snake Slayer - a range which might be considered disappointing by today's standards, but which did at least give me an opportunity to sample Wells IPA, a beer that seems somewhat difficult to find nowadays. It seems to be a beer that divides opinion, but I like it and it was in splendid form . This pub is also a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular. I didn't like this pub as much as The White Lion down the road, but it's a fine pub in its own right and, given their close proximity, it seems daft to visit one without at least popping in to the other.