Lower Red Lion, St Albans Central, St. Albans

Another classic pub in St Albans. How spoilt they are! Two rooms and I always seem to pick the one where the action isn't. Tonight, I missed out on joining the Hertfordshire Whisky Tasting society! Made do with an excellent Paradigm Win Win. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2tMDBNJ

Just a short walk in the opposite direction to the town centre from St Albans Cathedral, this is a smart and friendly two bar pub with a good ale policy. The entrance porch offers doors to each bar on either side. The right hand door takes you into the Albans Bar – a smart Public Bar with a simple bar counter to the left and a good mix of seating in a spacious open area opposite. Walls have been painted in fairly neutral colours, enlivened a little by some sparse decor including old pictures, a few mirrors and a series of dark wood struts which act as an effective form of semi-partitioning from the far right part of the room. A unique feature has to be the pub dog wall, which comprises a section of wall next to the bar covered in photographs of various dogs that have seemingly visited the pub down the years. A few old boys were sat at the bar here, enjoying some noisy banter with customers spread around the rest of the room. The quieter Verulamium Bar to the left, accessed by a passage behind the servery, is carpeted and has exposed brick and stone walls with a few more of those drab wall panels to the rear. There is a large inglenook fireplace on the back wall with a nice little stove inside and a Newcastle Brown Ale mirror to one side. Elsewhere, decor is limited to some small photos on the end wall, whilst there is a boxy dark wood servery to the right. Music played quietly in the background and the locals all seemed like a friendly bunch. On the bar I noted XT 6 and one other beer from the same brewery, Watling Street Pale, Three Brewers of St Albans Classic English Ale and Tring Side Pocket for a Toad. A very friendly and welcoming barmaid served up a pint of the XT6 which was in great shape and I really savoured it whilst reading my paper in the quieter left hand bar. This is a quality local’s pub with a lively public bar and peaceful saloon which should appeal to a decent range of customers. It’s far enough in the wrong direction to avoid the tourist masses, but still close enough to town to add to a crawl or seek out in its own right. I enjoyed this one and would be happy to settle down over a pint or two in here again.

Lovely pub with friendly helpful bar staff and great selection of real ales, maybe 7/8(?) when I visited on Sat, but are they stocking too many without adequate through-pull? The two we sampled were not crystal clear and, while not quite rejectable, did not taste as clean as one might expect in what is obviously a beer haven. Sadly, I was a little disappointed this time.

Fishpool street is one of St Albans most attractive streets and the 17th Century Lower Red Lion sits comfortably within it with its welcoming white washed exterior. Inside the original two roomed interior either side of the central serving area remains and both rooms have a different feel and character to them. The pub has had a focus on real ale for many years and I sampled very well kept Dark Star Hop Head from the available beers. Can continue to recommend this one for a visit when in St Albans.

A very nice pub this one , traditionally set out with two separate bars. My Pale+ Four from Tring Brewery was in great shape and most enjoyable.No problems returning here again.

A good traditional pub this one, where I enjoyed two very well kept ales, which were XT15 and Berkhamsted Brewery Sundial Golden Ale. The pub had a welcoming and friendly atmosphere and you could spend some time in here.

A traditional pub located just a short stroll from the High Street and cathedral, it consists of two separate bars with a central bar counter in between that serves both of them. The left hand bar has predominantly exposed brick walls which I thought was quite unusual but quite effective and there was also a large brick fire-place at the rear. Flooring is the usual red patterned carpet and there was bench seating around the perimeter padded with red velvet. The bar to the right in contrast had white plasterwork on the walls and black timberwork which gave a quite different effect, and some black wooden balustrade to break up the space slightly. Another fire-place and wood burning stove was in here. There was a good range of beers on tap which on this occasion were Dark Star Hophead, Pale Four and Kotuku from Tring, Sundial Golden Ale and XT15. Ciders too were well represented with Millwhite’s Original Scrumpy, Stowford Press and Addlestones. All in all, a very pleasant pub and well worth seeking out.