The White Lion, St. Albans

An independent Free House, according to the sign, but with just 3 ales on the bar in a Woodforde's stout, 5 Points XPA and that Timothy Taylor beer you've seen before. There's no trace of Big Smoke Brewery anywhere on the pumps and taps these days. The doorway offers the choice of bar to the left and snug to the right - with the barmaid on that side, it seemed the obvious way to go and a quiet fan heater whirring away on a cold wet afternoon confirmed it. I found The White Lion a nice enough spot for a pint and a quick bite, but I'd expected rather more.

Facebook page of The White Lion - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The White Lion - www.facebook.com

Official site of The White Lion - www.whitelionstalbans.com

Official site of The White Lion - www.whitelionstalbans.com

One of many backstreet boozers in this part of St Albans, this is a slightly modernised two bar pub with a disproportionate layout. The entrance porch offers a choice of doorways leading left to the main bar and right to a very small, almost snug-like front bar. This smaller room has a long bench down the front wall and the servery directly opposite, with one final table and chairs at the far end of the room. It looked like a classic local’s bar which I can imagine quickly fills up with the pub’s regulars, but on my mid-week visit, the bar was declared out of bounds to customers and I was instead asked to go through to the main bar instead. This is a much larger space with the servery to the right and a good deal of currently useless bare boarded vertical drinking space opposite, with one or two high tables and stools around the perimeter. To the rear of the room, a slightly raised, carpeted area offers chair and button backed banquette seating under walls decorated with bland paintings, a large clock and some plain mirrors plus what appeared to be an out of action dartboard. Meanwhile, the room extends into an extremely basic rectangular side room with more button backed banquettes down the front and rear walls serving a limited number of tables, with some seemingly having been removed to aid the process of social distancing. The décor here was a marginal improvement on the rest of the room, with some contemporary posters on the back wall, such as the beer periodic table and a beer style poster, at least holding some degree of interest. Plenty of fairy lights have been strewn around the place, which normally gives a pub a surprisingly warm and cosy feel, but that effect was lost somewhat as these seemed to be wired straight into the National Grid, such was their collective brightness. There was only one other group in when I visited, making this the quietest of the five pubs I stopped in, but there was at least a cool retro soundtrack playing in the background to break the awkward silence. Four handpulls were in use when I arrived, offering a choice of St Austell Tribute, Adnams Ghost Ship, Sharps Atlantic and a real cider. Having just had a pint of Ghost Ship in the previous pub, I opted for the Tribute here, served to me by a friendly, if terminally bored, barmaid, and it was in pretty good shape considering the low turnout. I found this place a little hard to warm to on this visit, perhaps because of the stilted atmosphere and the empty feeling interior with its missing furniture. I can imagine you could have a good time here if you were able to secure a seat in the front bar on a busy evening, but under the current pandemic conditions, this place fell a bit flat and falls down the pecking order somewhat as a result.

Cosy backstreet pub of some age, with low ceilings, small windows and beams, the latter sadly painted in shades of green and grey. There is a separate snug bar to the right, and a back room, with a fairly rustic garden at the back. Some good ales on offer, including a couple from the XT brewery at time of visit, and in very good order.

6 real ales and good food. Oakham JHB in great condition. Very friendly service - bar man is also the waiter but was doing a sterling job. Lots of choice in St Albans but this did things well. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2x7wj5w