Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, St Albans Central, St. Albans

Continuing my trip around St Albans pubs I've never quite manage to get to, the Olde Fighting Cocks is situated downhill from the Cathedral. It is one of those pubs claiming to be the oldest in England, with the earliest pub on the site dating from the 8th century. It has a little bit of character with multiple low ceilinged, carpeted rooms and a large inglenook fireplace, but feels more like a tourist trap than a locals' boozer. Quite a few customers had clearly been there to eat and there was food detritus on the table we sat at. Food service had seemingly stopped and the place was gradually starting to empty. There were also a fair few foreign voices. This is inevitably one of those places that people will come to in order to experience a "real English pub". There were also a few too many children and babies creating a noise. The bar had two sets of either 8 handpulls, with 5 beers on in total - St Austell Tribute, Milestone Oktoberfest, Purity Ubu & 3 Brewers Classic & Golden. My Golden was passable.

Official site of Ye Olde Fighting Cocks - fightingcockssa.com

Official site of Ye Olde Fighting Cocks - fightingcockssa.com

Old pub, a little different in design and shape, very popular with outside spaces & near abbey. Good selection of beers

Called into this 2018 Good Beer Guide pub while on a CAMRA coach trip and found a decent selection of ales on the bar. There were 3 ales from Farr Brew so we tried all 3 of them, served n half pint jugs. The best bitter, Black listed and Prima Donna all good. Old pub with lots of nooks and crannies. We enjoyed sitting outside the front on the massive pews with matching long thin tables.

The Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is a really nice looking pub that i had problems finding,but the tourists did not have the same problem as i did. Once inside the pub is described by better people than me,but there were a few different areas off the main bar area,some are carpeted and others not,the seating is mainly normal tables and chairs. There was a good choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Dark Star Hop Head,which went down very well,the other real ales noted were Harvistoune Bitter & Twisted,Hop Back Summer Lightening,Farr Brew Pale,Farr Brew Black Listedand one from Roosters. The pub was very busy with drinkers and diners and children. There was decent background playing. I liked the pub but not seem to feel that comfortable in it,which was a shame. Pub visited 24/6/2017

Been three years since my last visit. Beer wise, things have improved - 8 real ales on and a much broader selection. Enjoyed my Woodforde Wherry. Food Wise, I was a little disappointed to see laminated chainy style menus. I remember when it was ever changing nightly printed out A4. Everything else as I remember and a must visit pub. Just to say you've been to (one of) the oldest pubs in England. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2tMDBNJ

One of the handful of pubs that likes to promote itself as Britain’s oldest surviving public house, this place is also on the long list of places which reputedly sheltered Oliver Cromwell for a night during his civil war pub crawl of the mid 1600’s. The pub is said to have tunnels leading from the cellars to the nearby Abbey and the building has a highly unusual octagonal shape which is apparently due to its original use as a medieval dovecote. Today you enter into a bare boarded lobby and bar area with a single table to the left under a TV screen showing promotional material, with a display cabinet opposite full of various interesting bits including a signed guitar, beer bottles, awards and the like. The bar is to the rear left and has a low dark wood counter with a nice old door to one side. Opposite the bar there is a quarry stone floored dining room with two rows of standard tables and chairs plus a few pews to the rear. The room has low wood panelling, plain mirrors, old pictures and maps on the walls and a dartboard to the rear. It looked like a fairly cold and relatively uninviting space compared to the rest of the pub and was mainly being used by those enjoying a bite to eat. A door to the left of the entrance takes you into the main part of the pub – a real tangle of a room which zigzags its way around the left hand portion of the building. The room is carpeted with an incredible old low beam ceiling and a lot of chair and pew seating along the various oddly positioned partitioning screens and walls. You eventually reach a nice angular servery to the rear, under an incredible large lintel beam with a somewhat incongruous modern bar back. An upright piano stands in one corner, there is a stuffed bird in a case near the entrance and a huge inglenook fireplace incorporating a bread oven can be found to the right. Some steps at the back of the room lead down to a small lounge-style area with sofas and warm shaded walls covered with mirrors and various old documents and pictures. Easy listening music played quietly in the background and I noticed a decent sized beer garden through a rear doorway. There were four ales available in the first bar – Farr Brew Pale and Black Listed, Siren Half Mast and Three Brewers of St Albans IPA. More cask ale was available in the other bar, but the room was completely full and I couldn’t see past the bar blockers to figure out what else was available. I wasn’t too worried though, as my pint of the Half Mast was plenty good enough. The pub seems to have some sort of relationship with Farr Brew, whose bottles were being promoted throughout. This is a lovely pub with a great location between the Cathedral and Verulamium Park, making it a perfect stop-off point for anyone checking out the main tourist spots. I enjoyed exploring this interesting old building and thought it had been able to stay the right side of the historic pub/tourist-trap divide. A decent beer range and some friendly service rounded out a good visit and this has to be a must-do for anyone visiting St Albans.

Characterful rambling multi-level pub, wonderfully located by Verulamium Park and another ‘oldest pub in country’ self-nominees. Low dark wood beams and inglenook fireplace inside with maroon paintwork walls, though modernisation has crept in here and there. Apparently built around an octagonal pigeon house that was relocated here a few hundred years back. The low recess is purportedly the old cock fighting pit though as mentioned below, darts is its modern use. Eight ales split over two bars and a good selection too - Harbour APA, Purity UBU, Mad Squirrel Milk Stout (very good nick), Brains Rev James Gold, Woodfordes Norfolk Champion, Glamorgan Lemon Time, Hop Back Summer Lightning, Robinsons Trooper. Beware, it’s an expensive place.