The Marquis of Lorne, Stevenage

A good looking,very traditional boozer with a tap room to the left and a seperate lounge straight ahead from the front door.The tap room is L shaped but quite small,lively and the preserve of the regulars.The lounge with it's low ceiling and log burner is cosy and comfortable with trad furniture and carpeted throughout.Outside there is a modest courtyard.Small flatscreens air Sky Sports but at sensible volume,as was the background muzak. Tied to GK,there is a guest ale policy meaning Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted (£3.75 and in good nick) besides GK IPA and St Edmunds . A solid pub with a decent guest was more than can be hoped for given it's tie to GK.Worth popping in for one.

This is an old Greene King house that has been a part of their estate for as long as I can recall. I've been to it several times before but not in recent years. There is a small laminate floored public bar to the left as you enter and a larger carpeted saloon to the right. It is a proper two room pub. At the rear is a paved patio and there is further outside seating at the front. I sat in the public bar which has a dart board and a TV screen that was turned off. Just Greene King beers were on offer but included their XX Mild and a seasonal beer called Magna Carta along with the predictable IPA and Abbot. I went for the Magna Carta (£3.70) which was in excellent condition. It's a 5% beer brewed with juniper berries. My biggest gripe about Greene King beers is that they all seem to taste the same, but this was something quite different. I still haven't made up my mind whether I really liked it as I would have to try a few of them to decide that. They do seem to have a bi-monthly program of interesting seasonal ales in place including a Black IPA coming this Autumn, so It really looks like Greene King may be getting their act together. This was the only one of their three pubs visited on the day that didn't stock a genuine guest ale. It's a nice local boozer where the mild and seasonal beer make it well worth visiting.

Having taken over the tenancy last October, we have been using the past year to bring back the great qualities that this pub has to offer! With a full refurbishment that includes brand new fresh toilets, new interior decorating with brand new carpets, a quiet courtyard area at the back of the pub and new branding signs at the front, this traditional pub has been brought back to life. We are a friendly pub that has many locals and many new faces that have become regulars. Being family run we bring that comfortable feel making all ages feel at home. Real Pub Food is now being offered during the day (Mon- Sat), menu can be viewed on the website and many specials are added daily. Real Ales are offered here (IPA, Mild, Abbott Ale &Speckled Hen) We also offer a function room for meetings, birthdays and other celebrations. With its own private bar, offering cocktails, bottles beer and sprits and buffet menus this is a perfect place to celebrate. All information is again on our website. Other additions we offer: *Free Wifi *Lavazza Coffee *Quiz night (with a new quizmaster this is a fun Monday night) *Meat Raffle on Sundays *Disco night every last weekend of the month *Dartboard *Dog Friendly *Poker night every Wednesday *Live Football

This is a nice traditional two room, Greene King pub in a good location on Stevenage High Street. On the left hand side of the pub is the public bar with linoleum floor, small fireplace with a stove in it and a dartboard flanked by a number of trophies. There were quite a few locals in here on my midweek afternoon visit which, with the limited seating available, meant that I ended up taking a seat in the lounge bar on the right hand side of the pub. This is a long, carpeted room with half panelled walls, dark wood beams and some wooden banquette and standard seating. The servery is at the front of the room and there is a nice fireplace with brass surrounds opposite. Some interesting bits and bobs have been put up on the walls including framed pump clips, a tap and spile display case and some old brewery receipts dating back to 1933. There is also an old hand pump which has been placed in a tiny recess in the wall for no apparent reason. One of the banquettes appears to be blocking an old fireplace similar to the one in the public bar and above it there is a TV screen which was turned off on my visit. There is a small paved garden with smoking shelter out the back, but it’s not all that pleasant and you’d be better off on one of the benches out the front. Four Greene King beers were available – IPA, Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen and XX Mild. Given its relative rarity, I tried a pint of the latter at £2.70 although I’m afraid it was a bit underwhelming. The barmaid seemed friendly enough and the pub appeared to be doing a much better trade than some of the others in this part of town. This is a good pub for the traditionalist and I enjoyed spending a bit of time in here, but its lack of beer variety may put some off. Overall though, it was a pleasant surprise.