Royal Albert, Crystal Palace, SE19

Long rectangular pub with a bar down the left hand side as you walk through the front door. So 5 years almost after MDuck’s review still here and still had Landlord and Boltmaker as the two hand pump offerings. I am a big fan of BM and it was immaculately kept. I really enjoyed the pint and the venue. In spite of the moniker of a local’s pub the only other punters on my visit a bit after 8pm this evening was a small work group so evidence it has slightly wider appeal (of course they could be local workers in which my argument fails)! How far away do you need to live from a pub before you can be considered a local?

A rather basic but decent locals pub, just the choice of two ales, both from Timothy Taylors, Landlord and Bolt Maker. Good enough for a pint but there wasn't much to make me want to linger any longer.

Nice traditional looking pub from outside and basic interior.Two cask beers Timmy Taylors -landlord and Boltmaker.This is the pub for the older locals who avoid Wetherspoons.Nice enough.

The Royal Albert is a decent looking pub that is set back from the road. Once inside there is a single oblong shaped room which runs to the rear,the bar is one the left side,the room is bare boarded,the seating is bench seating down the right side and normal tables and chairs to the rear. There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Harveys Bitter which was a very nice drink,the other beers were Taylor Landlord and London Pride. I found this to be a decent pub and it was very busy on my late Saturday afternoon visit. Pub visited 16/4/2016

There were three handpumps on the bar counter - one had a clip reversed, one was dispensing London Pride and the third Harvey's Best (£1.80 a half). There was no sign of food on Wednesday afternoon. This still seems to be a traditional locals' pub. It's bare-boarded inside, but is entirely traditionally furnished with banquettes and normal tables and chairs. There's no decor worth mentioning, although at this time of year there was some tinsel and a bit of other Christmassy stuff around the place. There was a large TV above the front door, showing a Sky News programme. The windows have the trademark Charrington's green-banded glazing, but I suspect that it's a modern replacement, as the green looks just a little too bright. The bar back and bar counter front are fairly plain, but look to be inter-war features - the unused doors in the bar counter front once used to service the beer engines is the clue. There are some seats in a small courtyard outside at the front. This is an ordinary pub, with nothing much of great interest about it, but if you like basic boozers you'll like this one. I felt quite comfortable sitting in here - and it does do at least a couple of real ales.

This is a fairly large, single room local’s boozer and now the only pub of its sort left in Crystal Palace after the closure of the Cambridge and the conversion of the Hollybush. The room is long and has the bar down the left hand side with a mix of banquette and standard seating opposite, before widening at the rear to incorporate an additional seating area. It’s carpeted throughout and has high wood paneling and some stained glass in the windows. The bar back is quite nice and has been decorated with a collection of jugs and other such items. Several TV screens are dotted around the pub, including one which is hung over the front door and was showing Formula One racing on my visit. There is a bit of outdoor seating to the side of the pub and the building is set quite away back from the road, so there are several benches at the front as well. A blackboard outside the pub states that ‘Ales are now available’, but the three hand pumps were all unclipped on my visit, so I had to take my pick from the keg range which included the likes of John Smith’s and Guinness. The landlord seemed like a friendly guy and the clientele were a bit rowdy but no real trouble. It’s not a bad place to spend a bit of time but, as the previous reviewer correctly points out, I find it really hard to believe that the pub can’t make at least one of their hand pumps viable. I preferred the feel of this place to the likes of the Sparrowhawk, but with no decent beer, there’s no point in making a return visit.

Stopped selling real ale, no call for it, is the reply i received. Funny that cos' The Westow has eight, The Sparrowhawk has two, The Alma has four, The White Hart has three, The Paxton has Three and the Grape and Grain 18 ales and ciders. All of these pubs within three minutes walk. Shabby, shabby, shabby

Not much has changed since my last visit, the ales are still too warm, the service slow at best, the customers slowly decreasing and deceasing !