The Prince Albert, Ely

Official site of The Prince Albert - www.princealbertely.co.uk

Official site of The Prince Albert - www.princealbertely.co.uk

A Greene King backstreet boozer…but fear not! It's a superb place selling a range of great cask. A fairly simple and neutral interior with Farrow & Ball tones but enough variety to break things up a bit, with a welcome pub carpet. To the rear is a surprisingly large dining area and garden. Eight pumps, 2x GK and a variety of others plus two ciders. Spotting the old skool ceramic GK pump clips I decided to chance the IPA and was thrilled with the result, miles away from its usual malignant grot and really drinkable (NBSS 5). Couldn't quite repeat the trick with the Abbot but it was still pretty good (3.5) so I sank a couple more sublime IPAs. Barman had a tie on and there was cheese and scotch eggs gratis at the bar. A quiet pub, with just convivial chatter. Super. Why this isn’t GBG23 listed is a mystery to me, but thanks to this website’s fellow travelling topers I put it on my list and was immensely pleased I did. I rather liked Ely and if I moved here I’d make sure I wasn’t more than a few minutes away from this one. 8.5

This is a lovely back street local, multi-roomed and traditional, though with an extension at the back which helps to accommodate more diners. The two front rooms have been knocked into one, with the bar counter in the right hand side. There are 10 hand pumps (see photos - note the old fashioned pump clips for the Greene King beers), which seems a lot for a small pub, but there was no doubting the quality of the Black Sheep Bitter that I had, the best I've had since more than two years ago. A bit of a shock to be charged £2.45 for a half, but the blackboard in the next room listing all the beers shows they are all approaching £5 a pint. Nevertheless, I congratulated the landlady for the beer as I left.