Prince of Wales, Aberdeen

As noted below this is an old pub tucked away just to the North of the main Union Street. As you enter there's a long bar on the right and areas to the left. One big plus is that I didn't see a TV screen. If there was one it was definitely turned off, a great relief after having to endure a football match in the JDW. This is one of those pubs that illustrate how Greene King have turned a corner as of the seven beers available from the eight hand pumps only one was from their Belhaven brewery. The seven beers were TT Landlord, Belhaven Kittiwake Pale, Fyne Hurricane Jack, Inveralmond Lia Fail, Burnside Wild Rhino, Jaw Surf and Cromarty Hit The Lip. I went for the Hurricane Jack (£3.70) which was in excellent condition and certainly the best kept pint on my visit to this part of Scotland. The only downside was that I sat near a table of gobby English students but I could have moved! This was easily the best of the three "proper" pubs visited in Aberdeen and I wished I had left time to try some of the other Locale Scottish beers. It's GBG 2018 listed.

Dating from 1850, this is one of the best known pubs in Aberdeen and also one of the most easily missed being tucked away down a passage just off Union Street. I have been told that the pub was in danger of being closed down but was saved after a long campaign and hopefully its future is now a lot more secure. Inside is an unexpected collection of rambling rooms and alcoves that makes the place feels quite compact despite actually being quite a large pub. The low ceilings and dingy lighting all help to create the intimate ambience and the bare floors, paneling, barrel tables, pew seats, old brewery mirrors, original fireplaces and a thankful lack of any soft furnishings or modern intrusions help to retain its traditional, old fashioned interior. I also didn’t note any TVs or speakers for music and certainly nothing as intrusive as a pool table. The bar itself is said to be one of the longest in Scotland although squeezing in somewhere along its length to be served can be an ordeal at the busiest times. At the rear is a food bar and whilst we didn’t eat, the place does have a good reputation with main meals in the region of £6/7. On the beer side of things, it is part of the Greene King empire but there were 8 ales available on my visit, 4 from the better end of the GK range (Speckled Hen, Abbott, St Edmunds Ale & Tolly Cobbold Phoenix), 3 guests (Stewart Pentland IPA, Theakston Old Peculiar and Phoenix Hopsack) as well as their own Prince of Wales Ale brewed by Inveralmond (who frequently seem to do special beers for pubs in the region). The customer base was a good mix of ages and everyone seemed to mix in quite comfortably with no hints of any menace or intimidation. This is what these days is generally referred to as a Real Pub and long may it survive as such.