The Prince Albert, Peckham Rye, SE15

The Prince Albert, or should I say Rine Albert by the falling apart pub name on the long section of the building certainly didn’t give me any gastro pub vibes on my lunchtime visit. Bedecked in St Georges Day flags and chalk boards advertising live sport this one looked like a local’s boozer from the outside and, although it is very modern and shiny on the inside, the fact that a group of blokes had beaten me up the bar just after opening and were all on the lager gave the impression it still is inside. Still three ale pumps on the end of the bar but only London Pride available as a Doombar clip was reversed and the third unbadged. Didn’t really feel the vibe of this one and thought the nearby Victoria Inn and Montpellier were far better.

This is a very smartly presented backstreet pub that has a gastro feel to it and appears to have been fairly recently refurbished. Despite current appearances, I got a very strong sense of the local’s boozer that this place presumably once was, and it was rather sad to walk in on a midweek evening and find only one other customer in attendance when other pubs nearby were doing a very healthy trade. The pub has a fairly narrow but deep single room interior with the servery running part-way along the left-hand wall. The front part of the room is bare boarded and has high tables and stools to the front and right plus an additional table to the left in front of a small brick fireplace which stands on the end wall beneath a plain glass mirror. The walls are fairly plain but a few pictures of the eponymous Prince have been collected together close to the entrance and a TV screen was showing a live football match with the commentary on, which helped draw in a couple more customers prior to my departure. The bar has a modern white tile counter front, smart wooden top and a bar back that uses wooden slats and metal strips to look like it’s made from flattened out beer barrels, albeit with an ugly modern Guinness light feature in the middle. The rear part of the room is set-up as a carpeted dining area and has regular tables and chairs down both side walls and a variety of pictures and paintings on display. A large blackboard detailed Sunday roast deals and a set of patio doors to the rear lead out to a beer garden, which I didn’t explore in the darkness. Three handpulls were in operation when I arrived, dispensing Sharps Doom Bar, Twickenham Naked Ladies and a real cider. The Naked Ladies was £4.40 a pint, which is 30p cheaper than I found a similar beer in the nearby Victoria Inn, and it was in reasonable condition despite the first pull of the pump resulting in beer spraying everywhere, mush to the embarrassment of a very apologetic barmaid. I couldn’t really shake off the fact that this was clearly once a proper drinker’s pub of the sort that has been almost entirely wiped out in South London but was now a gastro pub that no-one seemed interested in using. The beer here was fine, the décor smart and the furniture comfortable, but without the lively crowd it no doubt once pulled in, these things are for nought. The weakest of the three backstreet pubs on Chadwick and Choumert Roads.

They still have the one real ale on - Doom Bar at £1.65 a half. I don't think that food is a big player here, although I did see sandwiches advertised at £1.25 a pop. This pub doesn't seem to have changed much since previous reviewers' visits. It remains a basic, largely unpretentious pub. It's carpeted; is furnished with normal tables and chairs and small stools; and has a pool table and dartboard. This is a classic "brewer's rustic" pub, with plastic wood effect posts and beams, and faux rough plastered walls. There was a TV on showing the cricket. Decor consists mainly of adverts for drinks products and forthcoming sporting events. This is a pretty basic pub, the service was friendly, and it was being patronised by a handful of locals when I was in at Saturday lunchtime. A nice enough place to drop in for a swift one, but in no way a destination pub.

The Prince Albert is a U shaped old school boozer with a pool table and dartboard. During my recent Friday afternoon visit the plasma screen was showing test cricket via Sky Sports. There is a jukebox that was turned off as the other two customers were glued to the television. Outside the pub there are some picnic tables on the path. The bar supports two hand pumps that were both sporting Doom Bar badges and the draught was standard. This is a very basic pub with friendly service. I wouldn’t travel to visit here, but I’d pop back in again if passing.