Prince of Wales, Barnet

The Prince of Wales is a Heartwood Inn, so has pretensions towards posh. The pub was extensively refurbished around 18 months ago and remains spick and span inside. The bar area's relatively cosy, but there's a huge dining room behind. There was nothing especially crafty on the kegs, while the 6 hand pumps offered 2 London Prides, 2 Landlords, a Bermondsey Best (passable quality) and a Kensington Pale from Portobello, the handle for which has a glass over the top (and we know what that signifies). Not really my kind of place, but probably an ideal pub for an area which styles itself as East Barnet Village and there's absolutely no other pub in the vicinity.

Official site of Prince of Wales - princeofwaleseastbarnet.com

Official site of Prince of Wales - princeofwaleseastbarnet.com

This is a large-fronted pub occupying a prominate site in the centre of East Barnet Village. Inside it’s got the unmistakable look of a pubco pub – which of course it is, in this case a member of the Stonegate chain. The bar counter is at the front of the room, parallel with the front of the pub. To the right of the bar counter is an area containing the pool table and the dartboard. To the left the room stretches back to another room that looked to be the place of choice for diners, and leads out to the garden. It’s carpeted, and although I did spot a sofa or two here and there, the majority of furnishings are normal tables and chairs. A few miscellaneous prints form the décor, and the usual array of fruit and games machines are of course present. It’s a typical pubco pub then. The two ales on were the unexciting GKIPA and London Pride (£1.55 a half). Standard glossy menus were on all the tables, with the usual cheap pub grub and meal deals on offer, such as two meals for £8 or curry and a drink for £7.49. All in all this struck me as a fairly ordinary pub, but which ticked some of the boxes. But as the only pub in the immediate vicinity I’m glad it’s here.