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Submitted on Thursday, 30^th June 2022
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The Beehive, St. Albans

2 Keyfield Terrace
St. Albans
AL1 1QL

Phone: 01727811127

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Served areas

St Albans Central, Sopwell

Reviews of The Beehive (Average Rating: 6½ of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about The Beehive

This smart and comfortable town centre pub used to have a quite striking brewer’s Tudor façade until a makeover in 2015 resulted the whole front and side of the pub being painted over, including all the dark wood that made it stand out so much. Whilst this no doubt makes the pub look a lot more appealing and less old and stuffy to the younger clientele they are seemingly trying to attract, it does mean the pub has lost a fair bit of character and sadly, this story applies as much to the interior as it does to the frontage. You enter directly to the bar, with an island servery directly in front of you. The counter runs in an angular fashion through a series of seating areas, with a canopy supported by black pillars and a simple, modernised bar back. Seating can be found around all sides of the bar, offering a mix of basic tables and chairs and a few plusher button backed banquettes and tub chairs in spacious feeling areas with distressed timber flooring and wood panelled walls painted in rather dull shades of grey and cream. A lounge style area can be found over to the right, with some similar seating options around a nice modern fireplace. Meanwhile, to the rear, there is a slightly raised room with a mix of standard and high tables down either side of an otherwise similarly decorated room. A couple of TV screens were showing a muted cricket match and there was a fair bit of sports memorabilia on display, such as a cap worn by golfer Padraig Harrington. A door at the back of this room leads out to a popular beer garden with some gazebos and more sturdy permanent shelters full of bench seating amidst a good amount of greenery.
There were three clipped hand pumps when I arrived, but one of these, Morland Old Speckled Hen, had just gone off, leaving a straight choice between Tring Side Pocket and St Austell Tribute. I ordered a pint of the Side Pocket from one of the many bar staff who were running around with drinks orders and found it to be pretty pedestrian.
The obvious refurbishment that this pub has undergone seems to have robbed it of a bit of its heart and soul, leaving behind a perfectly acceptable, if somewhat unmemorable pub that will appeal to a much wider range of customers but is unlikely to have you racing back for more. I’m glad I stopped by but do wish I’d had a chance to see the place before the makeover.

On 19^th August 2021 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Graham Coombs left this review about The Beehive

Tucked in an alleyway just off the main road, the Beehive is a pleasant pub which seems to have a strong local following. In the usual modern manner it has lots of light grey round the walls and bare floorboards but is reasonably comfortably furnished. The room to the right seems more aimed at food, with a benched room round the back to the left leading to a courtyard garden. No pub games but has a large quantity of board games for amusement. 3 handpumps included 2 from Tring Brewery which were sadly off leaving the Hobson's choice of Doom Bar. It was fairly drinkable though (Cask Marque accredited).

On 24^th May 2018 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3641 recommendations about 3576 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Alan Winfield left this review about The Beehive

The Beehive is a nice looking pub that is just off the main road.
Once inside there is a large single room with the bar facing and which is also almost an island bar,the floor is bare boarded,the seating bench type and chairs and some normal tables and chairs,the room extends to the rear on the left side and is up one step,there are tall tables and some bench seating here.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of New River Riverbed Red,which was a decent drink,the other real ale was Taylor Boltmaker.
The background music was crap.
I thought this was a pretty standard pub.

Pub visited 24/6/2017

On 30^th September 2017 - rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]

View more reviews of The Beehive (8)

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