The Prince George, E8

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Pub SignMan left this review about The Prince George

Popular backstreet boozer which still retains something of its old multiple room layout. You enter directly into the main bar space via a good-sized front patio packed with plenty of bench seats and a fair bit of shelter. The entrance door has a set of nicely etched glass panes bearing the pub name, giving way to the servery directly opposite, with its pleasant wood panelled counter with smartly rounded ends, and a fine bar back with nicely integrated support pillars and a collection of avian taxidermy cases on the top. The room is bare boarded, with low dark wood panels beneath lincrusta uppers. A large beer board to the left of the bar lists the full keg and cask range and I spotted a juke box next to the front door, although there was a very laid-back jazz soundtrack playing, which I don’t think was courtesy of the juke box. A TV screen was turned on part way through my stay so that some locals could watch an England football fixture, but the sound wasn’t turned on at any point. A fireplace to the right with a huge mirror above acts as a good focal point, with the rest of the room decorated with various pictures and a few fairly subtle bits of promotional material. Seating around the perimeter comes mainly in the form of pews and chairs, but there are two more rooms behind the bar which offer plenty of overspill seating, mainly pews and chairs again. Back here, there’s another nice fireplace in the slightly larger right-hand room, with cool retro posters on display, whilst over on the left side, which is more of an extension of the main bar area these days, large modern art prints, a huge La Dolce vita film poster and an even larger map of the world account for pretty much all available wall space. There may be another room at the far rea on this side, but the pub was so busy, I couldn’t muster the energy to fight my way back to explore.
There were three cask ales being dispensed when I arrive – Taylors Landlord, Five Points Best and Tiny Rebel Cwtch. The latter was served up by one of the efficient, if a little standoffish, bar staff and was in pretty good shape – not the best pint of Cwtch I’ve ever had, but nothing particularly wrong with it either.
I really wasn’t expecting to find a multi-roomed backstreet pub packed on a mid-week evening and serving three decent cask ales, but that’s exactly what’s going on in this most unlikely of locations. I really enjoyed poking around this interesting pub and loved the lively atmosphere which was in sharp contrast to that of some other pubs in the local area. Definitely a good stop-off for anyone crawling between Hackney and Dalston.

On 19^th September 2023 - rating: 7
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