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The White Lion, St. Albans
St. Albans
AL1 1RN
Pub Type
Punch TavernsReviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
paulof horsham left this review about The White Lion
An independent Free House, according to the sign, but with just 3 ales on the bar in a Woodforde's stout, 5 Points XPA and that Timothy Taylor beer you've seen before. There's no trace of Big Smoke Brewery anywhere on the pumps and taps these days.
The doorway offers the choice of bar to the left and snug to the right - with the barmaid on that side, it seemed the obvious way to go and a quiet fan heater whirring away on a cold wet afternoon confirmed it.
I found The White Lion a nice enough spot for a pint and a quick bite, but I'd expected rather more.
On 22nd February 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 632 recommendations about 587 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The White Lion
Taken over and improved by the Big Smoke brewery,this is another charming back street local in St Albans.For real ale head right at the front door to the small snug where the bar supports the handpumps which on my trip were offering a Big Smoke cider and Solaris (coming soon) with guests Five Points Best,Oddysey Cashmere Tears,Siren Momento Bitter and Oakham Citra (NBSS 3.5).The snug is small ,just 3 tables but atmospheric.
The back lounge has two sections and is a bit more corporate but cosy enough.The bar here supports the keg lines.
Worth including on any ale tour of the city,if you can get in the snug you may be tempted to rest a while.
On 8th January 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3126 recommendations about 3126 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The White Lion
One of many backstreet boozers in this part of St Albans, this is a slightly modernised two bar pub with a disproportionate layout. The entrance porch offers a choice of doorways leading left to the main bar and right to a very small, almost snug-like front bar. This smaller room has a long bench down the front wall and the servery directly opposite, with one final table and chairs at the far end of the room. It looked like a classic local’s bar which I can imagine quickly fills up with the pub’s regulars, but on my mid-week visit, the bar was declared out of bounds to customers and I was instead asked to go through to the main bar instead. This is a much larger space with the servery to the right and a good deal of currently useless bare boarded vertical drinking space opposite, with one or two high tables and stools around the perimeter. To the rear of the room, a slightly raised, carpeted area offers chair and button backed banquette seating under walls decorated with bland paintings, a large clock and some plain mirrors plus what appeared to be an out of action dartboard. Meanwhile, the room extends into an extremely basic rectangular side room with more button backed banquettes down the front and rear walls serving a limited number of tables, with some seemingly having been removed to aid the process of social distancing. The décor here was a marginal improvement on the rest of the room, with some contemporary posters on the back wall, such as the beer periodic table and a beer style poster, at least holding some degree of interest. Plenty of fairy lights have been strewn around the place, which normally gives a pub a surprisingly warm and cosy feel, but that effect was lost somewhat as these seemed to be wired straight into the National Grid, such was their collective brightness. There was only one other group in when I visited, making this the quietest of the five pubs I stopped in, but there was at least a cool retro soundtrack playing in the background to break the awkward silence.
Four handpulls were in use when I arrived, offering a choice of St Austell Tribute, Adnams Ghost Ship, Sharps Atlantic and a real cider. Having just had a pint of Ghost Ship in the previous pub, I opted for the Tribute here, served to me by a friendly, if terminally bored, barmaid, and it was in pretty good shape considering the low turnout.
I found this place a little hard to warm to on this visit, perhaps because of the stilted atmosphere and the empty feeling interior with its missing furniture. I can imagine you could have a good time here if you were able to secure a seat in the front bar on a busy evening, but under the current pandemic conditions, this place fell a bit flat and falls down the pecking order somewhat as a result.
On 18th November 2020
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3387 recommendations about 3387 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The White Lion
Cosy backstreet pub of some age, with low ceilings, small windows and beams, the latter sadly painted in shades of green and grey. There is a separate snug bar to the right, and a back room, with a fairly rustic garden at the back. Some good ales on offer, including a couple from the XT brewery at time of visit, and in very good order.
On 24th May 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3900 recommendations about 3832 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The White Lion
6 real ales and good food. Oakham JHB in great condition. Very friendly service - bar man is also the waiter but was doing a sterling job. Lots of choice in St Albans but this did things well.
Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2x7wj5w
On 19th October 2017
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1774 recommendations about 1747 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The White Lion
Traditional style pub.Quiet.Tribute and Castle Rock -harvest pale which was in good nick.
On 28th February 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The White Lion
Although this is a decent enough pub, my visit was slightly spoilt by the strong smell of cooking fat which pervaded the air. I didn't see anyone eating, but they may have been in the other room, which has no direct link or sightline from the room on the left in which I found myself. Or the smell may have persisted since lunchtime...
There were five beers and a cider listed on the blackboard, with the relevant hand pumps apparently split between the two parts of the centrally situated bar. Tring Ridgeway and Side Pocket for a Toad were the local beers, with Fullers London Pride, Adnams Broadside and Youngs Special making up the numbers, plus Westons Old Rosie. My half of Ridgeway was as good as can be expected, given the cooking fat smell; I'd only return here if I knew for sure they had remembered to turn on the extractor fan in the kitchen.
On 26th February 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 4671 recommendations about 4280 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about The White Lion
I popped my head into the den bar to the right of the entrance of the White Lion and thought better of entering as it was pretty full with what looked like a CAMRA meeting, but the beardy gentlemen in question were probably just locals. I set up camp at the bar in the larger left hand side of the pub that has a couple of seating areas and a dartboard to the rear. There is a huge beer garden at the rear and I’d imagine that there is a bit of a squeeze at the bar on a hot summer’s weekend afternoon as this pub doesn’t have the longest bar. I counted eight hand pumps split between the two bars and I enjoyed a very nice pint of Sadlers’ Worcester Sorcerer. There are four draught taps, but I didn’t spot anyone drinking the lager.
I liked it in here and would have no problem returning to this corner of St Albans as there are some quality pubs.
On 20th May 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 6560 recommendations about 6522 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The White Lion
Visited in May 2010
Fine traditional pub situated in a residential side street off Holywell Hill.
The whitewashed exterior leads into two separate bars either side of the main entrance. The larger room on the left - The Lounge Bar - is divided into a number of different areas and is traditionally and comfortably furnished. There's black beams, low ceilings, horse brasses, and a collection of brewery mirrors, including Aylesbury Brewery Co and Courage Imperial Stout. Just inside the door is an interesting framed map of St Albans detailing the location of 92 pubs then existing. As a further reminder of the past, note the redundant Watneys Red Barrel tap alongside the pumps on the bar.
The smaller bar on the right - The Den Bar - has a blackboard which lists the beers available in the two bars which, on my Saturday lunchtime visit, were Butcombe Gold, Youngs London Gold, Exmoor Stag, Caledonian Flying Dutchman, Youngs Special, Black Sheep and Tribute. This blackboard also lists forthcoming beers.
The Butcombe Gold - £ 3.10p - was a pleasant pint, but was served slightly too cold. The pub has won local CAMRA awards and, as evidenced by the stickers on display, has been a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular.
I think this one should be included in any St Albans craw
On 21st October 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The White Lion
The White Lion dates back to the 16th Century although the building itself has been refurbished to the point that little of its medieval charm remains although it does still retaining a certain amount of character. The interior is divided into four distinct areas. To the right of the main entrance is the Den Bar, a small, cosy, simple bar with a few modern touches and a large brick fireplace dominating one end. The main bar is divided into 3 rooms with the rear section containing a TV and dart board. The other 2 rooms lead away from the bar and are similar in size, quite plainly decorated and labeled as dining areas on the pub’s web site although I didn’t get the impression that the pub is particularly dining orientated.
There is a decent selection of ales and the pub can claim being a former South Hertfordshire CAMRA pub of the year (2006). There are 3 hand pumps in each bar but it is not always possible to see what is actually available. The Den does have a board listing all the Ales but I didn’t notice anything similar in the main bar (although it was packed with people watching the 6 Nations so I could have missed it). The barmaid did however mention the others as we ordered. Black Sheep & London Pride look to be the regular ales, supplemented by 3 or 4 guest ales that included Leeds Best and Greene King Little Bob on my visit. Of note is the old Watney’s Red Barrel pump perched on the bar although it’s anyone’s guess what comes out of it, if anything.
There is a sizeable, partly paved, rear garden that also contains a petanque court. Also keep an eye out for the friendly 3 legged pub dog, taken in by the pub after it was attacked by another dog. Best not to play “paws” with it though. Overall, a friendly and civilized pub that is certainly worthy of a visit, especially in conjunction with the 4 or 5 other decent pubs within a couple of hundred yards.
On 21st March 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]