The Horn, St Albans Central, St. Albans

Pub SignMan left this review about The Horn

This popular pub and live music venue is the first place you pass upon leaving St Albans City station. The pub has a roughly U-shaped interior, wrapped around a centrally positioned servery that stands directly opposite the entrance. The interior is bare boarded with windows down two sides, plain painted walls and a feature wall covered in a wallpaper effect mural of old gig posters. High tables and stools around the bar area give way to standard tables and chairs plus a very long, padded banquette along the front wall. The bar has a wood panelled counter with each panel decorated with paintings of famous musicians, a tongue and groove canopy and a simple, mirrored bar back. The whole pub is decorated with posters for upcoming gigs and photos of famous names who have played the venue over the years. Old LP picture discs line some lintels and the ceiling has quotations from various musicians painted across it. There's a pool table at one end of the room and the venue is in a separate space out the back, which I was unable to explore on this visit.
Just the two handpulls on the go, offering a choice between Taylors Landlord (£4.80 a pint) and Black Sheep Bitter. The barman was pretty friendly and efficient, but my pint of the Landlord was average at best. The pub clearly caters to a more alternative crowd, but there were a few old boys in, a young family were having a meal and several folk were seemingly killing time before getting a train, so a nice mixed clientele overall.
I think this place, which is a staple of the UK's grassroots live music circuit, perhaps works best if you're here for a gig, but I thought it just about held it's own as a pub too. Yes, the beer could've been better, but I liked the atmosphere and friendly service and enjoyed snooping through their music memorabilia.

Date of visit - 27th January 2024

On 17^th June 2024 - rating: 6
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