Royal Albert, New Cross, SE14

Nicely decorated (inside and out) classic victorian corner pub. Patio to front. Open kitchen at rear. Traditional pub furniture throughout. A beer board showing a large amount of offerings. I went for a Portebello Star. A best bitter that was very murky, prompting me to check untappd to see if everyone else's check ins looked the same. Good Beer Guide 2023.

Official site of Royal Albert - royalalbertpub.co.uk

Official site of Royal Albert - royalalbertpub.co.uk

A corner pub with a largish L shaped room. there are eight handpumps in total but only three cask beers on, Siren Memento, Twickenham Orange Zeus and Portobello Summer Blonde, the Memento being in reasonable shape. A selection of craft keg was also on offer.I was the only customer in at opening time on a Saturday and didn't mind the pub but felt it would have a better feel with a few mor punters in. Worth a look.

Liked this pub a lot.Nice interior but tables and chairs are a bit low for comfort. Very warm with the open plan kitchen at the rear blasting heat and fishy smells around the pub.Beer fest on so loads of good beers to choose from.I chose 8 of them to try and no duds.

This one had on an excellent ale selection, with Bath Gem; Bristol Beer Factory Seven; a Darkstar trio of Hylder Blond, Darkness, and Hophead; Brass Castle Brewery Cliffhanger; and Gipsy Hill Brewery Beatnik all available. There was also a draft cider called Mango. This is a good selection even by Antic standards. I spotted an open to view kitchen at the back on the right (although not a menu) in a largish area furnished with normal tables and chairs and with sprigs of flowers on the tables. This may effectively be the dining area although there didn't seem to be anything to prevent drinkers from sitting there. This place is much less quirky than most Antic pubs I've visited. OK, there is a big "guy", sitting at one end of the bar with a sign saying "penny for the guy" and that proceeds go to Epileptic Action. This sort of thing is traditional of course - but not usually in pubs in my experience - and is undoubtedly a worthwhile endeavour. The stuffed animals in glass cases and the bar billiards table didn't really look out of place either. It's all quite restrained by Antic standards. On the heritage front there is a bit of original Victorian tiling in one of the entrances; some narrow etched/cut glass bands in some of the windows as well as in the old saloon and public bar doors. The bar back including some etched/cut glass looks original as well. The main bar area as you enter has a phalanx of red leather sofas dominating the centre of the room, but there are banquettes with small round stools and normal tables along the right hand side of the room. I didn't see any fruit machines or others of that ilk, and the music being played at background levels was some authentic blues. I found this to be a very comfortable pub with an excellent ale selection. My half of Beatnik was in great shape. I'm not likely to get to New Cross very often, but if I did I would want to visit this one again. This one gets the nod from me.

In deepest darkest New Cross sits the Royal Albert, a pub now owned by the Antic pub company who are getting a reputation for taking on and turning round some battered old boozers. The exterior has had a dark green paint job which nicely highlights the ornate Edwardian(?) frontage. The L-shaped interior has been done out in a modern downbeat hipster-friendly manner with a mish-mash of worn (though comfy) chairs, stools, banquettes and obligatory wooden floor, however the downbeat manner extends to some rather manky window panes that really could do with a good scrape and a lick of well-applied paint. There’s a dining area and open-view kitchen to the rear; food prices looked reasonable and there were bar snack available in the form of Scotch eggs and pork pies, which at £2.50 seemed reasonable and tasted more home-made than Brake Bros. Plenty of original etched glass survives and the saloon and public bar doors attest to the interior being opened out at some point. On my visit eight pumps were dispensing five ales plus a proper cider. I tried a couple, with Brockley Pale being a very good drop and the Hawkshead Red serviceable, alas I lacked time so missed out on Harviestoun Old Engine Oil - so certainly an ale-drinker’s destination based on that selection. The barman was not with it, dropping a knife (careful!) and short-changing me. Other features of the pub included a welcome sighting of a (well-used) bar billiards table, a selection of board games and daily papers plus a muted TV. Music seems to feature here and there was a DJ deck kitted-out though not in use; however the piped music was enjoyably eclectic. Wi-fi was offered but my phone couldn’t connect to it. The toilets were also a bit grim, perhaps not wholly unexpected. All-in-all there was quite a lot to like here and there’s clearly a bit of effort being made to turn this place into a destination venue. A few simple fixes of problems highlighted above would really make this a must-visit for the wider SE postcode area. The bus stops directly outside. Just about a 7.