The Albion, South Norwood, SE25

Official site of The Albion - albionpublondon.com

Official site of The Albion - albionpublondon.com

This is the home of the Eagles according to a sign on the outside. I guess a lot of places in this part of the road might make that claim, and I suppose that Selhurst Park might be among them. The pub looks good from the outside, with, obviously, CPFC's red and blue colours making a perfect background to the hanging baskets laden with flowers. But there's nothing very special about the interior unfortunately. The floor's bare-boarded, with what must be the original boards judging by the state of them, and there are a couple of tall tables/tall stools and a few normal tables and chairs. There's a dartboard in a small at the back on the right, and that's just about it although the matchboard panelled bar counter might be inter-war. They did have an ale on though - Greene King Abbot Ale, at a pretty reasonable £1.80 a half. I didn't see any sign of food at mid-afternoon on a weekday. This is a straightforward locals' pub by the look of it. It is in the OK category, but I don't imagine I'll be making a return visit.

Stood on the main junction in the middle of South Norwood, just a short walk from the train station, the Albion is a fairly smart, football themed local's pub. You enter into the main bar - a roughly square shaped room with scuffed bare floorboards and a deep servery along the back wall. A 'Welcome to the Albion, Home of the Eagles' sign is prominent on the bar back, making clear the pub's target demographic, as I imagine their trade is significantly boosted by those seeking pre and post-match refreshment either side of a visit to nearby Selhurst Park. There is some high stool seating, plus a lone bench, along the front wall and a few other small tables on either side, but most of the room is left empty to allow for maximum match day vertical drinking. Walls are half panelled with textured white wallpaper above and the room extends further to the rear on each side of the servery. The left hand side seemed popular with locals on my Sunday evening visit, perhaps because there was a TV screen here showing a Spanish football fixture. Some more standard chairs surround a couple of small tables with a button backed armchair in the rear corner. Bookshelves line one wall and there are some modern art prints on show as well, all of which combines to make this arguably the best spot in the pub. The right hand side is a bit sparser, with only a tiled fireplace and a dartboard of any note. Throughout the pub there are beer related quotes painted on walls, beams and any other surface deemed worthy, including a great many in the gent's toilets. A rather shabby, unloved paved garden could be seen at the rear of the pub, but it didn't look very appealing, so I didn't investigate further. Sadly, there were no ales on when I visited, with Marston's EPA and Sharp's Doom Bar clips turned. Apparently ales are put on in readiness for the weekend, but once they've gone, as they had this Sunday evening, they're not replaced. Fair enough I suppose, but this left me lumbered with a pint of John Smith's for £3.75. This is a fairly functional pub that seems content to get by with busy weekends and match days. It's not really worth skipping the nearby Wetherspoons for this place, but it is a lot better than some other nearby options in an area not really ideal for the discerning pub goer.