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The Victoria, Dunstable
Dunstable
LU6 1ST
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Victoria
The Victoria is a bijou locals' boozer close to the centre of Dunstable. Its size and the number of customers made it packed for my Sunday afternoon visit. Most were watching a Premier League match.
Beyond a corridor containing the toilets is an outdoor area with a TV also showing the football. With no tables in the bar, I moved outside. There is also a function room adjacent to this area. The door was open and I had a quick peak inside. It was seemingly intended as an overspill area, but there were no takers.
Tring Victoria Bitter is the house beer here. Guests were Fuller's London Pride & Leighton Buzzard Vimy Bomber, which I'd just tried in my previous pub, the Pheasant. So, I went for the house beer.
The landlord was friendly and the locals seemed in high spirits. Another decent Dunstable boozer.
On 29th September 2021
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Victoria
This is a small, but seemingly popular town centre pub with a compact main bar to the front and a function room at the rear. Entering to the main bar, you find yourself in a small, L-shaped room with the servery occupying the rear left quadrant. A few high tables and stools stand underneath the front windows, which have venetian blinds and frosted upper panes. A single table with chairs stands over to the far left, in front of what looked like a possible blocked off fireplace and there was an England flag here obscuring what seemed to be a dartboard, although without actually getting up and pulling it aside, I couldn’t be fully sure of this. Two more tables with chairs and low stools are arranged over to the right, in front of a nice, raised, brick fireplace with a plain mirror above. Beyond this, a single padded bench booth was packed full of locals who seemed to be seeing how small a space it was possible to exercise the ‘Rule of 6’ in. The servery has an attractive herringbone brickwork counter front, although it has undoubtedly seen better days, whilst the plain, wooden bar back had been liberally festooned with numerous England flags and bunting in readiness for England’s clash with Scotland in Euro 2020 the following evening. On the rear wall, I noticed a juke box and there were a few screens around the room showing other Euro 2020 fixtures, with the sound just about audible under the general hubbub of a reasonable midweek evening turnout and the irritating clacking of an old ceiling fan above. A passage next to the bar leads out to the function room and beer garden, neither of which I managed to explore.
The pub is known for stocking a few interesting guest ales as well as a house beer, Victoria Ale by Tring Brewery, and has made it into recent editions of the Good Beer Guide as a result. The guests on this visit were Fullers London Pride and Leighton Buzzard Best Buzzard, the latter of which was served up in quick time by a very brusque barmaid who eyed me with suspicion throughout the course of my stay. The beer was nothing to write home about but was at least in good condition. At the time of my visit, the pub was only accepting cash payments.
I quite liked the old-school feel of this place, from the grumpy but efficient bar staff to the entertaining locals and the well-kept beer. The place has a proper local’s pub feel to it and whilst the live sport and juke box rule out the possibility of a quiet pint, the prospect of an interesting guest or two on the bar means it still merits inclusion on any crawl around town.
On 17th August 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Victoria
Just off the main A5 drag through town this is a characterful popular pub which is partially hidden by trees so easy to miss if you are not familiar. Inside there is a fairly small L-shaped part boarded/part carpeted space with the bar along the side wall. The front shorter area sports a dartboard and a case of trophies fully along the upper wall above the seating opposite the bar suggests some kind of excellence in something, be it darts or the other pub's activities of golf, football and cricket. We were in around 7pm on a Saturday and the pub was rammed, standing room only, many punters watching some golf nonsense on the TVs. There is an overspill room in the garden to the rear.
Beers were Tring Victoria Ale, probably a rebadge, Pheasantry BB, Upham Furlong plus SN Spitfire. Filled rolls advertised for £1.50. A poster lists the next beers due.
This is clearly a proper community local, various weekly themes including Darts, Dominoes, Cribbage, a golf society, greyhound syndicate, quiz and a bonus ball game. There is also a small pub dog which appeared briefly to inspect everyone then went back behind the bar. A framed photo on the side wall shows a greyhound in full flight.
A lovely and delightful looking pub with good beer, deservedly busy.
On 3rd October 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Victoria
This is a small terraced pub with lots of external posters advertising various footbore matches. Happily on a Thursday lunchtime there was nothing being shown. Inside it's a small single room with a dart board immediately to the left then the bar. This had four hand pumps with a house beer called Victoria Ale by Tring Brewery, Reedley Hollows Old Laund, Adnam's Broadside and Black Paw Dark Seam. I went for the Dark Seam (£3.20) which was a superb porter style of beer.
The current owners are selling up and retiring after 19 years so it is hoped that they can find the right buyer for this nice little pub.
It's GBG 2015 listed.
On 10th April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
train man left this review about The Victoria
Tring ‘Victoria Ale' (permanent offering, can't remember which Tring beer is re-badged), Northumberland Summer Gold, Holden's Golden Glow, and Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted, the latter was this week's special at £2.50, Tring £2.70. Single-roomed L-shape pub, wood tables, oddly-covered banquettes (shiny fabric?), leatherette wood stools, but it all somehow works – a great local atmosphere noticeable from the moment you enter, friendly welcome at the bar, and the board above indicates a community pub with mention of darts/doms/golf society/greyhound syndicate/cricket/bowling, a real hub, and high cabinet opp bar displays lots of trophies. The dartboard is in the front area, quite tight to a r/h wall, so left-handers may struggle! Plasma on rear wall of bar area (dk about Sky), then outside rear area is wooden fenced, small-block paving, with surrounding potted shrubs & flowers, a big shed beyond (to house the 4 ‘fests per year?), also a bricked/wood-roofed bbq corner. Picnic set with jumbrella, meshed garden chairs at round table, heatlamps. Very good, don't miss this one if in Dunstable.
On 16th July 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 412 recommendations about 411 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Adam Croft left this review about The Victoria
Four real ale taps and the usual selection of lagers and spirits.
Regular games sessions, including darts, poker and a fantasy football league. Also holds regular beer festivals from their cosy, friendly garden.
On 29th January 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 30 recommendations about 30 pubs]