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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Boot, St Albans Central, St. Albans
St. Albans
AL3 5DG
Pub Type
Punch TavernsReviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alesonly . left this review about The Boot
I was in here yesterday with my Brothers and Farther in Law On a regular Pub Crawl of the area. As already said this place looks more like a pub should nice old style building with plenty of character and it has some nice cosy corners too sit in. Its been modernised over the years but its not been wreaked and keeps a lot of its original character. There were a good selection of Red Squirrel Ales Plus other Ales on tap and between us we tried most of them I'm pleased too say they were all in excellent condition. We found the staff & other customers very welcoming & happy too give us advice on which Ales they had tried and enjoyed. I would say this is well worth a visit if your in the area. I think we will be putting this on one of our regular Pub Crawls as there are Not too many better Pubs nearby now days.
On 18th November 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 132 recommendations about 105 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Boot
I counted eight hand pumps in the Boot along with the usual standard draught products plus Staropramen and Amstel. This is an open plan U-shaped pub with no TVs and there was no background music during my visit on a recent Saturday night. The pub wasn’t overly busy, but there was a wait at the bar and I found the barmaid that served me to be very disinterested in her work.
There maybe a large selection of ale, but I think that there are pubs with much better atmospheres within a ten minute walk. Due to the central location I’ll probably find myself in here in the future so I hope that my next visit is better than the forgettable last.
On 24th May 2011
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Boot
Situated in the heart of the city centre this medieval building dating from around 1500 has a fine reputation for ales although the availability can be a bit sporadic with my various visits over recent years finding anything from 2 to 7 choices ranging from bog standard to brilliant. Fortunately my most recent fell mostly into thelatter category with a good mix of regulars (Tribute, Adnams and Doom Bar) and not so common (Castle Harvest Pale, Daleside Springhead, Goffs White Knight and Bass). A further pump was unused.
Despite several alterations over the centuries, the building is worthy of a visit in its own right with plenty of wonky walls, wooden beams, leaning pillars, open fires and propped up sagging ceilings although it is hard to tell what is real and what is possibly recreated. It is more spacious than you would expect inside although taller people will need to duck in places. Furnishings are quite old fashioned and solid with little pandering to modern trimmings apart from a single flat screen TV. There are no fruit / quiz machines and the piped background music doesn’t tend to intrude on the babble of conversation. The walls are lined with various old photos and watercolours picking out the highlights of this picturesque city.
Were it not for the occasionally hit and miss beer selection, the Boot would certainly be one of the essential pubs in the area.
On 7th April 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The Boot
Visited in May 2010
Attractive looking pub in the city centre on the edge of the Market Square.
There's low ceilings, exposed beams, bare boards but, despite dating back to the 15th century, a bit of the inevitable city centre chain pub feel to it. The overall vibe however is traditional and not unpleasant. On my recent Saturday lunchtime visit, there was a good cross section of customers, seemingly mainly shoppers and traders from the market, creating a busy but friendly atmosphere.
As a city, St Albans has a nice feel good factor to it - and more than its fair share of decent pubs incidentally - and, without wishing to appear naive, I was therefore slightly surprised to see that it's over 21's only on Friday and Saturday night after 6pm. Live music is offered on Sunday evening. Somewhat oddly, the pub sign outside includes a phone number.
Beers on were Bass, Adnams, Butcombe Gold, Deuchars IPA, Batemans XXXB and Tribute. The Tribute - £ 3.10p - was really good - and I did notice that this appeared to be outselling all the other real ales put together.
I was reasonably impressed with this one.
On 21st October 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Boot
A busy and lively town pub with a low ceiling on the edge of the market. The single room has the bar in the middle, wooden floor, light wood panelled walls and standard seating. Any of those high stools and tables in here and you'd probably bang your head! Decor consists of a few b/w photos of the local area plus flyers for forthcoming bands as the pub is also an occasional music venue. Seemingly dog friendly, there were a couple of rather excited mutts in a corner, one of which I took to be the pub dog.
Decent beer selection, Triple fff Alton's Pride, Black Sheep Bitter and Golden Sheep, Taylor's Landlord, Box Steam Brewery Derail Ale, Jennings Cumberland Ale, Purity Mad Goose and Adnam's Bitter.
On 15th August 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Clive Thompson left this review about The Boot
The Boot is a nice old low-ceilinged pub that serves some good real ales and is vying to be one of St Albans‘ best. There are usually a couple of friendly dogs roaming the bar. The pub sits in the shadow of the historic Clock Tower built in the early part of the 15th Century by the townsfolk as a mark of their independence from the church. Alongside that is French Row where King John of France was held during transportation after his capture at Poitiers in 1356
On 13th July 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
train man left this review about The Boot
First time I found myself here, a coupla years ago, it was horribly rammed on a Sat nt. Yesterday ~15:00 was a much more pleasant experience, allowing appreciation for the low-ceilinged, old wood-floored, ancient timbered 16c(?) surroundings. Plenty of standing room around the central horseshoe bar & the single large room surrounded by wood furniture & settles. Only one staff on, but pub was pretty quiet & she was more attentive than some erstwhile colleagues. Summer Lightning, Youngs Ord, Directors, Bass, Celt Golden (Caerphilly?), we tried the latter two & both were in great shape.
On 13th July 2008
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 412 recommendations about 411 pubs]