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Victoria & Albert, Bolton
Horwich
Postal town: Bolton
BL6 7AF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Victoria & Albert
A nice enough pub. Modernised inside the pub stretches back to a rear pool room. The front on the pub is where you'll find the bar and this is a pleasant place. A central pillar dominates this part of the pub. A staircase to the left takes you to the toilets upstairs. 4 handpulls on the bar with not too bad a choice. Worth a visit.
On 1st June 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Victoria & Albert
A visit to this smart, clean pub in the middle of Horwich’s concentrated stretch of boozers, comes with pretty high expectations having been named Bolton CAMRA pub of the year for 2012 and 2013. The pub has a fairly straightforward layout, with the front door leading into the main bar area, with a servery down the right hand side and equally apportioned seating and standing areas filling up the rest of the room. The centre of the quarry stone floored room is sparsely furnished, with just a high table or two in the space opposite the bar. Most of the seating options have been arranged around the perimeter, with a raised lounge area in the front left corner and a curved banquette to the right of the entrance. A small stove sits in a fireplace on the back wall and the décor is dominated by the half panelled walls with a deep red floral wallpaper above. The servery initially seems rather basic, with a simple wood panelled bar back, but as you approach, it becomes clear that the bar back extends upwards to the second storey and a trip upstairs to the toilets allows you to look down to the bar from above. The pub extends into two more notional rooms, the first of which is bare boarded with three tables and a large TV screen, turned off during my visit, whilst the second is a carpeted area with sofa style seating and another out of action TV. There were a few more screens in the main bar area, showing the afternoon’s Premier League tie with the sound turned off and barely audible music playing over the top. This created a slightly weird atmosphere, as almost all the customers were glued to the screens in total silence and I thought that maybe the pub could have put the commentary on to at least create a bit of atmosphere, especially as most customers were football fans preparing to head off to the nearby Reebok Stadium.
A board on the wall proclaims this pub as having Horwich’s largest ale range, a debateable point given the opening of new Bank Top pub down the road, but there were seven ales on nonetheless. The line up comprised Holt’s Bitter, Moorhouse Ice Witch and White Witch, Thwaites Old Dan and TBC, Lees MPA and Blackedge Black (£2.80) with a final pump dispensing a real cider. I broke the silence to order a pint of the Black (this now being the official Blackedge brewery tap) which was superb – easily the best pint of the day and worthy of a pub with such strong CAMRA credentials.
This pub might be lacking the charm and atmosphere of some of the neighbouring traditional pubs, but it is clearly a very well run venture that should appeal to a range of drinkers. I enjoyed my time here very much and would have gladly stayed to try more of their excellent beer had time permitted. For me, this is the best pub in the area and well worth giving a try.
On 18th February 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]