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Royal Star, Old Street, EC1

220 City Road
EC1
EC1V 2PN
Phone: 02072537323

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Bucking Fastard left this review about Royal Star

I have often seen this pub from across the road on my way up to the Wenlock,so curiosity killed the cat.From the outside it has the look of an estate pub,but internally it has been stripped out and is larger than it appears.Beyond a small front patio,the front door leads to the lower level bar area with two large banquettes either side of the entrance with a locked wine cabinet to the left.I initially settled in an area with a stale urine smell before quickly shifting.At a slightly higher level the back area has very little furniture and is souless with a drop down screen showing nothing in particular on mute.There is a side room,very gloomy with worn red leather sofas and tatty tables with an open kitchen before a door to an exterior courtyard,lacking in charm.
At the bar a single handpump was dispensing the ubiquitous and dull Doom Bar (£2.30 the half),the keg taps were the usual multinational crap and there just seems no USP here at all.With gangsta rap by way of muzak,why bother despite a friendly welcome.

On 12th August 2018 - rating: 4
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


john gray left this review about Royal Star

Nice enough but basic pub.Very nicely decorated for Halloween but few customers.Lots of ghoulish things like spiders and cobwebs but I wasn't scared.Only Doombar on cask now that is scary.

On 27th December 2016 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Tris C left this review about Royal Star

Ignore the reviews below, such is the construction of upmarket flats in the area and the resultant influx of wealth, that what was once a locals' estate boozer is now a gastro style bar so you can forget pool, darts and TV sport.

This pub's very spartan interior is now bare brick, the floor being boards with peripheral bench seating along the picture windows with stools. Otherwise there are marble topped tables with bent wood café chairs; patio tables and heaters face City Road. Most notable are the bare oversized incandescent bulbs hanging low from the ceiling. To the left as you enter is a large full-height cage containing dozens of racked bottles of wine. The bar is located to the centre left as you enter. The loos were good. A decent sound track was playing at an acceptable volume.

Three ales were spotted: Doom Bar and two others. There are also 18 craft bottle beers offered along with a mix of premium and not so premium lagers, a premium cider (Aspall's) and the distinctly not so premium Magner's; there's no stout. Online, the menu is not high-end gastro but is a bit of a dog's dinner pick 'n' mix of dishes from all over the world along with burgers and (hot?) dogs; bar snacks include marinated olives and wasabi nuts.

Midweek, there were few people in here and they certainly weren't the locals of old - the Eagle over the road was heaving. Locals yes, but striped shirts for the men and strappy dresses and Ray-Ban Aviators for the exclusively blonde women. The American barman was efficient but certainly wasn't welcoming. I'd come here again if passing as there's little in the area but I prefer the Eagle. I also don't like pubs that are so gloomy that I can't see my own hands and the view out over the virtual dual carriageway that is City Road isn't exactly a plus point.

On 17th July 2013 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1956 recommendations about 1923 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Royal Star

The 'U'-shaped bar area of this corner boozer comprises two different sections - the front side devoted to a pool table and darts board, and a seating area on the other - and both dominated by screens showing TV sport. Lively (but not unfriendly) crowd of locals watching the Arsenal vs Spurs derby. Quieter further back, where there is another sparsely-decorated room and behind that a patio beer garden. Three handpumps - two with Bombardier clips (£3.30) plus a cider.

On 22nd April 2011 - rating: 7
[User has posted 8066 recommendations about 8066 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve C left this review about Royal Star

In total contrast to the Eagle across the road I found the barmaid and locals in this pub to be very welcoming. The only ale offering was Bombardier and there are no premium lagers, but my Guinness was well served and enjoyable. There is a pool table and a dartboard along with a couple of TV's and a projector screen for airing the sports on Sky.

There is a function type room to the side of the pub that houses two more dartboards and I'd imagine that this is where the dart league teams play. There is also an enclosed, but well kept pebbled beer garden out the back which is overlooked by a tall tower block.

This is a good pub for playing/watching sports or for chatting on the sofas towards the rear and I would recommend it to others.

On 2nd September 2009 - rating: 8
[User has posted 5179 recommendations about 5148 pubs]