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Royal Albert, New Cross, SE14

460 New Cross Road
SE14
SE14 6TJ
Phone: 02086923737

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Ian Mapp left this review about Royal Albert

Nicely decorated (inside and out) classic victorian corner pub. Patio to front. Open kitchen at rear. Traditional pub furniture throughout.

A beer board showing a large amount of offerings. I went for a Portebello Star. A best bitter that was very murky, prompting me to check untappd to see if everyone else's check ins looked the same.

Good Beer Guide 2023.

On 16th January 2023 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1329 recommendations about 1315 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Moby Duck left this review about Royal Albert

A corner pub with a largish L shaped room. there are eight handpumps in total but only three cask beers on, Siren Memento, Twickenham Orange Zeus and Portobello Summer Blonde, the Memento being in reasonable shape. A selection of craft keg was also on offer.I was the only customer in at opening time on a Saturday and didn't mind the pub but felt it would have a better feel with a few mor punters in. Worth a look.

On 28th August 2022 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1868 recommendations about 1841 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


john gray left this review about Royal Albert

Liked this pub a lot.Nice interior but tables and chairs are a bit low for comfort. Very warm with the open plan kitchen at the rear blasting heat and fishy smells around the pub.Beer fest on so loads of good beers to choose from.I chose 8 of them to try and no duds.

On 21st October 2016 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Rex Rattus left this review about Royal Albert

This one had on an excellent ale selection, with Bath Gem; Bristol Beer Factory Seven; a Darkstar trio of Hylder Blond, Darkness, and Hophead; Brass Castle Brewery Cliffhanger; and Gipsy Hill Brewery Beatnik all available. There was also a draft cider called Mango. This is a good selection even by Antic standards. I spotted an open to view kitchen at the back on the right (although not a menu) in a largish area furnished with normal tables and chairs and with sprigs of flowers on the tables. This may effectively be the dining area although there didn't seem to be anything to prevent drinkers from sitting there.

This place is much less quirky than most Antic pubs I've visited. OK, there is a big "guy", sitting at one end of the bar with a sign saying "penny for the guy" and that proceeds go to Epileptic Action. This sort of thing is traditional of course - but not usually in pubs in my experience - and is undoubtedly a worthwhile endeavour. The stuffed animals in glass cases and the bar billiards table didn't really look out of place either. It's all quite restrained by Antic standards.

On the heritage front there is a bit of original Victorian tiling in one of the entrances; some narrow etched/cut glass bands in some of the windows as well as in the old saloon and public bar doors. The bar back including some etched/cut glass looks original as well. The main bar area as you enter has a phalanx of red leather sofas dominating the centre of the room, but there are banquettes with small round stools and normal tables along the right hand side of the room. I didn't see any fruit machines or others of that ilk, and the music being played at background levels was some authentic blues.

I found this to be a very comfortable pub with an excellent ale selection. My half of Beatnik was in great shape. I'm not likely to get to New Cross very often, but if I did I would want to visit this one again. This one gets the nod from me.

On 18th October 2014 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Royal Albert

Situated roughly halfway between New Cross and Deptford Bridge stations, the Royal Albert is another success story from the Antic chain. This is essentially a two room affair, opened out to a degree but still retaining the feel of a front bar and rear dining room. Entering through the corner door you find yourself in a reasonably sized square room with a good amount of bench seating around the perimeter and standard table and chair groupings elsewhere. A bar billiards table was positioned against the front wall and to the left there was a large TV screen showing the evenings Champions League fixture. The L shaped servery squeezes the right hand side of the room as it runs towards the rear of the room, with just about enough room to allow comfortable passage between the bar and seating opposite. Some board games were stacked on a window sill in this part of the pub, which eventually opens out into the rear dining room. This area is dominated by the open kitchen on the right hand side and has more standard seating in a fairly unremarkable room. The pub seems to have avoided a lot of the quirky and kitsch Antic decorative touches and I'm not sure I would have identified it as an Antic pub had I not already known this was the case. We visited as part of a large group and we all ate, with my pie being particularly tasty and ridiculously large. Decent music played throughout our stay, occasionally getting lost under the babble of the surprisingly large mid-week crowd who'd gathered on a bitterly cold December evening.
The row of hand pumps that run around the corner of the bar offered Dark Star Critical Mass and Partridge, XT 6 Red Ruby, Five Points Pale and Plain Ales Indulgence. I tried the Red Ruby, which seemed a bit lifeless, and the Indulgence which was fantastic. Friends who braved the Critical Mass (7.4%) said that it was on fine form as well. Gwynt Farmhouse Cider was also on handpull whilst keg options included local offerings of Camden Hells and London Fields American Black Ale and Weizen Doppel Bock. The young team of bar staff were a real credit to the place, taking time to have a chat with all their customers as they served them and being very helpful with our food order.
This is a good addition to the steadily improving New Cross ale scene. Whilst it didn't quite match up to some of the chains stronger pubs, I thought this was a good pub nonetheless with decent beer and very friendly staff. I seem to find myself in New Cross quite often and would be more than happy to visit this one again.

On 3rd February 2014 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about The Royal Albert

In deepest darkest New Cross sits the Royal Albert, a pub now owned by the Antic pub company who are getting a reputation for taking on and turning round some battered old boozers. The exterior has had a dark green paint job which nicely highlights the ornate Edwardian(?) frontage. The L-shaped interior has been done out in a modern downbeat hipster-friendly manner with a mish-mash of worn (though comfy) chairs, stools, banquettes and obligatory wooden floor, however the downbeat manner extends to some rather manky window panes that really could do with a good scrape and a lick of well-applied paint. There’s a dining area and open-view kitchen to the rear; food prices looked reasonable and there were bar snack available in the form of Scotch eggs and pork pies, which at £2.50 seemed reasonable and tasted more home-made than Brake Bros. Plenty of original etched glass survives and the saloon and public bar doors attest to the interior being opened out at some point. On my visit eight pumps were dispensing five ales plus a proper cider. I tried a couple, with Brockley Pale being a very good drop and the Hawkshead Red serviceable, alas I lacked time so missed out on Harviestoun Old Engine Oil - so certainly an ale-drinker’s destination based on that selection. The barman was not with it, dropping a knife (careful!) and short-changing me. Other features of the pub included a welcome sighting of a (well-used) bar billiards table, a selection of board games and daily papers plus a muted TV. Music seems to feature here and there was a DJ deck kitted-out though not in use; however the piped music was enjoyably eclectic. Wi-fi was offered but my phone couldn’t connect to it. The toilets were also a bit grim, perhaps not wholly unexpected.

All-in-all there was quite a lot to like here and there’s clearly a bit of effort being made to turn this place into a destination venue. A few simple fixes of problems highlighted above would really make this a must-visit for the wider SE postcode area. The bus stops directly outside. Just about a 7.

On 8th May 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5050 recommendations about 5033 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve C left this review about The Royal Albert

I found the barman in here to be very pleasant and he was apologetic when he informed me that the Guinness had run out and they were still waiting for a delivery. I swerved the premium and standard lagers and plumped for one of the four random ales which was very nice.

This place is quite food orientated and there is a dining type area at the rear. The front of the pub is mainly laid out with sofas and there is a table football game located in the centre. I spotted a plasma screen, but this was off and I didn't spot any Sky Sports Signs.

There weren't that many people in during my visit, but I did get a student pub feel to the place.

This place is ok for a pint or two if passing, but I wouldn't make this my destination pub for an evening.

On 11th November 2009 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5179 recommendations about 5148 pubs]