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Detail Pages
The Victoria, E8
E8
E8 3AS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5 of 10) see review guidelines
Pub SignMan left this review about The Victoria
This is a decent looking traditional pub that’s been given a bit of a modern makeover to help it appeal to a younger audience. The pub has a main bar area to the front, open to all comers, and a ticketed live music venue at the rear. The bar area is all dark wood, from the floorboards to the wall panels and the bar counter, which combines well with the low-level lighting, ensuring quite an atmospheric feel. The bar has a rectangular counter with nice panelling and rounded edge, fronting an island bar back which is nicely backlit and has attractive lettering across the top. To one side is a modern shelving unit stacked full of books, ceramics, bottles, lamps and the like. Seating is confined to the perimeter, mainly under the large front windows, and comes mainly in the form of tables and chairs, including a few blocky tables that could fit some pretty large groups around them. There’s a decent paved space outside the pub for a bit of al-fresco drinking too and there was a nice pre-gig buzz around the place – with live music on most nights, I presume it’s always fairly lively. The venue out the back is a pretty good size and has its own bar with a limited range of products.
Neither bar offers cask ale, but there are a few unusual keg options, mainly from the Jaguar Shoes Collective, who operate this venue and a few others around the city. Over the course of the evening, I tried a few pints each of their Gold Top Pale Ale, which had some serious Werther’s Originals vibes, and the Stout, which was just about the blandest stout I’ve ever tried. The staff were all a bit aloof in that annoying, hipster, too cool for school way, but service was efficient enough, even during peak times between bands.
I liked this place as a live music venue and enjoyed watching some local bands make an unholy racket in the backroom, but the pub itself is a bit of a non-event, with little to recommend beyond the pleasant fixtures and fittings. I’m sure I’ll be back when something of interest crops up on their listings page, but I’ll be sure to have a few drinks in Dalston or hackney beforehand.
On 19th September 2023
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Victoria
A large stand alone Victorian pub,a single large room with a high ceiling, the walls are mostly of a distressed nature by design I am guessing . The horseshoe shaped bar sported twelve old style keg taps most in use and most with Jaguarshoes beers on ,however I had a Mysterious Spectre by Hackney, no real ale in here and the handpumps were removed a few years ago.I didn't really warm to the pub.
On 23rd July 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Victoria
The Victoria was supposed to be fully booked. However, we arrived to find tables available on the pavement. It ended up being our final pub in Dalston, with the nearby Prince Albert full.
There was some initial confusion as we were unable to place our order using the QR code on the table, which appears to be the norm in this area. The waiter had to check it was ok to take our order by more conventional methods.
There's plenty of craft beer options here, with a large blackboard visible to the right-hand side of the bar, when using the toilets. Options included Jaguarshoes Gold Top Milk, Umbrella Cider, Five Points Pale & IPA, Asahi and a beer from Partizan.
The interior has a central bar and felt light and airy, but it's still not really my kind of place.
On 20th April 2021
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2454 recommendations about 2453 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Victoria
A mid-19th century pub this, formerly Charrington’s and a short walk from Dalston’s transport amenities.
Out front there are some palm trees which jarred somewhat with the sky, coloured as it was the shade of aged pewter. This tropical oasis boasts several picnic tables for less inclement weather.
Inside, and you can tell immediately that this is a place which leans towards live music. It’s run by the Jaguar Shoes collective and has been hosting live music for over 30 years. The interior is very distressed with lacquered wood - chipped - and pretty much all else painted black, even the Anaglypta ceiling; the floor’s bare boarded. Décor is minimal as is the furniture which comprises tubular steel and ply chairs, painted in primary colours, with matching tables. There are a couple of oxblood Chesterfields with very tatty vinyl – this would seem to be the closest thing the pub has to a snug. On the other side of the room are collapsible trestle tables with matching benches. Lighting is gloomy, coming from bare bulbs which hang from the ceiling on long flexes. A little extra light comes courtesy of the attractive 1950s’ illuminated Charrington’s bar back parapet. Music played over the stereo at a decent volume and there are no TVs. There’s food, but it’s from the hotdogs and coleslaw school of gastronomy.
A very friendly barman presided over an unused pump and Five Points Pale, unsampled as I’d ordered a half of Erdinger - £2.60 – before I saw the pumps.
This may be a great music venue and deserves to survive on that alone, but as a pub it really doesn’t do anything. It does though gain an extra point for retaining the Charrington’s bar which many a philistine would consign to the skip.
On 3rd May 2018
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Victoria
The Victoria is a typical black painted London pub that is close to a very busy road junction.
Once inside there is a large single room with the bar facing,the room is bare boarded and the seating is a mix of uncomfortable types which looked like they came from a skip,some looked like sixties type tables and chairs,there was also long wood benches in the middle of the room which would look better on a cricket pavilion.
There were four unclipped pumps on the bar,so it was a choice of the keg beers on tap,i had a drink of London Stout which was a decent drink,but not sure who brews it.
I could not be bothered to note the other keg beers.
Food was available,but i would not like to have a meal in this pub.
I thought this was a pretty sad pub and it was also empty on my Saturday dinner visit.
Pub visited 11/6/2016
On 30th July 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Victoria
Black-painted pub and toilet gig venue – the only reason I schlepped out this far was to catch the mighty Prolapse play live. The bar is a pretty squalid affair in all honestly, stripped back and grubby – ‘hipster chic’, no doubt – and not at all welcoming. Two items of note are the old Charrington island bar stature (how did that survive?) and a library section to the left. The gents is the worst I’ve encountered in many a year, a urinal than can (just) fit two people and a cubicle with a door that opens directly into the nearest person standing and aiming - wet shoes galore. Despite saying ‘ales’ on the outside, none were available and looked like they haven’t been for quite some time. There were some keg options and it was hard to work out exactly what was what as they all had a generic black and white label. There was some sort of London Porter and what I deduced to be Camden Hells lager. I had a pint of each and the prices were at least a little less stupid than I feared, the Camden being £4.50 and the Porter £4.20. The live music venue is cunningly concealed via a large concealed door in the ‘library’ section to the left. The room in here is a basic rectangle with the stage at the far end. It’s a complete sweatbox but is decent enough – and for that I am thankful. Perhaps if they made more effort with the pub they might be able to refurbish the bogs? Just a thought…
7 as a music venue, 4 as a pub.
On 7th June 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]