Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Random news of the day with sheffield hatter
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Albatros, Wells Town, Wells-Next-The-Sea
Wells-Next-The-Sea
NR23 1AT
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Graham Coombs left this review about Albatros
Update 2023
Following a 3 year restoration at Maldon, the Albatros has returned to Wells but will now be a restaurant with accommodation rather than a bar.
Aug 2013 review
Previous review pretty well spot on. Only thing to add is the food, which consists mainly of dutch pancakes (sweet and savoury). Might have been unlucky, and it had been quite warm, but the beer was not in best form though.
On 18th October 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Albatros
You really need to know what you’re looking for when trying to find this place – we’d sat on the wall opposite for several minutes, eating our fish and chips earlier in the day, without once clocking the fact that this Dutch barge is actually a pub. There’s some proper theatre involved in visiting this place, whether that be the shaky gangplank crossing to board the vessel, the careful tip-toeing around the uneven and extremely cluttered deck or the precarious steep descent into the cabin to locate the bar. The latter requires you to descend a near vertical staircase, perhaps better tacked backwards, as if descending a ladder. It’s worth the effort though, as you find yourself in a dimly-lit cabin with hard benches and long tables down either side, nautical charts lining the walls, floral painted patterns across the ceiling and a small servery along the back wall. It’s an interesting space that you can imagine being lined with hardened seafaring types, although there was just one bloke sipping a coffee in here on our visit, which shattered the illusion a bit. The majority of the seating, at least on the warm summer’s day we visited on, was scattered across the deck, mostly in the form of metal garden furniture. You really need your wits about you as you attempt to navigate your way around the deck, thanks to all sorts of heavy-duty equipment having been strewn around the place, with the tables dumped haphazardly in between it all – for a land-lubber like me, the prospect of ending up in the river after a few pints seemed highly probable!
The bar had two casks racked up at either end of the counter, with a third resting on the floor. From a board next to the bar, I was able to infer that these were Woodforde’s Wherry, Nelson’s revenge and Volt IPA. I would’ve quite liked to try the later, but this appeared to be the one of the floor and I thought the odds of someone having kicked the cask at some point were too high to risk, so I went for the Nelson’s Revenge instead, which was a decent drop, if perhaps a little too warm. The pub does food as well, including many traditional Dutch snacks such as poffertjes (mini pancakes), frickandel (minced-meat hot-dog) and Dutch apple cake.
I really enjoyed exploring this old barge and thought it was interesting how they’d left it much as it would have looked when it was operational, providing a sharp contrast to somewhere like Charters in Peterborough – another, admittedly much larger Dutch barge that has been given a very smart pub and restaurant refit. Some decent cask ale adds to the appeal and makes it more than just a novelty visit.
On 4th November 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Albatros
An unusual boozer in the form of an 1899 North Sea Clipper which is permanently moored at Wells quay right at the centre of town.
It's not for the infirm as entry is via a gangplank and the steps down to the bar are very steep.
There are plenty tables on the deck outside but you do need to clamber around. It's a fantastic place to enjoy a pint though on a sunny day as you fell somewhat removed from the bustle of the quay, especially if the tide's out as you're below street level, and can enjoy the views across Wells harbour.
Inside, it's a boat with seats around the edge and plenty of space for vertical drinking. It does feel comfy though and is probably a fun place to hole up in the winter.
Service is bohemian and friendly and although we didn't eat the food looked good, freshly cooked and with a wide variety of Dutch pancakes on offer.
Beer is all straight from the barrel and when we visited was all from Woodfordes. On offer were: Sundew, Mardlers Mild, Admirals Reserve, Once Bittern, Festival Ale, Wherry and Nelsons Revenge. There's a fair range of strengths and styles there despite being from a single brewery with many that I've never seen before. I only had time for a couple but both were in fine nick and the GBG 2012 listing is well deserved.
Wells is a lovely seaside town but it certainly isn't the centre of the real ale universe so the Albatross really stands out and deserves a visit.
On 16th August 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]