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New pub visits 2023 with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Just a quick pint, then I'm off
Submitted on Sunday, 20th February 2022
With picture contributions to 9303 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (22 more images)
Detail Pages
Crystal Palace, Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted
HP4 2EZ
Reviews of Crystal Palace (Average Rating: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Crystal Palace
ORIGINAL REVIEW September 2010.
Two very seperate rooms in this small pub.Front bar with pool table and TV ,definately the public bar while the rear lounge is now set up with tables for dining,although you can just drink in here if you wish.Food is always available and there is now chinese and other asian dishes available both within and to take out,in a joint venture.English pub food(the landlady's description) is available until 3pm and on Sundays only a carvery operates until 4pm.Three handpumps with GK IPA,Old Speckled Hen and Spitfire as a guest ,at £3.20 a little pricey for the ambiance on offer.Functional but not the best of the three canalside pubs in Berko.
UPDATE
My first revisit after the takeover by Big Smoke and what a difference.Gone is the two room layout ,and the front door is locked so enter at either side.The interior is now open plan,with the front below the fine windows devoted to dinking,while the section around the bar has a mix of furniture for drinkers.The outside space has been hugely increased both along the canal towpath and also at a large rear garden.The exterior has been repainted and now looks very smart.
When inside the West Coast mainline trains do thunder past quite close on the embankment,but it is a smart place to dine ,and although the pub is the closest to the station ,it doesnt suffer a transient customer base of waifs and strays.
There are six handpumps offering just house Big Smoke Solaris along with guests Oakham Citre,Harvey's Sussex Best,Tring Sidepocket and Moongazing (NBSS 2.5,a little warm) with another Tring clip reversed and finally a Lilly's real cider.The 10 wall mounted keg taps offers Flensburger lager,Guiness and 10 Big Smoke keg beers of various styles and strengths.
A decent enough real ale option,would have been better if some Big Smoke kegged beers had been offered as real ale but worth a visit when in town.Rating raised.
On 23rd September 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2659 recommendations about 2659 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Clive Thompson left this review about Crystal Palace
First time here since Big Smoke took over and I'm quite impressed with the refurb. Here for a beer festival, 12 ales on gravity (and a load of craft taps) in a marquee at the side with open views of the canal. Pleasantly surprised to find the 10% CAMRA discount being applied to festival beers.
Revisiting this pub on PuG I was reminded that it featured in my Great Inter County pub crawl 12 years ago. 1 day, 1 train ticket, 8 counties and 12 pubs (plus a he'll of a lot of planning and luck)
On 21st May 2022
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace is now part of the ever-expanding Big Smoke chain of pubs. I know I've been before, but I don't recall when and I don't recall the pub itself. It enjoys a nice location next to the canal. Although the high speed train line into Euston is also just across the road. So, it's not exactly peaceful.
Despite being a Big Smoke pub, it seems to be less aimed for the drinker, with more inclination towards the food market. On a rainy spring afternoon, there were only a handful of customers in what appears to be a circular room, with different areas.
Big Smoke Solaris is the regular beer. Big Smoke Ceremony was also on, along with Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter. The cider was Lilley's Mango Cider.
Not as good as other Big Smoke pubs, but an improvement on what was here before.
On 13th May 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2284 recommendations about 2283 pubs]
View more reviews of Crystal Palace (6)
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- Official site of Crystal Palace - www.crystalpalace-pub.co.uk
- Facebook page of Crystal Palace - www.facebook.com
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Crystal Palace - whatpub.com
Hemel Hempstead, 3.56 miles, 1 hr 8 min walk (show)
Tring, 4.79 miles, 1 hr 32 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 23 September 2022 by Tris C
- Beer Festivals : Yes - Oktober. - last updated 23 September 2022 by Tris C
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 13 May 2022 by Blue Scrumpy
- CAMRA Discount : Yes - 10% - last updated 23 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : Yes last updated 13 May 2022 by Blue Scrumpy
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 13 May 2022 by Blue Scrumpy
- Live TV Sports : Yes - Selective rugby. - last updated 23 September 2022 by Tris C
- Micropub : No last updated 23 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Pool Table : Yes last updated 03 September 2010 by hondo .
- Real Ale : Yes - Big Somke. - last updated 23 September 2022 by Tris C
- Real Cider : No last updated 23 September 2022 by Tris C
