Wet and Chilly.
Just
for a change, I thought I would try The Prince Alfred http://www.theprincealfred.com/ last night. This late Victorian pub (1863) is a temple of
adulation to the demon drink and is well worth a visit, but could hardly be
treated as a local by us mortals, but then we don’t own the huge mansions and
Bentleys that surround it. As Time Out described it,”............. the wow factor for
first-time visitors is pretty much guaranteed, and there’ll be more exclamation
when the price of a pint becomes apparent: your Peroni will cost upwards of
four quid.”.
Too right! My pint
of Youngs Bombardier was £4.09! So in for a penny......the second pint was
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout at £4.74!!! Ouch. I even had a meal there, which
was good, but not exceptional. Probably, two pints of Chocolate Stout would
have constituted a meal in itself!
The main bar of
this place is big, with a high stucco ceiling and amazing tall etched windows.
Although the bar is big, it is divided into about four snugs, each separated by
a wooden screen with frosted glass at the top and a very low door to get from
one area to the next, so you have to duck down to get through. The top of each
screen is decorated with a spindle turned frieze and a heavy broken pediment in
the centre, all carved in mahogany. All these snugs surround an island bar, so
there is service at each of them. The restaurant reminded me of a tram shed,
with steel trusses across the ceiling and an enormous ‘dog box’ of a
skylight above. The walls are decorated with enormous black and white
photographs of the boats on the canal and appear to have been taken in the 70’s
as they are all cabin cruiser narrow boats. How much better it would have been
to show historic working boats instead.
It was an interesting
and enjoyable experience, even though my wallet complained, but I will not
return. A final nightcap of Doombar was had at The Warwick Castle on the way
back.
Eventually, the
rain did stop and I had a walk back to The Prince Alfred to take some pics of the outside, but
I was tempted inside to take some more, so I just had to buy another pint of Double
Chocolate Stout. I think that was worth it, as the interior is so impressive. A
stroll back to The Warwick Castle for a last pint of Doombar was in order,
before heading back to Stronghold and a meal. I am looking forward to tomorrow
and the trip down the locks to Limehouse to meet up with Barry and Terry, my crew for the weekend.
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| The Warwick Castle. |
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| The Prince Alfred |
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| One of the smaller snugs. |
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| Restaurant. |
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| The island bar. |
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