We let the people drink 

ALES OF THE RIVERSIDE 

DOING THE PRINCE ALBERT

Our reviews of quite-close-to-the-Thames-hostelries-in-the-Borough-of-Wandsworth continue with The Prince Albert – which, unsurprisingly and eponymously, finds itself on the Albert Bridge Road by Battersea Park, just by the Albert Bridge, only a few miles due south of the Royal Albert Hall and the Albert Memorial … and of course at a strolling distance from Albert Mansions.

This last week or so your Wandsworth Wanderer has become your Battersea Boulevardier and has been to The Prince Albert on some four separate occasions – albeit mostly around the same early evening time in order to splice the mainbrace as he prepared to sail along the Thames from Cadogan Pier to Wandsworth Riverside. (Your Thames Tar?)

Again, as with many of our riverside gin-joints, its very location deals The Prince Albert a winning hand – especially if you like Bridge. Or quaintly enough, if you play backgammon. The Battersea Backgammon Brigade appear to be permanently ensconced as they crash, bang and wallop their ‘counters’ around the board. Oblivious to such naïve counter-attractions as a ‘Quiz’ they resolutely strive to counter being ‘gammoned’ or, heaven forfend, counter-attack in order to avoid suffering the ignominy of being ‘back gammoned’.

(And now we spot that there is an afternoon club as well. Perhaps there will soon be a Battersea Bézique Battalion as international games of yesteryear appear to flourish therein.)

The early evening clientèle currently consists of chaps wearing Chelsea football shirts (Eden Hazard’s half-time cast-offs?) or people (of all genders) in suits recovering from 8 hours on the office treadmill and telling each other how hard they’ve been working and how dependent their company’s fortunes are on them …

It’s a Geronimo managed house … and in addition to its fine range of beers and first-rate jugs of highly flavoured tomato juice it offers fine fodder …. Gastro-this and Gastro-that … we are spoiled indeed – perhaps it should now be known as a ‘Gastronimo‘ house, such are its culinary delights!
Our readers may well ask … ‘Surely there must be some irksome downsides?’ Well there are … but only really a couple …. for this crusty old codger, there is a preponderance of perambulators perpetually pushed and pulled by Prosecco-pouring parents during the day.

And the recently refurbished outside ‘garden’ area looks like the set of a joint Ronseal and Homebase promotional TV ad from the 1980s – particularly fetching, we feel, is its new diarrhoea coloured fencing …

Service is well up to local standards so overall its rating must be 8 out of 10.

To see what they say about themselves have a look at ….

http://www.theprincealbertbattersea.co.uk

And of course it does boast one of the best pub signs in London ….

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