The Prince Alfred Hotel — Restaurant in Ipswich City

Oi oi, gather ‘round, you lot! Let me tell ya ‘bout a Wednesday night at the Prince Alfred Hotel in Booval, where the Guinness flows, the trivia’s dodgy, and the staff? Absolute diamonds.

Now, the PA ain't just any boozer, it’s got the biggest bar in the Southern ‘emisphere. That’s right, 72 bloody craft beers on tap! Faced with such an overwhelming selection, what’s a geezer to do? That’s right, get a tasting paddle or three.

Just for research purposes, ya know.

So, the Guessperados rocked up for trivia night, hosted by the one and only Kat — not Katrina, mind ya. Call ‘er that, and she’ll give ya a look that’ll curdle milk.

The quiz kicked off bang on 7pm (unheard of in a pub quiz, if ya ask me).

The Quiz – A Game of Betrayal and Outrage

It was an April Fools' special, which meant a theme so stupidly obscure it made us question every life choice we’d ever made.

One of the questions? "Food or Pokémon?"

Well, bugger me if I didn’t regret skipping Saturday morning cartoons as a nipper.

Every round, the answers linked to a mystery theme, which was, apparently, Doctor Who.

The reasoning behind it? Absolute poppycock.

We demanded justice. Kat, to her credit, was a bloody legend, took our heckling with the grace of a queen and even joined our letter-writing campaign to track down the evil genius at Quiz Meisters HQ who thought this theme made sense.

Then came Round Two, and I swear on me nan’s life, one team guessed the secret theme before the first question was even asked.

I smell a rat. Or a nerd with inside info.

The theme? Twilight. The logic? Weak as me aunt Doris’s tea. By this point, we’d upgraded our letter-writing campaign to a full-scale inquisition.

The Villains & The Heroes

One punter was in a full red tracksuit, lookin’ like a cross between Pablo Escobar and an Ipswich gangster version of Vector from Despicable Me. Absolute villain energy, right down the to red Crocs.

Kat got forced to sell Quiz Meisters merch, and honestly, who in their right mind buys a trivia night hat? If I won one, I’d wear it proudly, but purchasing it? That’s brain damage, that is.

The staff at the PA? Proper top-notch. Friendly, fun, and not at all to blame for the quiz shambles. Don’t mix up Quiz nonsense with the pure gold that is the PA crew.

The Final Standings

We finished fourth with 60 points. First place? Los Frijoles with 64 points. A FOUR POINT DIFFERENCE? An outrage! We demand a recount. Or at least another paddle of beer to drown our sorrows.

In conclusion: ✅ Best Guinness in Ipswich. ✅ Epic burger. ✅ Sauce selection? A sauce lover’s wet dream. ✅ Trivia? Absolute mayhem, but Kat made it legendary. ✅ Would I go back? Oh, you bloody bet I would.

Five stars, but Quiz Meisters HQ?...

Used to come here regularly pre covid. Could not fault their steak/chips and salad, always tasty and delicious. Unfortunately post covid lots of cost cutting, no longer full table service. Been back 3 times in last 2months and each time theres been an issue. First time our mains came out before the entree, second visit only one meal came out instead of 2 and our last visit was disappointing, there was the obvious menu and price changes. I noticed the salad was replaced with a slaw. But when served only steak and chips were served. When I asked the unfriendly and rather unkept pregnant looking waitress wheres my slaw, she simply stated it doesn't come with one. When I said, it states slaw on the menu she just walked off, got me a slaw without saying a single word. The slaw didn’t come with any dressing so I asked her if its meant to come with a dressing she simply said no and walked off. I was taken aback….. I would have thought a typical response would be I will get you some. I never known a plain coleslaw dished up before nor had unfriendly service before at the PA. Its a shame as PA is the only restaurant Ive been to recently with cutbacks on top of price increases. Should be one or the other. Full marks to their perfectly cooked...

Booked in the Plantation room. Seemed less like an area to eat and more like the foyer to a hotel. A little more casual than I was expecting. The options of food was amazing. The food wasn't amazing but still quite tasty and filling. The biggest issue I had was the wait. I understand that it was the Saturday night before Valentines day so I was probably going to be quite busy but when you book at 7:45 and don't get your meals till around 9pm then you have a problem. I've worked in hospitality for over 20 years and if a customer has to get up to ask where their meals are, it's not a good sign. Taking a little time to go to a table to apologise and let them know the food is going to be delayed can make all the difference. If they've been waiting for their food for 45min - 1hr from when they ordered, maybe offer them a drink to at least show them you are aware of the situation. As it stands I wont be recommending the Plantation room as the price the service isn't worth it. If I decide to come back I may try the Char'd room as it looks more like a full service area and that would may be worth the price but as it stands it's...