Prince George — Restaurant in London

It's with a heavy heart and great sadness that I leave a one star review. This pub has meant so much to me for so long. I have had so many incredible memories in this pub. When I first came to East London back in 2009 this was the pub I would go to. I would proclaim 'it's the greatest pub in the world'. It had everything a good pub should have; a mixture of real locals, friendly staff and incredible food. The atmosphere was always top notch.

I've been there through 3 changes of ownership, been there in lockins, played countless games of pool, took many of first dates, had incredible moments with my friends and thoroughly enjoyed the Litovel beer on tap. I'm known as the person in my friendship group that loves this pub and at every opportunity possible I would head here. I would demand to my friends that we go to no other pub except the Prince George.

Admittedly I've been out of the country for the past two years, but yet still my heart has always been with the Prince George. During those years away I longed for pint here. And well, last night I got that opportunity and with glee I went. Like old times to enjoy an incredible atmosphere with friends.

So...

I got my standard Litovel pint, took a sip and it tasted incredibly metallicy. This happens, the pint was foul. We said to the bar staff that the beer was off and she grabbed the manager for us. We stated the issue to the manager and straight away she was dismissive. How dare we even question the beer? Says it's not possible, no one has complained tonight, thus we must be lying... She then tries the tiniest amount through a tip of a straw with her finger. And the proceeds to tell us it doesn't, after some back and forth she then states that 'this is how the beer tastes, it's a bad beer, it's Litovel, don't buy Litovel.' Now pay.

When you're paying almost £6 a pint, you expect it to be half decent. I know Litovel, I like the beer. Either those lines were not clean or we got the bottom of the barrel. Whatever it was, it tasted terrible.

Please bear in mind this exchange was all calm, no swearwords, aggressive language or insults were exchanged in any capacity. But I clearly ticked the manager off because she demanded we pay for the beers and that was that. We can't change it for bottle beers, nothing. So I retorted that 'this pubs gone down hill' and from that we were all denied to buy these god awful beers and kicked out of the pub.

So to the Prince George my one true love, you will be dearly missed, you've been a true staple of my 20's. I bid...

🚇Dalston Junction 🍺 £6.60 Pillars Helles

This pub is located in a quiet residential area in the backstreets of Dalston in Hackney. The nearest station is Dalston Junction.

This Victorian corner pub was built in 1856 for Whitbread. The pub is named after Prince George who would become King George IV (r. 1820-1830). The pub’s swinging sign depicts his naughtier side.

This is a one bar pub that is traditionally decorated with an old world times gone by feel. The servery is centrally located and has an elegant bar back with beautiful columns. To the left of the servery is a seating area with a huge map of the world and a large film poster of La Dolce Vita. The area around the front of the servery has some sturdy pews by circular tables, a chalkboard tap list, an oldschool Jukebox and a welcoming fireplace. If you head through the archway you’ll find a cosy back room with red velour seating and an ornate staircase, beyond that there’s a pool room. At the front of the pub there are a number of benches under sizeable parasols.

The beer selection is excellent and offers a diverse mix of brews that included local London breweries and two cask ales. I decided on a Pillars Helles, my pint was great, price point was above average. The food menu offers classic pub grub, Fish & Chips cost £16, roasts are available on a Sunday.

We arrived just after 12pm on a drizzly Saturday lunchtime in February. We were first in the door, so we had a good mooch around the pub. During our stay, a couple arrived followed soon after by a family who we ended up having a lovely fire side chat with. The service was excellent, the team member on duty was welcoming, courteous and friendly.

This was our first stop on a nostalgic family crawl around Dalston and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit here. The backstreet location, the old world charm, the roaring fire, the excellent beer selection and the warm hospitality made for a top notch pub experience. The @princegeorgepub is most definitely one for your list.

📅 8th February 2025

More London Pub info...

Not the best experience at all. Service wasn't great all night, food late, no cutlery, staff continually trying to clear away drinks that weren't finished - but we accepted they were busy so fine. Then last orders were called and we ordered a last round only to be confronted 5 minutes later by an extremely aggressive bouncer telling us we need to leave the drinks and get out immediately. When we spoke to the owner about the fact he had just served us the drinks and taken our money so it was unreasonable to expect us to consume them in 5 minutes, he was rude and arrogant. The bouncer continued to be aggressive, the owner tried to excuse himself by saying he had had a really busy night and his wife was upstairs (?) whilst also claiming that this was typical behaviour from me and I had made the same complaint last weekend (despite the fact I have not been to this pub in about 6-months and probably a total of 4 times in my lifetime) and as a finale, my partner was chased out of the bathrooms mid-flow by the non-communicative bouncer.....

The pub is in a residential area so noise is potentially and issue - we completely respect that but the attitude of the bouncer and owner of this pub towards drinking up time and paying customers generally was pretty awful. I think they have recently taken over from the previous owners so hopefully they will get it together soon, but until then - unless you want to be harassed by a obnoxious bouncer and an owner who takes your money then kicks you out whilst moaning about his busy day (so all the money he's taken) and his wife...