The Virgin Queen — Restaurant in London

🚇 Bethnal Green 🍺 £6.40 Pillars Pilsner

The Virgin Queen is located just south of Broadway Market close to Regents Canal in Hackney. The nearest Tube is Bethnal Green, London Fields Overground is also nearby.

The Duke of Sussex was built in 1842 by local brewers West's Brewery. This pub was rebuilt in the 1920’s in a Tudor Revival style which was a popular design of interwar built pubs. In 1997 the pub was renamed The Albion by the then landlord’s team West Bromwich Albion, at the time, the pub was a well renowned footy pub. In 2017 Remarkable Pubs took up the reins, lovingly refurbished and The Virgin Queen was born.

This is a cosy three roomed pub which has a quite magnificent interior. The servery is located at the back of the main bar and has an intricately carved back bar. Around the walls are beautiful reclaimed dark wood panels with a show-stopping fireplace taking centre stage. Under the windows are gorgeous carved wood and fabric-covered pews. If you head to the back left of the main bar you’ll find a sizeable panelled dining room with an open kitchen. Downstairs in the basement is a games room with a Pool Table and Dartboard. To right of the pub is a covered outside space for imbibing alfresco.

The beer selection was excellent and offers a range of beers from local London breweries. I decided on a Pillars Pilsner, my pint was great, price point was above average. The cheapest pint is Litovel at £5.30. The food menu is a combination of comfort food and classic pub grub, Fish & Chips costs £14.50, Roasts are available on a Sunday.

I arrived mid afternoon on a sunny Saturday in June. The pub was fairly busy with most punters outside and a few watching the Euros inside. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming with a local pub feel, The service was friendly and courteous.

Visiting the @virginqueenpub was a fantastic experience. The striking decor, local pub vibes, London beers and a friendly pub atmosphere make this a must visit London pub.

ℹ️ Info correct on...

Celiacs avoid/be careful.

Been coming here quite regularly since I moved to the area because they often have a gluten free beer on draft - usually either Siren Lumina or Hammerton Panama - and also because the vibe is more chill than the other pubs on or near broadway market so it’s nice on a Sunday.

However, they recently tried to sell me a beer I hadn’t heard of from a brand I did (Siren, Cool Intentions) promising it was gluten free. I paid for it but checked on safari before drinking to make sure, then to find out the website said it in fact wasn’t gluten free, as I’d been assured (I asked them twice before paying).

This would be okay (though still bad) as a mistake- I took the beer back to the bar and politely tried to tell them but they were quite defensive (4 of them in total - two younger chaps, a man and a lady). They refused to agree and told me I was mistaken, that all Siren beers are gluten free… until I showed them the website which proved that statement wrong.

Eventually after tense discussion they reluctantly agreed to give me a bottle of gf beer they had instead. After pointing out that the pint of gluten I paid for was more expensive they refunded me 60p.

It would of been bad as a mistake (im a celiac and would have been very very ill) but honestly I found the whole event uncomfortable and doubt...

Beautiful pub,friendly staff but they always fail to remind the customers to be quite (specially front of the pub) as they often are very loud,having alcohol at their hands which not allowed and not respecting the local residents and the care home no matter what is the time. After a glass of beer customer lose the sense of being in the community and a heavily built residential area and act inconsiderate. Maybe the pub managers or the security can constantly remind the customers to be just quite (?) Having some cigarettes, loud chat,laughs or waiting for uber etc sometimes unbearable. We understand and respect that people would like to drink and have some fun but pub management also needs to understand as locals we like some quite and peace. Many pubs in London have massive friendly warnings on their outdoors to remind their customers to be considered and quite but this pub only has the legally required warnings which is impossible to read nor realise after...